Honey Burns in Maine

[Rustyaxecamp]

Are Honey Burns legal for bear in Maine?

Thanks

Erik
Rusty Axe Camp

[MA Jay]

Baiting is legal in Maine, so a honey burn should be considered legal. Lord knows I have used a lot of it at bait sites.

[moosehornhunter]

Rusty.....Honey burns ARE legal in Maine, HOWEVER, I strongly advise you against using them. When you introduce anything new to a bait site, the bears get spooky. I have had a bunch of guys burn honey on my baits, and every time, without fail, the baits go dead as a doornail. When a bait is getting hit hard, don't do anything. Just sit and wait. Bears are extremely spooky critters that don't like any change at all. Alot of guys think that burning will only make the bait more enticing, but the opposite is true.

[adams]

Moose,

I also had considered a burn but in the instance of a nocturnal bear. Is it advised that this may bring in a bear that waits for dark to hit the bait or in your opinion is it an all around no-no?
Also, Do you have a suggestion for a bear that hangs up until dark? I've heard have a hunter and a "dummy hunter hunter" and have the "dummy" leave the stand 20-25 minutes before dark and somtines this will bring the bait wise bear in. I've also read that setting another bait 200-300 yards up wind of the "noctournal bait" will sometimes draw a bear to the new bait before they move on to the established bait.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Adams

[MA Jay]

Adams, some things that have worked for us over the years with nocturnal bears.
[ul][*]Setting a new stand or a climber 80-100 yards down the back trail from the bait in the thick stuff. This has worked for some really big bears that would only show after dark.[*]Reducing the amount of bait you put in the barrel. This works especially well on baits with multiple bears. We have had larger bears get fed up fast entering bait sites that were cleaned out but smelled of other bears. They tend to show up earlier to beat the competition.[*]If you have time as it can take a few days to settle a bait, we've had limited success with an alarm clock set to go off when your trail timer says the bear is coming in. Last ditch shot in my book.[*]Calls. We've had some success calling in bears with rabbit sounds or fawn bawls to a bait site. Not always productive, but we have defnitely called bears in that were just waiting for dark.[/ul]
These are a few that we have used. Have you ever tried anything different? Anyone else?

[liquidorange]

there are some things to consider when introducing a new bait or scent to a bear hunting location. i have done things both ways. i have left the baits alone some years and other times i spiced them up without telling the outfitter. guides generally dont like you screwing with the baits so its a tough call. i have found in maine generally the camp is paying the paper company like 50$ for each bait site so the outfitters ive used will only let you let you hunt all week on the same bait with a switch maybe later in the week if you complain about not seeing anything. sometimes waiting is a good thing and a hard call to make. where i hunted in ontario the guide baited like 100-s of sites and i could sit on any one i wanted on any day i think it was because they leased a chunk of land from the crown and not individual sites. on 2 seperate years hunts i spiced up the baits on the last days with vanilla and vegetable oil in a spray bottle. i had similar things happen where a 140# pound bear would come in early then a big ole tubby right at dark. i think it creates curiousity and a competition thing to check out the new goodies. its my opinion that sometimes you have to take the hunt into your own hands and sometimes letting things ride is better. its a coin toss but i would wait till the last day of the hunt before doing anything funky.