Where'd they go??

[pintaildrake1187]

I am not a very experienced bear hunter but have attempted in the previous two years. This year I did everthing right and got out there right at the beginning of baiting and set up my two bait stations north of grand rapids. I used a variety of things including sweet corn, sunflower seeds, dogfood, bacon grease and any other old food I came across in the freezer. I soaked grease rags and hung them from trees and had trail cameras over each site and used an anise and hickory smoke spray to add extra scent to each site. I baited at noon on the first day and one of my sights was hit by 10:00 that night. It was continued to be hit by 3-4 different bears for 3 days, I presume until the bait was gone. In this three days it was hit during the day, the night and anytime in between. After about 5 days I baited again and was very pleased to see all the great results on my baits. Three days later I made it up again and I believe puts me at the sunday before the season started 8/25. In the pictures from the three previous days it was only one bear and only at night. I baited again that sunday doing all the same things i had done prior. I went up again on that tuesday to bait again and it hadnt been hit and it was the same story when I went out on saturday morning to hunt. I did nothing different when I baited the last 3 times time but the bears just quit coming around. I am very limited in my hunting as I am a student at the U of M and could only hunt opening weekend and possibly this coming sunday. Does anybody have any idea what might have happened?? It seems strange to me that they so suddenly quit coming to the bait when things looked so good. (I had 250 pics of bears in three days right after I baited the first time though I had my camera set at only a 1 minute delay) Please let me know of any advice or things I should try, or any possible reason for my lack of luck after the initial start of my baiting. Thanks

[deerdragger]

If it makes you feel any better - the situation you described is almost exactly what has happened to me on several occassions. I don't know if they lose interest in the bait that is offered, find better (or just different) bait elsewhere, get into natural foods - or a combination of all of the above. It seems almost common to have them hit hard once they find it, then drop it after a few weeks.

My advise - just keep on baiting. Natural foods will only get more scarce and the bears will only get more hungary. I know of some guys that don't even START baiting until after the season has opened because of this very thing.

I'm bummed that I didn't get drawn this year...I'm in the Grand Rapids area myself. Need any help running some bait - or a guy who can help get that brute out of the woods? Shoot me an email - [email protected]

[nmnhunter]

I am in northern Minnesota and the same thing is happening with us. We have five bait stations going. One hasn't been hit at all. Others have been hit but not on a steady basis. Hit, hit, not, not, not, hit, not, not, etc. Not sure if there is still food out there they prefer or what. We actually bait for other people, they couldn't hunt last weekend so are coming this weekend. We keep refreshing the bait pile in hopes to keep the bear on a steady routine but so far no luck.

Any suggestions out there?

[DonBo]

In our area in Wisconsin, the white oaks have been dropping more acorns than I can ever remember. Most of these should be gone soon, as everything in the woods are keying on them. Hopefully baits will be getting hit again as soon as the acorns are gone.

[tealitup]

You might of had bait burn out. Try something new that they have not had before. I have heard many guys talk about how a bait will be hit for a week to ten days and then it goes dry.

I think baiting for 5-6 days only before a hunt might be a way to go - that does not help you now but...

If you can change your bait location a hundred yards away with new fresh bait. Even try some meat scraps from a butcher. Attach a piece up in a tree and rub it everywhere you can.

[KOTTKE]

Don't worry its the heat, when baiting started it was lower temps and no humidiity. The opening weekend it was the warmest since we started baiting. We are near cook and have had the same thing happen. Wait until this cool front moves thru, it really rings the diner bell for those bears.

[DonBo]

You're probably right, the heat is never good for bear activity...

[harvey lee]

For the few years that I baited and hunted bear, it sure seemed that when the heat went up the bear activity went down or very late at night if it was cooler then.

[Boar]

I totally agree with the heat comments, the bear know where your site its so dont give, alot of time you have stick it out till the natural forage is go, deffinatlly look for acorns on the way to you site, if the acorns are plentiful, you can bet thats part of the problem AND the heat. Squirels will cash away tons of them in their borrows an bears can easily key in on an easy load of acrons, that was my problem last year. I know for certain in my area right now it's the heat. Boar

[Gofishleech]

we are going thru the same thing now, last four nights the bait has not been touched. The heat has to have somthing to do with it. We do not have many acorns up here but im sure there are some. Today it rained all day, looks like 50's and 60's for highs the next few days so that might help.

[Random guy]

We have baits spread across 30 mile circle of northern MN and we are seeing the same thing. Many bears hitting at 4 or 5 am or just hit and misses all over. Let it cool down a little and things should get fired up again.