Ontario black bear baiting tips. UPDATE

J

jasonf

Regular
Rating - 100%
184   0   1
Just trying to get into bear hunting in Northwestern Ontario. I bought a tag last spring and only got out once trying to spot one in the slashes with no luck.

I have more time this year so decided to try baiting. I have had a bait station out for 10 days now without a bear showing up. Should I give up on the spot or keep trying? I have seen bears in the area in the past.

I have a barrel full of corn, oats, dog food, and porpcorn out. I have put a bucket full of fish guts on the ground covered in logs for the smell and also have hung rags soaked in used cooking oil and molassis up in trees. I check it every day and put fresh popcorn on on the ground with molassis sprinkled on them.

So far I have only had ravens, bald eagles and turkey vultures coming in

I am in a old slash area with thick 20 foot tall poplar trees. There is a small swampy creek nearby and a lake for easy water supply for them.

I believe my bait is the only one in the area as bear hunting by locals doesn't seem popular here and nobody else has been going down the road I am using.

How long does it usually take to get them coming in? What else should I try?

***I now have a bear coming in the last two days. How long do you wait before starting to hunt? It was at my bait for several hours and no cubs showed up but not sure if it is a sow or boar as it is on the small size. How tall is a decent shooter? I am mostly looking for meat but this one is only about about 25 inches tall at the shoulder so I assume it is less than 100 lbs??
 
Last edited:
I would keep on it for a little bit longer, maybe let the bait sit for a week without visiting it. Ive had my spot set up for about 10 days now north of NorthBay and there hasnt been any activity yet, there is still lots of snow in the bush and it hasnt been warm enough for any new growth to start sprouting. Give it some time. I use to Bait near Perry Sound and Ive never had any luck opening weekend, so dont be discouraged.

Bears usually love my sugar water...A cup of sugar in a water bottle with a few drops of vanilla and peppermint extract, squirt on trees.

Mustard also seems to attract them...Anything sweet or pungent and theyll eventually be there.
 
Thanks. I was hoping to get one early before it greened up. I assumed it would be harder to get them to come to bait after green up?
 
When I had baits out the bears didn't seem to show up before the May 2-4 weekend... just about when the mosquitoes start. Keep them out for a few more weeks, nothing to lose by doing so, really.
 
Not necessarily harder, they feed on greens because its easily digestible and its whats in season when they start to move around...As soon as they find a food source that is consistent they'll be there regularly, the goal is to get them comfortable coming into the site in the morning and late afternoon, if youre spooking them while theyre trying to feed they might only visit your spot at night.
 
don't worry about it I've put baits out and some were hit in a week and some took 3 weeks. be patients sounds like your in a good spot bears are just coming out and it takes them some time to get into eating mode. i personally would not put fish guts out i have tried i several times and all the times i did it at a bait the was being hit on a regular base and as soon as i put the fish guts out never had a bear come back. I've spoke with bear guides from the north bay area and they all say the same thing not all bears want to eat rotten food in the spring when theres green stuff starting to come out. but again everyone has what works for them I'm a fan of dog food fryer oil and grape jello packs sprinkled on the ground.
 
Anyone else have bad luck with fish guts ( or good )? I thought it would bring them in at the start then I would stop using them.

The only other person I know that baits is a trapper and he uses beaver carcasses with good success.
 
Get a couple large onion bags, fill them with pork fat, scrap from your local butcher... put the onion bags into black garbage bags and leave them in the sun for three days... bring them to your bait site and drive a couple spikes into a tree at your bait as high as you can reach... hook the onion bag onto the spike and then lash a rope around the neck of the bag and tie off behind the tree (so bears can't take the whole bag at once). Once that is done rip off the garbage bag. This is the best strike bait you can make. You should have two baits, one for a generally Northern wind and one for a Southern wind... don't hunt them on a bad wind... little bears might still come in , but larger boars will go nocturnal. I wrote up a brief tutorial for a thread a few years ago, if you PM your email address, I will send it to you
 
Keep at it! Bears are not eating yet. They need to eat grass after hibernating in order to rebuild their gut flora and blow out the winter plug. They usually tend to get their appetite back once the bugs come out. So soon! Good Luck.
I'm hoping to put bait out next weekend. I have a couple beavers that keep blocking my culvert that I may ask to volunteer ;)
 
hoytcanon said:
Get a couple large onion bags, fill them with pork fat, scrap from your local butcher... put the onion bags into black garbage bags and leave them in the sun for three days... bring them to your bait site and drive a couple spikes into a tree at your bait as high as you can reach... hook the onion bag onto the spike and then lash a rope around the neck of the bag and tie off behind the tree (so bears can't take the whole bag at once). Once that is done rip off the garbage bag. This is the best strike bait you can make. You should have two baits, one for a generally Northern wind and one for a Southern wind... don't hunt them on a bad wind... little bears might still come in , but larger boars will go nocturnal. I wrote up a brief tutorial for a thread a few years ago, if you PM your email address, I will send it to you
Click to expand...

Pm sent.
Thanks
 
hoytcanon said:
Get a couple large onion bags, fill them with pork fat, scrap from your local butcher... put the onion bags into black garbage bags and leave them in the sun for three days... bring them to your bait site and drive a couple spikes into a tree at your bait as high as you can reach... hook the onion bag onto the spike and then lash a rope around the neck of the bag and tie off behind the tree (so bears can't take the whole bag at once). Once that is done rip off the garbage bag. This is the best strike bait you can make. You should have two baits, one for a generally Northern wind and one for a Southern wind... don't hunt them on a bad wind... little bears might still come in , but larger boars will go nocturnal. I wrote up a brief tutorial for a thread a few years ago, if you PM your email address, I will send it to you
Click to expand...

Around here people just source beavers from trappers for that. Bears think they're candy. :)

Grizz
 
Like others have said be patient. I am also in NW Ont. I never start to get decent bears coming in until later in May. The little fellas always seem to show up first. My baits have been out for several weeks and no visitors yet. But they will come, they always do, just be persistent in keeping your baits charged and be patient.
 
I set up my bait on the 2nd and didn't have anything until today. Three uninterested bears came by, licked a bunch of bacon grease and left. I've been using the same bait site since 2016 and the spot is saturated yearly in all sorts of scents that bears love.

I am confident they will start hitting hard soon. Give it some time.
 
I am keeping it going as it is easy for me to get to. I also picked out a second site that I am going to but up a strike bait and hang a camera next week.
Thanks
 
Anyone have opinions on Synthetic Bait? What might work? New regs with 500m required distance from dwellings has my favourite spot unavailable to me unless I go 'non-organic'.

Thanx.
 
jimgrains51 said:
Interesting tips. My friends have been inviting me over for black bear hunting but I never got the chance to go with them because I got busy with metal detecting. Ive been finding success with the hobby lately especially with all the old coins that Ive sold over the past few months. If youre interested to get into the hobby, you should check out this website.
Click to expand...

You're kidding right???

I will get right on that, first I have to buy a pair of short shorts, knee high white sweat socks and some lime green Crocs, then I have to snap a pair of horn-rimmed glasses in half and tape them back together at the bridge of the nose with duct tape, then I have to find some zinc ointment for my nose and ears... then once I am fully geared up for metal detecting, I might get out there.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom