Bear Baiting

[chris lavoie]

This is the first time I'll be using licorice so I hope they eat it!!

[fishy steve]

This is the first time I'll be using licorice so I hope they eat it!!

herd people have had lots of luck with it... buddy gave me a bag of "bear bait" which he bought at a feed store, that was specifically marketed as bear bait, and it basically smelled like a big bag of liquorice, i poured it in my barrel, after a week of the bears not hitting my barrel i took it back and they came back... perhaps it was just the change that spooked them, but i cetainly wont be buying it lol

something else to do to get cheap bait is go to a feed store and ask if they have any bag of feed that have gone bad or mice have gotton into, they will ussually sell them to you at about half price, got a bunch of sweet feed last year for $6 a bag...

[chris lavoie]

I will be mixing it in with the rest of the bait, including cherry slurry which is really thick.

Licorice I have now is in pieces, never used solid pieces before. No black licorice this time. Western outfitter swear by it. I also have 2 pellets of boxes of gummi bears.

[chris lavoie]

So, when you use barrels steve, how much do you put in and how often do you have to check barrel baits??

[fishy steve]

im lucky enough to live close to where i bait (property borders about a million acres crown) so i ussually start with about 10-15 gallons of oats/fryer grease, then after the bears start hitting it, i bait every day at the same time... except i ussually have a back up barrel a long ways away which i hit about once a week with a bag of feed and a jug of grease... its a shaker barrel, so they have to work to get the feed out...

[chris lavoie]

Some put small holes in the barrel out west. Do you find that if they have a hard time getting bait that they just move on??

[fishy steve]

no they tend to beat the h3ll out of the barrel till they get at it lol heres my shaker... has 3 slots cut into it, works good with oats as they roll the barrely back and fourth the oats fall out, keeps them busy... just have wood bolted ontop and big bears do get ancy and rip the wood clear off... powerfull buggars...

[chris lavoie]

I just might try that technique next week. I plan on setting a couple out next week to see how they work. Thanks!

Bet will work great with popcorn in the barrel.

[sawbill]

Large barrels work great but I use a 5 gal pail instead.
I cleaned my baitsites thoroughly after the hunt so hauling and storing about 30 or so barrels was not practical.
Sure wish the locals would pick up after themselves at the end of the hunt. The mess they leave in the field is disgusting.

[chris lavoie]

Attachment 29731Our district omnr biologist recommend that bma holders hang their baits in trees, high enough for bears to have to reach to get at the bait. This allows thebma holders clients to sex the bear and determine whether the bear is a lactating female. I have hung my baits in trees for years.

I agree with sawbill. They must be a pain to get them into the site let alone retrieve the greasy thing after the hunt??

Hunting channels in the states are refusing to produce hunting shows where bear hunting sites have unsightly barrels and log stansions. I was just going to try it for the sake of testing them. I have 29 barrels sitting around here.

Your comments will tell me whether I will use them or not.