baiting frequency??

[jay83196]

It's been touched on a little on the other topics but I'm wondering how often to bait. This year I can do it daily if need be. Is it better to keep them fed daily or let them go a day or two here and there with empty crib? Or just not fill it so much at a time? Last year I could only do it every few days so I didn't have the option. I'm curious those of you that bait a lot what you think keeps them interested most? And do you change it up before season opens or do any variations of anything? Thanks I enjoy learning about this from you guys.

[mudslinger64]

i set up a bunch of different stations and the ones that start getting hits i bait everyday at the same time everyday usually late afternoon and abandon the ones that haven't been touched.when you bait bang your buckets when you are emptying them kinda like ringing the dinner bell for them.don't worry about your scent at all wear old clothes that have a lot of your scent on them,you want them to associate your scent with food then they wont get spooked from you when you are on stand,i also don't bring anyone new into my sites just in case their scent might spook the bears.keep your eyes open when you are baiting,the bears know you are there and a lot of times will be just a little ways out watching you so try to make your run in 1 trip because when you go out to get more bait the bear may be on it by the time you get back in and you dont want to chase it off your bait,dont want to make them nocturnal.

[Boar]

Good points mudslinger, you gonna try to tp the one last year? what a monster. Once you get hit, bait everyday, dont change anything bears can be like kids they like routine, at times you might feel the need to add more or less depending hwats lift in the crib, indicators will be of course if some left cut back a little, if they are digging a hole trying to get every last morsel an suck up grease then give more. If your asking for variation in types to bait, I guesse I like save the really good stuff till just before hunting, syrups, marshmellows, Sams club can have a good deal on amounts of honey an, maybe just juice it up some prior to hunting to get them salavating a little more. A mature boar wants his goodies everyday an has an will move on if there not there when he comes in especially if you have competeing bait sites. Muds point on extra people is an important one. If you plan on having some one drop you off to hunt, an do the two people in one person out trick cause bear cant count, then you need to have this person help you when baiting so the bear get used to his scent to. Remember unfamiliar scvents will an do spook bear. Boar

[bogwalker]

If you change or add different items (baits or scents etc.) after you establish a bait site you could lose some or all of the bears that have been hitting that bait. Depending on location, some might come back but they might abandon the site for the season. Large boars are my primary research group and they will abandon a site for seemingly insignificant reasons that the hunter may have no idea he/she has made. The big boars will very rarely allow you a second chance. They will often times abandon the site permanently.

[jay83196]

So I should use the same baits each time, adding more or less depending on how much they eat and do it daily or fill every time they empty it. If I get something new I shouldn't use it then?

[bogwalker]

Jay, I have been trying to write a short answer to your question but I can't do it without running on about variables and exceptions. Some day I will fill a whole chapter with this subject. For now I will just say "yes".

[mudslinger64]

once you have a bait get hit you really don't need to try anything new with it,throw everything at them at first the bear might eat everything you have in your pit or it might eat everything but 1 or 2 items then you can eliminate them and ad more of say doughnuts or whatever they are eating.

Boar,i am going to see if i can smoke that big blonde bear this year.i only saw it once last year but who knows this year is a new year and i didn't hear of anyone getting him last year,so my fingers are crossed.

[jay83196]

Thanks guys, appreciate the help do you guys do bacon or honey burns? And do you think 3-4 different baits are enough, I worry I don't have great bait or enough variety...

[Boar]

Quit worrying jay, the bait youve list is good stuff, youll do fine. Honey an bacon burns, Been waiting for this one. Two times I'll do a burn, One, when opening a site, I like to do a huge honey burn, I'll bring in a turkey fryer an dump in a as much honey as I have an a bunch of cherrry jellp mix an let burn an smoke under a canopy of a small tree while i set up a stand an cut crib logs. The sticky smoke will adhear to the foliage an for days will drift on the wind. The only other time ill do a burn is when I have trouble getting a bear to show himself while on stand, kinda a last resort. The more ya goof around at a site withdoing burns the less effctive they can become. I'll use bacon grease for the last resort burn. Some build coffee can bueners an boil a soup can full of grease over a sterno set in side a metel coffee can an a grid of wire hangers to hold the soup can. Some light a hanfuld of charcoal, some just heat a can of grease with a torch an climb into stand. How ever you do it make sure the ground around you is clear of leaves an brush that can catch on fire, you dont want ruin a hunt by having to put out a fire. Rake away a good area for this. My main advise would be to use a burn either to open a site or a last resort. I myself use just doughtnust an grease an thro in a littel candy or dogfood or meat scrapes, but my staple is the pasteries. Just relax youll do fine. When I start getting regular hits an the camera shows daytime feeders, I feel I already won. Boar

[Boar]

Oh yea some also use unscented candles to burn but the wind can really cause problems, an yes the sterno chemical smell an charcoal burning smell are exceptions to the rule, the bacon will over rule these smells an besides at this point I figure I have nothing to lose. Boar

[jay83196]

Thanks boar, I had them coming at 3 sites last year doing a lot of this didn't do burns regular maybe 20% of the time and mixed my bait up more but they were coming from bait start then shut down days before opener...trying to avoid that again.

[Boar]

Sounds like you had acorns a droping or berries ripen, thats very comon. Best thing you can do is keep at it, check every two day if they stop coming in. get rid of moldy bait, put in new, freshen up with grease or other scent if you use it, just keep going, an they'll come back after natural forage has been depleted. Boar

[jay83196]

Yeah maybe, my buddies kept going in the same area (few miles away) between that and other hunter pressure your probably right. when do the acorns and berries become issue and for how long, it varies yearly I imagine?