Bear bait question

[bigbucks1234]

To all the bear hunters out there, I'm looking at getting a bait mix from a bait dealer here in central mn for my bear hunt this fall. One of his mixes is a blend of m@m's Skittles fiber one bars and almonds. I have never tried almonds before, just curious if anyone else here has ever tried these? I also plan on using oats, raisin juice, bread and maybe some corn and apples. If anything , any bear hitting my baits will probably be pretty regular if you know what I mean

[Mike Foss]

To all the bear hunters out there, I'm looking at getting a bait mix from a bait dealer here in central mn for my bear hunt this fall. One of his mixes is a blend of m@m's Skittles fiber one bars and almonds. I have never tried almonds before, just curious if anyone else here has ever tried these? I also plan on using oats, raisin juice, bread and maybe some corn and apples. If anything , any bear hitting my baits will probably be pretty regular if you know what I mean

No pun intended: Anytime you can add nuts (any nuts) to the mix you will have some awesome bait. What I like about nuts is if it rains they will not dissolve or get soggy like pastries do. There will still be something there at your bait station for them to eat.

[Bearman13]

I plan i in buying at least one tote of that mix from Cory. And always a couple totes of trail mix. Always wanna mix your bait every week or few days

[Edcyclopedia]

NH doesn't allow chocolate along with some other states. Make sure you're safe...

[Mike Foss]

NH doesn't allow chocolate along with some other states. Make sure you're safe...

A bear would have to eat quit a bit of chocolate to get sick or die. Its the unprocessed chunks of chocolate you really have to worry about. But yes, most on here have been well versed on chocolate.

[bigbucks1234]

I must confess, I wasn't aware the trouble with chocolate. As far as I can tell mn doesn't have issue with chocolate. Thanks for the heads up.

[BassBoysLLP]

Sounds like a good bait. I'd give it a good look before buying to evaluate proportions of each ingredient. Don't be afraid to take one big scoop to evaluate past the sale layer. Nuts are good.

[Mike Foss]

I must confess, I wasn't aware the trouble with chocolate. As far as I can tell mn doesn't have issue with chocolate. Thanks for the heads up.

Your right, Minnesota doesn't have an issue, just don't feed the bears huge amounts of chocolate. In Wisconsin's bear hunting regulations, the DNR included a caution using to much Chocolate.

[BassBoysLLP]

You are much more likely to kill a cub than a mature bear with the chocolate. Small amounts are "OK" even with the cubs though...this applies to a lot animals.

[Bear Magnum]

That mix you mentioned sounded like a good bait to me.

Almonds rock as a bear bait, as do any nut/trail mix. From what I've seen a nut based bait will hold bears on a bait site better than anything else I've tried.

[bigbucks1234]

Thanks for all the input guys, much appreciated!!!!! What about bait pulling bear off of natural foods like acorns, hazelnuts or berries. Does a guy have a chance or does nature's own win every time?

[Mike Foss]

Thanks for all the input guys, much appreciated!!!!! What about bait pulling bear off of natural foods like acorns, hazelnuts or berries. Does a guy have a chance or does nature's own win every time?

After the breeding season bears will spend as much as 20 hours a day feeding. It is important to mix up your bait often so bears don't get bored with the same bait. You can have the best bait in the world but a natural food like acorns will always win them over. The bears might abandoned your bait for a few days but they will be back after they get there fill of acorns etc. No bear hunter in Wisconsin or Minnesota should be to concerned about berries, by the time September rolls around almost all berries are either eaten or dried up and gone. I personally am not concerned at all with a natural food source, I am more concerned about what type of bait I use, how often I bait and the other guy baiting down the road.

Geographically speaking, not all areas are the same, Example...Dan Infalt plans on hunting in Zone C again, like all bear hunters in zone C, competition (to many tags) is always a huge factor along with agricultural fields full of corn. In the North woods we don't have to worry about those two concerns as much, also much bigger tracks of public land.

[dan]

Thanks for all the input guys, much appreciated!!!!! What about bait pulling bear off of natural foods like acorns, hazelnuts or berries. Does a guy have a chance or does nature's own win every time?

After the breeding season bears will spend as much as 20 hours a day feeding. It is important to mix up your bait often so bears don't get bored with the same bait. You can have the best bait in the world but a natural food like acorns will always win them over. The bears might abandoned your bait for a few days but they will be back after they get there fill of acorns etc. No bear hunter in Wisconsin or Minnesota should be to concerned about berries, by the time September rolls around almost all berries are either eaten or dried up and gone. I personally am not concerned at all with a natural food source, I am more concerned about what type of bait I use, how often I bait and the other guy baiting down the road.

Geographically speaking, not all areas are the same, Example...Dan Infalt plans on hunting in Zone C again, like all bear hunters in zone C, competition (to many tags) is always a huge factor along with agricultural fields full of corn. In the North woods we don't have to worry about those two concerns as much, also much bigger tracks of public land.

Ive noticed in far northern Minnesota we do still have berrys in abundance opening week. Blueberrys, rassberrys, and chokecherrys. But its seems to me, unlike acorns they prefer the bait over the berrys. From what I was seeing it seemed like they really liked the wild choke cherrys. Setting up close to the natural reoccurring foods is a great tactic. We have several baits near open logged off areas that are full of all these berrys and it seems the bears know it and go there for years at the same timing, whether its nuts, apples, or berrys (where they do last till season).

[Bear Magnum]

Thanks for all the input guys, much appreciated!!!!! What about bait pulling bear off of natural foods like acorns, hazelnuts or berries. Does a guy have a chance or does nature's own win every time?

My main bait site in Upper Michigan has a high density of very productive red oaks that are dropping a lot of acorns almost every year. As long as I'm using a nut based bait (I've tried other baits like granola without as much success, YMMV), the bears keep slamming the bait. Individual bears might leave for a bit, but they come back.

[BassBoysLLP]

Thanks for all the input guys, much appreciated!!!!! What about bait pulling bear off of natural foods like acorns, hazelnuts or berries. Does a guy have a chance or does nature's own win every time?

After the breeding season bears will spend as much as 20 hours a day feeding. It is important to mix up your bait often so bears don't get bored with the same bait. You can have the best bait in the world but a natural food like acorns will always win them over. The bears might abandoned your bait for a few days but they will be back after they get there fill of acorns etc. No bear hunter in Wisconsin or Minnesota should be to concerned about berries, by the time September rolls around almost all berries are either eaten or dried up and gone. I personally am not concerned at all with a natural food source, I am more concerned about what type of bait I use, how often I bait and the other guy baiting down the road.

Geographically speaking, not all areas are the same, Example...Dan Infalt plans on hunting in Zone C again, like all bear hunters in zone C, competition (to many tags) is always a huge factor along with agricultural fields full of corn. In the North woods we don't have to worry about those two concerns as much, also much bigger tracks of public land.

Ive noticed in far northern Minnesota we do still have berrys in abundance opening week. Blueberrys, rassberrys, and chokecherrys. But its seems to me, unlike acorns they prefer the bait over the berrys. From what I was seeing it seemed like they really liked the wild choke cherrys. Setting up close to the natural reoccurring foods is a great tactic. We have several baits near open logged off areas that are full of all these berrys and it seems the bears know it and go there for years at the same timing, whether its nuts, apples, or berrys (where they do last till season).

They key on choke cherries in my spots in C as well but acorns are clutch.

I did a bit of a side experiment this year. 2 of my 4 baits are in areas next to big oak ridges. My hopes are the baits get stronger once the acorns start dropping. Those two are also my weakest baits right now.