Mike Foss wrote:Yes I am curious also, finish the story, don't leave us hanging! lol
Ha! Well, let me just say that if there is one reason to DIY, it is because setting bait brings with it the added bonus of the endless anticipation of looking at trail camera footage! I don't think my DIY story would be as good as the Bear Hunting podcast episode, but it should entertain veterans and maybe provide some tips for someone looking to DIY this year (or even next). And lets be clear, Zone C doesn't have quite as along a wait as other zones, so you can certainly hunt every other year at the least.
Our story begins almost a year ago when my twin brother and I drew tags together. My brother had shot a bear on a guided hunt in 2015 and I sat in as his back-up shooter. That had me hooked. Two years later we hired a guide, but my twin injured his back during the summer and it was severe enough to prevent him from hunting. I decided this was something I wanted to do together, so we sold our spots and regrouped last year. So when we had an opportunity to hunt again last year, we hemmed and hawed but ultimately decided we would try to do it on our own.
So the first week of June, I set out to scout the areas that we were targeting, all which appeared to have good bear habitat. For bait, I was using a homemade recipe of popcorn, marshmallows, peanut butter, syrup and raspberry jello. The folks at my (volunteer) fire department thought it sounded and tasted delicious. As it turns out, so did the bears. We started baiting two times per week at 4 sites. When I went to the first pile, the bait was gone! Trail camera footage? Racoons... Second pile was more of the same. But the third pile was different. A small bear definitely hit it, and the trail camera proved it. Same with the third, although it was a sow and two cubs.
We quickly learned that if we wanted our baits to outlast the coons, we had to beef up where we dug holes to place our bait and fortify the area with more logs. In hindsight, I wish I would have made some stumps as I think it would have better protected our baits. Not only from critters, but the rain as well. We continued baiting twice per week up until the end of July. As the temperatures warmed up, the deer flies came out in swarms. If there is any hesitation I have about baiting again, it is those damn flies!
In August we were baiting more frequently - at least three times per week, sometimes four. I kept using the same bait recipe since in my mind if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Well, as you can imagine, about 1 week before season started, this worked just fine with regular hits,. Throughout the summer, we had a good mix of bears stopping by, some big, some small, but most just about average. We were both a little concerned that baits were not hit as hard the week before the season started. Still, I think we were pretty pumped heading into the start of the season.
So the first day of the season, I was ready to hunt. with my brother coming up Friday. The site I chose to start with sat in an opening near a creek leading from a swamp. It had the best point of entry based on the wind conditions, and had been the most frequently hit leading up to the season. When I checked to restock the bait, it showed no signs of being hit. So up a tree I went. While mostly quiet, in the late morning, I heard a very distinctive grunt. I swore I saw a flash of black, but through the thick brush, I really couldn't see anything. But a minute later, I heard the same grunt coming from another direction. For the next 5 minutes, I kept hearing this same grunt from different points all around me, almost as if I was being circled. Eventually the grunts stopped. Aside from some porcupines, squirrels, deer and other creatures, that was the only sign I had.
The second day was much like the first. I chose a different site, this time using a ground blind (ghostblind) and setting up about an hour before shooting hours. The bait was not hit by any bear, but I restocked it and sat in for the . Maybe 30 minutes into my sit, and still in pitch black, I heard the same guttural grunt I heard the day before, with perhaps some faint sounds of shuffling. That was unnerving! But much like the day before, I had no bear sightings, just hunches that I was winded. That afternoon, I checked the other baits, and all had gone cold.
So on Friday, we switched things up. I ran to a local bait supplier for some hardier bait - breaded almonds, peanut butter, etc. along with some scent to lay down. The afternoon sit was quiet. I met my brother at camp that evening and we regrouped to come decide on which bait piles to hunt. The good news is that our piles started getting hit after that point. The bad news, is that despite freshly stocked bait piles, we just never saw a bear in the open. Occasional flashes of black, several grunts, and then quiet. Weather was not as good as it got a little cooler, on and off rain, but overall still fun. On Sunday, I saw the biggest bear yet on camera, but alas it just wasn't meant to be. Rain came in the afternoon, which was kind of fitting in the end.
We learned a lot, we made adjustments, and I am sure this year will be better than last. We haven't decided on whether we will hunt DIY or hire a guide, but I would happily DIY my hunt again.
