Who is ready for spring bear!! Heading back to Idaho this year to run some bait stations on a diy and am pumped. Last year I got a nice black bear and dad got a beautiful blonde phase. What is everyones favorite bait? Last year I did fryer grease and a popcorn koolaide mixture that seemed to work great. Bear came in the first day. So who's ready
Spring bear
- Thread starter hunttrap
- Start date
you hunting central Idaho? how long are you baiting for? congrats on bears last year!
hoshour
Veteran member
Ivorytip was referring to a post I had up about my not being crazy about baiting. Given huntrap's excitement and the fact that it's legal in Idaho, I decided to pull it. I was pretty excited about my bear hunt in Montana a couple years ago. I think about it when I see that bear rug.
Spring bear is a welcome break in the long time between seasons. If I lived a little closer, I'd be out walking logging roads come May.
Spring bear is a welcome break in the long time between seasons. If I lived a little closer, I'd be out walking logging roads come May.
xtreme
Very Active Member
Bears learn the dogs. Some bears run then tree, others run and stop, then run again, others just walk, some just won't go at all. Dogs are great fun for me, I love the chase but bait works better for me at least up to now. We use cake mix, bar b que sauce, bacon strips. A store nearby sells day old bread and pastries. I am by no means a pro, just learning. I did a bait around noon and set up in ground blind about three, the bear came in about thirty minutes later. I also set up day after day with bear coming at night. Never got a shot on that one.
hoshour
Veteran member
I'd love to get a color phase bear. Hunttrap, did you guys choose your area based on color phase or what made you pick the area you did?
highplainsdrifter
Very Active Member
We plan to set out baits again this spring in Wyoming. We've done it for several years now and feel like we are starting to learn the ropes. I use dog food covered with powdered sugar. But I don't think the type of bait matters much. Bears will eat anything. The scent you use is more important. You need something very odiferous that the bears can detect from a distance.
Here is a picture of the bear I shot last spring...we had at least ten bears coming to our three baits.
Here is a picture of the bear I shot last spring...we had at least ten bears coming to our three baits.
QuazyQuinton
Active Member
It's kind of odd because I didn't hunt bears until after dogs and bait were banned here in Oregon, but spring bear is one of my favorite hunts. We don't hunt them real hard-core, so it's more of a vacation atmosphere, but I've been on a couple of successful hunts. Looking forward to a mentored youth hunt with my 11-year-old on a Sled Springs-Chesnimnus tag at the end of May.
QQ
I'm pretty anxious after a couple years off for Ironman. We use a stink bag off fish hanging, and then use a base of sweet feed. It takes them longer to eat it and if you bait more than about three weeks you'll start to see sprouts starting up that they will also eat. On top of that we'll use anything and everything we can get cheap. You just need three things #1 something to get them there, #2 something to fill them up, and #3 something to bring them back. We like to load heavy early and as we start getting multiple bears showing feed less, but feed them more often to increase competition. Here's a little video from my north Idaho Blond.
https://youtu.be/5Zau8PpRbTw
https://youtu.be/5Zau8PpRbTw
andrew12gauge
Member
- Aug 26, 2016
- 125
- 1
I've gotten bears spot and stalk each of the last 2 years here in Idaho. Since I am going to have a freezer full of meat come spring bear this year though I'm thinking spot and stalk with the bow might happen
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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
That's awesome! I'm hunting bear and heading to n Idaho this spring. My first time for both. Everytime I see an Idaho bear video I get more and more excited. As well as wondering more and more about what the heck I'm getting my self into! Haha. There will be no lack of preparation tho.
your getting yourself into the time of your life.lol. I have never regretted a single hour I spent hunting. not even those I spent freezing my posterior off.
good luck.
Yes we had bears hitting our bait within the day we set them out. Location was key. I had all my bait spots on my gps and once I got camp set up, I went out and baited. I love to trap, and I would compare checking bait sites to checking traps if that makes sense.
Hoshour the are we hunt is 50% color phase (the guy where we checked our bears in at said). We had 4 bears on camera and the blonde bear came in the last afternoon.
IowaBuck
Member
I'm black bear hunting again in Northern Idaho this year with some friends! Can't wait to start baiting them!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeLcKQUlDik'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeLcKQUlDik'
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hoshour
Veteran member
I got a nice black bear spot and stalk in MT a few years ago and decided that next time I went it would be for a color phase with my bow.
Two of the three bears I considered shooting were already within bow range or were in a place I could easily have stalked to within 50 yards. One was a blonde but it was too small. However, the area is not known for color-phase bears so I need to change areas.