Ontario bear hunters

[SignGuy]

well i have started making my purchases for the fall hunt and preparing and checking over my gear after doing some reading i have stumbled upon something i thought i would check out with you fellers.
has anyone ever heard of a honey burn ? if so have you tried it and how effective was it ? i was also looking at those 12 miles of fish incence sticks anyone ever used one before ? how they work out

 

[grouseman]

it might work but its not necessary....
we also have used anise( black licorice extract) and vanilla as well.... but thats was just for experiments

bear baiting is not a science.... literally go out every 2-3 days and dump a 100 lb's of bait( anything except fish) as the bears didn't like that( at least in our case)

if you do that you'll have your bruin in no time
have fun and good luck...remeber thers no such thing as overbaiting

 

[northwoodslivin]

Try popping some popcorn and dumping syrup all over it. I hear this works real well and it's cheap!
Good luck on your bear hunt!

 

[Slooshark1]

Popcorn doesn't have enough substance to it, althouth I'm sure you could add some with your regular bait. I guided for a few years when I was younger and found that the meat scraps and donuts, about 5 gallons of each in a 45 gallon drum every 3-4 days works well. Some bears prefer meat, some donuts and some like both. But one thing for sure is that every bear is a little bit different than the other.

Also, take a rake and chew up the ground in front of the barrel where the bear will be standing and pour about 10 gallons of french fryer grease on the ground. When a bear comes in and stands in that stuff, he will leave a scent trail all over hell's half acre that leads right back to your bait for other bears to follow.

I also use to use jello crystals and sprinkle them all around the bait site because they would soak into the ground and leave a nice scent for a few days. I also use to get a spray bottle that could spray about 12 feet and mix up some pancake syrup, raspberry jello and just enought water so that you could spray it and spray it as high up in the trees as I could around the bait site. All these things combined work very well. But it's a lot of work. Anyone who said that baiting bears is easy doesn't have the authority to open there mouth.

Honey burns can work on younger bears that aren't afraid of anything but on large bears, you are only telling the bear when you are at the bait site.

One of my favourite tricks is to always make noise when you're carrying in your bait, not lots of noise, maybe whistle a tune on your way in and way out. The bears are not that far away and can probably hear you coming and leaving. When you walk in with a hunter and you are doing this, the bear hears you leaving and has the green light to proceed.

I did this trick when hunting with my wife and a real nice bear walked into the bait 5 minutes after I left. Her .260 made him lay down with one shot through the heart.

I hope you're successful in your bear hunt. I haven't baited bears in about 4 years now. We have so many bears in Timmins that you just need to drive down a logging road until you see one, get out, load your rifle, take your time aiming while he stands there watching you and shoot him. They have no fear of man anymore. Makes bowhunting start to look appealing because blowing them away with a rifle is starting to get too easy.

Good luck,

Slooshark1

 

[atr]

Grouseman has it right . Dump enough bait so that your bait site/pile becomes the bears prime meal of the day so he doesn't have to wonder off and forage for other food sources .

I prefer to use burlap bags of bait hung from a spike 6 feet up a tree . About 40 pounds of scrap meat and donuts . The reason for this is that some bigger , older bears can be quite wary and will show up after dark . If they start doing that , take the bait bag back out with you to condition them into coming out for dinner when it's still legal to shoot . Slash the sides of the bag and have no piece bigger than a donut . The bear stands up to get the bag and the rest of the bag tears and spills the contents . With no piece of bait larger than a donut there bear can't carry the bait off and must remain there to eat giving plenty of time for a shot .

If you have a wary bear that keeps coming in after dark , many times a honey burn in the late afternoon or evening will draw them in sooner .