[Birddog]

Hey guys I've never hunted bear before but I am seriously thinking about starting this fall and I have a couple of questions...

When do you start baiting for the fall season?
What is the best bait in the fall?
When does the season start?

 

[SIMPLELIFE]

I am no expert on bear but the season starts Sept13-25 for bow
and Oct1-Nov6 .
Bait could pretty well be anything with a good odor,alot of guys have different recipes for bait,my friend gets old bread form the bakery and dumps molasses on it.Somebody here will give you a good recipe for bait.I would start a couple weeks before you plan to hunt.One word of advice is to try to avoid the front shoulder blade,it is like a brick wall.

Good luck and hope you bag a good one.

SL

 

[Bearhunter]

Bearhunting eh, I just happen to know a guy or two that slays bruins yearly. You will have much more bears frequenting your bait if you hunt in the spring. Find a nice secluded spot close to a pond, bog, or creek. Use a 50 gallon drum and make sure you securley fasten it wit cable or chain, as if it is not the bears will rip it off and push it in to the woods to clean it out. Cut a hole in the side about 6x6 inches and cut a hole in the top that is the same size as a 5 gallon pale. This hole is to dumpo the bait in to and when done jam the pale in the hole so ***** and critters cant get acess to it and as well stuff a few big sticks in the 6x6 hole too. We use a feed sack hoisted into a tree filled with old shellfish and rotten meat, this will stink bad bad bad and will attract them from quite a ways. For bait we use oats mixed with mollases until it is a goopy mess, place 3-5 gallons of this followed by half a pale of bread or donuts, topped off with 3-4 litres of old cooking grease. Make a big mess all around the site with the grease as the bears will paw that smell all through the forest. Try and place the bait site so the sun is at your back, so the sun blinds the bears. If I have one main tip it would be to be extremly repetative in your bait cycles, ie same time, same amount and same noises while baiting. Have seen on many occasions bears be out before I even have climbed up the stand. Bears are very patternable, but also are very smart, so use the same techniques as hunting deer. Ie scent, wind etc. Hope this helps!

 

[chadman]

you should check the hunting guide from DNR, I believe it says you are only allowed to start baiting 2 weeks prior to the season opening.

 

[TheCoachZed]

you should check the hunting guide from DNR, I believe it says you are only allowed to start baiting 2 weeks prior to the season opening.

I thought so too, til someone corrected me - that's only for a protected wildlife area.

Rotten fish and a molasses or honey burn will bring bears into a bait, and lots of bread (get it at a wholesale bakery outlet, or something like that) will keep them there. In the fall, a lot of guys shoot them out of apple orchards, as they aren't as likely to stick to one bait like they are in the spring, supposedly.

 

[Birddog]

Thank's guys...lot's of good info here..can't wait to get started!

 

[NBBearsden]

Thank's guys...lot's of good info here..can't wait to get started!

Alot easier to hunt bear in the spring, like CoachZed said, they don't stick to a particular bait in the fall, since they have access to alot
more food supplies, berries, nuts etc..
Depending on what you want to do with your bear once it's killed, a spring bear's fur is alot nicer, before the shedding starts that is
and the meat is leaner and better to eat.

Honey burns, may be good, but a waste of time if you ask me, consistancy in your baiting is alot better in my opinion
Then again I bait 20-25 baits every spring so I don't have time to do honey burns.
I use scrap Moose meat from the butcher, gather it in the fall and bait with it in the spring, and alot of Vegetable Fryer Oil,
the bears scatter the smell of the oil with them when leaving the baits thus bringing in more bears.
If you check your bait twice a week at first then every other day once they start coming regularly and every day a week or two before your hunt
the bears will be laying a couple hundred yards from your bait and just wait for the noise (Truck) to leave to come
and feed.

 

[chadman]

Thanks for the clarification Coach..I just looked at the guide again to confirm.. all these years I've been reading that wrong... you are correct.. that's only for class II protected zones. Thanks!