Bear baiting 102- bait material

[mmgrode]

Hey Gang,
   continuing on with the series on bear baiting, let's now delve into the area of bait material.  What materials do you use for bait and, more importantly, what situations dictate different bait materials?  Let's also include starting baits (burns, hanging baits, etc.) in this thread.  I look forward to the discussion.  

MG

Note: the initial thread on bear baiting setups can be found at:

  http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=081378

[wingnut]

Matt,

The first factor in bait material is what's legal in your state.  We used a lot of hostess products with a lot of success but after the laws changed we got meat scraps from butcher shops.  It was messy and stinky but worked real well.

Road kill is not a bad choice if it's legal too pick up.

I'm not much for burns, but will hang small baits with lots of oder as a call bait early on when determining bait sites.  One time Jason had dug a bunch of worms for fishing and the weather went bad and we didn't go.  I thought he'd turned them back into the worm bed.  They got left in the container and got real bad.

Used them on a bait and had a bear come while were there.  LOL

Mike

[2treks]

Liquid smoke and/or anise oil works good for a call bait. I have always had more luck with sweets than meats. honey burns or bacon grease burns are good IF LEGAL. Good luck
Chuck

[wingnut]

And Chuck I forgot the spray.  I bought the cheapest vanilla you can get bythe case at Costco.

mixed 50/50 with water and spray a bunch each time you visit the bait.

Heck you can smell it 1/2 mile down wind.

Mike

[Pops]

I have used dry dog food with jelly or anything sweet. Meat scraps work well too. I also spray
with liquid smoke. This year I found that granola
will work.

[2treks]

Thats right Mike I forgot about vanilla. The very first bear hunt I went on in ONT. I had not seen a bear in 3 days and decided to do my own thing. I went in with a pint of anise oil and a one qt. spray jug of cherry juice. I sprayed my boots and the rest of ME and used the hole jug of cherry juice spryin around the stand and the trail in. Then I slung some anise oil around and drizzeled it up and down my ladder stand/tree.
DO NOT DO THAT! keep your smells at the bait station. I did see some bears that day but a 350-400# sow and three cubs came in and walked past my tree before they got to the bait. my platform was only 7-8 feet off the ground and the sow could almost look lick my knees when she stood to investigate. when she dumped the barrel she scared the cubs and they ended up in the tree with me,two of them on the platform with me licking cherrie juice off my boots.
But YES!, the spray is good. I would not use that with WINGNUTS worm cocktail tho(gross)
POPS! granola is about my favorite, clean,no smell good for snacks and the bear love it.
Chuck

[hockey7]

The baits hit the most at the camp I hunted last August had mostly sweets...donuts, and lot's of pie fillings especially raspberry. The fellow sitting the raspberry stand had multiple bears and shot a 400#er from that stand.

[unregistered]

Beavers. They absolutely love a big stinky week long dead Beaver. And a livin Beaver don't smell so hot either!

[mmgrode]

Originally posted by Two Tracks:
 I sprayed my boots and the rest of ME and used the hole jug of cherry juice spryin around the stand and the trail in. Then I slung some anise oil around and drizzeled it up and down my ladder stand/tree.
DO NOT DO THAT! keep your smells at the bait station. I did see some bears that day but a 350-400# sow and three cubs came in and walked past my tree before they got to the bait. my platform was only 7-8 feet off the ground and the sow could almost look lick my knees when she stood to investigate. when she dumped the barrel she scared the cubs and they ended up in the tree with me,two of them on the platform with me licking cherrie juice off my boots.
 

What a story!  I'll bet the pucker factor was pretty high at that moment!  

I've heard of bear candy licks that you can make to keep bears around when the bait empties and before you can refill the site.  Boil up Karo syrup and throw in other schnibbles like anise oil, vanilla, candies, berries, honey and whatever you can get your hands on.  I suppose a guy could even put meat in it if he wanted to.  Pour the hot concoction into a plastic pail and stick a coat hanger or wire into the mixture to cool.  Secure with the wire at the bait site.  I'd imagine you'd need pretty strong wire to keep the bears from tearing it off.

[mmgrode]

Cameron Hanes has a bear crack recipe that he uses in Alaska (Prince of Wales island) and seems to have excellent success.  Boil up syrup, marshmallows, sugar, and jello mix at the site until it smokes for a few minutes. He then pours it over dogfood, stumps, etc.  He'll also dip bacon in the crack to make candied bacon.  I'll tell you what, that stuff tastes good!! I can see why the bears would like it.   Do any of you fellas make stump baits(pour sugar, etc. over stumps to turn the stump into a bait)?
MG

[Manitoba Stickflinger]

All great ideas! Don't forget to saturate the ground around the bait with fryer grease, or something else, that the bears can leave scent trails with back to the bait. My baits have 1600 lbs of corn, oats, and fryer grease. I've never believed in limiting the amount of bait to increase competition (that's what cheap outfitters do). If you don't have enough bait, the bears will go to the other guys bait who does have enough food there for a meal anytime! ....Ryan

[mmgrode]

Corn, no kidding! Neat, never thought of corn for bear bait. How do you get 1600 lbs of bait to the site? How long does this much bait last at a typical site?
MG

ps-Beautiful bear in your profile picture, Ryan! Looks like he's got an enormous head!

[George D. Stout]

"Cameron Hanes has a bear crack recipe that he uses in Alaska (Prince of Wales island) and seems to have excellent success."

Where does he get the bear cracks he incorporates in his recipe.            

[twitchstick]

I am new to bear baiting and have only do it once,but had no problems getting bear in. I use shrimp and fish trimmings and catfish blood bait(leave in bucket for a week) for a stink bait up a tree to start. My main bait was donuts and old bread with syrup over the top. Dog food or oat feed products when I could not get my free donuts and bread. I burned honey every time I baited to serve as a dinner bell assocation. I sprayed vinilla on the logs and left bear crack on the logs. I ended up using popcorn with butter as a back up at the end of the hunt I was running out of bait. You can store alot of popcorn in my little trail and popped it as needed. For me the bear crack(cool aid and marshmellows) was key because it kept the bears instress up while I was not there. I was baiting 3 1/2 hours way and working 60+ hours a week and sometimes split days off. My hunting partners dad works for sweets candy and has outftters from Idaho gets truck loads of gummy bears and melt on rocks for the same affect. I hope that I didn't ramble to much,as you can tell I had fun with the hunt. Here is two pics of bear on crack.I had not baited in over a week when these wre taken. Notice the crack glowing on the aspen,it lasted for over a month.

[twitchstick]

Sorry I did use fryer grease on everyting it is also caked on that aspen tree. I poured it around the whole bait site so they would track it around the mountain for a scent trail.

[Tom Phillips]

For Spring Bears the Fryolator grease poured on ground in front of bait most always produces action and they tear up the ground around it the roots etc,plus they track into the woods increasing chances of other bears fining it.
 Another favorite of mine is the "Fish Chowder" I make up: Ocean fish seems to produce the most potent stench (over fresh water fish) I cut if up into small chunks and then in 5 gallon buckets fill it up a bit more than 1/2 way with the ocean fish and the key is ADD water so all fish parts are submerged and seal the cap and I let it forment for about 5 weeks or so in the hot sun.NOTE: DO not fill to top you need to leave room for gas that is formed otherwise it will ooze out the cap and really makes a mess and your wife will not be happy as well as neighbors and you might even attract BEARS & other critters !!! After I pour the grease out of chinese jugs with handles I cut 2 large slots alongside handle on jug and then pour about 1-1/2 gallons of the chowder into jug and then with throw ball throw line up in tree 10 feet with line attached to bucket and pull up jug.The holes allow the jug to be remoisterised when it rains and I have had them from one year to the next (as long as they are not tour down by Bears) still full of "Tom's Fish Chowder".Bears absolutely LOVE it some must eat it some must roll in it when they can get to it.Good Inexpensive locater/stink bait !!!! I also mix LIquid smoke/pure anise/vanilla extract and spray it around sight with garden pump sprayer.
        Good Luck
 WARNING: Beware occassionally rope breaks in hauling it up and you get soaked,then it is time to get rid of your clothes ASAP.

[Ragnarok Forge]

Popcorn with butter is great for long range baits that you have to hike into.  You can pick up a used commercial popper on the cheap and pop enough to a season in a day or two.  Plus it is dirt cheap. You can haul enough to fill a 50 gallon drum 2/3 full on you back with no problem.  Just use the big commercial - tall and skinny popcorn bags.  Throw in a little grain ( oats - barley - mixed with molasses or syrup and you have a killer bait.

Put it in a 50 gallon drum with the lid bolted down and small holes in the bottom.  The bears have to work to get it to fall out of the barrel by shaking it.  Make sure to chain the barrel to the tree.  Cheap, light to carry, and no stink.  Bacon grease on the ground around the barrel and spray anise or vanilla every time you bait.  The bears often come right in as your leaving the area.  If you bait at consistant times the bears learn when the fresh food arrives and are waiting out of site for you to drop the food and go.

To bad they banned it here in Washington State.  It was a darned effective way to take bears.

[Manitoba Stickflinger]

Matt...I know 1600 lbs seems like a lot of bait but it is what is needed to last 1 week where I hunt. I have 4, 55 gallon drums topped up with the oats/corn/grease mixture with only a single 3 inch hole in the top. (kinda like a big pepper shaker) I can get the 4 wheeler within 25 yards of the bait so it's not much carrying. Each drum when full of the mixture is about 400 lbs. Again, 1600 lbs is a lot but I have up to 50 different bears there and commonly see 20 per night.

I don't claim to be an expert, but instead am very lucky to have permission on what I think is the best spot in the province.

Thanks for the compliment on the bear, he really is a beautiful boar. I've shot plenty that are bigger but this one on video with the longbow was awesome.

Great thread guys....I'm getting pumped for spring!

[mmgrode]

Good stuff fellas!  I've heard grease candles(and burns) can be effective for bringing out nocturnal bears.  Grease candles are made using old bacon, beef, pork lard/grease.  Rope can be used for the wick.  Not sure how long they last for a burn, but I'd bet they'd smell up the area and might pull that bear in a bit earlier.  

MG

Ryan-did you say "video"?    

[Manitoba Stickflinger]

Yeah...I managed to self video the whole hunt, right from crossing a creek nearly naked, beavers swimming by, a fisher under my tree, and the bear rolling in/ kill shot/ tracking. I just sent the tape to my cousin today as we make an annual video each year. Maybe I'll get him to post it here as I'm totally ignorant about that kind of stuff. The bear looks great on video (kinda like a swelled-up woodtick) He has a big white blaze on his chest you can't see in the pic and hw makes the drums look small. Guess I gotta post the vid now huh???