bear baiting
 

Some friends & I have booked a hunt in canada this spring & were woundering what would be the best to use?
The first hunt 4 yrs. ago was a bust, useing frozen meat scraps & we are trying to maximise our chances.
any help or advice ? our hunt is the second wk. of may. Thanks GB50

RE: bear baiting
 

Almost anything will work once they find it, to help the bears find the bait do a bacon or honey burn (burn honey and/or bacon fat) to get good smells floating on the wind.Once they have found the bait site they will return.

RE: bear baiting
 

If you booked a hunt here i take it you are with an outfitter. If they are guiding you all of the baiting will be done prior to your arrival no? I am not sure what you situation is but baiting needs to be done well in advance of the hunt to maximize the number of bears that are hitting the site. I really do not think this is up to you but rather your outfitter. Where are you hunting? Who is doing the baiting?

here are some links on this topic
Baiting bears
http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=1943383&mpage=1&key=bear%2cbait& amp;#1943402

Best Bear Bait.
http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=1899236&mpage=1

RE: bear baiting
 

Weare hunting around Val Dore,Quebec. the baiting is done 2 mon. prior. I'm looking for something to inhance the bait station. they supply frozen bags of meat scraps.

RE: bear baiting
 

Our friends in Maine say nothing beats glazed donuts!

RE: bear baiting
 

Since the bait is established in advance I'd suggest scent enhancements as a way to spruce your baits. Adding different foods will have minimal impact in a short period.

Such would be a honey, licorice or bacon burn (as mentioned). Or you could use products like bear sense smoking sticks. I know many bearhunters and outfitters who usescents in addition to there baits. Anise is a great bear attractant and in the past a licorce burn or pure anise oilburn has yielded results for myself (even without a bait established). So my first choice would be theanise. Anotherwould be 10 miles of dead fish.No point in berry( to early) orrotten meat (should already be in the air by way of the meat scrapes).

FYI Bear Sense link:http://cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/pod/standard-pod-wrapped.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/pod-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat20712-cat20096&rid=&indexId=cat20096&navActi on=push&masterpathid=&navCount=3&paren tType=index&parentId=cat20096&id=0004722

(if you go with the smoke sticks I'd advise you toget the fold down bucket they make. While one can be made out ofa plastic pail,itwillnot be as easy to transport for you)

G/L

RE: bear baiting
 

Skeeter;
Thanks for the info. I will try the anise burn!!

RE: bear baiting
 

Hi Graybeard,

If your outfitter is doing his/her job you don't and shouldn't bring a thing to bait with....period! If the baiting has been going on for 2 months the outfitter is probally baiting with the same bait every time they make a bait run, now mr. bear is used to the smells of his bait. You come into the picture with a different bait/smell. Bear gets nervious and won't come into your baits and then people get mad and put blame on the outfitter. Don't change a thing. Now say you have a few smaller bears at the bait, they don't seem to be as touchy as the big boys. I suggest talking to your outfitter and get their opinion on this. On the topic of doing a burn. A burn can and sometimes do work wonders, but again if the outfitter dosent use anise when they make their bait run it is going to be a different smell that the bears haven't had before and will become very timid to come into the baits. Not that it dosent work because it can. An example of this is if you have a bear that has never been into the bait and just happens to be walking by and gets a wiff of your burn they may waddle in to see what the stink is about. By the way, honey makes a great burn, but I bait with all sweets, so its not a new scent in the area.
Bottom line is talk with your outfitter. I see way too many posts on here with people going on a outfitted bear hunt and want to know what to use for bait when they get to camp. If your outfitter is doing his/her job you don't need to worry about this at all. All you need to worry about is putting aperfect shot on a great animal.

Best of luck on your hunt.

RE: bear baiting
 

If the outfitter is doing his job you don't need to bait yourself. He is getting paid to bait and bring bears to the stand site. He is in the bussness to give you the best chance to Harvist a Bear. If you have to bring Bait with you , WRONG OUTFITTER or this is a self guided hunt.

Here's my opion , Many guys spend $500 on a hunt bring there own equiptment and Grub. They do this time after time , say 5 times the have $2500 plus in a hunt and no Bear or a Little Bear. I know some grate outfitters that I have been to that is so remote you will kill a bear if you can stay still and can shoot.I am talking big bears.Why be cheap , save your money and hire a good outfitter, there is no garentee thats why it's called HUNTINGandNOT SHOOTING.

RE: bear baiting
 

Blazerman;
That's true,our hunt is 1500.00 per person in a new area the outfitter aquired last year. it's a national park that hasen't been hunted for 35 years. his area is aprox: 4000 sq. miles. he baits until hunters get there , then the hunters do the rest with frozen meat.
Should we let the meat thaw before setting it out??
Again, only trying to maximize chance to harvest a good bear. the sights are set up at 75 to 150 yards.& shooting skills are fair to good.
ALL ADVICE IS WELCOME!! Thanks GB50

RE: bear baiting
 

Yes by all means let it Thaw out smell is the thing with Bears. Thats why most Main Gudes use Dounuts the sweet smell and Taste.

RE: bear baiting
 

AGAIN THANK'S
I will try to apply the info I have gained on this forum !!! GB 50

RE: bear baiting
 

Hi Graybeard,

Just noticed on one of your posts that the shots are from 75-150 yards! That is a long shot for baited bear hunting. Typically most shots are under 30, with most being around 12yards. Reason, you want to be in the thickest stuff you can find, preferably next to a swamp. If you are in the right area you won't have a shot over 30 yards. Big bears like to have the security of thick cover to move around in. Smaller bears are not as picky, along with sows who like the more open cover than the bigger males. Ask your outfitter to put you in the darkest swamp he has baits at. Could be one of the reasons you hunt last time was a bust. Cover to a big black bear is almost as good as darkness. If you are hunting thin thin cover, the big boys will mainlyonly come out in the saftey of darkness. Usually, there is allways the exception to the rule, but odds are thicker the better

Also you stated that you are going hunting the second week of May, and the outfitter starts baiting two months prior to you being there.....They would have to start baiting in March, or just in a copule of weeks from now. Um,,,,there is usually quite a few feet of snow on the ground, and the bears are not out of the dens quite yet. Not saying he isn't doing what he issaying, but that sounds a bit early to me. Call him a copule of weeks and see how the baits are doing.;) Or he could possibly be in a area that dosen't as much snow or something.....but check things out, check things out, check things out.

Good Luck!

RE: bear baiting
 

Hello there. Unfortunately I cant help with tour question,actually im tring to find out more info on black bear hunts myself. I would like to when and were to go. who to contact and lastly how much are we talkin for a two guy bear hunt using compounds over bait. I realllly want to do one of these hunt,of course as long as its not to pricey.HELP?????

RE: bear baiting
 

The outfitter is Nunavik Adventures, Phone= 1-888-244-CHAR , Email= [email protected] . all your questions can be answered on the site. GOOD LUCK hunting! GB50

RE: bear baiting
 

Thanks BearGuy, I will keep this in mind when we get there & ask for just that, Thick ,dark & swamp. Stand to reason, more secure area & hideing. About the starting of bait, I'm fairly sure he said he started 1or maybe 2 mon. before start of season. Outfitter is Bear-o-Rama, area around Val Dore, Quebec, Canada . Our hunt 2nd wk. of season. I WILL call him about the baiting progress. Thanks GB 50

RE: bear baiting
 

Pastery is the way to go for baiting bears mixed with skinned beaver if you know a trapper.Some guys use oats drenched in livestock molasses or deep fryer grease.Shots should be set up 10-30 yrds max in tree stands not at the distances described.Hope your outfitter is not taking you for a nature hike....Harold

RE: bear baiting
 

Being an outfitter just like BearGuy, his words are gospel. I would have typed the exact same things he did, but I didn't see this thread until now.

RE: bear baiting
 

Thanks for the kind words Dan. And good luck on your hunt GB. By the way,,,,did you check out the baiting yet?

RE: bear baiting
 

Yes; He starts aprox:1-2 wks. prior to start of season(I heard him wrong).Also the bait will be 35 to 50 yards(cover alowing) & if he is takeing us on a nature hike, he will see a part of HUMAN nature he won't be pleased with. Something will be hanging on wall!!
The area has not been hunted for 35 years so I'm fairly certain we will have a chance at a fair to good bear. Thanks all for input. GB50

RE: bear baiting
 

ive hunted bear quite a bit in maine and a couple times in ontario near timmons. bears will probably eat anything but in maine they always used sweets and baited with frozen meat in canada. your guide may not like you jazzing up his baits with your own stuff. i also have mixed feelings on bringing different smells to a new bait. i have done it in the past and also pissed ff the outfitter. you have to realize that its there bait station and after you leave they may put another client on it so your guide may think youve ruined the bait. i would ask first. if you need to bring somethuing i would travel light though. i make a concoction of vanilla extract-and cooking oil. old or new whatever is cheap. i think its the vanilla that the bear smells in the do-nuts. why bring bags of sweets when you can just spray the heck out of the pine tree limbs.

RE: bear baiting
 

Graybeard,
That sounds a little bit more reasonable. But I would still question the 50 yard shot. There is no reason for it, and the cover you should be hunting should not allow it. But his territory may differ from what I hunt. Good luck on your hunt.

Oh, and luquidorange...not every outfitter hunts multiple hunters at a bait site.;) Only some, but good post.

RE: bear baiting
 

I do not hunt bears as I do not like to eat them, but, have friends that do and friends that guide also. Most guide in Maine do in fact use sweets and get alot of bear that way. Canned cherry pie filling dumped onto a pile of sweets will bring in the bear here. However one such place the bears come into rather good. But, there is a big bear that has killed 2 of a friends bear hounds as he would not tree. He also would not come into sweets. He preffers meat and gets into a pile of animals discarded after being skun out by a trapper. To date no one has shot him yet though they have tried to get him more than once. I also had a grandfather that shot one off his door step that was eating an old sponge cake he had thrown out. So sweets would prolly work best.

RE: bear baiting
 

BearGuy;
The only thing I can say is that I'm going to try my best to bag a good bear,whatever the range. I'm shooting my 45/70 from25to 75 yards& keeping them in a 3 inch groop. If that won't do it I Quit! as long as I get a chance is all I'm asking from the outfitter.
Last season out of 39 bear taken15 were over 400 lbs. & 3 -500 +.
Out of 120 bait sights I should be able to pick a good one. to date there are 12 guys going, and all have hunted together before. I thing all will be well & it should be a good time. Thanks again for all the posts you guys have entered. It's like haveing good buddies a key stroke away. GB 50