Suggestions for baiting

[jwhawkridge]

This is my first year with a bear license burning a hole in my pocket and my father-in-law is going to help me with my first bait setup. We're planning on starting this weekend, I know it's late already but it's when we have time. Here's what we're planning:

We're going to dig a small pit and cover with logs.

Up to and a little after opener - sweets - pie filling, frosting, marshmallows, apples, fryer grease.

A week or two past opener - cracked corn, oats, molasses - and any leftover sweets and grease.

We're planning on putting apples in burlap and hanging them (and probably putting them in the bait too) and using smudge pots with honey, bacon and marshmallows in them.

I'm just wondering if anyone has any suggestions, ideas, or thoughts on these strategies. One other question: are tires legal to put bait in???

[CANOPY SAM]

JW. You've got a good base plan. There's lots and lots of discussion on this topic in threads already posted. I'd back up and read all the discussions related to bear hunting under the Deer-Bear-Elk-Moose heading.

Anything placed at your bait station used for baiting must be bio-degradable. Tires are not allowed.

Good luck.

[nik]

All that stuff sounds like good bait. I would probably pass on digging a hole. Especially with all the rain we have been getting this year. Once your bait gets all wet and soggy, the bears could turn off. Just find some good heavy logs to put on top of the bait. Keep it fresh and replenished and you should have good luck.

[charliepete]

I'm wit nik...skip the hole. No need to get soggy bait. I personally don't like to switching bait up mid way through. What was working early works late. If you get them coming on sweets, keep feeding sweets. If your going to feed a bit of everyting, do it right from the beginning.

[archeral566]

like the rest have said keep heavy logs on top of bait to keep some of this rain off it, you could also set up under pine trees if available to the keep the rain away some to. for the baiting keep the scent down, i cant say this enough personaly i wear a full rainsuit with the hood up wwith rubber gloves taped on and have pants tucked into the knee high rubber boots. if those bears smell any new scent around the bait they will become nocturnal on your bait so keep scent down espcialy if you want a nicer bear.

[jwhawkridge]

Great ideas guys thanks!

Got my fryer grease from a local Dairy Queen (they were awesome about it!).

Got 100 lbs of corn/oats/molasses from the Buffalo country store - along with it 5 gallons of liquid molasses - great prices, would recommend them.

Found a local guy in Howard Lake that has bait - frosting, pie filling, chocolate, caramel, gummi bears, granola - his prices are good too! If anyone in the west metro (or anywhere else) wants his contact info let me know.

And to top it all off I figured out why I was off on my aiming at 30 yards with the bow. Ursus americanus, watch out!

[Boar]

jw,get that grease up in the wind currents, spread it all over. Get your scent going, up in trees throw it up on trees with a scoop or small can. do this every time you bait. Also at this stage in the game I'd personally would do some cooking, bring in a camp stove or turkey fryer an a pot, cook up some grease or molassas with some what ever, honey cherry jellow mix, an let that stuff cook to smoke, let it cook while you st up a stand, cut shooting lanes, logs for a crib ect. you have time to cook so do so. if it smokes thats better, honey an grease is good to, in the burlap stuff it with bread an soak it in the stew, then hang it. get your scent air borne. good luck boar, Just dont burn anything down, be careful. Baor

[Matt Breuer]

If you don't want to run a burn, soak your burlap in liquid smoke or anise. Stuff stinks good, and carries. If you run a burn, search for a coffee can burner technique. They're easy to make, and much more portable.

[Boar]

I agrees MB, it's just a reaaly quick a effective way to open a site it's take 3/4 less time getting scent in to the area than waitting for a sterno or charcoal to heat up a mix. camp stoves fit in a pack pack an aint that inconvenient to carry in amoungtst all the other stuff specially if you have help, .2 cents of mine. Later baor

[jwhawkridge]

Woohoo! We have bear sign! We started our baits on Saturday afternoon and by noon today two of the three where hit! We used our grains, blueberry pie filling, molasses, gummi bears, fryer grease, and liquid smoke. The must have liked something! The first one that was hit was leveled: they ate everything but some of the grain and we found scat within 20 yards! Some of the logs where thrown 10 feet away! The second bait was hit good too: the only thing they didn't seem to like on that one was the molasses: they ate almost everything else. We reloaded and are going up again this weekend! ARGHHH!

Can't some soon enough!

Boar - I threw grease all over the trees in the area - have to think that got on the wind some! Didn't do a burn, at this point I might not have to!

Matt - We had an OLD burlap bag and i hit that with the grease - there was bear fur on the tree that the bag was in!

[jwhawkridge]

Got my first bear! This boy came it at almost 7 PM on the 3rd. Not the biggest boar ever but I more than happy to have taken one my first year!!!

[jwhawkridge]

[lakeshoremunster]

congrats man

[Boar]

Nice job hawkridge, nothing wrong with that, it's all about the hunt an adventure in the greatist sport in my mind, I've taken big an ive taken small an it's always a rush, congratulations! Boar

[chubkiller]

Just an observation but is the bear a yearling? cant really tell good from the pic. My son saw a sow and cub last weekend but that was it for the tree of us, will try again this weekend.

[jwhawkridge]

killer - yeah, we thought we was a yearling, probably about 1 and a half years old.

UPDATE: my father-in-law got his last night. He's up there alone and it took an hour and a half to get his boar loaded - he said it weighed 406. Big ol pig! Will post pics when I get some!

[CANOPY SAM]

There you go, JW. Not too tough. Congrats.

Look forward to seeing that 406!