Temperatures and bear hunting

Unread postby **Schultzy** » Tue Sep 13, 2011 9:16 am

Figured I'd start a thread pertaining to temps Instead of asking a couple other guys In a different thread why they prefer one or the other. What would you rather have? Hot or cool weather? For you folks who say warmer or for those of you who don't like cold fronts moving In tell me why you say this.

As for me I'll take the cooler weather any day of the week. Bears this time of year are filling up with fat quick. It don't take long at all for them to heat up with the added fat to their already warm hide. When It's hot out (80 degrees +) lots of times our baits slow way down. Our baits In the past have always performed better with the cooler temps (below 80 degree's) . When a cold front comes In we all get excited. Lot of bears In our camp have been shot when temps drop suddenly. Wednesday of this week their calling for a big drop In temps (low 30's for lows). It's too bad my brother and his wife won't be hunting. I can almost guarantee bear will be moving early Thursday evening and also there will probably be more morning hits as well. If this was late In the bear season (end of September) I'd then be more worried about It being I could see the colder temps sending bears to their dens. Not yet though this time of year In my experiences. Their still putting the fat on.

What's your take?

Unread postby **Hodag Hunter** » Tue Sep 13, 2011 9:53 am

Good post and curious what others have to say also from experiance.

I don't have a clue why warmer weather seems to produce vs cold fronts. I have been burned in the past playing the cold front and don't know why.

Like said before it seems soon as the front moves thru (could only be a couple of days or a week stretch) and warmer weather returns the feed bag is on. But the baits only close to the bears core area or denning area are the ones that keep getting hit. The 2-5 mile circuts are finsihed/curtailed (trail camera confirmed also) and only consistant baits are hit.

I am really stumped by the why it happens and have talked with some bear guides that agee. They didn't have a very good reason either.

The one thing I'll add, in our experiance, is this pertains to maily larger older bears. Again a guy would sure think the opposite, but seems the case with what I have witnessed. Smaller bears, ecspecially first year denning by themselves, seem to stay out even after the snow flies if good food (bait) is consistantly around.

Unread postby **Stanley** » Tue Sep 13, 2011 9:54 am

Great topic.

Unread postby **PLB** » Tue Sep 13, 2011 12:17 pm

I shot my 401 pound P&Y on the first day of WI season last year. Temp was 58 degrees for a high with a breezy NW Wind. I shot him 15 minutes before the end of legal hunting hours. After that night all my baits dried up completely... I couldn't figure out why?? The cooler weather was great for sitting and the cool breeze kept the bugs away, but after that first real cold snap, my baits went to crap!! Another guy told me because of all the rain we got last summer that the mushroom crop in the woods was unreal?? Maybe that had something to do with it, but all I know is the baits dried up when the weather got cool!! I was in Zone C which is a no dog area too!! Maybe the cooler weather triggers something inside a bear that makes its body start to slow down and get ready for winter, more sluggish, etc.....

Unread postby **Schultzy** » Tue Sep 13, 2011 4:02 pm

It sure Is something how things work out completely opposite for one then the other. Goes to show hunting Is never a for sure thing. Good stuff all. Keep It coming. One thing I'll add to this discussion- For our group the later the season the more bigger bears hit our baits. The majority of the bigger bears we've had on camera on baits usually show up later In the season rather then early. A guide I've had a couple conversation's with up where we hunt that's been guiding for 30 some years says If you want to shoot the biggest bears around wait till late season (October).

Unread postby **Edcyclopedia** » Wed Sep 14, 2011 4:47 am

Had a 200 pounder come into me when it was in the 50's.

My only other experience was similar back in 95.

I know - I know, not much of a bear hunter am I...

If I had an infamous buddy from MN come my way he could change my bear hunting life forever!

Unread postby **dan** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 10:38 am

I have seen bears in both cold and warm weather, but it seems to me that consistant warm calm weather has better results for me... When cold fronts move in the hits seem to get less frequent.
I wonder though, if your ( Shcultzy ) not getting different results because of your choice of bait? I know you like to bait with meat, and I know bears prefer fresh meat over rancid, so maybe the hot weather ruins your bait...?

Unread postby **BigHunt** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 10:44 am

dan wrote:I have seen bears in both cold and warm weather, but it seems to me that consistant warm calm weather has better results for me... When cold fronts move in the hits seem to get less frequent.
I wonder though, if your ( Shcultzy ) not getting different results because of your choice of bait? I know you like to bait with meat, and I know bears prefer fresh meat over rancid, so maybe the hot weather ruins your bait...?

realy dan i heard they like rotten meat better

not disagreing wit you i just heard that ..i dont realy know

Unread postby **Schultzy** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 10:57 am

dan wrote:I wonder though, if your ( Shcultzy ) not getting different results because of your choice of bait? I know you like to bait with meat, and I know bears prefer fresh meat over rancid, so maybe the hot weather ruins your bait...?

I've saw some bear like the fresh stuff over the rotten stuff and I've also saw the complete opposite. My big guy I shot In 2000 preferred the maggot crawling rotten meat I had at the bait over the fresh stuff I put In there the day I shot him.

Last year my dad shot his big guy October 3rd. 4 days prior he ran out of meat and had to resort to the sweets we had left. When he ran out of meat his hits dropped off. The bear he shot wasn't the bear he was after. The bear he was after left after dad ran out of meat. So yeah you may be right with saying were getting different results with the bait were using.

Unread postby **BigHunt** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 11:02 am

Schultzy wrote:
dan wrote:I wonder though, if your ( Shcultzy ) not getting different results because of your choice of bait? I know you like to bait with meat, and I know bears prefer fresh meat over rancid, so maybe the hot weather ruins your bait...?
I've saw some bear like the fresh stuff over the rotten stuff and I've also saw the complete opposite. My big guy I shot In 2000 preferred the maggot crawling rotten meat I had at the bait over the fresh stuff I put In there the day I shot him.

Last year my dad shot his big guy October 3rd. 4 days prior he ran out of meat and had to resort to the sweets we had left. When he ran out of meat his hits dropped off. The bear he shot wasn't the bear he was after. The bear he was after left after dad ran out of meat. So yeah you may be right with saying were getting different results with the bait were using.

interesting

Unread postby **dan** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 8:47 pm

Schultzy wrote:
dan wrote:I wonder though, if your ( Shcultzy ) not getting different results because of your choice of bait? I know you like to bait with meat, and I know bears prefer fresh meat over rancid, so maybe the hot weather ruins your bait...?
I've saw some bear like the fresh stuff over the rotten stuff and I've also saw the complete opposite. My big guy I shot In 2000 preferred the maggot crawling rotten meat I had at the bait over the fresh stuff I put In there the day I shot him.

Last year my dad shot his big guy October 3rd. 4 days prior he ran out of meat and had to resort to the sweets we had left. When he ran out of meat his hits dropped off. The bear he shot wasn't the bear he was after. The bear he was after left after dad ran out of meat. So yeah you may be right with saying were getting different results with the bait were using.

Interesting... I think every bear ( like humans ) has differing tastes. Some might like sweets, some meats, some a variety. I try to mix it up... I never baited with "mostly" meat. But the meat I have used was never the 1st thing eaten. But I do not use it often enough to judge based on just my experiances. I always thought, and read, that rancid meat to bring them in ( scent wise ) but that they like fresh... Makes sense that some might prefer rancid... But my baits do get hit better or at least more often in hotter weather.

Unread postby **Hilts** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 5:31 am

This past week after the cold front came in I was seeing a pile of tracks the first couple mornings. Not much movement during the day though. Alot of them seemed to be traveling bear, like snaggletooth appeared to be doing. We had a lot of road walkers that appeared as though they were trying to cover miles to head towards dens. I followed one pair of 3.5-4" tracks for about 2.5 miles down a road.

The past few months it seemed like on the hotter days the mid-day/early afternoon activity increased

Temperatures and bear hunting

Temperatures and bear hunting

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