Bear bait??

[CANOPY SAM]

Actually, I guess you could feed the bears bacon that's cured, but that's kind of expensive bear bait. If you've got the money it would be a good bait though.

Burning honey is another really good option. You can get burnt honey from most bee-keepers, but this too is a little cost prohibitive.

Hey, Hubercita. Where did you go? I didn't mean to step on your tail man. I'm still just blown away by the whole 4000 lbs of bait thing. I knew that I'd read somewhere about limited baiting. I was inquiring into Wisconsin's regs last year cause my brother-in-law had a really big bruin on his land in the central part of the state.

I have read the regs, and do my best to comply with them. My tirade was probably inappropriate, and I apologize for including you in it. I just get very frustrated with all the cheating that goes on in hunting and fishing these days - not that I'm suggesting you cheat. It was the other infractions that I was ranting about. I read Outdoor News Cuffs and Collars every week, and I'm just amazed at how many people break the law - and these are just the ones that get caught! It really gets me that so many people abuse our wonderful resources.

Anyway, I hope that I didn't offend you. I'd appreciate your wisdom and feedback on some of the other discussions we've been having here.

[Boar]

Yea experimenting with the heat is most important, the last thing you want to do is start a grease fire, but also so if the grease is popping an a bear puts his nose in the pot before you get a shot, hot grease on the nose is bad, game over, thank you for feeding me, please try again. Take a coffe can drill air holes enough for oxygen to reach the fuel source, if you use a candle (uncented) to many holes will blow out the candle in a wind. take a wire hanger an clip into pieces so you can insert them through holes near the top of the can, this forms a holding platfrom for a smaller can to be heated with grease or burnt honey or yes muffin mix, by the way thats my favorite story, If you give a boar a muffin. I made one at work that strapes to a tree, has a door with exhaust hole an adjustable tray hieghts for high or low elevations. Holy cow, now wonder why my house is falling apart an my grass is two feet tall.Anyway, I cook up the the bacon or sausage at home till I get a pint or so an bring the contraption to the site an fire away. Have fun. Being single sure would help this time of year would'nt it. Later boar

[Gordie]

hey guys I'm not big into the bear thing but a few friends are and a couple of them hunt the no quota zone and they both do about the same thing and it sounded like a really good idea they steal the kids super soaker (poor kid) and fills it with liquid smoke and sprays the trees down above the bait station. one guy says he waits untill the weekend before season starts the other acouple of days before and uses this instead of the bacon grease boil. both have had good success with this. hope this helps out.

[tealitup]

would anyone have a picture of a bacon grease burner that I could copy from? Sounds like I need to start making some bacon. (Hate bacon!)

I own some land in the middle of superior national forest that was owned by a finnish immigrant in 1901. He died and my family bought it for back taxes. Has been in my family ever since. The walls in the hunting shack have dates, times and names of every deer or moose ever shot.

Our driveway is about 2.5 miles long (driveway is terrible - 4x4 is lucky to get through).

My uncle shot a bear in 1952 - he says it was stalking him while he was sleeping ... No one since has hunted there. Oh, 22 miles to the north before you hit a road or house. 6 miles to the south, 8 miles to the west and 14 to the east before there is anything around. The area is 24.

No deer up there though.

[CANOPY SAM]

I don't know about pictures of a bacaon burner Teal. Maybe Boar can take a digital picture of his and put it on this thread? It's really pretty simple though.

Man that sounds like a great place to hunt bear. No wonder your seeing some big bruins. It also sounds really remote and hard to monitor your baits consistently. I'm still waiting to see your trail cam pics. I've never seen a trail cam picture of a bear.

[Swamp Scooter]

Hey Teal...

I am in your area. I can show you one. Drop me an e-mail (Contact Us Please)

You can also do a couple of other things to keep them off the bait at night. Kind of need to be there daily though. You can hang a radio above the bait and leave it on when you go in the afternoon and take the bait away. Then in the morning when you go and leave the bait turn the radio off and make noise. Walk around the perimeter of the bait area in the thick stuff to make sure you do not have a spy watching. If you have the radio going it has worked to keep them away at night. I have also heard of people hanging the big mylar balloons with the eye on it over the bait pit. it rattles and is shiny and might just keep him away until the daylight. Then you make it quiet and food friendly.

The burning thing. You can burn before the season when you drop the bait and then leave. But do not leave any bacon or honey product until the day of hunting. Then burn and also leave a cup of it for them. They will key on that first. They will have been drawn in by the burn but never found the treasure. When you hunt leave them the good stuff. When you leave take it out with you.

Or give me a call: 651-295-8217

[charliepete2]

No hard feelings Sam. I'm just a little quick to get defensive on the hunting ethics thing because I go to great efforts to comply with the game laws, and like many others am forced to compete with cheaters all the time. In my perspective cheating at hunting is like cheating at solitaire...you'll probably get away with it, but if you have any sense it takes all the fun out of the game.

I'm having fairly marginal success on my baits this year. 3 out of 6 baits that I put our were cleaned into the ground this weekend, one was picked at, and two weren't touched. The bait that was just touched up is on a county forest. Between setting it out and returning to check it, a logging operation has started in full tilt and they are cutting trees down within 5 feet of the bait. I thik I'll have to abandon it.

I put out another two baits in hopes that we'd get one more to hit so my buddy and I would both have 2 active baits for the hunting season. I finally put a cheapy trail cam out so we'll see what's going on.

[Fish to Win]

Every time i've check the bait it's been cleaned out ( not a crump left) but I have only been putting out 8-10 lbs of it and I hope that will help bring him out during the day hours- I left the photos in the trail camera and will check them this weekend when I go again- Thanks for all the advice on beating the nocturnal bears- I'll be in my garage for the next 3-4 days getting some kind of burn ready- I was thinking about boiling berry jello or something of that nature. Again I enjoy all of the aspects of bear hunting as it takes more than just grabbing a gun and walking into the woods. Good luck--

[seamonster1]

My baits are getting hammered. From 1 hr after I leave till 1 hr before I come back. Got cameras! Little freaked when the shadow line of me at the bait and the bear at the bait is not much different.

url=http://www.uploadfile.info]

[seamonster1]

Few more photos

2nd photo is same site as previous post but in AM next photo is 11AM with me at site- how much time has gone by since bear left and I came in?

[Swamp Scooter]

What is the white stuff at the bait? Also looks like there is a wrapper in one of them. Is the bait covered or just laid on the ground?

[seamonster1]

white stuff is tortilla shells/taco shells- absolutely NO nonbiodegrables left at site! Started hanging potato sacks(biodegradable) then just dump on ground once hit. Pretty sure the one site has multiple bears.

[Fish to Win]

WOW- it's odd seeing bear photos in the daytime vs. all mine being 10:00pm to 1:00am in the damb dark- I'm workin on it though- Good for you and good luck-

[Swamp Scooter]

Looks like they are liking the cheap bait and that is a good thing. Did not try and mean that there was anything there but it was not clear in the pic so I asked. Nice to see them during the day.

[CANOPY SAM]

Judging by the size of the leaves on the scrub around it, and the distance between the ears He/she isn't huge, but it's a decent bear. Cool pics! We've got some dried up tortillas in our bait piles too, but we've also got some meat grease drippings and some cake frosting mixed up in with it as well.

9 days to go!!! I would say it's getting pretty close to the time when we should start hitting the bait piles pretty hard. Maybe 4-5 more days and then the real goodies start coming out!

It sounds like so far people are seeing fewer bears than last year. This is strange. I would have expected exactly the opposite with the limited amount of natural forage available - or maybe there's more out there than we think? Hhhmmmmmm?

[seamonster1]

Canopy,

Just reading your earlier posts- you and i think alike. hint- the acorns started falling in my area a week ago. My sites are holding multiple bears with little in the way of scent- Guys on atvs cannot figure why the bears are not going better- since the natural berry crop is gone.

[Boar]

Howdy, been busy, nice to see everyone is getting along. Boy I need yous guys advise now. Sam we talked about this, but if anyone else had an Idea, please help. I HAVE NOT BEEN HIT YET!!! There I said it, boy do I feel better. I think I can move on now. Not one eentsie weentsie hit, just alot of weird bees an flying buzzing bugs. It's weird, doughnuts, burnt honey, blueberries an cream, fryer grease, dog food, stinky stuff, gunny sacks of dog food soaked in grease an burnt honey syrup. An nothing. This is why it called hunting an not killing. All I can think of is their in the corn fields until that dryies up for seed. Holding somewhere where they have food, water an cover. No natural forage. So, I'm pulling back to every 4-5 days till maybe some pressure moves them back into the river bottom. Any I deas will be most thoughtful. It just has me stumped, I have never not seen some sign of bear. Anyway later boar

[CANOPY SAM]

Hey buddy. Too bad about your baiting luck this year. Now your kind of going through what most of us experience - sporadic hunting opportunities. We're seeing very similar results, but haven't really started working the stations hard yet. We put out some pretty good stuff on Monday - we anticipate some good torn up sites this Saturday. Then we'll begin hitting it really hard!

Here's a couple of thoughts that come to mind. We already discussed test baiting in other areas. Set some little test baits, well covered and concealed (but strong smelling)around the corn crops, and also in some of the oak groves in that river bottom. There were some pretty impressive oaks in there if I'm not mistaken? The bears will be seeking out acorns in food poor areas.

Here's another little trick that's paid off in the past, but don't tell anyone, okay? Get a big potato (burlap) sack. Put in some hardened cooking grease chunks, and/or soak it really well with grease and other good stinking bear yummys. Really dripping! Now drag it behind your car, or behind you down the roads and trails that lead to your bait stations. Talk about a scent trail! Not only does this potentially lead a wandering bear to your bait station, but it leaves a scent trail that's really long, and will disperse scent for many miles around the area.

I was teasing my partner last Monday as he dragged a gallon bucket dripping with grease out of our bait station - he looked like a little kid dragging a little pull-toy behind him. I said we could get him one of those yellow duckies that quacks while you pull it along, soak it in bacon grease and let him drag it all over the woods! Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack, Quack.... remember, Yogi loved ducks!

It probably wouldn't hurt to do some serious, quick scouting in your area this year either. You might have to go to the bears, instead of waiting for them to come to you. I doubt any landowners up there would have a problem with you eliminating a bear on their land. You know pretty much everybody up there already, and there isn't much competition for bear within many miles.

Other than that, I'd bet your already doing everything right. It might just take more time this year. I just spoke to the wife of a local bear guide. He's gone thru 4000 lbs of corn and candy already! I wanna hunt with him!

Hope this helps.

[charliepete2]

Boar....if there aren't bears in the area it doesn't matter what kinds of bait you put out. If I was you I'd branch out with some test baits, and pile it up when I got a hit. I've got about 15 bait sites that have hit one year or another, but very few are consistent every year, and none of them produce shooters every year.

When I try to branch out to new areas broadcasting scent is my number one thought. Like Sam mentioned doing drags can really help. I always walk in the bait and traipse it to and from the crib. Liquid smoke and molasses mixed with sugar are cheap ways to spread scent. Think about placing a bait to eat in a crib, and hanging a bag loaded with scent to draw them in. With the liquid smoke I load up a squirt bottle and spray it every couple of feet on my way to and from the bait.

I'm probably not telling you anything new, but hunting bears is just like hunting deer. Focus on game trails that are moving through funnels. Rivers, like you mentioned, as well as ponds and beaver dams are close to all of my good baits. They naturally force animals to walk through certain paths.

If I was you I wouldn't start to worry quite yet. I've shot bears off of baits that didn't hit until the week before I've hunted them. There is still plenty of time.

[Boar]

yea, I'm not going to let myself get sycked out. I agree with the branching out senario, I just dont have anymore time than what I do now. Actually I'm lucky to be bear hunting at all. My family is what you call a "specal needs family" Limited time for not much else. But thats life. I've been very fortunate to be as successful in bear hunting as I've been, but i have'nt had this problem before. I whent in on Sat. an nothing, I replenished my hanging scent sacks with fryer grease an splashed it all over the area, left alittle fresh goody pile an will check on Wen. I think I will try the drag. The one nice thing about my family land is it's a one big bottle neck that funnels game right down the center. I've talked to area locals that say I'm not the only one have problems, so an so an what's his name are having a tough time getting hits too. Their two miles north of me. Acuple others say they were gonna hunt but arnt cause of very litle sign. They all say early er in the summer they were all over, mail man didnt go a morning without seeing one. Sooooooo.... I will keep going though, soon the acorns will be gone, which is where i think they are holding up, an the corn will start to dry an harden, if i dont shoot one till Octorber so be it. Perseverence. Later Boar

[Fish to Win]

Every time ive gone to bait or check the bait it's been gone- I could not ask for better bait hitting season but lets hope he comes at light- I did get a photo at 5:00 and 7:00pm which really makes me look forward to Fri. I'm not a good judge of bear size but it looks REAL nice- The bear was coming in during the day but only after the bait was gone from him eating at midnight looks like I need to cut back with baiting as the times he came in early was when their was not any food-so I need to tease him to come in during the day not not keep so full all the time- Good luck- I'll post some photos later tonight- have to leave for a family thing-

[Fish to Win]

[Fish to Win]

[Boar]

Hey fish, I cant judge well either but looks like his back almost comes to that crotch in the tree at what maybe 3 feet, 2 1/2? he looks solid, cant get a good look at the ears, I'd take him if he came into my bait. Good Luck Later boar

[BIGBORE]

WOULD BE FOOLISH NOT TO SHOOT, THE LAST TWO YEARS I HAVE SHOT ONE THAT WAS 230 AND ONE THAT WAS 315 LOOKS TO BE IN THE SAME CLASS AS THAT., BUT HARD TO TELL THE EARS LOOK KIND OF LITTLE AND THE BELLY HANGS LOW. THEY ARE PUTTING ON A FEW POUNDS A DAY NOW SO HE WILL BULK UP SOME MORE.

GOOD LUCK