Has Spring Bear ruined bear season?

This might be a bit of a rant but over the past 3 years where there has been a full spring bear season this has been my experience.

We used to have two spots within 550km of us where we would reliably take bears every single season for the past 15+ years, often on opening day and usually tagging out. They weren't big bears but that's what you get when you live 500km+ from the nearest bear site and only a week to bait and hunt and do everything yourself without the help of an outfitter or local.

The very first year that spring bear season opened we haven't seen a single bear for the past 2 years, that site has been a dead zone. Heck even back in 2016 when just the pilot seasons were open we noticed bears were much warrier and sparse, but at least we'd get some.

In the past couple years we baited in at least 14 different WMUs and have put more time into bear hunting than we have in the last 10 years prior to that, even going up to the Timmins/Cochrane area and the Temagami area for 2 weeks each. We had hits in only 3/14 of those several WMUs. However always the same problem, they hit the bait once and leave for a week or two at a time or they never come back, even the small 2-3 year old bears. We never had this issue before the spring season, they would always stick around the bait for at least a few days at a time.

We are headed up tomorrow to check our first spring baits that were placed on sites that were hit in the fall. If nothing turns up then it's probably the end of bear season for us. Which really is a shame, bear was always my favourite wild game meat and it's how I got introduced to hunting when I took my first bear at 15. I guess all is left is fond memories at this point.

In my area where I bait I think it is almost to easy which is just 20 minutes outside Huntsville, Last spring had at least 14 different bears on our one bait through out the season that were noticeably different,
There are at least 4 hunters with in 5 kms of my bait that I know of and they all have bears also,
This year wasnt going to bait but a friend was coming up so baited Sunday and was hit that day, he spent 6 hours in the stand in the rain, Then one nice sunny afternoon was there a hour and missed one.

We hunt south of Huntsville and don't get nearly that amount of traffic in the spring, but we do have at least 2 different bears steady on the bait (both are pretty young). This is the second season baiting these spots we've established and the activity has steadily increased as time goes on.

It seems like every bear Hunter I talk to has different levels of success and different expectations.

I don't believe so, but things change for lots of reasons.
15 years of taking bears from the same area can certainly do more damage than adding a spring season. I guess the real data that the MNR provides will show you how many bears are being harvested and if things have changed all over or just for you guys.

More hunting options is never a bad thing if the resource can support it. While it may affect a few individuals in a negative way, it affects many others in a positive way.
I've taken 3 fall bears in the last 4 years, so I don't think the spring hunt has affected my area.

I dont know what the cause would be.

Very dry spring, Maybe bears aren't getting the vegetation they need early to get them going so they can feed on rich foods like bait.

We had some years where baits did not get hit until first or second week of June. Entire month of May they didn't touch it.

Next thought is how many others are baiting the same area?

One good bait could keep every bear for 20 sqkm on it and they might not need to travel far to another bait (I.e your bait)

I dont think there is a shortage of bears anywhere in Ontario.

I wouldn't say "ruined". But yes, the intention of the spring bear re-introduction was to help reduce bear populations, and looking at the harvest numbers pre/post 2014, i'd say it has. Slightly

https://data.ontario.ca/dataset/blac...1-2345cf7c6186

Every moose hunter will thank you in the area if you put a dent in the bear population.

The spring bear hunt is the only reason why I hunt bears
by the time bear season rolls around in the fall I just don't want to make the time to hunt them

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Originally Posted by Matt86

Every moose hunter will thank you in the area if you put a dent in the bear population.

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Point me to where you have problems with bears and I'll gladly do pest control lol.

In our area (WMU73),there seems to be a few more Bears showing up each season. I'm no big Bear hunter by any stretch,but,I've been carrying a license and tag with me for a few seasons,now,just in case I run into one. Years ago,there weren't hardly any anywhere down here,but,anymore,it's getting easier to run into one or two.

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Originally Posted by trimmer21

In our area (WMU73),there seems to be a few more Bears showing up each season. I'm no big Bear hunter by any stretch,but,I've been carrying a license and tag with me for a few seasons,now,just in case I run into one. Years ago,there weren't hardly any anywhere down here,but,anymore,it's getting easier to run into one or two.

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There's a bunch in 78 as well, no season.

You must be doing something wrong. There are lots of bear. I have been baiting bears for 44 years and there are just as many, if not more bears in some areas now. Due to Covid a couple years ago I even had to changed our hunting area and had no problems getting bears.

It must be your baiting technique or something?

Perhaps a localized problem. Can't say there is any shortage in my area of 47. Last fall I saw 11 different bears in 2 days of hunting and took a nice size eater. Also saw the biggest bear I have ever seen in my 40+ years of hunting but he did not expose his vitals.

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Originally Posted by Species8472

Perhaps a localized problem. Can't say there is any shortage in my area of 47. Last fall I saw 11 different bears in 2 days of hunting and took a nice size eater. Also saw the biggest bear I have ever seen in my 40+ years of hunting but he did not expose his vitals.

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Ironically our original spot that I was mentioning was in 47. We took bears there every year for well over a decade. The same year that spring bear season fully opens they all completely disappeared. Even in 2016 after they opened only the pilot spring seasons we noticed they were more careful and sketchy. Even tiny 2 year old bears would circle us several times before they hit the bait.

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Originally Posted by Muskyhunter

You must be doing something wrong. There are lots of bear. I have been baiting bears for 44 years and there are just as many, if not more bears in some areas now. Due to Covid a couple years ago I even had to changed our hunting area and had no problems getting bears.

It must be your baiting technique or something?

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We dig a hole throw some fish scraps, pastries, or popcorn. Then we throw some decent size logs over it so raccoons have more trouble getting at it. If it gets hit then we put a barrel there with toonie sized holes drilled in and throw the bait in there. Then we throw syrup, molasses, and vanilla extract over it including spraying some about 10-14ft above the bait. This method has always worked and in good areas has gotten us a bear within a day of putting the bait. We've always done the same thing and always had success. The only thing that changed was the addition of a spring season.

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Originally Posted by MihajloSimsic

The only thing that changed was the addition of a spring season.

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That's the only change you are aware of.

Could be coincidental timing with other changes you are not privy to.

We have noticed no changes and have filled multiple tags in 47 every year both before and after spring hunt up to and including last fall

I have a spring bait out right now in 47 with multiple bears on it. I may or may not fill my tag before the 15th but I tend to be picky in the spring as I can always hunt the fall if needed.

Either way hopefully you guys can sort it out and get back to filling tags.

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Originally Posted by MihajloSimsic

Point me to where you have problems with bears and I'll gladly do pest control lol.

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Come up to my deer camp in WMU 10 and help yourself LOL. Good chance at a brown phase bear,

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Originally Posted by MihajloSimsic

We dig a hole throw some fish scraps, pastries, or popcorn. Then we throw some decent size logs over it so raccoons have more trouble getting at it. If it gets hit then we put a barrel there with toonie sized holes drilled in and throw the bait in there. Then we throw syrup, molasses, and vanilla extract over it including spraying some about 10-14ft above the bait. This method has always worked and in good areas has gotten us a bear within a day of putting the bait. We've always done the same thing and always had success. The only thing that changed was the addition of a spring season.

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Sounds like you got the right idea. The only thing I stay away from is fish scraps as I found the bears normally don't go after them too often. They rot quickly and bring in insects to ruin the rest of the bait. One spring I netted a bunch of suckers and they never got touched by the bears.

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Originally Posted by Muskyhunter

Sounds like you got the right idea. The only thing I stay away from is fish scraps as I found the bears normally don't go after them too often. They rot quickly and bring in insects to ruin the rest of the bait. One spring I netted a bunch of suckers and they never got touched by the bears.

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I found lots of people saying that but oddly enough fish scraps seem to be the best thing we put on there. They're not made of pure sugar like muffins and syrup so they don't wash away easily and I find my most successful baits are the stinkiest ones with fish. However they don't eat every fish. I found bass/sunfish and pike carcasses worked wonders. Some times I had baits not getting hit for a week or two and the second I dumb a bucket of bass scraps on it they hit it the next day.

Update.
None of the 4 baits we put had any hits after 3 weeks. So we went to two different areas.

One in 53 and another in zone 60. Both areas I've heard of others hunting near. Put cell cameras on both baits as well. Mostly just planning for the fall season. If it gets hit within the next month we'll visit at least two more times to refresh the bait and put a barrel for the fall season.

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Originally Posted by MihajloSimsic

Update.
None of the 4 baits we put had any hits after 3 weeks. So we went to two different areas.

One in 53 and another in zone 60. Both areas I've heard of others hunting near. Put cell cameras on both baits as well. Mostly just planning for the fall season. If it gets hit within the next month we'll visit at least two more times to refresh the bait and put a barrel for the fall season.

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Is it possible that someone in the area (within 20 miles or so) has a better bait out than you have??? That's my first thought.

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Originally Posted by werner.reiche

Is it possible that someone in the area (within 20 miles or so) has a better bait out than you have??? That's my first thought.

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In some areas. Yes. But I've put out close to 100 baits in 16 zones (including this season). In some zones it is possible and the likely conclusion I have come to. But in several different areas I've baited I've never seen another hunter or heard of another hunter in the area. Even then I'd at the very least have ONE hit in the past year but most of my baits have gone completely untouched even after 1 or 2 years. Logs still neatly stacked. At this point after travelling tens of thousands of kilometers and putting nearly 100 baits and not getting a chance at a single bear over the past 3 seasons, if these last two baits don't get any hits within a month I am considering just completely giving up on bear hunting. Maybe I'll give it a go if I'm already in the area doing something more productive, but bear hunting will definitely be an afterthought at that point... At this point I've done absolutely everything I can and more than I should have to get on bears again.

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Originally Posted by MihajloSimsic

In some areas. Yes. But I've put out close to 100 baits in 16 zones (including this season). In some zones it is possible and the likely conclusion I have come to. But in several different areas I've baited I've never seen another hunter or heard of another hunter in the area. Even then I'd at the very least have ONE hit in the past year but most of my baits have gone completely untouched even after 1 or 2 years. Logs still neatly stacked. At this point after travelling tens of thousands of kilometers and putting nearly 100 baits and not getting a chance at a single bear over the past 3 seasons, if these last two baits don't get any hits within a month I am considering just completely giving up on bear hunting. Maybe I'll give it a go if I'm already in the area doing something more productive, but bear hunting will definitely be an afterthought at that point... At this point I've done absolutely everything I can and more than I should have to get on bears again.

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That's a lot of effort you've put in for 0 bears. I really don't think Ontario is short on bears though. I have a few through every fall raiding apple trees at my bushlot. They made a mess of the trees last year.

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Originally Posted by Species8472

Perhaps a localized problem. Can't say there is any shortage in my area of 47. Last fall I saw 11 different bears in 2 days of hunting and took a nice size eater. Also saw the biggest bear I have ever seen in my 40+ years of hunting but he did not expose his vitals.

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Good point.
We have a hunt camp in 49 and only fall bear hunt, can't take the bugs in the spring. In the last two seasons we have shut the hunt down after two days of hunting due to over harvesting concerns.
We hunt a group of 8 and in 2021 we took 3 opening day and 1 the second day.....shut it down.
2022 we took 4 opening day and 1 the second day.....shut it down

We are having a group discussion before this years hunt to decide on harvest numbers moving forward

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Originally Posted by huntnmachine

Good point.
We have a hunt camp in 49 and only fall bear hunt, can't take the bugs in the spring. In the last two seasons we have shut the hunt down after two days of hunting due to over harvesting concerns.
We hunt a group of 8 and in 2021 we took 3 opening day and 1 the second day.....shut it down.
2022 we took 4 opening day and 1 the second day.....shut it down

We are having a group discussion before this years hunt to decide on harvest numbers moving forward

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There seems to be a higher population in the southern WMU's than the near north. We still have a camp in WMU 50 we use for Deer and Upland seeing as how there's virtually no Moose tags to be had. We had a decent Deer hunt the last couple of seasons with 2 bucks among 5 of us. Not a Bear in sight for the week. In my home zone WMU 73,Bears are known to live between Oshawa and Newcastle north to Port Perry and Orono. They've been getting into garbage bins at local restaurants quite often. Staffers are warned to be cautious when opening the bins. A couple of folks have had nasty surprises lately. Nobody got hurt except the crap scared out of them.

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Originally Posted by MihajloSimsic

In some areas. Yes. But I've put out close to 100 baits in 16 zones (including this season). In some zones it is possible and the likely conclusion I have come to. But in several different areas I've baited I've never seen another hunter or heard of another hunter in the area. Even then I'd at the very least have ONE hit in the past year but most of my baits have gone completely untouched even after 1 or 2 years. Logs still neatly stacked. At this point after travelling tens of thousands of kilometers and putting nearly 100 baits and not getting a chance at a single bear over the past 3 seasons, if these last two baits don't get any hits within a month I am considering just completely giving up on bear hunting. Maybe I'll give it a go if I'm already in the area doing something more productive, but bear hunting will definitely be an afterthought at that point... At this point I've done absolutely everything I can and more than I should have to get on bears again.

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Seems like you've invested a lot of time and money into this. Curious, if you've considered simply hiring a local guide? I know some people enjoy the DIY aspect, but at this point it seems like you may get a better return on your investment if you could simply go out to a site which you know has bears and save the cost and time of baiting/finding a spot with bears

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Originally Posted by Ryeguy

Seems like you've invested a lot of time and money into this. Curious, if you've considered simply hiring a local guide? I know some people enjoy the DIY aspect, but at this point it seems like you may get a better return on your investment if you could simply go out to a site which you know has bears and save the cost and time of baiting/finding a spot with bears

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I've considered it but this point I'd rather cut my losses. $1800/per hunter every year is overly expensive, the only way bear hunting would be cost effective at all is if I found a spot reliable for bears which doesn't seem to be feasible at this point so far. Plus if I go to an outfitter they're doing 95% of the hunting for me, at that point it's pretty much just shooting. If these two baits don't get hit then that's probably then that'll be the last time I'll go out of my way to pursue bears. I wont be putting any more baits unless I'm already in the area doing something more productive.

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Originally Posted by MihajloSimsic

I've considered it but this point I'd rather cut my losses. $1800/per hunter every year is overly expensive, the only way bear hunting would be cost effective at all is if I found a spot reliable for bears which doesn't seem to be feasible at this point so far. Plus if I go to an outfitter they're doing 95% of the hunting for me, at that point it's pretty much just shooting. If these two baits don't get hit then that's probably then that'll be the last time I'll go out of my way to pursue bears. I wont be putting any more baits unless I'm already in the area doing something more productive.

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Something doesn't add up to me. Sat a grand total of 2 hours this spring and saw 3 bears and shot one. Talked to a buddy down the road and he saw 8 different bears his first sit and shot one. Seems like my part of 47 (Nipissing Township) is rife with bears.

I didn't get a bear either this spring. But I am at the stage where I just enjoy being in the woods and if I happen to get a bear great but if not, I won't let it ruin my season and will be back at it next spring... :)

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Originally Posted by bellerivercrossbowhunter

I didn't get a bear either this spring. But I am at the stage where I just enjoy being in the woods and if I happen to get a bear great but if not, I won't let it ruin my season and will be back at it next spring... :)

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"Like" button.

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Originally Posted by bellerivercrossbowhunter

I didn't get a bear either this spring. But I am at the stage where I just enjoy being in the woods and if I happen to get a bear great but if not, I won't let it ruin my season and will be back at it next spring... :)

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Did Normous connect?

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Originally Posted by Species8472

Something doesn't add up to me. Sat a grand total of 2 hours this spring and saw 3 bears and shot one. Talked to a buddy down the road and he saw 8 different bears his first sit and shot one. Seems like my part of 47 (Nipissing Township) is rife with bears.

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This season I didn't get a chance to sit because of the fact no baits were hit in 3 different zones. We didn't hunt 47 or 49 (our original productive sites) because the last two years nothing touched those baits within the whole year, they went through two winters without so much as a racoon touching it. Last fall I got a chance to sit because we got a few hits but it was a moot effort because they weren't coming into the bait more than once a every week or two.

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Originally Posted by MihajloSimsic

This season I didn't get a chance to sit because of the fact no baits were hit in 3 different zones. We didn't hunt 47 or 49 (our original productive sites) because the last two years nothing touched those baits within the whole year, they went through two winters without so much as a racoon touching it. Last fall I got a chance to sit because we got a few hits but it was a moot effort because they weren't coming into the bait more than once a every week or two.

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Well i wish you the best of luck and don't give up! They are out there. Bear hunting is my favourite especially on the ground up close and personal without a blind. Wouldn't trade it for anything. Having a bear at 6 feet twice in 2 hours this year can still get my old and jaded heart pumping.

I now you said you are using fish scraps on baits - i have never heard of anyone having luck with fish based baits in Ontario. I just use whole corn and a touch of molasses with a tiny amount of candy added to the mix. I can make 300 lbs of bait for about $50 and always seems to work.

I strongly agree with Species regarding the bait you’re using, regardless of your past experience with fish. I know a lot of successful bear hunters and they all say fish bring really poor results. I live at the wmu 75/60 boundary and the bear density is very high. Being that I trap and fish, I throw a lot of deadstock into the back bush on our 160acres. The only things that will clean up fish are the coons, fisher, fox/coyote, and vultures/ravens. My place is filthy with bear and they will not touch fish. They go ballistic as soon as I start dumping beaver carcasses. I can dump ten beaver and they are gone in less than three days. Game camera will show at least seven different bear coming in to look for more beaver and they sniff and leave the fish. I’d advise finding yourself a local trapper, or switch to meat scraps from a local butcher. Hunt north 75/ bottom end of 60. Filthy with boo-boos!

Find a trapper who does nuisance beaver trapping for the municipality/township. They will have large numbers of beaver available during the late April to early June period when spring dispersal is at its peak. Get yourself a $200 old chest freezer from Kijji and use it for the bear hunt to freeze your carcasses.

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Originally Posted by Fenelon

Find a trapper who does nuisance beaver trapping for the municipality/township. They will have large numbers of beaver available during the late April to early June period when spring dispersal is at its peak. Get yourself a $200 old chest freezer from Kijji and use it for the bear hunt to freeze your carcasses.

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I'm sure beaver carcasses work great and you have given some sound advice. But after close to 20 years of bear hunting me and my dad have never seen a bear refuse fish scraps. I feel people aren't using the right fish. They'll take bass and pike scraps in a heart beat, they'll also take walleye but not as much. I also notice they wont touch white bass specifically for some reason. Several times I had baits that didn't get hit until I put fish scraps, plus I know sardines are a very common bait that I also found works well. Also on many of these baits I didn't put fish scraps so I know it isn't the fish that's causing the lack of hits, even on baits where they didn't touch white bass they cleant everything else up. Plus I don't have any more space for another freezer unfortunately LOL.

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Originally Posted by MihajloSimsic

I'm sure beaver carcasses work great and you have given some sound advice. But after close to 20 years of bear hunting me and my dad have never seen a bear refuse fish scraps. I feel people aren't using the right fish. They'll take bass and pike scraps in a heart beat, they'll also take walleye but not as much. I also notice they wont touch white bass specifically for some reason. Several times I had baits that didn't get hit until I put fish scraps, plus I know sardines are a very common bait that I also found works well. Also on many of these baits I didn't put fish scraps so I know it isn't the fish that's causing the lack of hits, even on baits where they didn't touch white bass they cleant everything else up. Plus I don't have any more space for another freezer unfortunately LOL.

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This year seems to be "dry" side in general. Must be the early heat and temps jumping up and down for 2 month. We hunt 26/27 and noticed a lot of oddities this spring season. Had to spread the bait sites across a long stretch of road..

How many sites are you baiting? What is distance being covered by baits?
Could the bear have migrated a bit away due to early wake up ?



Sent from my moto g power (2022) using Tapatalk

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Originally Posted by MihajloSimsic

I'm sure beaver carcasses work great and you have given some sound advice. But after close to 20 years of bear hunting me and my dad have never seen a bear refuse fish scraps. I feel people aren't using the right fish. They'll take bass and pike scraps in a heart beat, they'll also take walleye but not as much. I also notice they wont touch white bass specifically for some reason. Several times I had baits that didn't get hit until I put fish scraps, plus I know sardines are a very common bait that I also found works well. Also on many of these baits I didn't put fish scraps so I know it isn't the fish that's causing the lack of hits, even on baits where they didn't touch white bass they cleant everything else up. Plus I don't have any more space for another freezer unfortunately LOL.

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Amazing that your fish bait results are so different from mine. Before I retired I used to work as a F+W Tech who would conduct annual index netting projects on the Kawartha Lakes. I used to sometimes bring home 115 liter plastic gill net tubs full of fish carcasses that had been field processed. Sometimes as many as five tubs (close to 500 lbs of fish). Bluegill, Pumpkinseed, LMB, SMB, Walleye, White Sucker, Black Crappie, Yellow Perch, Carp, and the odd Muskellunge. Bears wouldn't touch the stuff. You'd get the odd bear on the game cam pawing through the piles and eating the gravid ovaries out of some of the female fish but that was it. If I dumped a dozen beaver carcasses out beside the fish, the bear would have them gone in 2-3 days. Bears will go psycho for beaver carcasses and muskrat , and they really strip the rump tallow fat off the fall coons. For some reason they don't seem to like the taste of the meat on the coon and they won't touch otter, fisher, coyote, or fox carcasses as a rule. I home butcher two deer every November and the scraps from these are quickly hit by the bears before they go for the big sleep. A friend tried baiting with Lake Ontario salmon (chinooks up to 30lbs). Same deal - little interest from the bears. Maybe our Fenelon - Burnt River-Kinmount bears are "goormet" connoisseurs !

I’ll say it again, BEARS LOVE DEER CHOW!

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Originally Posted by MihajloSimsic

I'm sure beaver carcasses work great and you have given some sound advice. But after close to 20 years of bear hunting me and my dad have never seen a bear refuse fish scraps. I feel people aren't using the right fish. They'll take bass and pike scraps in a heart beat, they'll also take walleye but not as much. I also notice they wont touch white bass specifically for some reason. Several times I had baits that didn't get hit until I put fish scraps, plus I know sardines are a very common bait that I also found works well. Also on many of these baits I didn't put fish scraps so I know it isn't the fish that's causing the lack of hits, even on baits where they didn't touch white bass they cleant everything else up. Plus I don't have any more space for another freezer unfortunately LOL.

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I'll agree with the others that fish isn't the way to go.
Maybe for some reason it used to work for you, but clearly it isn't any longer.
If your old ways aren't working, you can keep trying the same with the same results you have been seeing, or mix it up and try something new.
Up to you, but there seems to be lots of people seeing lots of bears, lots of people saying they don't have success with your methods.

Seems like an easy solution to me to stop using your old methods and try something new.
Perhaps its just the way I'm reading you're replies here, but you seem stuck in your ways and defensive about them. But at the same time not having any success. I'd say what do you have to lose by completely mixing it up and trying something completely different?

We didn't have any luck at all with fish for bait. Started using dry dog food, molasses and anise spray years back and have not had a bear less fall since.

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Originally Posted by MihajloSimsic

I'm sure beaver carcasses work great and you have given some sound advice. But after close to 20 years of bear hunting me and my dad have never seen a bear refuse fish scraps. I feel people aren't using the right fish. They'll take bass and pike scraps in a heart beat, they'll also take walleye but not as much. I also notice they wont touch white bass specifically for some reason. Several times I had baits that didn't get hit until I put fish scraps, plus I know sardines are a very common bait that I also found works well. Also on many of these baits I didn't put fish scraps so I know it isn't the fish that's causing the lack of hits, even on baits where they didn't touch white bass they cleant everything else up. Plus I don't have any more space for another freezer unfortunately LOL.

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Never had any luck with fish. Or raw meat scraps.
I use whole corn, dog food or bread, covered with fake maple syrup and use vanilla around the bait barrel as an attractant.
If you're only using fish as bait - I can see why you're not getting much action.

I have tried putting bass carcasses' out at a bait pile and they did not touch them at all, across this forum and others fish do not work well.

BUT what did work for me was cans of sardines in oil hung from a tree and slowly dripping oil with a small hole pierced in the bottom of the can, saw that done years ago on a wildlife show. They are cheap, easy to carry and I would say are a good attractant but not a bait per say, but if the reach the can they will eat them up.

I have a friend who really seems to have the gift of drawing bears here to bait in the Kawarthas. He mixes his in a steel contractors wheel barrow then packs it into plastic 5 gallon pails with lids. His mix is: one big 40lb bag of the cheapest dog kibble he can find (usually Old Roy), two big bags of cracked corn from AgriCo. He then adds 6 cans of sardienes with the oil, then two little bottles of anise oil that he gets in the baking section at the grocery store. He mixes this all up with a stick then packs it into a pail. He only puts out a 5 gallon pail when he baits one of his plastic blue barrels. The only other thing he sometimes adds to the mix is grape crystal juice packets, or he’s also used pure essence flavouring from the Kawartha Dairy factory in Bobcaygeon. He says the bait site is the most important factor. No water close by equals low bear density. I totally agree with this having trapped for the past 40+ years. Every one of his spots is close to wetlands. He uses mapping and google earth to choose his spots and they are always at pinch points between big beaver meadows/floods and swamps. He sets up on a hill slope thats uphill close to the water on the land bridge between the wetlands, where he knows bears will pass.

I love reading what others find successful and what doesn't work for them. It appears that what works for some, does not work for others.

We hunt in WMU 46 south of French River. About half the time we are successful. I have trail cameras setup and we try different bait in different spots (mainly to see what bears want). Never in the 7 years have I had bears come to dog food mixed with molasses. Lots of racoons and birds (crows or ravens) but never a bear on camera. Every year we use this because so many people insist it works. But not for me.

I have bears on camera coming in to fish guts 4 years (we shot two of them) of our 7 years, but other years they ignore the fish (one in spring, one in the fall). Fall time old donuts/pies/sweet stuff often works (unfortunately, it would appear our bears like sweet stuff at night).

One year I bought 2 of those 50 lb bags of "deer corn" from Peavey Mart. Made two bait piles about 1/2 km apart. Neither were touched by the bears but the birds and racoons loved it!

YMMV - we all have our experiences and we like going to what has worked in the past.

I think a lot of the variation on what baits bears like changes from time to time and area to area depending on what natural food sources are available. Same reason why I think active baits will all of a sudden go dead. There is just a better option for the bears. Which could be other hunters with better bait or better natural food sources.

Set up a bait in the Peterborough area for the first time this spring and saw more bears than I want in the area. My buddy shot a beauty boar, 300 lb live weight. Several other smaller ones on camera.