Playing the wind with bear bait

[MThunter]

When you bait bears how do you play the wind? Do you sit up wind of the bait or downwind or what?

[TROPHYHUNTER25]

I WOULD SIT UP WIND SO YOU CAN SEE THEM COMING

[Elkcrazy8]

The bears will windcheck the bait so neither would work well. I hunt out of a blind and will try to set up somewhat cross wind from the bait. I also put a bottle of liquid smoke in front of my blind to help cover up my scent should it circle around.....

[Pioneer2]

Use a treestand and setup like you would for deer in reguards to wind direction.If using barrels for bait containers I like to smear mollassas,bacon grease or deep frier grease on the lid and ground as any bears visiting the site with make nice scent trails leaving the bait thus attracting other bears that cross their path.My son is going to try a incense type stick you light under his stand.I set them up for 25yard shots.Also chain and lag screw with a large washer your barrels to the tree if you want to see them again........Good luck..........Harold

[WARedBear]

Hunt the wind as best you can....but it doesn't really matter that much. I big mature smart bear will more than likely walk all around the bait to not only scent it out...but also to look for you. We had a stand once that was on the side of a knoll. The trail the bear was taking was down the side of a mountain...he couldn't come straight to the bait because the hill we were on was too steep. So he walked up the trail we used to get to the stand...walk behind us and look into the stand...walk up another knoll cross over the swamp, down another knoll, around the back of it and then to the top of the knoll we were on so he could look into the stand again. Then he would go to the bait. He would travel about 320° around us and the bait when he could have walked almost straight to it. He did this every single time he came in. Took him almost 45 minutes to make the journey. Most of the time it was dark before he would come in so we would have to leave. I tried to set-up a tree stand along his trail but he never came in when I was there. You learn...and so do they.

Happy Hunting
Reid