Author Topic: Bear Baiting (Read 1831 times)

JMCrane · « **on:** April 24, 2003, 09:52:48 AM »

I welcome baiting tips for spring black bear from experienced sucessfull bear hunters. Most baits are legal here. Exceptions are game animals or fish or any part of same. I have put out 50LB molasses soaked grain and oats, expired strawberries, diced melon, avacados, apples. I also put out canned tuna flavored cat food. Lastly, I burned molasses. I poured the remaining molasses all over trees close to the site. It has been a week. No evidence of a hit yet. I know there are many bears in the area. The grain has been out a week, everything else 2 days. Thanks

ihookem · « **Reply #1 on:** April 24, 2003, 03:01:23 PM »

What state are you baiting in?

talon · « **Reply #2 on:** April 24, 2003, 03:44:14 PM »

It's best to place the bait on a known bear trail in an area that is fairly dence and dark. Bears like to stay hidden when they know humans are about, and 95% of the time they know you are somewhere near, if you are there. It's best (critical) to have the same person refill/check the bait. It may be a while, a week perhaps, before a bear first comes into the bait after it notices a 'new person' smell. If the same fellow baits, often Mr. Bear comes in for his grub before the baiter is out of sight! They get use to you... and only you! Bears also love grease and sugar. You can mix up these items (and those you mentioned) with one of those very cheap 50# white sacks that has "DOG FOOD" in big black letters on it. They will not touch rotten food unless they are really starved.

Kathy-Fish River Lodge · « **Reply #3 on:** April 25, 2003, 09:33:48 AM »

All the stuff you put out is great when the bear has found the bait site. But you need to get him to find it. I use chicken. Use an old onion bag or a paid of your wife/girlfriends old nylons and put some chicken legs in it and put them high in a tree. Nothing stinks and spreads the scent like chicken. When the bear finds the site he can then enjoy the sweats. Good luck to you.

freddogs · « **Reply #4 on:** April 25, 2003, 11:35:16 AM »

liquid smoke is a popular attractant around here.Honey burns work too. Where they are legal. Bears should like what you have out when they find it. Maybe try a few more locations.

Bear · « **Reply #5 on:** April 25, 2003, 11:42:00 AM »

Not sure which of the three I use bring them in but I use popcorn, liquid smoke and bacon grease. I find it easier to pop the corn at the site then to try and haul the bulk.

JMCrane · « **Reply #6 on:** April 25, 2003, 03:07:37 PM »

Thanks for all the tips. I'm heading up in the morning with 50LB generic dog chow to add to the pile. I will burn molasses again and also do it each time before I get into the stand. It will have been 4 days since the major bait was placed. I have a friend that has already had several hits. The hunt is in Idaho for the person that asked.

talon · « **Reply #7 on:** April 25, 2003, 04:13:30 PM »

JM, let us know how you did. Here in Minnesota 99.9% of the bear hunters hunt over bait. Usually the baits are about 1 mile apart, but even then the general rule is "the first to get his bait out is the one to have all the bears in the area come to his". Once a bear can count on food being there, it'll often hault its wide ranging search and concentrates on the sure thing. This means that late baiters have a disadvantage, especially on the older, bigger, and lazy bears. As far as getting bait goes, the guides here get it by the ton: factory reject/floor sweepings, and recalled, cookies, candies, donut fillings, cerial (did you know some breakfast serial is 60% suger?), and so forth. [[For oil and grease, it costs money (competition from the cooking oil recycle people have driven up the cost of Fast Food Company's 3 week old stale oil these days)]]. The guides get the food by the 55 gal drum fulls surprisenly inexpensively: often it costs more to go get it at the factory than the 6 to 8 drumfulls cost.

Kathy-Fish River Lodge · « **Reply #8 on:** April 28, 2003, 05:17:56 AM »

Follow-up. On the oil. Check in with the corner store that has take out, fried chicken, etc. They just love to have someone take away the old grease. Buy some big containers and take it once a month. That way the owner is happy and so are the bear.

Del · « **Reply #9 on:** April 28, 2003, 06:28:44 AM »

I've run a bear bait station and have helped a couple friends keep theirs baited, this is a lot of work if you want to do it right, and needs to be done frequently.

I've found that bears go for the "sweet treats" first!! One of your local bakers and butchers should be your "good friend". Get all the throw away dougnuts you can, or if you have to buy a bunch of the "day old" dougnuts. Also, fresh meat trimmings are great, black bears love fresher meat. From what I've seen bears will go for the sweets first!! Once had a bear eat all the dougnut holes and jam, then started smelling around untill she found the empty jam can about ten yards away up on a broken down stump, and licked that clean, then went back to the barrel to see what else was on the menu.

Baiting can be a lot of work, but is also a lot of fun to just watch the bears even if it's not one you want to harvest. Watch how & where they come in, watch the body language for any signals that other animals (bigger bears) might be around. If you have a small / medium bear on the bait and they suddenly get alert or smell the air then take off, this usually means that another bigger bear is in the area. Get ready, be quiet, and move as little and as slow as you can - big old bears didn't get that way being stupid! Good luck and have fun!

Del

JMCrane · « **Reply #10 on:** April 29, 2003, 03:16:31 AM »

Well I went up yesterday te put out more bait. I was very surprised to see that bear had been living at the site. There were now beds just yards from the bait. Droppings everywhere and of all different sizes. This is what I learned. The don't like oranges, limes, lenons, bananas or tomatoes. The ate all the avacados, strawberries and 70 lbs of apples. They also ate almost all of the grain mix ( I put out 50 lbs more mix and 20 lb dog food). I am going up today with more apples and avacado's. I also walked to a finger off the hill my stand is on and at about 600 yds was a huge blond bear. I had found some blond fur on a stick in my bait. I am guessing that the bear had been in my bait pile. The level of activity was unbelievable. I took many photos and can't wait to get there today. The forcast is not good ( rain) and at 5000 ft probably snow.

Lawdog · « **Reply #11 on:** May 16, 2003, 02:28:00 PM »

Wondering what those of you that use bait for hunting bears think of the following;

Quote

A Congressional hearing is being scheduled for legislation that would ban baited bear hunting on federal land. The U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance (USSA) says sportsmen should contact their congressmen and encourage them to oppose the bill.
The tentative date for the hearing on House Resolution 1472, introduced by U.S. Democratic Rep. Jim Moran and U.S. Republican Rep. Elton Gallegly is June 12 before the Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife, and Oceans of the House Resources Committee.

For more information, contact the USSA at (614) 888-4868

Although I don't hunt bears this way I believe that it's a persons choice and should not be legislated by a bunch of non hunting idiots in D.C. Lawdog

JMCrane · « **Reply #12 on:** May 18, 2003, 05:04:25 PM »

I started this post some time ago. I ran bait to my site the first time on April 17th and about every 2nd or 3rd day at the latest. I had it hit hard on the 3rd trip and every day there after. I took 60-90 lbs each trip. More and more bears started showing up and they would clean it out. I missed a bear about a week ago and think I hit a limb. I shot a scoped TC in 300 wm. After that I started taking mu 45-70 guide gun with williams fool proof peep. Night before last I took a young female cinammon. Baiting bear was hard work but very rewarding. If it were not for the neighbor being the grocery store produce manager it would have been very tough to get the volume of food the bears ate. Each trip was 2 hours each way so it took a long time. I will do this again and learned much. On the last night I burned about a pint of molasses with a torch and ladel. That took about 20 min but produced tons of sweet smoke. I got into my tree and about 3 hours later she came in. I have had people tell me it's not fair to use bait I simply ask them if they fish and they say "your right". I would post pics if I knew how.

talon · « **Reply #13 on:** May 19, 2003, 01:49:24 PM »

Congratulations. Color phased bears are sort of scarse in these parts (Northern Minnesota). About 5% are other than black. But, that was a lot of bait you hauled. It worked, and no one can argue with that. But I usually use about 5-8# a day. But, then again, I check the location every day. As to the fairness of baiting, it's the only option in these parts: Fair chase is impossible in these heavy alder and spruce swamps where the average field of view is 5 feet in any direction unless you've cut brush. And Minnesota doesn't allow dogs. I think the real purpose of the proposed law(no baiting on federal lands) is just another step in doing away with hunting so that then doing away with "guns" will be a bit easier.