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Interrupted Bear baiting

Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2015 10:22 am
by Horizontal Hunter
I hunt in a state where you are required to pull the bait 10 days before the season starts as you are not allowed to bait or use dogs for bear. Nor surprisingly, our harvest for the 2014 bear season was 240 bears state wide. Our season starts on September 7th this year and I know that there is a lot of natural forage available at that time as well.

I have never specifically targeted bear before and I have about 7 days of hunting before the deer season starts on September 15 and once that starts I will be off chasing deer.

My plan is to run a bait site for 2-3 weeks before I have to pull it 10 days before the season. With a little luck I should have a couple of beaver carcasses for the bait site. Other than that I plan on hitting up the local pastry shop for some stale sweets as dog food.

This is a totally new venture for me so I would appreciate any suggestions the beast members have.

Thanks,

Bob

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Re: Interrupted Bear baiting

Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2015 10:30 am
by Hodag Hunter
Is scent legal to use during the 10 day no baiting time?

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Re: Interrupted Bear baiting

Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2015 10:54 am
by Singing Bridge
Without seeing the regulations in your area, I will offer an idea that would hopefully fit. I would program the bears to expect a big, fresh bait every 10 days and have the day you hunt be right on scedule. I would bait as many of these 10 day periods in a row as you could before you hunt, the more programming of the bears you do the better. It may well take a big bruin several weeks to find your bait site as well, which makes as much of this programming as possible a smart move, in my view. I know that some areas would give the impression that 10 days without bait would lead to a cold bait site, but if you can get away from other hunters I have successfully used this very tactic.

Re: Interrupted Bear baiting

Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2015 11:09 am
by Horizontal Hunter
Hodag Hunter wrote:Is scent legal to use during the 10 day no baiting time?

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This is the baiting reg:
Section 21A. It shall be unlawful to pursue or hunt bear or bobcat with the aid of a dog.
It shall be unlawful to hunt bear by the aid of baiting or knowingly to hunt bear in a baited area. “Baiting” means the placing, exposing, depositing, distributing, or scattering of any substance so as to constitute for bears a lure or attraction to areas where hunters are attempting to take them.

Unfortunately it eliminates scent as well. It is pretty all encompassing.

Singing Bridge wrote:Without seeing the regulations in your area, I will offer an idea that would hopefully fit. I would program the bears to expect a big, fresh bait every 10 days and have the day you hunt be right on scedule. I would bait as many of these 10 day periods in a row as you could before you hunt, the more programming of the bears you do the better. It may well take a big bruin several weeks to find your bait site as well, which makes as much of this programming as possible a smart move, in my view. I know that some areas would give the impression that 10 days without bait would lead to a cold bait site, but if you can get away from other hunters I have successfully used this very tactic.


Interesting tactic. I wouldn't have thought of programming them like that all summer.

Thank you both for the quick replies.

Bob

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Re: Interrupted Bear baiting

Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2015 5:28 am
by ihookem
Bears still come to bait sights 10 days after the bait is gone. You may get bigger bears this way too. The reason is , a big bear has a large range and may only come around once in a while. When he is in the area he will come snooping around. I use corn soaked in old cooking oil. This smell soaks into the dirt and in the dead logs laying around the sight for a long time. mollasis is a good idea too but I get cooking oil for free.

Re: Interrupted Bear baiting

Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2015 5:30 am
by ihookem
What state is this where you are hunting bear?

Re: Interrupted Bear baiting

Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2015 6:58 am
by Horizontal Hunter
ihookem wrote:Bears still come to bait sights 10 days after the bait is gone. You may get bigger bears this way too. The reason is , a big bear has a large range and may only come around once in a while. When he is in the area he will come snooping around. I use corn soaked in old cooking oil. This smell soaks into the dirt and in the dead logs laying around the sight for a long time. mollasis is a good idea too but I get cooking oil for free.


Thank you for the reply. I will see if I can drum up some cooking oil to use. It makes a lot of sense that the odor will linger in place as it soaks in. Have you tried dog food?

ihookem wrote:What state is this where you are hunting bear?


Massachusetts. Lots of restrictions making it harder than it needs to be. The tree hunggers got the legislature to pass this nonsense so it will take another act of the legislature to change it back; not gonna happen here.

Bob

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Re: Interrupted Bear baiting

Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2015 2:58 pm
by ihookem
Never used dog food. Corn with cooking oil early in the year and then as the season goes on they seem to get a bit fussier, maybe it's cause there is more bear bait in the woods. I go for cookies ETC and maybe some horse molassis later in the year.

Re: Interrupted Bear baiting

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 12:55 am
by Mike Foss
Bears are Habitual animals and will revisit bait stations that have not been baited for months. The key will be what's used as bait prior to your 10 day clean up. Take a 4ft piece of rebar with you at some point when you bait, pound that rebar in 2 to 3ft in the ground multiple times making multiple holes in your bear bait pit and pour grease or any liquid scent filling up those holes, the ground will be deeply and well saturated making those bears revisit more often then not when you are ready to hunt. Good luck.

Re: Interrupted Bear baiting

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 2:05 am
by BassBoysLLP
Mike Foss wrote:Bears are Habitual animals and will revisit bait stations that have not been baited for months. The key will be what's used as bait prior to your 10 day clean up. Take a 4ft piece of rebar with you at some point when you bait, pound that rebar in 2 to 3ft in the ground multiple times making multiple holes in your bear bait pit and pour grease or any liquid scent filling up those holes, the ground will be deeply and well saturated making those bears revisit more often then not when you are ready to hunt. Good luck.


Never heard that one, but I'm adding it to my list. Sounds like a winning strategy.

Re: Interrupted Bear baiting

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 4:45 am
by Horizontal Hunter
ihookem wrote:Never used dog food. Corn with cooking oil early in the year and then as the season goes on they seem to get a bit fussier, maybe it's cause there is more bear bait in the woods. I go for cookies ETC and maybe some horse molassis later in the year.


Mike Foss wrote:Bears are Habitual animals and will revisit bait stations that have not been baited for months. The key will be what's used as bait prior to your 10 day clean up. Take a 4ft piece of rebar with you at some point when you bait, pound that rebar in 2 to 3ft in the ground multiple times making multiple holes in your bear bait pit and pour grease or any liquid scent filling up those holes, the ground will be deeply and well saturated making those bears revisit more often then not when you are ready to hunt. Good luck.


Thank you both for the suggestions. I am sure that the bears are picky during the fall seasons as there is a lot of natural forage around at that time of the year.

How much grease do you go through in a 1week period for a single bait site?

Thanks,

Bob

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Re: Interrupted Bear baiting

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 5:12 am
by dan
Every state is different... In Minnesota we could use dog food and unlimited quanities so I had a varietie. Dodfood and corn were always the last things eaten. They liked the breads and donuts, cookies, the best. I poored a 5 gallon bucket of used grease over each bait once a week.

Re: Interrupted Bear baiting

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 6:13 am
by Horizontal Hunter
dan wrote:Every state is different... In Minnesota we could use dog food and unlimited quanities so I had a varietie. Dodfood and corn were always the last things eaten. They liked the breads and donuts, cookies, the best. I poored a 5 gallon bucket of used grease over each bait once a week.


Thanks Dan. I am just trying to get an idea of what I need.

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Re: Interrupted Bear baiting

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 5:04 pm
by ihookem
I guess 3-5 gal. per week. They love that stuff and will lay righ in it.

Re: Interrupted Bear baiting

Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2015 1:37 am
by Horizontal Hunter
Do you put it out all at once or a gallon a day?

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