This Week's Column

   Flater's Resort/Black Bear Hunt

Hello friends,

       Where the Chippewa and Flambeau rivers meet in Rusk County is Flater's Resort and it has been there since 1938. It has been owned by the Flater family the entire time, first Harry and Mary Flater, then Harold, Tubby, and Joann Flater and currently Joe Flater who along with his partner Angie Mincoff run what I consider a beautiful place to hang your hat and also one of the best taverns that I have ever known of. An establishment where by the end of a visit, everyone truly talks to each other and shares a laugh and a story. I started hanging out with Joe Flater back in 2000 and let me tell you when I come home from a 3 or 4 day visit, I have to take a nap as soon as I pull in the driveway.

      Wednesday, September 9th
High 75, low 48

     My task for the next 4 days is to help Musky Joe Flater, a 2017 inductee into The Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame, as he has several bear hunters in camp and in one way or another they are all my friends or soon would be.
   Joe Flater is not your typical guide, he rows/drifts down the Flambeau/ Chippewa rivers with no electronics in a 14-foot boat that has something like a 10 hsp motor on it for the slack water. Joe knows every musky in the river and simply put is a walking, talking barrel of hunting and fishing fun that also enjoys an occasional barley pop.
   Today, I met "Big Jay" Kuchenski, who sets up large scale venues in downtown Milwaukee as far as the freight and set up in the building goes. Jay, as I would find out over the next few days really wants to see his first bear and hopefully make some meat and with respect, put its hide on his wall. In Big Jay’s off time he is very active with the Lake Tichigan Musky Club and a very avid whitetail hunter. On tonight's hunt, Jay got a really nice video of a wolf going through the forest but did not see a bear.
   Luke Iverson is an operating engineer with Local 139 out of Sun Prairie and would be sitting with his 19-year-old son Colton who would be on his first bear hunt. Colton is an apprentice electrician and loves to hunt and fish. These guys are from Waterford and also are very active in the Lake Tichigan Musky Club and are very skilled at harvesting big bucks as well.
   Tonight we harvested our first bear, and it was Colton that got it. What would be a 250-pound dressed sow, put a huge smile on a lot of people's face and in my eyes Colton was the perfect candidate for the first bear for the gang. For the next few days Colton never lost his smile and was either sturgeon fishing from a boat or wading in the river casting for smallies.
   Kudo's go out to Scott Stewart who lives in the area is a great friend to Joe and Angie and exceptional tracker, dragger and skinner. Scott, Colton and myself did the majority of the dragging and the part in a tag alder swamp was a challenge.
   This story never would have happened had it not been for Harry and Mary Flater moving a logging company's office building back in 1938 to what would become Flater's Resort.    Harold "Tubby" Flater was born in 1932 and would spend much of his childhood growing up in that building and learning from his parents how to run a resort. In 1953, Harry Flater was killed in a hunting accident while Tubby was being shipped to the Korean War. Tubby was sent home and took over the resort with his wife Joann. Tubby would become a legendary guide in the area and with Joann raised Jim, Joe and Jane Flater.
   Joe Flater took over Flater's Resort and in the same building would raise three sons, Matt, Andy and Austin. Like their father, grandfather and great grandfather these boys, who are all my friends as well, would become go for it outdoorsmen and really fun people.
   Tubby lost Joann back in 2017 and remained a huge part of the resort as he was an avid biker, utv explorer and most importantly a man that everyone loved to see in the tavern as he was fun and really enjoyed playing cribbage. On July 13th after what in any persons vision is a great run, Harold "Tubby" Flaters heart said it had, had enough and a great man was blessed with being able to spend the rest of eternity with his bride.
   That my friends is what I call a great run for a lot of really good people!

   Sunset

An Outdoorsman's Journal