Baiting Black Bear

[Elkoholic307]

I'm not sure how many of you bait, but I figured I would make this for those of us that do and those that are interested in it. This is to discuss all things hunting black bear over bait; not a debate over ethics.

What have you been successful with and how? What distance from the bait do you hunt from? Do you use trail cams? The list can go on and on. Hopefully, more will chime in and this can be a helpful thread. Also, it would be fun to see pics of everyone's set ups. It is always interesting to see how others go about things.

 

[elktracker]

I'm planning on hunting black bear in WY this year, I want to give spot and stalk a try but am not at all opposed to baiting. I know you have to register bait sites with G&F, does anyone know how late in the year you can register a site, is it too late for this year? Hopefully I can get some tips on here what works for bait etc. Thanks.

 

[wolftalonID]

Save your bacon grease, put it to simmer in a pan on your pack stove, sit back and enjoy the evening till ya get one!

 

[sticknbiggens]

I'm planning on hunting black bear in WY this year, I want to give spot and stalk a try but am not at all opposed to baiting. I know you have to register bait sites with G&F, does anyone know how late in the year you can register a site, is it too late for this year? Hopefully I can get some tips on here what works for bait etc. Thanks.

You can register bait sites from the previous calendar year by phone from March 1 through March 20. If your looking to register a new site the registration was on the April 1. If it's something your looking to do,go into the G&F office and look at the map with all of the registered bait sites on it. You can register 2 sites per year per hunter...hope this helps

 

[sticknbiggens]

I've got one site the bears seem to hit all day long, 2am,11am,5pm it doesn't matter, It's a real crazy deal. I have a hard time getting into my stand on that one. Last day of the season last year I had a blonde bear come in and climb half way up my ladder to check me out before he ran back into the deep brush. On that site i've got my stand set 23 yards from my container. I do have a Cuddeback set 8 yards from my container on that site too. My other site I use for rifle hunting and I set up 100 yards off my containter on that one.

 

[Elkoholic307]

elktracker - No, it's not too late to register for a site. My guess is you can still sign up for one, (or two, as sticknbiggens pointed out) even during the season. Although, a lot of good sites get gobbled up on April 1st. My advice to you is to find an area you're interested in and scan a copy of the map. Then, go into G&F and cross out the sections that are already taken. After that, you can scout the sections available and decide what you want. That way, you can get an idea where to put the bait, and how to hunt it. The G&F also want to know what corner of the section your bait is going to be in.

That's similar to what I did this year. I held onto a solid section (had six bears come in last year and killed two), but didn't renew my second one, the lesser of the two. I went to the G&F in late March to find out what didn't get renewed and was available for this year... and low a behold, a GREAT spot had opened up. Luckily, someone from Cody didn't renew it and I snagged a really nice section close to my other one. It should be a fun year!

 

[T43]

Save your bacon grease, put it to simmer in a pan on your pack stove, sit back and enjoy the evening till ya get one!

So would this require a bait permit or would it be considered a scent like the 12 miles of dead fish burn sticks?

 

[elktracker]

Thanks Elkoholic and sticknbiggens. I'll look into what sites are available around here. Good luck, and post some pictures if you guys get some bears down this spring.

 

[ffd061]

Have had great success hunting bears over bait here in MN. We have harvested 8 bears, with the biggest being 270#.

A couple of items we have found that really work are annise(black licorice scent), burnt honey(if you know of any honey producers in the area), peanut butter, and vanilla. We also have a local bakery save their discarded day old donuts-bears love donuts. Honey burns are also productive.

By far the best item is the burnt honey(a byproduct of producing honey, which contain large clumps of solid sugar)bears absolutely go crazy over this stuff. We would pour it over trees stumps/logs and over the ground-the bears would tear the bark off trees, dig up the ground and eat the dirt-amazing.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

 

[Stig87]

I used Eastman's "Bear Crack" last year. It's a burn you do while you're in the stand. Smells really good, and the bears seemed to like it.

 

[mntnguide]

Once i get a bait set, I will go in a night or two before hunting and do a "honey burn." Basically exactly what it sounds like. take a pack stove or just start a small fire, a metal can of some sort, and honey. Start burning the honey until it boils and then some. Eventually it will turn blackish and you can burn as long as you would like. It puts out one heck of a potent smell, enough that i walk away while its burning cause it gets me a little tipsy feeling. If your in an area that has good wind circulation, it will be smelled and from what i have seen it usually brings customers.

 

[walleyed]

We sit about 20-30 yards of bait or best tree available. For bait we use dog food and popcorn and molasass with bear crack on top. Honey donuts bacon grease as many scents as possible every bear likes something different.

 

[MT.MAN]

T43 I see you are in Idaho so YES anything placed to attract a bear is considered bait and would require a bait permit. Even the burn sticks.

I usually sit in a treestand, however last year my wife was 7 mo. preggo so we chose a ground blind so she didn't have to climb. Won't be doing that again. I hated the ground blind experience. I much prefer being in the tree where I can see all around me. I will admit the night it snowed 3" while in the bait I was kinda glad I was in a blind.

Items we have used for bait.
1. Used Restuarant Grease.
2. Doughnuts/Bread.
3. Power Bar Scraps.
4. Power Bar Flavoring Syrup. (for attractant more than bait). Got apple cinnamon flavor for this year.
5. Bear Crack Burns.
6. Honey/Maple Syrup/ Apple Oil (for attractant more than bait)
7. This year got a 55 Gal. drum full of peanut butter.

 

[Elkoholic307]

You guys have got some good ideas. I'm interested in this bear crack stuff and I might try a honey burn or two now. I've never heard of either one; sure am glad I made this thread! My bait site was really successful last year, but it seemed that they were kind of getting picky or bored. Hence, not showing up as often and definitely not staying as long.

The most important lesson I've learned is, the sweeter the better. I've tried stinky and that was a waste of time. I have been using cob from the Co-op, since it's cheap. It already comes with some molasses pre-mixed in it, but I carry in a couple jugs of slightly watered down syrup to mix in with the cob as I pour it. The cob comes in fifty pound bags and I get a free five gallon bucket of syrup every year from the local honey producer. I'll buy as many bags of cob as needed, but try to ration out the syrup.

A lot of people say to mix it up and use a variety of stuff to keep the bear interested. I definitely agree with that after last year's experiences. Thanks for the great ideas, everybody!

 

[Elkoholic307]

Here is a pic of my site, but with the wrong critter.