Bear Bait

[bogwalker]

When I started bear hunting I asked an old timer the same question. He told me he started each bait site by leaving one of his sweaty t-shirts hanging on a tree by the bait. I refused to believe him at the time.

[Boar]

I dont bother, I leave work an head out to bait an I work in a welding shop, how sweaty is that, Bear get really accustom to the smell that feeds them, But i like to hunt as scent free as possible. And agrees with the sweaty shirt in the tree, I also hag a rag to spray with the same bug dope ebvery time, or i srpya at the site. Never change bug dope. Same thing everytime all the time. routine routine routine. Dont change the play in the middle of the game. baor

[jay83196]

Great info, just curious how many of you worry about scent baiting and then hunting. Also do you guys use commercial attractants, bear scents etc? Do they have bear in heat...lol

[bogwalker]

The only thing I have tested as far as scent goes that stopped bear from hitting a bait was rifle bore cleaning patches. These were lightly soiled. This was not a heavily hit site to start with but the reaction was so quick and final that I have not tested patches at other sites. Some hunters urinate around their sites believing this conditions bear to one of the strongest odors from the human body. On the rare occasion when people are killed and eaten by Black Bear, the victims are usually eviscerated, proof that our worst odor smells like a good meal to predatory Black Bear.

[jay83196]

I was more looking for something to attract them, especially once I first set it up to draw them in..

[bogwalker]

Pretty much any food that smells sweet and strong. A lot of hunters use grease from bacon, fish, pastries etc. Use it liberally. I put it on the ground around the crib but not on the crib. Crib logs get slippery enough as the season goes on. When you hit on something that works stay with it for the season.

[Random guy]

See now I won't touch greaase due to the mess, meat due to the wolves and fish due to the fact I don't need clients vomiting from the smell when they walk up to the bait. I go sweet and strong and go big time with it. We have a secret mix that is sticky as heck and clings to the trees trunks or stumps around the bait. This keeps my bait logs cleand and non sticky/slimy. Nothing I hate more then when a client dumps carmel or some other product they snuck in on the bait. Not only will the change affect the bear but it makes one heck of a sticky mess on logs I need to handle everyday.

We tried grease before and does work but we also had it on our steering wheels, ATV grips, entryway floor, shop floor, truck carpet and anything else we came close to. It works a little to good for us. Not to mention when I run baits it is a high speed run and gun operation as I have lots of baits over a huge territory. Sometimes accidents happen such as bucket lids coming off when using the ATV; I would much rather get hit in the back with a dohnut then a gallon of used cooking oil.

[lichen fox]

I hear you Jonny! I once hit an unexpected bump at quite a high speed and had the lid fly off an entire 5 gallon bucket of grease in the back of my pick-up! It was literally dripping from the inside of my topper...running out the endgate....what a mess....I was sure I was going to attract every bear east of Fourtown to Grygla as it was still running out of my endgate when we stopped to fill-up gas there....We still use alot of grease but not on the logs...we mainly mix it with our secret base mixture...

[CANOPY SAM]

I've spent quite a bit of time wondering the same thing about Blackpowder rifle cleaning products, and their smell. Or even the smell of a BP rifle that's been discharged, and not cleaned overly well. A BP rifle is a pretty smelly gun, and I'm pretty sure a smart bear will pick out that smell from a good ways off if it's something they're not accustomed to.

Ditto on the grease. Although, a number of years back I gathered grease from a Greek Pita booth at the county fair. That grease, from "logs of procesed lamb" smelled so good I wanted to eat it! It was a bear magnet!

I think that the unique smelling sites, as mentioned earlier, are definately a draw for bear, at least for a while.

I also agree completely with the big boars covering huge territories. I had a monster roll thru during a stretch of rainy, stormy weather. I didn't hunt cause I figured nothing would be moving in 30 mile per hour winds, and heavy rain. By the time I returned to stand this pig had cleaned me out and moved on - without ever returning.

[Boar]

Jay, they actually have a sow in hear lure, made by the makers of bear bomb. Dont think it'll do alot of good in the fall though. I did mentioned to you before about the products made by bear scents, I have had good success with their stuff an would stick with those. Google bears scents, one word. Boar

[JeffB]

Last time I went bear hunting we had all the bait in 5 gal buckets with lids in the back of my pickup at the cabin. We went to sleep and woke up to see buckets everywhere but in the pick up. Some were drug 100 yds into the woods but every one of them were opened. I would have liked to see how many bears hit us that night.

[Matt Breuer]

I didn't read every word in every post in the thread, so I apologize if I repeat anything. Just want to toss in my .02.

Fish - I hang 1 biodegradable bag from a tree about 30 yards from the bait filled with fish guts, and covered in anise. It smells great the first day, then it stinks up to high heaven for the rest of the week. Once the beetles have it, the smell is gone. It's a great attractant, and there's no leftover smell.

Bait - We too are heavy hitters on the sweets. I've shot 2 bears now with sweet rolls in their mouths. Sure makes taking the teeth out an easy task! We use no meat in our baits whatsoever, aside from a possible piece of sausage or pepperoni that may sneak in on a piece of leftover pizza. Lots of bread, some molasses, corn, oats, and tons of pastries. Grease isn't a favorite of ours, but it sure works well as a spreader. We utilize it early on. Use roughly 10 gallons liquid on each station per year max. Candy is the secret ingredient. Gummy bears, licorice, chocolate covered bunnies, fruit snacks, yummy!

Scent - Liquid smoke and anise. We use liquid smoke as a cover scent as well. Mix 50/50 with water in a spray bottle and spray it every once in awhile while up in the stand. Amazing how strong that stuff is.

Tonnage - We put roughly 5 bags of bread and a 5 gallon pail of mix on every bait, every day. Once it's established we'll often double it. It's common on all 400 acres we have to have multiple bears at each site. Less common at our public land sites, which get baited much less heavily.

Money - Get as much stuff for free or for $1 as you can. Day old bread is free at some places, and it's $1-$5 per bag at others. I guess I prefer to have a ton of cheap stuff over a little bit of spendy stuff. I haven't spent a dime yet this year, and I've already got roughly 300lbs.

[friz]

Has anybody ever used corn gluten ?(its a by-product from corn syrup and ethanol plants) Brother uses it as a cattle food supplement and they love it. Has a kindof sweet/fermented smell to it. Was thinking of giving it a whirl this year unless someone has had a bad experience with it. Thanks to all for sharing their tricks, never know when a new idea my be the differance between bear roast or leftover bait.........

[Boar]

That might be worth a try, any feed store have it? Is it a syurp type? Boar

[friz]

boar,

Brother gets it directly from processing plant by the semi-load. Its ground up pretty fine and has the texture like a real coarse ground corn meal with a little bit of moisture in it. Smells a little bit like corn silage if you know what thats like. Think I'll run 1 bait with it just for fun......

[Boar]

Yup knoow all about silage, grew up with dairy cows back in the day, just a little kid, a huge pile of silage was my play ground. We use to dump silage in front of cows in stantions an pour molasas over it, that might be worth a try. Bear can quickly devouer a small corn feild, I bet theyd eat that stuf up. Boar