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Me and three other members got back yesterday from a few days of bear baiting in WMU 49. Lots of berries on the property but we already have cell cam pictures of bears hitting the baits.
A few members are heading back to fill barrels next week and then another group are heading up a few days before our Sept 7th arrival to begin the hunt.
Anyone else having any success baiting before season?
We've had bears on camera all summer, my buddy just filled the barrels last weekend so we will see tomorrow what's on the cameras.
What area are you hunting dean
53 bracebridge area. It's our first season baiting on the property so we're happy just to see some action. It's actually my first season ever bear hunting so it's pretty exciting.
We are baiting with dry dog food mixed with molasses and spreading peanut butter all over the barrel. Also using anise spray on nearby trees for long range scent.
Good luck on your hunt and keep us posted
We are still working on bait sources, we have used cooking oil, popcorn and sweet feed from trickle barrels.
I put out a Primos apple block a few weeks ago for deer then got a trail cam pic 24hrs later of a sow making off with the whole thing lol. Bye bye $20!!
What dog food are you using?Quote:
Originally Posted by huntnmachine
The least expensive I seem to find is at Walmart.
We bought a skid of 20lb bags of dry dog food for $20.00 per bag at a local feed store, it is a no name brand
Used grease from fish and fry outlets.........makes a long trail drip right to your stand
I mostly use dog food also, clean easy to handle and works.
They had a great summer with the berries, they should be nice and fat.
I won’t bait this year, if I see one around the camp I might shoot it. Freezer level as to come down.
Trust me, you can’t go wrong with Deer Chow lolAttachment 43810
My bet on ground Corn mixed with pork lard add 2% sugar and 2% salt
and add a jar of strawberry - blubbery - or raspberry jam ...
And wait for action ....
Agree. We spread a good portion of molasses on the ground around the barrel so the bears have it on there pawls. No better scent trail then a bears pawls socked with molasses walking through the bush. Its like a GPS back to the baitQuote:
Originally Posted by COYHUNTER
Yes. I buy the cheapest drink crystal I can find and spread it all over. When it rains it really smells, then bears walk on it and spread it out like mentioned.
I also mix some in a spray bottle and spray it all over branches and trees.
Checked the cameras on Saturday, still have the same 3 bears that have been around all summer. And now another big guy, bigger than the barrel and definitely the best one we've had photos of.
We aren't going to bait heavily until the season opens to save the cost, just sprayed some scent around the trees and topped up the barrels with popcorn.
When the acorn will fall the Bears will leave your bait site ....
Quote:
Originally Posted by dean.f
We are getting some nice bears on the cell cameras along with some bull moose, Does, fawns and a really nice 10 point buck! Starting Aug 27th we have small groups of members going up to bait at different times until our hunt Sept 7th.
Looking like it will be a good hunt again this year. We had 4 bears down in the first two days last season (10 guys) so we decided to shut the hunt down and spend the rest of the week enjoying shore lunches, playing cards and of course a bunch of adult beverages!! We have two members that have yet to harvest a bear so we plan to put them on the most active baits this year.
Nice. Good luck this season. Maybe meet up for a beverage on Nip this winter.Quote:
Originally Posted by huntnmachine
Thanks and hope your fall season is a good one also. I'm all in for a few whiskies with you on Nip!!
Forgot to mention, I am seriously looking at the G5 Montec broadheads for moose hunting. Being you have a ton of on game results with them and trust your judgement
Yeah they just work. Never had a failure and lost count of how many big game critters they have taken for me but I know it is north of 60 last time I tried to remember. That includes my largest bear ever and he only went 30 before piling up.Quote:
Originally Posted by huntnmachine
They are kinda like the Nosler Partition of broadheads.
We refilled the barrels Saturday, added some patches to reduce the hole size and filled with popcorn/whole corn mixed with used cooking oil.
One barrel had the lid torn clean off with the collar and the camera had a tooth mark through the sensor. Got a photo of a nice shooter bear for the second time. So we have 2 baits doing well with different bears roughly 1 km apart. The other bait has a smaller bear pretty much living around the setup since June.
A couple guys from our group got up the Burks Falls on the weekend, all 12 barrels were empty
Sounds like an exciting time is about to come......... good luckQuote:
Originally Posted by huntnmachine
That is a lot , 12 barrel to fill up with bait ....$
Quote:
Originally Posted by huntnmachine
Wow that's a lot of work! For you guys, and the bears!Quote:
Originally Posted by huntnmachine
How often will you be filling them in the next couple weeks before the hunt?
Thank youQuote:
Originally Posted by fratri
We buy dry dog food by the skids and our molasses by the 45 gal drum. The drum will last us 3-4 years. All costs are split between 10 guys so its not as bad as you would think.Quote:
Originally Posted by alfoldivandor
We started filling baits 2 weeks ago. Small groups are going up for a few days each week until we arrive for the hunt Sept 7th. This weeks group just got home and another group are heading up on the weekend and staying until we come home on the 11th.Quote:
Originally Posted by dean.f
It's nice you have enough guys to keep the baits maintained and share the cost. We've been doing it with 2 of us and time off during the week isn't really an option, although the bears seem to hit the same day we refill and are very consistent. The first sit will be the 9th for us.
Smart way of doing it for sure.
Good friends, mine want to bypass the bait buying and hauling and skip to the sitting in my chair stage…. lol
I have kids, nephews and in-laws that must go to the same church as your friends;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Deer Hunter
lol, yes, what we do for family!Quote:
Originally Posted by Species8472
We have some of our younger members that are looking for a easy ride, but we rag on them constantly. They are coming around after years of mentoring.Quote:
Originally Posted by Deer Hunter
Had my first bear encounter while on stand this evening, the wind is opposite what's typical so I carried in my hang on stand and offset it from the bait to accommodate the wind. Last 10 minutes before sunset the small bear that has been on camera all summer came in directly downwind of the ladder stand we set in the spring and watched over the bait as if he knew it was a trap. We had decided this little one gets a pass this year so I took a couple pictures and let him be until I climbed down at dark. Still got the heart pumping.
Hoping tomorrow brings the grown ups around.
Good luck. Finally managed to find some time yesterday and got 3 baits set. Now time to wait and see and cut fire wood in the mean time.Quote:
Originally Posted by dean.f
We had a bit more excitement tonight, my hunting partner had a decent bear circle downwind and busted him 10 minutes before end of legal. That's it until next week. There's still a really nice bear on cam that we are hoping to see.
Good luck, looking forward to hearing about your adventureQuote:
Originally Posted by Species8472
We had a great hunt. Harvested 5 nice bears Thursday afternoon (Sept 8th). A few of us went out Friday and my cousin had a clean miss.
We didn't hunt Saturday as we figured 5 was enough. Sat around outside and enjoyed the weather along with some cold beverages.
Very good! 5 bears in a day is pretty awesome! How do you keep all that meat cold afterwards?
We processed them at camp and put the meat in 3 large coolers covered with ice.
Right on! Congrats
Once you get your hands dirty might as well keep going. Haha
:thumbup:
Congrats T. Sounds like a great time. Post some pics when you get a chance.
Will doQuote:
Originally Posted by Species8472
Bear hunt 2022
https://imgur.com/I1jCaPe
https://imgur.com/UaD7K79
Great job,happy gang!
Like the second from the right. Nice "V". I'd get a 3/4 mount done on that guy.Quote:
Originally Posted by huntnmachine
Great pics.
Wow I never seen that large of a group hunting for Bear!
Wild and well done. Congrats again.
wow, thats a lot of butchering in one day, but well worth it. Hard to beat that success.
Do you salt the ice ?
Quote:
Originally Posted by huntnmachine
He is getting a shoulder mount. The first bear I got mounted from Manitoulin Island has that chevronQuote:
Originally Posted by Species8472
We had 14 baits on the property with 11 hunters at camp. All baits where hit for a month and small groups baited each week until the hunt.Quote:
Originally Posted by Deer Hunter
We had shore lunches of fresh walleye, cottontail, chicken wings and venison cubes over an open fire.
The shore lunches were almost as good as the hunting
I just got back from trimming the quarters with our group. We have several trimmed hind quarters for roasts plus back straps. The rest are going to be put into sausage.Quote:
Originally Posted by FishHog
We have a younger member that makes awesome sausage from all of our game meat
No we do notQuote:
Originally Posted by alfoldivandor
I should add that the guy second from the left was our cook and did not hunt.....he did an awesome job as usualQuote:
Originally Posted by huntnmachine
in case you are wondering, I'm the tall skinny guy 4th from the left of the picture.
If you salt the ice you could increase the cooling and lower the temperature
even freeze the meat .
Quote:
Originally Posted by huntnmachine
Good to know
Thanks
Salt the Ice ? doesnt that melt the ice ?Quote:
Originally Posted by alfoldivandor
wow Well done !Quote:
Originally Posted by huntnmachine
Ata83 I thought that understand how its works ....!
The big one fill with 60-100 kg ice , salt it with 4 kg .
and the 2 Bear are coming home frozen from 2 weeks Spring Bear hunt ...
I just keep in the shade , and inside I use an isolation blanket .
to keep the ice and the meat covered .
On the way home the temperature inside is lower than - 5C
I posted before but the people wasn't interested ,
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ata83
Congrats to you and your gang, love the chevron on that bear
That was my thought but hey.....who am I to question
Thank youQuote:
Originally Posted by Ata83
Thank youQuote:
Originally Posted by Articcat
That is awesome! Looks and sounds like a great time!Quote:
Originally Posted by huntnmachine
We had a great time. The shore lunches and wild game suppers were excellent
Finally got around to putting my baits out a week ago Saturday. My BIL and nephew tagged out on them last Thursday. I am up for the week and refilled today. 1100 lbs of bait gone in a week at the 3 spots I chose. Bear crap everywhere.
Pouring rain today so not gonna bother. At the stage in life where I'd rather drink whiskey at the wood stove. Forecast for tomorrow is good so gonna hunt the next 3 days. Getting picky as I get older so may not shoot if things look marginal.
Don't bother with cameras anymore either. Getting more old school as I age and kinda enjoy the surprise.
Good luck on your hunt!Quote:
Originally Posted by Species8472
Really look forward to read your hunting story as usual.
As the matter of fact I felt the same because trail cameras thus give tons of information however it also took a lot of fun away including surprise and makes it almost like a mission (just get out there at a certain time know your target animal is going to show up) lol.
We filled 1 Tag Saturday night with a nice smaller bear, 2 more to go. I'll be moving to that stand now since it seems to have all the action.
Checked the site I am headed to shortly and added 120lbs of bait yesterday at lunch in the rain and today at lunch about 80lbs gone from that site and more fresh crap.
Not as accurate as a camera but judging by the size of the dung piles it is several different bears ranging in size from 80 to 250 lbs.
Nephew's bear taken with my climber on one of my baits:
https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...61a40794_z.jpg
Estimated weight of 130lbs - good eating.
BIL didn't take any pictures of his bear as i suspect he was little embarrassed by the ground shrinkage. None the less it will eat just fine. I will do up a full report when i am done as today is my first day out. First world problems when you own your own business and need to keep clients happy. Pays the bills and than some but just about had it. At the stage now where i have enough money and am ready to tell the world to pizz off and just relax and enjoy the next 25 or 30 years.
That's a nice looking bear, roughly the same size as what my friend took on Saturday. We have 2 more around the same size and a couple that are bigger.
I'm amazed at how much bigger they look on camera compared to when they are standing in front of you.
Been on the bait for 45 minutes and have had 3 come in. One about 100lbs and a pair of 50 or 60 lbs. No shots fired - they all get a pass.
OMG. Stayed on the bait until the end of legal. I have killed lots of bears between 200-250 lbs, a handful over 250 and only one over 300. Well 30 minutes of light and a pair of yogis 150 to 175 lb come in. Hem and haw and decide to wait. 5 minutes later the biggest bear i have ever seen in real life appears. This bear had all the trade marks - huge belly, shoulders level with the top of the upright 55 gallon drum. Smart though kept the tree or the barrel between me and him the whole time and than tipped the barrel into a hollow and laid down in it with the barrel. Never had a shot - just sat there vibrating for 25 minutes. Probably okay though i am solo and although sure i would have got it done recovery would have been crazy.
Guess my weight estimates based on dung size are out to lunch. So total of 6 different bears seen in just over 3 hours - population seems healthy.
That guy is gonna haunt my dreams. Made the 300+ bear I took look like a toy. Haven't had an adrenaline rush like that since I killed my first buck 40 years ago. Although getting charged by a wild boar in Texas 8 years ago was pretty close. Even if I don't tag out that makes my season.
That's amazing! Hopefully you'll get your chance on him!
Wish you luck and look forward for the pics!
Thats what it's all about!
It isn't over till it's over!
Good Luck!
Well the bruiser never came back during legal. Still made my season to have eyes on him for 30 min. Filled my tag tonight on a nice eater that I hemmed and hawed about on my first sit. That bait site was crazy active. Saw 11 different live bears during legal over the last few days. 5 of them were cubs though. Still the most bears I have ever had on a single bait. Report on the season with pics to follow.
Good stuff. I’m having very little activity at my baits this year so far for some reason. Still hoping activity picks up but I’m getting more wolf pics than bear pics and a very healthy Coon population
We are still at it, I was busted by a large cub Saturday night who came in from behind me downwind over a ridge. He is 1 of 2 bears regularly hitting that bait (daily), the other looks to be over 100lbs, not huge. I'll sit the other bait Wednesday after the rain passes through. The stand I've been at is better for my bow. I'll use the rifle for the other.
Any update Dean? Either way keep us posted as i enjoy following like minded people.Quote:
Originally Posted by dean.f
Hopefully I'll be able to start my own thread after tomorrow.:thumbup:
Drove in to camp and found evidence of a trespasser, actually 2. I could've filled my tag from the fire pit if I was there yesterday. There's a 130-140lb bear on camera and a much smaller cub track. It seems the bears have patterned us on the property. All the photos are after dark now at the baits. Some are early morning. Both of these bears are traveling between the 2 stands cleaning them out. Saw nothing tonight.
He should not feel embarrassed at all. Any bear is a trophy in my book. Congrats to him and you for a successful huntQuote:
Originally Posted by Species8472
Well I finally managed a mid sized boar last night. On my only bait that had any consistent activity. Last few days he had been coming in around 7pm and staying around most of the night. But the other day arrived at 4pm and I missed him by the time I was in the stand.
Took a couple days off as it was too hot for me to process a bear
Yesterday I was in the stand early and he arrived at 6:57. I almost let him pass as he looked too big for me to handle solo but finally decided he was probably my only chance this season. 40yard shot with my 30.06. Of course he ran deeper into the bush
Heard the death moan so was sure he was down but took a while to pick up the blood trail as it was getting dark
Was surprised that he really wasn’t big once I got to him. Always amazing to me how big they can look in the dusk hours. One of my smaller bears but I’m guessing 150lbs or so which is fine by me
Back to the cottage for supplies, lantern, toboggan and a couple beers. Had the quarters pieces hanging the rest in the fridge, showered and in bed by 11
Still a lot of work for one person but a good sleep and butchering the quarters today to get in the propane fridge before it gets too warmAttachment 44045
Nice! Good you filled the tag.
I find it really hard to see through the rifle sight that close to dark and of course that's when they seem to always show themselves. Do you use a scope?
Very nice bear...congratsQuote:
Originally Posted by FishHog
Congrats FH. Nice eater taken care of pronto should make for some outstanding feeds.
Congrats on a nice Bear.
That is a great bear and to do it all alone, even more awesome, congratsQuote:
Originally Posted by FishHog