Bear Baiting

[Labby]

I am looking for someone to tend to our baits a couple times a week during the upcoming season. What is the DNR ruling on this? Do you need to be a licensed guide? I want to do the majority of the baiting but thought my percentage of hits would increase with more frequent baiting. I will be hunting around the Northome area.

Any thoughts

[Nightcrawler]

you do not have to be licensed guide to bait for anyone. the person (s)baiting for you must have their name and drivers license number on the sign by the bait. if you think you will have a problem put yours too. good luck

[lichen fox]

I think if I read it correctly...you can have someone else...(your agent) run your baits for you as long as that person has "your" DNR # as it appears on your hunting license along with your name & address with them when they are checking your baits for you...

[Nightcrawler]

it is legal to bait year around for photos and watching.but can't hunt that bait need no dnr #.

you are right also, works both ways if you read further on.

[Olfster]

I know everyone knows this but a quick reminder, if you compensate someone for baiting for you they must have a guide license. Several years ago I heard of someone caught for doing this where we hunt. The officers are very good at getting people to trip up when questioning them about who is doing what for who, it is their job. The group I hunt with takes turns starting and tending the baits. Makes it easier to make only three round trip twelve hour drives and not five or six. I don't know if we could manage to hunt if it were not for being able to group in the lottery. I also think it is awesome that you are able to bait year round for photography and just viewing. Most of the excitement for me is seeing that black blob walk out from nowhere. A very magical experience.

[bogwalker]

it is legal to bait year around for photos and watching.but can't hunt that bait need no dnr #.

you are right also, works both ways if you read further on.

It is not baiting until you establish your bait station posting it with required info. Feeding bears at other times of the year can be considered littering and is a violation of state statute. Also hunters are restricted to 3 bait stations beginning 2009 and you must be drawn for and purchase your bear license before you can establish a bait station. No more test baits before buying your license.

[lichen fox]

Bogwalker...where did you get the info on "3 baits" per hunter for '09????

[bogwalker]

A D.N.R. rep. at the bear guides assoc. meeting.

[lichen fox]

Lou? is this true?

[Brownie77]

So than the guuides will be going out of buisness.

[lichen fox]

I emailed Lou...here's his reply...

Hi Bob,

He's wrong. There is no restriction on the number of baits. It's in the works but has not been implemented yet. My guess is he confused what's being proposed and what has been implemented. That help?

Lou

Lou Cornicelli

Big Game Program Coordinator

Minnesota Dept. Natural Resources

500 Lafayette Rd.

St. Paul, MN 55155

651-259-5198

[bogwalker]

So than the guuides will be going out of buisness.

No. When (If) it passes the guide can place 3-baits per hunter.

[glenn57]

bogwalker, i take it you guide bearhunts? we are up by spring lake.

[bogwalker]

I do research on mature boars. Very little is known about them. Almost all research is done on sows and their cubs. My guiding is limited to 1-3 hunters per year.

[Brownie77]

3 baits per hunter, times the 4 guys I go with is 12 baits, 6 more than we normaly use, I do not see how this will effect anything.

[lichen fox]

I hunt with just one other person and we normally start with 16 baits (bags) and then by the time we actually start hunting we've weeded it down to about 12 active baits, eliminating late hitters, small bears, and those that were not hit...I could maybe live with....3 "active" baits per hunter...but...what if you set out your three baits and none were hit...are you done?... or, can you unregister those and start over? Another scenario...a few years back we had a tornado go through our area during the first week of the season...we were unable to get to about 5 of our baits for two weeks because of the debri on the roads and in the woods...when we finaly got back to them 4 of them were so trashed by the storm that they were unhuntable...another time, about a week into the season, they decided to replace a major bridge on one of the roads we traveled...we could still get to our baits, but, it meant driving an extra 60 miles out of our way each time we checked baits...we pulled them..so if any of those things happen, and your three baits were gone...could you start over? Or does your hunting season end if you have no hits on your first three baits or they are wiped out by nasty weather...road construction...logging...etc.? I mentioned all the above in the public comment period on this possible new rule...I sure hope they take some of these factors into account when writing the new rule... Lou said that it got put on the back burner and they probably won't be done with the final version for at least a year... I bowhunt bears and what I like about having several baits is, that if you set enough baits for each wind diriction, you always have something to hunt on the days your run your baits... when you put on 200 or more miles three times a week to check baits it's nice to be able to hunt while your out there and not just drive home because you have a totally wrong wind...I know, that for "some bears" the human scent makes no difference... but, how do you know until you get the bear to come in on a bad wind or you totaly spook him? Anyway, it will probably go into effect next year or the year after...

[bogwalker]

I am in favor of limiting the number of bait sites a hunter is allowed to establish. There are so many hunters who dump bait all over the place hoping the they will get lucky and find a bear somewhere. It is getting tough to find a spot to start or keep a bait site where there are not other baits nearby. Worse yet are the late comers who look for a trail to an active bait so they can set up nearby. It takes a certain amount of skill to locate, attract, hold and harvest a mature bear. Those who can do this are not just hunters they are sportsmen.

[lichen fox]

Limiting the number of baits per hunter will in no way cut down on the "late comers" that look for active baits and try to set up close by...those people will still do that...I agree, that it can get crowded in certain spots every year...normally in our area, especially as gas prices have risen these areas are on the "edges" of the forest...most hunters go in no more than 10 miles...in the area we hunt this has left a huge opening in the middle of the forest where we can set up our baits in a 100 mile loop and the only place we see any amount of compitition is on the edges...We don't start baiting until season opens, because my partner doesn't get back from his lakehome until Sept 1....since we started doing that, we have been able to see where everyone else is and get as far away from them as possible...there's nothing worse than a bear that is running 2, 3, 4, or 5 baits...you never know when or where they'll show up...Another advantage we've noticed is that by the time we are ready to hunt...usually about a week or two into the season...50 to 70% of the other hunters have either got thier bear or run out of vacation time...Since we started hunting later in the season we have had more oportunities to watch and pass on average bears and we have harvested more mature bears every year...I've bear hunted for over 20 years and harvested 18 bears in MN...as for "skill"...unfortunatly, the lottery system does not guarantee that the "seasoned" hunters will get drawn every year...bear hunting has the highest start-up - quit ratio of probably any speicies...there's alot of rookies out there every year...Like I said, I can probably live with 3 baits as long as I can "move" those baits if they are not productive or only hold a small bears or those with cubs...In the quota area I hunt 3 baits wouldn't be a problem...but on years I don't get drawn and hunt no-quota, it would sure be a drag to set up 3 baits and not have a mature bear on one...and then not be able to change locations...that would be unacceptable.

[bwana_d]

My hunting partner and I have only been bear hunting for 10 years and we have been relatively successful. We have baited and hunted the Bena area – it was basically over run by guides and other large groups. We started hunting the Orr area, not as bad, but they use to have a problem with unlicensed guides, a few got busted and that seems to have eliminated some of the competition.

I am not sure what can be done to improve the situation, we use the Nordberg method for baiting, log box and lots of bait with each charge (150 – 200 lbs), enough to hold for 3 – 5 days. It is all we can do to bait 4 bits in a day, especially where we have to all it in a long distance by hand. The guides or locals I have seen tend to use a little bait in many (20+) locations and bait every day.

In the past we could bait and buy a license if we had active pits, now with having to buy a license first, we would prefer to bait multiple locations with little bait, then establish our typical pit.

Limiting the number of baits sites would make this a challenge; I suppose it will tend to force people to group up so a group can bait more locations.

I noticed in the “Proposed Permanent Rules Relating to Game and Fish” that we can buy a license for both quota and non-quota areas. Not sure if most people realize that or not, but that is the way it is worded. The next question is, how many sites can you have in a quota area, verses a non-quota area, verses at the same time.

This year we are trying something new, we are hunting in the BWCA for bear. Actually, scouting and practicing for when we hopefully get drawn for a moose. Since we can not establish a bait site, we are going to be just like the late comers that show up and only do a honey burn by someone’s pit. It will be interesting to see how effective honey and chocolate burns are where there is nothing else going on.

[bogwalker]

The B.W.C.A. hunt sounds like a blast. Good luck, I hope to hear how you do.

[roosterslayer]

I just got done looking at the regs and there isn't a thing in there about a three bait limit per person. i can promise that i will have at a minimum of 5-10 bait for myself until i find which one are being hit by big bear on a consistant schedule

[Here-Kitty-Kitty]

Oh boy 5-10 lol

[Muthagoose]

Quote:

we are going to be just like the late comers that show up and only do a honey burn by someone’s pit.

Its the main reason why I hunt private now.. To many lazy people...........

[Kyle]

How importants is grease? I was planning on using it, but no one is willing to give it away because they sell it to a company that pumps it for them. Is it imperative to use it?

[HNTNBUX]

It helps alot with spreading the scent of your bait. The bears, coons, etc, step in the grease and leave a scent trail when they leave which could lead other bears to your bait. The more bears coming to your bait the earlier the bears should come in to beat the other bears and hopefully not be nocturnal.

I would get some if you can.