A little insight needed regards to bear baiting...update!

350mag1

350mag1

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North of the Muskoka's
I'm stumped! For the last 3 weeks, I 've had bear coming into the bait regularly. I checked the trail cam and barrel every second day. The camera took a minimum of 220 pics each time I checked it. As far as I can tell, there were at least 4 separate bears (not incliding the cubs) hitting the bait. Here's where I'm rattled.............3 days before the season opens, the sign starts drying up. Saturday shows only one bear coming in, smell around the barrel and continues on. Nothing since then. The other wierd part is this happened lastyear as well! I find it very frustrating after all the work and $$$ and this happens two years in a row. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated!
 
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Same thing is happening to me as well...the last 2 months the bears have been at the bait everyday...and the last 4 days...nothing. Not sure why either...weather possibly?? Its abnormally warm for this time of year.
 
I was talking to a gentlemen about this issue and the first question he asked me was "What type of bush are you hunting in?"
I hunt in 100 acres of 75% hardwood.
He said they have probably moved on because their "primary" food source (beech nut, berries, etc) has dried up and that my bait barrel would be a secondary food source that wouldn't hold them to the property.

What's your opinion on his theory?
 
Plausible theory - however bears move around alot and also eat a very varied diet - hence the term omnivores. Do you actually have acorns, beech nuts etc. in your bush and when do they mature? The bears never actually entirely "leave" -they just eat different stuff like grass in spring and blueberrys in July and August - so the deck gets shuffled some. Bears are also oportunistic so try to keep em interested by regularly refilling.
Sounds like your neighbour has a better bait pile
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Good guess - maybe you don't know about that 45gal drum of chicken and pork nearby. I had some yahoos do that to me recently put out one week after the hunt began 125yds from my stand. I wouldn't have known except I heard a chain saw and investigated. Also a moose kill can be fed upon for some time too and perhaps you might not know about it.

Another theory for you - I've found bears begin to move closer to their dens later in the season. If your bait is nearby their natural den site then they will keep coming until the snow flys even. I have one site that every year seems to go dry like yours and others that don't seem to.

Final comment - it's good to have more sites in varied terrain to switch hit. We (my son and I) move our tree cam around between sites and have located bigger bears that way too. Of course the sites are all between 12km and 19km away.
 
Could very well be the case. I put bait out Friday...went to hunt Saturday and everything was pretty much gone...so I re-baited and set everything back up...and nothing since. I had 4 bears coming in and now nothing.
 
If you had it out too early, and something new popped up, they moved on. That's what my experiences have taught me. Now I don't shoot bear, just never wanted too, but I go with a buddy that does for Spring and Fall bear, last 2 years.

They seem to leave after a week to a week and a half of eating. I don't know why. We started not putting anything out until at the most 3 or 4 days before hunting. Seems to have worked. You may have a neighbor in there, hunters don't advertise, and another fresher pile could take them from miles away.

Our other "secret weapon" is Kipper Snacks. Open 2 or 3 cans onto the pile and I think that fish smell brings them from miles away it's so strong. Open a can in your kitchen and see how it smells 2 hours later.... And it's not a rotting smell, it's a fresh oily smell. Seems to work. Can have bears on a pile a day after we set it, and lots of bears too. Last one was 12 bears in 2 hours. We had a hard time leaving.....

That was in Saskatchewan though, where if you want to, you can just drive the oat fields and shoot one that's grazing.... So there are lots of them. Might not work in your area.
 
Yep....Sardines and kippers on my bait too...not sure whats happened. I use bread and loads of it with molasses poured over it...and I place a few cans of sardines and kippers around my bait site as well.
 
Whelen B said:
Plausible theory - however bears move around alot and also eat a very varied diet - hence the term omnivores. Do you actually have acorns, beech nuts etc. in your bush and when do they mature? The bears never actually entirely "leave" -they just eat different stuff like grass in spring and blueberrys in July and August - so the deck gets shuffled some. Bears are also oportunistic so try to keep em interested by regularly refilling.

Good guess - maybe you don't know about that 45gal drum of chicken and pork nearby. I had some yahoos do that to me recently put out one week after the hunt began 125yds from my stand. I wouldn't have known except I heard a chain saw and investigated. Also a moose kill can be fed upon for some time too and perhaps you might not know about it.

Another theory for you - I've found bears begin to move closer to their dens later in the season. If your bait is nearby their natural den site then they will keep coming until the snow flys even. I have one site that every year seems to go dry like yours and others that don't seem to.

Final comment - it's good to have more sites in varied terrain to switch hit. We (my son and I) move our tree cam around between sites and have located bigger bears that way too. Of course the sites are all between 12km and 19km away.
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Great information! I'll look into these points. Thanks WhelenB.
 
Don't worry the bears will be back. Just keep baiting & checking your cams. This happens every season on my baits. It's because of different food sources. Corn & other crops are ripening now & the bears will be into that. They will come back to your baits in time, don't give up. Good luck with your hunting!

George
 
glang1 said:
Don't worry the bears will be back. Just keep baiting & checking your cams. This happens every season on my baits. It's because of different food sources. Corn & other crops are ripening now & the bears will be into that. They will come back to your baits in time, don't give up. Good luck with your hunting!

George
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Thanks George! I hope you're right!
 
cheap Wal-Mart dog food and molasses works good. You can try a honey burn as well. I also take slightly rotten capelin (small silvery sal####er fish) in shopping bags and hang from trees with a hole or two punched in the bag. Wind carries the scent everywhere and after a couple of days in the sun it is pungent.:)
 
It happens, my site slowed down for 2-3 days this week. No idea why, it was baited to the norm which usually has a crazy amount of activity. Last night it was hit hard, sign all over the damn place, but I found out today a fella might have an active sight just a few hundred yards away. There was a sight there many years ago, it's run down and rotted half out and I didn't think anyone was crazy enough to use it, but I guess I was wrong! I personaly wouldn't care, but the guy left the site 30min early and made a hell of a lot of noise pulling a trailer behind his old bike which sounded like a 2stroke chainsaw! Hope he was just scouting for moose sign, guess i'll soon know.
 
My bear is back...I know this because I was face to face with him this afternoon...and no rifle...DOH! Went to the bait site with a garbage bag of bread and molasses...and there he was with his head stuck in the barrel...must not have heard me coming...pulled his head out looked at me and took off running...only about 40 feet away. Exciting stuff...heading out tomorrow morning before the suns up.
 
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