Has Spring Bear ruined bear season?

[huntnmachine]

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.

[werner.reiche]

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.

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.

[Gilroy]

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.

[Fenelon]

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.

[wasa]

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.

[FishHog]

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.

[brent]

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.