Getting bears to hit bait during daylight???

[Ray Lyon]

Got a buddy here in Northern Michigan with a sow and yearling cub and also a nice boar hitting his bait for the last couple of nights (just started baiting).. They were on the trail camera between 10 pm and 3 am.  I’m thinking if he goes from the 5 gallons per day he’s putting out to a couple gallons he might get them in sooner if they are competing for the food.  Hunt period doesn’t start for a couple of weeks yet and he’s right on the edge of thick cover

[wingnut]

Only put bait in when the barrel is empty and then only enough for them to clean up pretty fast.  they will come pretty fast that way.  Look for the boar to take over the bait and chase the sow away if there is limited chow.  i used a lot of artificial vanilla in a spray bottle.  Sprayed it around the bait every time I was there.  They can smell it a long way and it's a good cover sent.

Mike

[Ray Lyon]

Thanks Mike.  That’s what I was thinking with limited bait.  We can’t use barrels on public land and have to bury under logs to keep raccoons out.

Good idea on spray and good luck on your upcoming trip. 

[goingoldskool]

One of the guys I used to bear hunt with in canada would clean up as much as he could when it got dark.... that way the bear would think that he was too late and come in earlier.  Of course my buddy  was actually hunting at the bait site while doing this.
I would think that if there were multiple bears, that would start coming earlier on their own.

Good luck, shoot straight and God bless,

Rodd

[Bowguy67]

You’ve got the right idea. I used to skin in a couple bear camps. They never use tons of bait and would limit things even more if they needed em to come in earlier

[STICKBENDER98]

Once the bait is getting hit consistently, start limiting the amount being put out.  I used anise oil in a spray bottle, also bacon grease smeared on the logs covering the bait works good, as they get it all over their paws and spread it out as they walk through the woods.  I haven't tried it but I have had people tell they would do a bacon grease burn when they got on stand to help as a cover scent and try to get the bears to come in.  Good luck, as excited as I get when I see white horns coming through the brush, there is nothing like seeing that black shadow on the edge of the bait to get your heart racing!!!


Jason

[Ray Lyon]

Thanks for the input gentlemen. I’ve used bacon grease on logs myself and I believe it works as back in 2008 when I drew my last tag I had three different bears coming in to my bait and this is a limited draw limited population area.  it takes about twenty years to draw in that section, thus you want to make it count.  My friends and I have tried honey burns as last ditch tries three or four times in different areas in higher bear count units without success.  I’m glad a consensus agree with limiting bait idea as that’s my advice to my buddy. Hopefully that is a plan that come together seeing as though it’s a very nice boar on the trail camera.

[Broken Arrows]

In the past when we could bait here in WA. I had a bear coming in after dark. On one sit I brought just a small bag of bait in with me, the bear was a no show so I took it out with me, the next day I sat and the bear came in a full hour before dark. It seamed to work very well.

[Tim Finley]

Thinking like a human and not like a bear by taking the bait away from him may make him sporadic . Bears don't live off a bait,  especially in the fall ,they are trying to put as much fat on as they can and they have to have their natural foods such as berries , acorns etc.to do it, instinct tells them that and it takes president over an artificial food source. Your bear may be hitting the bait at night kind of as a treat after feeding on his natural foods . When the berries are gone and the acorns in his spot are eaten or other foods he may hit the bait earlier. You may try just using popcorn, a couple of big bags of buttered popcorn spread all over the ground may make him show up earlier and you are still feeding him. Or you might try using irresistible baits, the best thing of all for bears is ice cream they cant hardly leave it alone it will be melted of course but they really love it . Lots of sweets in the fall. Use protein in the spring and carbs (sugar) in the fall donuts, candy etc.
    He may be hitting the bait at night because he has had a bad experience at a bait site before . He may have a broad head wound in his shoulder or a scar from a near miss bears like that can be almost impossible to get a shot at .
   I baited bears for close to 40 years in several provinces and Minn. it was a lot of fun. I got more a kick out of baiting them and watching they're antics than I did shooting one .

[76Aggie]

I am in no way a bear expert and have only hunted bear a few times.  Twice in Ontario with two different outfitters and three times in Quebec all with the same outfitter.  Never saw a bear on stand in Ontario but always successful in Quebec.  The guy in Quebec seemed to program his bears like Pavlov did his dogs.  He started baiting well before his hunters arrived and fed small amounts.  When baiting in the evenings you would walk in with the guide and even talk with him.  He had bait in a plastic 5 gallon bucket.  He carried a machete and made a point to make noise and beat the bucket with a machete.  When we arrived at the bait site, the bowhunter took to the stand with stealth.  Guide was noisey putting out the bait and then walked silently back to the vehicle and left the hunter.  On most days, the hunter would see a bear pretty soon after the guide left.  Sometimes only minutes after the guide left the area in pickup or ATV.  To me, it seemed he was conditioning the bears in the area to know when he was putting out the bait by hearing the talking, the banging on the bucket and the vehicle leaving.  They also knew there would not be a ton of bait in the area.  Again, my experience in hunting bear is limited to a total of 5 weeks in my life but this particulars outfitters approach seemed pretty danged smart to me.  Just my opinion and observation.