Bear baiting 2018!
Man it’s getting closer!! Beginning my prep for the spring baiting season. I’m working up my Bait Em 907 order, ordering a new blind after the bears played with my last one, revamping my bait barrels cause I’m sick of dog food pouring out on the ground, and buying a drive way alarm. Things went awesome last year, but I’m changing a few things up.
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I have been using a smaller (35 gallon???) plastic barrel with a removable lid for several years now. There are only 2 - 3/4 dia. holes in the bottom for the food to come out of. So the bear has to lay there and play with it to get the food out. When I go in I just remove the lid and 50 pounds of food fits inside. I hang it on a tree about 2 feet up with a chain around a tree step to keep it up there. First trip in, I duct tape the holes, pour the food in and take everything in at once.
Last year I popped a barrel full of popcorn and sprinkled jelly doughnut syrup on the stuff as it cooled in a 5 gallon bucket. The trail cam says that the bears cleaned it out in under 24 hours the first day I put it in. THAT was fast. Usually it takes 7-10 days for the bears to find the bait.
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I had 150lbs of dog food eater in two days last year. So I run the big barrels, the grizzly don’t seem to pattern and some only showed up once from what I could tell. I’m going to put a plate in at a angle in the barrel to turn it into a giant bird feeder so they have to continue to pull food out. I have a couple smaller poly drums but I don’t wanna have to refill that often. Not really any black bears were I am.
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Very excited here! Been collecting bait and storing in preparation! Only downfall is had to give us my established sites since w moved interior this summer, so trying to pin down my new locations😀
I'm jet boat shopping, going to make a purchase in the coming months just waiting for the right deal. Last year I ran bait at my buddies old site, wasn't used for years so this year action will pick up. I'm going to set a second site a bit farther up river from there as long as water levels work out. Last season I missed what seemed to be the prime season while up at work had a big blackie and couple nice browns hitting than. Literally the day after setting bait had a nice brown come in. This year i'm going to be here in the 'prime' time, mid may to early June. Also need to get my Bait Em order in, last year I was VERY impressed with the burn formula. Was really the ticket to getting couple hung up bears coming in and getting one of them. Spring can't come soon enough...
I’m also adding a jet boat. I think I’ve got mine nailed down, just have to order it.
I’m gonna put in a few prospecting baits and see if I can find some bears for the kids to shoot at as well.
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Master guide 212
I also noticed some grizz early on, would only show up once and gone. That's why it was so frustrating last year to have missed out on those opportunities, not happening this year. Not to stray off topic BRWNBR...but what boat you going with? I'm looking at Alweld, Alumacraft, and SeaArk, really impressed by my buddies SeaArk but money talks.
Alumacraft from reeds in Fairbanks. About 6-8 grand cheaper than anything else I could find. Feel free to pm me if ya want details with what I found from shopping around.
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Just curious if ya checked w locals builders? Custom boat may be a bit more, still time to have one built. Many benefits to having one built, as u have learned by shopping I think, price and features. I know a guy who builds. Will gladly give ya his info.Originally Posted by BRWNBR
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If there's a decent moose population in your bait area (within 10 miles), a lot of your mature/older grizz will select moose calve protein over a bait station any day of the week. Blacks will do the same thing with buttercup flowers. Once they bloom, they'll go gorge themselves and forego a bait till further notice..
I've had this happen many times. A lot of times they'll come back a week or 2 later. Typically after the surviving calves get their legs and can now haul *** and keep up with momma and/or their body says " you've had enough buttercups" and start travelling again...
Depends where your at AND other bait activities in your area. There's a possibility that another bait a few miles away smells better then yours and pulled your bears.
Since I river bait, I'm pretty secluded. But sometimes I too have hit a lull with activity, more often then not. It'll be hot at first (typically first 2 weeks) then slows down, then mid-late June it gets hot again, clear into July. Hard saying trying too pin-point the reasons.
My first year at my current bait, my first 2 bear photo's taken just after setting up, was a CRANKER 7'+ blackie. 2 pics, that was it. Never came back since then. It's been 3yrs. No other baits for many many miles around. Never heard of anyone getting him either.
I believe that he was travelling looking for girls and did a hit-n-run on my bait, that was it. His interest was elsewhere..
Sounds good BRWNBR, i'm going to give them a call thats quite the savings.
swampdonkey- Yes this area holds lots of moose, that was kind of our theory that as soon as the calves started dropping they'd rather chase those. But the bigger ones never came back. Could be they went to an established site farther up or down river, highly likely. We put in 120% effort keeping the site smelling strong with all kinds of scents, Baitem scents, gel balls, tar, beaver etc. and well baited, seriously could smell the site well before you got close to it. I think the real issue was the site wasn't used for a few years, it should be much better this year. We did start getting more activity from mid June to the end of June, killed a grizz mid June. This year i'm going to run my bait clear into July as we still had active bears near the end and should've kept baiting, plus i'm not much of a fisherman rather bear hunt lol.
Based on my inconsistent cameras it looked like most grizzly only came in once or twice. There weren’t any that became regulars. I did however have two black bears show up. And they came in almost every two hours! That was annoying. Last week of may the grizz hit the bait the hardest and ate the most, once June rolled around it was a couple pounds a visit. Where as the first hits they emptied 150lbs of dog food in two days. Due to snow I can’t really get to my baits till mid may anyway. Set them in April, because that’s when my access is
easiest.
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Master guide 212
A "few years"... Like 3yrs or like 8yrs? Every year that it's consistantly used, TYPICALLY, the better it'll be. I'll never say "always" due too "poo-poo happens" that's sometimes uncontrollable, but definitely better..
From my experience, I really believe that year 5 is usually when baits really get established. The original bears know of it, their cubs back then have grown and are aware of it, and so are their cubs now if they have them.. That's 2, possibly 3 generations in the know. Most, if not all bears in the area will know of your site around year 5.
At least 4 years, in the past it used to be highly active and I don't doubt that it will be in coming seasons. Good info to know!
What I found the most annoying is when a big ol' sow grizz and her 2 big 2yr olds show up and camp out on it. Eating you out of house and home twice a week. Trashing everything in site. Gets a little spendy too... Them cubs can flat out tear sh** up!!
Then if mama grizz boots them out later on, guess who sticks around for an easy meal. Those dag-gumm cubs...
Run those cubs off!! Jump outa your blind screaming like a bull yeti!!!
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Master guide 212
Hold my beer!! I got this....
I may set it down to hold the camera.....
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Master guide 212
Spring bear season is an absolute blast and I hate that I begin thinking about it this far out, because then it is the only think on my mind for months!
I don't have much advice as this will only be my 5th spring in Alaska, but if I could offer anything it would be to not overthink this, baiting bears is a very simple and fun process.
Good luck to you all, hopefully everyone's hard work pays off.
Yes, I'm thinking about it too. I was a rank beginner last May/June, but lucked out with lots of activity and a decent sow to show for it. I guess I'd better eat the rest of the meat so I can feel good about doing it all over again. Some of the best days I've ever spent in the woods and I learned a lot.
True, don't overthink it.
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