Bear bait dried up
Contributors to this thread:Wisconsin
From: ScottG
20-Sep-17
So, this past week our bear bait dried up. Hasn't been hit now since Sept 15th. Had quite a few different bears hitting now nothing. Any ideas why? Never had to go this late in the season. And does it pick up again?
From: Drop Tine
20-Sep-17
Is baiting legal for deer where your hunting? Bear love corn and bow hunters dumping corn = lots of bait piles in the woods. Or someone started up a bait near yours?
I ran our baits today and all were hit.
From: ScottG
20-Sep-17
DT, yes deer baiting is legal there. As far as we know there is know one else baiting bear within a mile of us. We are in some farm country, so my theory is that the corn is in milking stage and they are hitting the corn hard. Berries and apples are also rip now. The neighbor who baits for us has deer bait out and he also said he hasn't seen any on his bait neither. We were planning on going back this weekend , but without bait getting hit doesn't pay to be hot in a tree and see no bear.
From: Drop Tine
20-Sep-17
I wouldn't not hunt. I have gotten pictures of bear walking through a bait site and not hit the bait.
But I think you answered your own question with the milky corn.
From: MF
20-Sep-17
I think the corn is past the milk stage. Have you already hunted your bait station? Do you have more than one bait station. It does not take bears long to figure out they are being hunted. Apples are plentiful but berries should almost all be dried up and gone.
From: ScottG
20-Sep-17
MF, only one station. Only have 40 acres. And yes, hunted wed, thurs, fri and sat. Didn't see a bear. Camera said no day pics 3 days prior to sitting. I agree, milking seems late, but that's what locals were telling us.
From: ScottG
20-Sep-17
Guess what I'm really asking is from some of you experienced bear guys is, even though it dried up, if left alone will they comeback? What's really weird is we had about 12 to 15 different bears coming in. From all sizes. Some so small they would struggle to open the log. Kind of find it odd not even the little guys showed up. Dog hunters are not much an issue by us neither. Really frustrating we put a ton of time in and not to even see one. Think the heat may have any thing to do with it?
From: Drop Tine
20-Sep-17
A lot of corn went in late this year due to all the rain this spring and early summer.
From: ScottG
20-Sep-17
Hope it turns around. And go figure we checked the camera and the Wednesday dogs started the one we call scare face shows up at 7. He's a big bore that must have gotten into some trouble his face is all scared up. He is the biggest one we had coming in. He was on an 8 o'clock routine but , since we cut back on the bait he started to show up in daylight.
From: Chris S
21-Sep-17
I had exact same thing going on I'm near Eagle River my bait went dead about the same time. I had 8 different bears not including cubs with sows. Couple days after dogs started my bait was ghost town. You could set your clock by the big one that owned the bait. I know there is a bait about a mile or so from me. I hunted sat/ su and and left early. It even hunting Monday because lack of activity and the heat. Today I finally have activity again. It mostly shows with cubs and a medium boar. I think it was just a combo of everything and the heat that stopped them. But they are coming back. Gonna give it a few more days and head up when the weather cools down. Keep the faith they should return.
From: MF
21-Sep-17
ScottG. "Guess what I'm really asking is from some of you experienced bear guys is, even though it dried up, if left alone will they comeback" I might know a little about the question you ask and the answer is YES. The first two days of that hot weather turned allot of bears nocturnal. It only takes a couple days for those bears to figure out there being hunted just by the human scent, walking out late etc. Within the next week most bait stations will dry up, hunters are done, keep at it, if you had up to 15 different bears as you said, some are bound to come back. Rarely have we had bait stations dry up to the point where there wasn't some kind of return. Use lots of scent and refresh with new bait even if you have to take out the old bait. keep that trail camera at your bait station. Good luck
From: MF
21-Sep-17
I would like to add you need to check it often...once that bait gets hit again hunt asap, some of those bears could be just moving threw and will only stay a few days. We have shot many bears that last week of the season and most are big bears with gorgeous hides.
From: Live2hunt
21-Sep-17
They love the Acorns also, that has ruined my baits a few times.
From: Diamond Dave
21-Sep-17
My bear baiter dried up somewhat also. I hunted Friday through Tuesday. I had one medium sized bear came in on Saturday evening and walked to the baiter, sniffed it very briefly and kept walking and didn't give me a shot opportunity. I couldn't believe he didn't hunker into the bait.
From: MF
21-Sep-17
Just checked some of the baits that went cold after hunters shot, some bears are coming back but after dark, they are not that far away and the bait is next to a farmers corn field. This is a bear we call "Traveler" he hits one of the other baits that is 5 miles away.
From: ScottG
21-Sep-17
MF, thanks for the info. This weekend is a no hunt for 2 reasons,no activity and 89 degrees is just out of the question to sit in. The following weekend for sure as long as the bears show up again.
From: Trapper
21-Sep-17
Scott I don't want to disappoint you but 2 years ago in unit C I had 7 different bears coming in to 1 bait from July 1st to August 15th. They were coming in at all times of the day. 1 bear hit again just before the season opened and then did not get hit again until early November. I believe sweet corn and a acorn drop was my culprit as 2 bear were hit within a 1/2 mile of me on a 200 acre sweet corn field that most of it didn't get harvested. Good Luck!
From: Drop Tine
21-Sep-17
MF
You made a statement that bear know they are being hunted because of human scent.
How do you rebait your baits when hit and not leave scent?
We bait and rebait our bait sights all summer. Run dogs off of them and the bear keeps coming back. There is human scent, voices, dog scent, barking. Truck doors slamming and exhaust. You get the picture. But yet they return.
From: ScottG
21-Sep-17
I don't feel this has much to do with human scent, like you said droptine human scent is in there everyday. My thoughts are that they are off on another food source. It's frustrating, but yet it's fun trying to figure those buggers out.
From: Fivers
21-Sep-17
They will be back, just make sure that they have bait to eat when they get there. This time of year, if they visit a bait that is empty, they may never return for the rest of season. If there is food, they will keep coming back, if there is always food or the smell of food, they will increase the visits as the natural foods slow down.
You can't kill one if you aren't out there!!
From: Fivers
21-Sep-17
I forgot to mention, when it is hot out like this weekend, hunt mornings and evenings, they will move very little in the heat of the day this time of year.
From: MF
21-Sep-17
Drop Tine....We are not talking hounds and scent...we are talking about a bait sitter and I guarantee you when a hunter leaves that stand at night there is a bear or bears near that either hear him or was scented while on stand. Yes its baited for weeks and those bears are used to human scent (the scent of the one that's been doing the baiting), but I bet, it usually has been baited mid morning or early afternoon so those bears are used to that repetitious routine, they are not used to the hunter sitting in a tree in ambush smelling up the area at an odd time of the day. So when you throw something out of character in the mix it throws caution to the wind. Bears aren't stupid, they figure things out real fast. Just my two cents worth but hey, what do I know about bears!
From: Drop Tine
21-Sep-17
That's why I asked. Never to old to learn something.
From: ScottG
21-Sep-17
Here's another question id like some thoughts on. So the bait gets placed with a 4 wheeler late morning everyday. At that time is when we climb into the tree. Yes that dies make for a long sit, but I'm not there to hang out in there to hunt. What is everyones thoughts on walking out at night after the hunt or have the 4 wheeler come back to pick me up. Kind of a tough question. I feel let the 4wheeler push them away. Yes, I understand that it's out of routine, but I feel it's better than the bear seeing me walk down the path to get out. What's your thoughts?
From: Treefarm
21-Sep-17
The "reward" is freshioning the bait a second time. Noise, equals reward.
From: MF
21-Sep-17
The "reward" would have to be done every night to make that work, during just pre-season baiting and hunting.
From: MF
21-Sep-17
Besides, you want those bears to come into the bait station during daytime hours. I wouldn't want to condition them for night feeding.
From: Fivers
21-Sep-17
I'm always a fan of getting "picked up" if the option is available, I always figure that it's best to have a vehicle drive in to spook them away than me getting out of the area. Animals generally don't seem to spook as bad from an ATV or truck compared to someone just "appearing" from nowhere.
From: MF
22-Sep-17
You can get away with it with deer but Bears wont tolerate it, totally different animal your hunting, especially mature bears, something out of the ordinary such as driving in and picking up a hunter chances are you will just spook that bear into a later feeding habit or that bear will completely abandoned that bait station for awhile.
From: MF
22-Sep-17
You usually will only have a two day window to hunt a specific bear or bears then they figure out they are being hunted and activity will slow down or even stop completely. Don't burn out a specific bait station. You either stop hunting that spot for a few days but continue your baiting routine to let things settle down. Never hunt when the wind is wrong, always have back up stands to hunt.
From: ScottG
22-Sep-17
MF, Back up stands for us would be very difficult, we have a retired neighbor baiting for us. He's old enough that we make it as easy as possible for him. We have 40 acre to hunt. Would you suggest add another on that same 40? My understanding was try not to bait with in a mile of your primary bait site.
From: Chris S
22-Sep-17
I splurged this year and bought a spartan wireless camera for my bait. Sold some stuff I wasn't using on eBay and bought the cam. $5 a month on Verizon plan. I see everything happening while I'm at home 6 hours away. That way I call my buddy when it gets cleaned out. Then it gets baited same time in afternoon following day. It was pretty depressing last week when it shut down. But had 7 bears on it last night. 1 being a good size new boar but they are now hitting at night my guess is because of the heat. Hoping it cools off soon. My experience is that once it starts getting hit again 1) they start tracking around grease and scents into the bush for others to find. 2) more bears means more competition for food which causes them to come in earlier. Just need it to cool off!!!
From: Hoot
22-Sep-17
We're still getting bears hitting at NBC. We harvested another bear last night. It was slow at times, but the baits were getting cleaned up.
From: MF
22-Sep-17
40 acre is just to small for another bait station but this being mid season you could try it, if it gets hit, abandoned the old bait station and hunt the new one right away. But I still think yours will be eventually hit again.
From: ScottG
22-Sep-17
I would think it would also. Hopefully by next weekend. And I also hope this damn weather will cool down this heat is ridiculous. I work out side and this week has to be the hottest of all summer. And I'd like to Thank everyone for your help I really appreciate it.
From: bowhuntndoug
22-Sep-17
Dog hunters probably killed the bears hitting your baits. Just kidding!
From: ScottG
22-Sep-17
Too, much private around us and huge ridges. Wouldn't think they would run dogs in that kind of terrain. Would take forever to get one out of there.
From: MF
22-Sep-17
Big storms went threw today, even though it was storming we new it was going to clear up this afternoon, we put a hunter on stand knowing the bears would move after it stopped raining...the hunter just called and said he just shot a nice bear.
From: Mike F
22-Sep-17
My baits in Z are slow, but not dead. I know it's hard to put in your time, but if you do it, make sure you watch your scent control and everything else you can be rewarded.
Running baits in this weather sucks, but someone has to do it!
MF- Nice job!
