I was born and raised in the palm of God’s right hand: the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. More specifically, I live in the southern part of the state. This region has a great blend of agriculture, woods and swamps. In other words, a sportsmen’s playground for those who like to hunt trophy bucks and strutting longbeards.

One wild game animal that I have wanted to hunt for a long time is the black bear, found throughout the Upper Peninsula and the northern fingers of the Lower Peninsula—or what is often referred to as “Up North” by us living in the crowded, southern tier of Michigan.

The leading deterrent to why I hadn’t previously hunted bears in my home state has been the draw system. I couldn’t simply buy a license over the counter like I can for deer and turkey. Ten years ago, I decided to get serious, and made it a priority to apply every year until I would have enough points to get drawn. I also influenced two other hunters to apply with me: my younger brother Joe Lambert, and good friend Jonathan Robert Cermak, aka Jonny Bob.

Michigan has several bear management units (BMU) to choose from, but we all wanted to hunt the Baldwin BMU, located in the northwestern region of the mitten. On September 14, our long-time dream of hunting bears in our home state finally became reality.

A few years ago, ABC’s Good Morning America voted the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Park the most beautiful place in America, and the three of us were going to have the privilege of hunting black bears in the thick swamps and vast forest just south of the National Park.

To maximize our hunting opportunities, we chose to hire a guide who lived in the area, who had a history of getting his clients bears. We chose Jason Ware’s Final Chase Guide Service. Jason’s team utilized both bait and hound hunts.

All three of us were set up on baits located on private properties. I was hunting a bait site that Jason nicknamed the Bear Zoo because it was known to harbor a high number of bears, and trail camera surveillance proved this to be true.

Accompanying me on the hunt was Jordan Brown, a television producer who was filming the hunt for Michigan Out-of-Doors TV, a weekly outdoor television show that airs on Michigan PBS stations.

As soon as Jordan got to camp, he began working, armed with an assortment of cameras. When we arrived at the bait site, he mounted a Go-Pro camera in the tree above us, another on the shooting rail aimed at us, and manned another camera mounted to a swinging arm, providing viewers with three different angles. Now, we just needed a big bear, preferably 250 pounds or bigger, to read the script and become a television star.

Jordan and I were positioned on the east side of a very large swamp. Two miles directly west of us, my brother Joe was posted on the opposite end of the swamp.

Jonny Bob was hunting another swamp about 10 miles north of us, and his dad, Big Dan, sat with him. The Cermaks are big guys; JB stands 6’5,” and Big Dan is 6’7,” so they utilized an extra-large tent blind and hunted from the ground.

The weather was unseasonably warm with a temperature of 87 degrees and high humidity, but it was opening night and we were filled with optimistic anticipation.

After sitting in the hot sun for several hours, I went from desperately hoping for a big bear, to just hoping that some bear or bears would come in so that Jordan could get some footage for his TV show. At this point, Jordan whispered, “This is bear hunting; you sit for hours, but in the next five minutes, a 400-pounder could walk in.”

Ten minutes later, the prophet Jordan spotted a bear in the swamp walking toward the bait and whispered, “Bear behind the bait.”

I scanned the thick undergrowth, looking for him. Suddenly, a heavily-muscled bear came into view, with thick shoulders and a big head. I immediately knew that he was a shooter. I found him in my rifle’s scope as he quartered to us and looked in our direction. My adrenaline soared. I was afraid that he might bolt, so I decided to take the first available shot.

The big bear cooperated, turned his attention to the bait, and stood broadside. I lined up on his shoulder, then moved the crosshairs slightly back, and worked the trigger. The 30-06 roared, and the big bear did a powerful mule-kick before running to the south.

Once the bear disappeared out of sight, I looked up and saw that Jordan had the camera pointed right at me, so I said something about the fact that I thought the shot looked good, and that I thought he was a really good bear. I then remembered that I should listen for the death moan, and said so. Jordan said that he heard it.

I was now fully aware that I had successfully shot my first Michigan bear, and that I wouldn’t have to track a wounded bear through thick cover.

While filming the blood trailing of my bear, Cermak texted, “Shot fired,” and then a couple minutes later, a second message came in stating, “I got one.”

Jonny Bob had two boars come into his bait, and he had to wait for them to separate before he could get a shot. They actually came in three times before presenting a clear shot. When he finally took the shot, the bear hit the ground, growled and expired within sight.

Opening night, four hunters had bears at Jason’s house, and many his friends and family showed up to celebrate with us. It was a fun night, and the bear skinning, quartering and weighing party carried on way past midnight.

If you would like to watch the northern Michigan hunt in the palm of God’s right hand, it is available on YouTube, episode #2440 of Michigan Out-of-Doors TV.

If you want to try a hunting a different, exciting species or using a different technique, you’ll find plenty of suggestions in every issue of MidWest Outdoors. Subscribe on our website.