any good tips for bear hunting?

[yocal_local]

what are some good baits to use for baiting bears????

[Roofer]

Pastries, dog food, frying oil, and lots of it. Replenish it often and make sure to not leave a mess if on public property.

This is what worked for me.

Other people may use other smaller stuff and bring it in at night, so they don't feed only at night. I have always seen and gotten mine really close to dark.

[Bowfin]

I've had good success with corn/oats mixed with molasses or frying oil. Bear can't carry it away so they are forced to sit on the bait and eat it offering you many shot options. Also a mixture of liquid smoke and anise oil sprayed around the site from a fine spray bottle will fill the area with scent which may bring in bears earlier. Some folks say you should limit how much you put out but I agree with roofer -put out lots and replenish at least every 3 days.

I like to do all my baiting from 10-noon. The bears get used to me on the bait at this time and hopefully set a pattern of coming in to the bait before dark. I make noise when I bait so the bears are used to hearing me bait. When opening hunting comes, go in with 2 people if possible and make noise. One person should bait the site while the other climbs up in their stand. The person baiting should make noise on the way out. To the bears it would sound like any other baiting but this time some one is there waiting for them.

[ChompChomp_YANK]

I got bags of old doughnuts from a friends bakery along with frosting and used oil. when we started to bait i would mix (in a big plastic tub) old dried doughnuts, pour oil and frosting on them. oil would help re-soften doughnuts. then we would mix in oats and corn. Then simply dig hole by treestand, add bait, and cover with big logs. I have tried using meat but if your bait doesnt get hit right away it tends to get awfully rotten and will stink very bad. I will take a gunny sack and put a small amount of meat in it and hang this to the side of my bait station. The smell of this will help the bears find your bait. You can also use this to see how big your bear is by how high you hang the bag. Good luck

[surewood]

Baked goods are always good, but I also like to use things like licorice as they last long and stay edible. plus you can order them in 50 gal. drums for around 75.00 a barrel.

[Tyler D]

I would definatley second the anise oil and liquid smoke thing. Our baiting has got down to a science now, half a gallon of oats mixed with a little molases and brown sugar and about a half gallon of dry dog food and then maybe a half a loaf of bread thrown on top. Cheap and effective.

[Roofer]

May have to try some corn and oats. Good tips guys.

Like Bowfin said, we also make noise when we go in to bait and it seems to work. Ride the atv with the bait to where we plan on parking when hunting and then walk it in to bait and normally climb up in the stand.

If they are around, sure enough they come right in. We hunt our land near the Nemadji where some of the biggest in the state are. Biggest we have gotten so far is only about 200 lbs., but that's not too bad.

[roosterslayer]

This year i will be using a some suet mix, it is beef fat, corn , sunflower seeds, peanut butter, and molasses mixed together. that will be in the bottom of the hole cover with oats/corn/molassses mixture. I found that best price for this at a local coop. Of course they call it calf feed and cost is around $10 for a 100 lbs sack. when it gets closer to bear season you will see that price jump to $40. I dont use grease but i do use bear scents spray,(bacon) and alternate baits with liquid smoke/anise. I do this to see what the bears prefer.

[maros91]

All great tips. If you really have time to bait go bait early in the morning and take your bait out before dark that way the bear can only come during daylight hours. You must have the time to do this though. I am going to try the oats/corn thing this year as I have heard to many good things about it. Donuts are always good. Chocolate,licorice,any type of candy, bread, popcorn, gummy bears. Anything sweet. The list could go on and on. I always make sure to cover my logs and overhanging leaves and brush with grease or any other scent. The list could go on and on with scents also. Grease, molasses, different types of syrups, bacon, blueberry, corn, anise and much more. Google bear scents and a HSOforum will pop up with all the goodies you need to bag a bear. It gets pretty spendy though.

[tealitup]

If you smoke; do it when you bait; Urinate close to the bait or where you will sit.

This year I am going to try to leave my sweaty t-shirt on my stand when I leave.

[yocal_local]

thats all good info thanks alot guys

[yocal_local]

do any of you have to deal with wolves stealing the bait

[yocal_local]

have you used a honey burn before????

[zrmo440]

A friend contacted the managers at his local SA and Holiday gas stations. He would pick up the donuts, cookies, and pastries that they were going to throw out because they didn't sell. It worked well for him!

[Bowfin]

I'll also spray a little bit of bug dope every time I bait to get the bears accustomed to the smell. First week of September can be pretty buggy and spraying up helps me sit longer.

We also have a system of baiting. The frustrating thing which is hard to predict is the level of competition from other baiters you will find. To try to account for this, I like to start out with about 2-3 baits per hunter. Hard work keeping up with 10-12 baits but we always figure a couple baits may have competition by them, a couple will only be hit by sows/cubs or other unshootable bears, and a couple baits may just be hit by nocturnal bears. Options get wittled down pretty fast. A little extra work in using an ATV while baiting will get you off the main road, up more remote trails and away from most other hunters. It is also legal to travel cross country with an ATV to retrieve big game in most areas - still check the regulations.

**Bring the video camera while hunting. Even if you see unshootable bears, it is always fun shooting video to bring back and show the family!

[Roofer]

In my situation with the atv's. We have trails all the way to our stands on our land. I wouldn't recommend running down a bunch of trees and brush just to put bait out.

[Bowfin]

Yes, I agree - we use ATV's to access up more remote trails and then walk into our bait sites. It's been a lifesavor though getting dead bears out since they are so hard to drag and its easier on the hide.

As always, we must check the local regulations for using ATV's (they are changing fast these days)and not create damage.

[Pyrex]

I saw the question "any good tips for bear hunting" and had to answer--MAKE SURE YOU CAN HIT THE [PoorWordUsage] THING!!!

Sorry, I just had to..

[yocal_local]

do any of you guys know what honey burns are?

[maros91]

I have never done a honey burn but have done a bacon burn. Take a coffee can and punch about 6 holes in the can about halfway up. Put a small tea candle and light it at the bottom of the coffee can. Place wire in your 6 holes so they make a grid. Take an empty soup can and put 2 pieces of bacon in the soup can and place the can on the grid.

Do not place your 6 holes to close to the bottom of the can. It could result in popping grease and start a fire. Experiment in your garage before heading into the woods. You can burn multiple things: honey, bacon, somebody last year did a jello burn that smelled pretty good, and you can burn grease also. I am also interested in how to do a honey burn.

[yocal_local]

its the same as all of the other things but if you put to much honey in it will boil over a make a fire. insted of a candle use self lighting charcol.

[Bowfin]

I used to do honey burns but not no more. In my opinion it isn't worth the time and extra equipment you need to haul to the bait. Spraying the liquid smoke/anise oil mixture through a fine mist spray bottle is quicker, easier and adds more tempting scent to the air than honey burns do anyways.

[maros91]

 Originally Posted By: yocal_local

do any of you have to deal with wolves stealing the bait

I have a buddy that bear hunts in the Bigfork area and he sent me pics of wolves eating the bait he put out. I posted them in the photography forum underneath Trail Cam Timberwolves. I went to look them up and the pics were deleted and I do not have them anymore. There was like 4 or 5 wolves in the pics eating the dog food. Pretty cool pics.

[t rex]

Take 2 metal coffee cans different sizes, put a sterno in the bigger can and fill the smaller one half full and place it in the bigger one with the hot sterno in the bottom, then hang from a tree.Works well,use it as a last resort,turns them nitetime hit into daytime opportunities...Another good cheap bait mixture is, Into a clean barrel 10 gallons of corn,5 gallons of water,10 lbs of sugar,stir well,cover and wait 1 week,bears love it.Also if found priced cheap is meat scraps,,hung drenched in oil..

[jkcmj]

I used to do the honey burns all the time, but only got one pair of yearlings to come in to it. After I quit that I started to see more bears. Could have been coincidence.

It was easy enough to do. I just used a big can(baked beans) for the burner with a can of sterno in the bottom and holes punched in the side for ventilation and wires criss crossed across the top, then a small can on top(just make sure it is smaller than the bottom can that I filled about 1/2 full of honey.

Testing is important. To much honey boiles over and either puts out the sterno or makes a wild short fire, or to little and it runs out in 10 minutes and then charcoals and stinks awful until the sterno runs out. If you get it just right the stuff will puff sweet white smoke for over 1/2 hour. The cooler you get it while it is still at a boil the better and longer it works.