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Just wondering what bait to fill barrels with that draws them in, in just a day or so. Always heard to put used grease on the ground in front of barrel so they make a trail back to the barrel.
If you want quick results, what goes inside the barrel isn’t nearly as important as the scents you use outside the barrel. Scent brings em in, bait keeps em coming back.
That said “just a day or so” may be unrealistic expectations depending on where you plan on baiting.
stink em' in to feed em later
TEmbry-Lets talk more about these scents you use...What do you recommend outside the barrel, how often do you reapply?
Knock Out by James Valley Scents, I use one jar on each bait when I set them up and then every time I add more bait I put out a little more... The stuff is RANK but it has worked well for me.
Last spring in an area I could hunt brown bears over bait, I used Magnum Martin trapping lure and had bears on a new bait within days. I'll be using that stuff again as well.
A very strong "call scent" is an important part of my baiting scheme.
Best of luck!
I use vanilla extract to bring them in. I buy the large bottles at BJ's whole sale. I drill a whole in the lid and pull a rope through creating a wick. Hang it as high as possible in a tree and let it drip. They usually last about a week.
I also put used restaurant grease around the baits.
I have had excellent results.
Good luck.
I hang one or two 5 Gallon pails 1/2 filled with water and packed with carp( any fish will do) let it sit in the son with the lid on for a week or so then cut a hole in the lid.
This will bring them in from a great distance . As for bait I use variety donuts and pastries in a barrel and fish.. beaver .. meat scraps around the site.. also as you said I throw used fryer grease all around ... good luck
Anise, available in the spice section of most grocery stores.
Rotten beaver. Manna from bear heaven.
Owl, Do bears kill and eat beavers?
Where we bear bait in New Brunswick there are lots of beaver ponds with no beavers....bear kills beavers every chance they get. Its the bext bear bait.
Anyone ever try the honey burn? I knew an old fella up in Maine who swore by it
Knock out from James Valley. Imitation Vanilla back when Costco had it dirt cheap by the gallon, don't use this much anymore. I love almost all the products made by Bait Em 907.
Beaver Carcasses. My personal favorite is used fryer grease from bars/restaurants. That stuff is like crack cocaine for bears.
I honestly think often it boils down to curiosity. Bears will investigate new smells. So it can smell sweet/delicious or rank, and bears will come check it out. Once they find it, steady food supply will keep em coming back.
"Anyone ever try the honey burn?"
I've found them to be more of a PITA than anything. I like to get into my baits, add food/stink, swap camera chip and leave... a burn requires more time there than I'd like.
It may work for some people but I have no reason to do it anymore.
I built a “grease gun” I can spray fryer grease high into the trees and that really adds to the smell. I also spray lots of liquid smoke around.
I use a 50/50 mix of fryer grease and fish guts that have been in a bucket for 6 months to grab their attention, then for bait I mainly use licorice and trail mix. Got away from meat for bait as it brings in the wolves and makes the bears wary. I also spray the surrounding vegetation down with a caramel scent.
Well this thread sure won't make you hungry like some of the "best recipe ever" ones do.
It will if you're a bear! :)
We have to fly everything in in our super Cubs so size and wieght are a concern. Un popped popcorn, 50lb. bags makes a lot of popcorn. We mix it with grease we bring in in 5 gal. buckets. Add some commercial scents and in our area it only takes a few hours to have bear on a bait.
Not a bear guide any more, not gonna show you any pictures. Have no idea what time of year you are planning to bait. Couple things to consider: (1) How much time do you have? (2) How much money do you have? (3) What is the terrain like? Bear are attracted to bait primarily by smell. You can spend a ton of money or use simple fish guts or Liquid Smoke. Both are cheap. Put Liquid Smoke on strips of towel and throw as high up in a tree as possible, same with fish parts-or for that matter, any animal parts. May take longer than vanilla or any commercial scent but I doubt it. Just get it stinkin. As for bait, anything sweet or rotten. Scent brings them in, food brings them back.
If you have hilly terrain, place your baits on top-scent travels farther when places on hills rather than in hollows. If you have a fair bear population, sooner or later they will find your bait. All depends on how long you have to bait and hunt.
I have killed quite a few bear, guided quite a few hunters...always been in favor of saving money. Location is 10X far more important than what you use...as long as it stinks.
I have to pack everything in on a frame pack around 2 miles, so weight is a concern. I use popcorn as well, but popcorn doesn't smell and rain will shrivel it up into nothing. I just came to grips with the fact that the first day of setting up our baits is going to be a long one with many miles back and forth.
I am going to kill one of these bears next spring, they have been hammering this bait for 4 years and in '18 we can finally hunt them over bait here.
I sure as heck would not bet against you nick!!!
Nick-How many pounds do you take in at a time? Two people, carrying 55-gallon drum, would be one trip, may even be able to take it of the way on a hand truck. Then, 50-pounds of food. Cut a hole, just slightly larger than bear paw size, about a foot off the ground, in the barrel. Secure top and chain solidly to a tree. Food stays dry and lasts a long time. Cover area with something to attract them. Fish nasties are fairly light but a bottle of Liquid Smoke and a couple towels works very well. Sure save a lot of re-baiting trips.
If all of this is legal where you're at, I made some "envelopes" out if chicken wire and wired the "envelopes" to the tree and then filled them with meat scraps. After a while the meat juices run down the tree making a large scent wick. Take a metal coffee or large soup can(s), wire that high on a limb or tree and fill it with some of your fryer grease for scent dispersal. Fresh chicken or fish grease was the best. You could even pour a little grease on the meat scraps in the envelope to start the drip. Keeping things economical.....I get some of my fixens from the local dollar store cheap.....vanilla, liquid smoke, jelly's, honey, marsh mellows, etc. Deer drippers with vanilla or liquid smoke can be used to keep the scent going...you'll just have to hang them out of reach. Tie a line to them, throw the line up over a high limb and pull the dripper up out of reach. Add a stick or rock to the line if you need weight to raise/lower the drippers. Some guys swear by big bags of dried dog food from places like Tractor Supply. They will mix the grease with the dog food.
If you have a heavy load, a deer cart may be of use to haul in what you can as far as you can. That might save you some trips and hauling. On the last load leave the deer cart out there to hopefully help haul out your bear when you get it.
First trip in, we both strap a 55 gallon drum to our frame pack, they are both half filled with popcorn. Second trip, 100lbs of dog food on the frame pack. Do that a few times. Very small hole (quarter sized) in barrel so we don't have to rebait often.
Northwoods Bear Scent....GoldRush...great scent to attract bears...that all we use, bear are now attracted to it as soon as they smell it each spring. So after years of baiting with the same scent we usually have bears hitting within few hours of starting the bait. We use allot salt meat as you dont have to freeze it and flies stay off it.....spring bears out of the den want protein.
