Spring bear hunt... what will you be baiting them with?

Oats ripen late in that part of the country: September - October. No one ever shot a bear in the spring that I heard of.

Really! Spring is when they're most hunted here. Although the principle is the same - we nail them around food supplies.

Cutblocks are a favorite here - they get into them to eat the new growth, bugs off the rotting wood, etc. They move a lot in the spring to replace lost weight from sleeping all winter.

People do shoot them in the fall, but most of them are shot in the spring.
 
same here, we have 2 seasons in new brunswick, a spring season from end of april till about middle of june, and a fall one of about 3 weeks.

other than for the outfitters cattering to american clients, spring is the more popular season to hunt. bear is too greasy to eat in the fall, plus deer season is in full swing so it 'distracts' from the bear.

one plus, i dont know about other provinces, but in NB if you buy a spring tag and dont fill it, it carries over to the fall season! too bad the limit is one per year though.
 
same here, we have 2 seasons in new brunswick, a spring season from end of april till about middle of june, and a fall one of about 3 weeks.

other than for the outfitters cattering to american clients, spring is the more popular season to hunt. bear is too greasy to eat in the fall, plus deer season is in full swing so it 'distracts' from the bear.

one plus, i dont know about other provinces, but in NB if you buy a spring tag and dont fill it, it carries over to the fall season! too bad the limit is one per year though.


We did have 2 seasons here also, but the bunny huggers convinced the government that the nasty hunters were shooting sows and leaving the cubs to starve to death. The spring hunt was canceled. Government biologists now find more cubs are being eaten by boars than ever starved to death by the mistaken shooting of sows. Go figure, eh?
 
one plus, i dont know about other provinces, but in NB if you buy a spring tag and dont fill it, it carries over to the fall season! too bad the limit is one per year though.

That's how it works here - the 'beginning' of our annual season is spring, so if you buy a bear tag it's good all year for any open season till next spring. 2 bag limit here i think in most areas.

We did have 2 seasons here also, but the bunny huggers convinced the government that the nasty hunters were shooting sows and leaving the cubs to starve to death. The spring hunt was canceled. Government biologists now find more cubs are being eaten by boars than ever starved to death by the mistaken shooting of sows. Go figure, eh?

Same thing happened in ontario.
 
Finally, after 3 weeks, the bears are coming to my bait sites!
Well, hopefully my next post in this thread will involve a picture!

Never hunted in Canada, but big game in Africa, 18 months there, and significant self supported, bird, and goat and boar trips in Argentina and area.

So clearly, I am not anti hunting by any means, but could you guys explain to me where the sport is in baiting the bear? I know the permit is pricey, and you want to land one in your permitted time. But...? Some of the descriptions seem like more work than the hunt.

It not may be a popular comment in this thread, but, I'll throw it out there respectfully: Why Bait? Terrain?

Just read a great thread about a 6 day stalk and shoot...
 
Last edited:
It has been said a million times, it is almost impossible to stalk bears in NB. They hide. They are rarely ever in the open. Not like in BC at all. I was able to do it once but it was on amilitary base wher ethe bears are very used to people.
And by the way, baiting does not take the sport out of it. My hunting partner has yet to see one, but his site is absolutely destroyed.

Anyway, here is this years bear:
2008_bear.jpg
 
In Manitoba it's the same spring fall bear 1 license, i know of a few folks that bait with barrels, filled with a skinned out beaver a,d fish and junk like that , with a bit of grain, and sweets, spill a bit of grain on the ground close the barrel up, poke a few holes and come back in a week , set up stand and wait , works around here , and for some reason or another black bears love beavers
 
and for some reason or another black bears love beavers

Well... duh... if you were walking through the woods and came across a beaver spread in the woods, wouldn't you eat it?


Beavers are supposed to be the best attractant available. But baiting with a lot of meats is not a great idea. I would use a beaver at a new site or at the beginning of the season.
Problem is (ask The late Dr. Atkins) EATING ALOT OF PROTEIN FILLS YOU UP AND THEREFORE YOU EAT LESS. Carbs, such as breads, donuts, oats etc, keeps the bears coming more often, some guys baiting with meats have found that the bears may go days without visiting the site. Breads will bring them around practically everyday.
 
it is a new site, and what we did/going to do is basically put the "goodies
" outside the drum , a bit so they can get at it and the beaver in the drum , and drum sealed (not like that will stop 'em for long) i agree , don't want to fill em up on meat , did that once long long ago , learned real quick not to let them get at it if at all possible , but they love a week old stinky beaver the best( i bet i walk into this one , with eyes open at least ;) )
 
well im building a new bait site tommorow evening, got everything ready to go. im moving down by penobsequis.
i was real disapointed i didnt get anything comming to my site on the pine glen road, but this one should be better.
 
I have friends that hunt bears near anagance and penobsquis. There is a good population of bears there. Hope all goes well with your new spot..this is my first season hunting bears and it took me 3 weeks to get them coming in. I saw my first bear at 15 yards up close and personal. I let him walk as lots of season left. but what an amazing thrill to know that all that work pays off... Good luck:sniper:
 
Back
Top Bottom