2021 Spring Bear Prep...
Bears
Contributors to this thread:
Pine Acres Recipe...
Pine Acres Recipe...
Used Restaurant Oil
Used Restaurant Oil
Straw berry Jello powder...
Straw berry Jello powder...
Going out to set out Baits today for May.
Popcorn mixed with used Restaurant Oil, Strawberry Jello powder, Liquid Smoke and lots of mixing.
Gummi Bears...W
Gummi Bears...W
Before we add popcorn.
Before we add popcorn.
We also use filler bait. Popcorn alone is not enough to keep bears at baits. Goes right through them. We put half a pail of crushed chips Gummies and other candies. Then fill rest of pail with mixed popcorn. 6 pails per barrel.
We are going to set up multiple trail cams at each site. Try news foods on bears and get a bunch of pics to post.
Bears are out now. Spring is about 5 weeks early here. Weather guy said broke a 100 year record for least amount of moisture for March.
I doubt there will be a Spring hunt but I still plan on running a bunch of baits for the fun of it!!
Only vicarious hunting this spring. Thanks for sharing the photos you get. No locals hunting?
Honey Moon Suite Bait...
Honey Moon Suite Bait...
Got 3 sites done this afternoon...
We wont have any residents hunting in camp, just us guides. Will bait a bunch up and when something nice shows up we'll try our luck.
We have a bunch of bait that wont make it to Fall so gotta use it up.
Looks fun spike buck! Please keep the pics coming!
Commercial double man stand.
Commercial double man stand.
This site is called Double Dam Bait. Here is an example of our commercial double man stands we use. Was nice getting out in the BMA to set up sites.
I will document all hits. Starting with the first day they visited.
I will be working in the bush until the border dudes announces that its going to open up for Americans. Work I will be doing is called tending the new growth. I select which trees look the best and cut the rest. Done this before and I actually get alot of enjoyment doing this kind of work. Can go back in 25 years if I live long enough and look over the forest I manipulated. I'll post the work I'll be doing on the forest in this thread.
Spike, do the bears selectively eat any of that mix? Will they empty a barrel to eat certain things before they move on to the next favourite food, or no they just eat it all?
I was able to watch the bears last year eating out of the barrel. I did notice they are very selective. I don't like using grains early in season, seems they waste much of it on the ground as they root through. But eventually eat it all. A barrel of bait doesn't last long once they get rid of their plug. Goes from 1 barrel fill a week in early May to can't keep it full by the end of May. I thought I knew everything about Bears till I sat on a Bait every day I could last year.... learned alot. Its always good for a guide to sit on a Mosquito infested bear bait in the pouring rain so that I can see what the hunters have to sit through to get a bear!!
Mosquito's were awful till a bear walked in front of me.... then they were instantly gone!! Was like I had Chicken pox when got back to the truck!! Again, I appreciate what Pine Acres hunters have to go through to get one.
May 2020 Bear... Boar
May 2020 Bear... Boar
I was able to get 2 bears last year. One was over bait, other was spot and stalking the berry patch. This bear I took off of Clay Bait.
Bear Bomb!!
Bear Bomb!!
There is no better call scent than this.... 2 gallons of Used Restaurant Oil with 3 ounces or so of liquid smoke. Throw into the top of a tree. Drips for a day or so. Bears will come into the scent for a long ways. Roll around in it, lick and paw at it. Every where the bear goes the scent goes.
Thanks for sharing! It’s always great to see what other outfitters do.
Used restaurant oil is about as good as it gets if you get it in the soil where they track it around. Can’t wait to follow along on your progress this spring
I'll try to make it a worth while thread to follow. Always look forward to getting out playing with the bears.
I can tell Mike that you thoroughly enjoy your job. You do a great job at it!!
Thanks for following!!
Thanks Chris, There are a lot of us out there that are misssing chasing bears. I personally really appreciate your threads.....this one will help fill the void of another spring hunt missed.
Chris I was using the oil with butterscotch aroma, but I have found that after a rain storm it washed away, or it may be just a small part left, In the last few years I have been using peanut butter, icing, or caramel that I spread to the trees. Lasts longer, even after a hard rain, and bears love it licking it which gives them the calories that they need as they are coming out of hibernation, These products do the same thing as the oil, gets stuck between the bear claws and can be track easily.
Peanut Butter does work great. We also smear it all over the trees etc. Easy to get also. Can get 4 barrels at a time from Lucky Seven. Usually half the barrel of Peanut Butter has 1/4 peanut oil which I use for the Popcorn mix. What other tricks you use for your bears Skull? Give up a few more of your secrets...
Quibell Lake..
Quibell Lake..
This lake will be out in less than a week...
An outfitter I went with in Manitoba would fill 55 gal drums with fryer oil and oats. He would set the drums in February and let them ooze out via small holes in the drum when the spring temps rose. The drums were chained to a tree and as the bears would roll the drums, the mixture would ooze out. It works pretty well for the spring hunts. He used snowmobiles and long, skinny trailers to carry the drums to the bait sites. They killed alot of bears that way.
Thanks for sharing, spike!
Spot and Stalk Fall 2020
Spot and Stalk Fall 2020
Bow Range... after he turns broadside
Bow Range... after he turns broadside
Last August we scouted out a massive Blue Berry patch. We had it figured out by season opener where we needed to be. I usually start the afternoon walking the cut towards the timbers edge. I jump from rock to rock, stump to stump. Took a long time to stalk 100 yards at a time.
Right when it was prime time my phone rang. As I was talking on the cell I look and a bear popped out about 200 yards from me. I hung up and planned my stalk. Bear had his head down pretty well all the time and allowed me to gain on him. Cut was noisy so had to pick where I was going to put each step as I got about 75 yards of him. Saxon watche me stalk the bear from 1/2 mile away from a high perch. The retrieval was about 3/4 of a mile to the closest road in the pouring rain.
When spotting bears you can walk the whole cut without seeing a thing. Then walk it again within an hour and its like hunting a fresh hunting spot as bears will just wander out at anytime.
I hunted the cuts with rifle but because bears always have their heads down and with the use of rock ridges, its easy to plan to get within Bow range...
Hidden ladder treestand
Hidden ladder treestand
Setting up a "NEW" Bear Bait on the Quibell Lake Outpost property.
Winter Fish Kill
Winter Fish Kill
Yesterday iced over.... today ice is gone. Overnight.
Yesterday iced over.... today ice is gone. Overnight.
An Eagle dropped this fish near the Bait Barrel. We are in a drought here and the lake was real low water level before winter set in. If too much ice the fish will die in the lake. Regular occurrence for this lake There are Eagles and Ravens all over the shore of this lake eating the fish.
I’m jealous but do enjoy the pics. Too much snow in bush here to run quads and argo too slow and annoying. I’ll have towait a bit. Stink baits are festering nicely so won’t take long to get some action when I toss some out. Good luck and have fun!
You must have got all our snow this winter Rob... last I remember such an early Spring here was back in 1981. I was actually baiting bears mid March, 1981. Would have this year mid March if Border was open. Lakes are way down. Don't ever remember a lake here ice out this early.
We had less snow than normal but it is lingering in the bush. Farm fields mostly melted now lotsa geese showing up. Had a big fresh bear track 100 yards from my house a week ago earliest I have seen them out.
When setting up a site for the first time in a season, we will pour a line of scent across the road to stop a marauding bear that's walking the logging road. Works every time. Leads bear right to bait site.
I identify as Canadian, what time you want me there Chris? That’s how it works here in the states. :)
I too wish there were no Canadian / US Border... Just one big Country!!
Yes, we could have Trudeau and Biden copresident! That would be a win!
Added to my favorites list for the recipes and tips! Thanks!!!!
A few years back... we had a Trad Bow hunter and P&Y scorer sit down with a couple of our guides. He went over many of the requirements needed for a Trad Bow to be successful. We now talk to each hunter pre hunt, before we set up stands for a season according to the hunters needs. Especially is he a Lefty or Righty... about 15 yard shots.
Chris I have no secret bait. As long as the quantity and quality of bait is there, bears will come. I have learnt from my own mistake. Started baiting bears in 1988 It took me 3 seasons before I finally got my first bear. Things were different 33 year ago, information wasn’t on your finger tip. I use lots of sweets like pop-tarts, cookies, trail-mix, popcorn with icing, lots peanut butter, and caramel. I just set up 3 baits for myself, my son and a friend. As you mentioned, this year, we are 4 weeks early, looks like is going to be a good year !
Now, Semi guided is great for hunters that would like to have sites and stands set up for them for when they arrive. It's great for those that like to venture on their own to their baits. Hunters can stop along their way and check out the many lake's to cast from shore or take a 20 minute walk into where a water bomber crashed in the late 60's fighting a forest fire.
This was an actual bomber turned into a water bomber. Crashed as it was dropping the water on a fire. Guys survived the crash and had to jump into a swamp to save themselves as the fire roared right over top of them. This picture was taken before the wreckage was air lifted out and put into a museum in Sudbury. Some of the wreckage still lays at the crash site.
Ontario has been studying the population of Bears since 2009. They did most of their studies within the Chapleau Game Preserve. Problem with using the Chapleau Game Preserve is that there is very little logging going on within its borders. No Bear hunting at all. Is an actual Boreal Forest.
A True Boreal forest has older larger Bears. A female bear will be older before she breeds and gets pregnant because a True Boreal forest is usually old growth forest. Less natural foods available as less sunlight hitting the floor of the forest. Less direct sunlight means less Blue Berries, Wild Sarsaparilla etc. Less natural foods means, mature later. Many times a breeding sow will not reach ideal weight or get the nutrition to produce a litter or she will most likely only have a single cub.
A sow breeds in June, if egg is fertilized she holds onto the embryo till she reaches ideal weight and gets the ideal nutrition needed to implant the fertilized embryo. So most times, September is when she actually implants the fertilized embryo. Breeds in June implants in September. So, a bear in the Chapleau Game preserve won't start producing off spring till age of 6 years old according to the studies by the OMNRF.
Also, because there is no hunting within their study area, there are older, larger boars. Because of this there is more cannibalism within the Preserve than in a hunted area. Meaning juvenal bears are a common food for Larger bears within the OMNRF study area. There are less bears growing old because of this. So, population is lower within an Old Growth Forest or within the OMNRF study area.
Northern Ontario is considered to have a Boreal Forest.... BUT not a True Boreal forest. Most area's in Northern Ontario has been logged over at least once and some twice in the last hundred years. Meaning better quality foods and in large abundance. So, not only are Sow bears outside the study area breeding at a younger age, she has larger litters. Because of the abundance of foods within a "New Growth" Forest there is less Natural mortality of new borns. Also because of hunters targeting the larger, older boars, you get less cannibalism of young bears. So you get a healthier, larger bear population outside of the OMNRF study Area.
Lottie Berry picking
Lottie Berry picking
This is the clear cut I spot and stalked in last August. Was about a 500 acre cut. Solid Blue tinge from the berries. A 500 acre bear buffet!!
Lottie wanted some berries but there was a bear wandering around just over the ridge while she picked she decided to protect her picking's from the bear. She always carries a bear licence and her 44 trapper while picking berries. I dare a bear to try and take her berries from her...
I have had a few Bear biologists run baits with me.... gives me time to chat about Bears with them. One time, the District general manager stated he had no Idea that there were so many berries still available out there. So many kinds. So late in the season. He knew of them, just never put 2 and 2 together as the reason for so many bears roaming in our woods.
Alot pf what they talked about makes sense. If you think about it a Biologist is paid for results. Has a certain time period to come to a conclusion. Where as a bear guide's lifetime knowledge of bears is far more greater than a biologist who has a deadline.
Mike, Rob, Pasquele, Alex Desjardin and I have worked with bears for decades. Biologists, they come and go, take over previous collegues data. But we have all the data Biologists wish they had on Bears.
Our populations of bears are higher than at any time previous...A bear biologist has to read her /his data from a piece of paper, I sat down with the Provincial Bear Biologist told her my conclusion on the bear population without reading from a paper. Just talked and they listened and actually agreed with my conclusion.
Pine Acres has an increase of 2 more Bear Form #33's, pretty well the same as 1981, 1987, 1998 or 2015.
Ahhh....thank god the non-residents cannot come up to mess these hunts up for the time being...
A Breeding age Sow....
A Breeding age Sow....
This Bear was heavy on the Mountain Ash Berries.
Good stuff Chris, bear hunting info and a biology lesson!
Northwestern Ontario Sunset!!
Northwestern Ontario Sunset!!
Thanks again Chris. This thread takes some of the sting away!!
It is nice to see threads like this.....thanks.
Bow hunters and their Fall bears
Bow hunters and their Fall bears
Hopefully we will be able to have a Fall Bear hunt. The Bears in the Fall have great hides... Blue Berry fed Bears taste great!!
Thanks Chris for sharing the info on the bear studies, Boreal Forest compared to New Growth Boreal. We’ve had a similar study done in Alberta with a Hunted and Unhunted areas with similar results. The main takeaway from it for hunters to spread the word on is that CUB SURVIVAL was much HIGHER in the HUNTED area than the unhunted mainly due to big, old boars killing Cubs in the unhunted area. 20-30% higher and healthier bears overall in the hunted area.
Mothher bears do an overall amazing job of keeping their cubs safe from male bears and wolves. This mother of 4 was on almost constant patrol around the bait site when she brought her cubs in for a meal and often would not feed, just kept an eye out while her younguns chowed down.
That's a cool picture Rob...
Triplets are pretty common but I have only encountered 4 sows with 4 cubs in 30+ years. One of them was the nastiest grumpiest black bear I ever dealt with. She ran her 4 tiny cubs up a giant spruce tree a few yards from my stand tree and then periodically climbed my tree extremely pissed at me. At one point I poked her in the face with the tip of my longbow and she backed down. I seriously thought she might eat me but just after dark a big boar rushed in and ran her up the tree with her cubs. I got the hell out of there while the getting was good.
Spike; any bears hitting yet? We got about 10” of snow yesterday dangit.
Thanks for this thread Chris, looking forward to following along and hopefully being there next spring
It is cool to see pics of different country and how outfitters do it in their areas. I guided fishermen in the arctic at Dubawnt Lake for 15 years for a camp owner who is one of your neighbors from Vermillion Bay. Would like to check that area out one day sounds like you have quite a variety of fishing opportunities also.
I checked the baits last week Rob... no hits as of yet. They are out though. We also got 2 inches of snow this morning. Wont check them till end of week, got barrels pretty full!! Lots of fishing here.
Spike...how many baits do you have out right now and do they all have cams on them?
4 baits with 2 cams each. JL
Thanks....are you just prospecting right now? Did you have local hunters coming in or is the lock down going to mess up the locals too?
Just prospecting... get a bunch of pics. No resident hunters.
Thanks for this thread Chris, looking forward to following along and hopefully being there next spring
We'll be seeing you next Spring Brandon..... keep in touch.
OMNRF Bear Bait study...
OMNRF Bear Bait study...
What the Bear tech does is set these test bear baits about 2 km apart on a road network. Bottom board sticks straight out, same as above board. Above board has a nail in which the tech hangs a partially opened can of sardines. All scent there is comes from the juices from in the can. Set about 30 metres off the roadway.
A bear walks the road, scents the can of sardines and walks into bait to grab the can of sardines. Bear pulls down the bottom board and you have a hit. Once the can of sardines is gone.... no more bait to entice another bear in. When ever a can is gone, they call it a hit.
Problem with this setup is if it pours rain no fresh scent. If sardines are hit first day, no way to entice another bear in.
This is how they judge the bears population within the Smokies in TN. Ontario copied the technique.
I noticed one day the tech was about to set these test baits out. Standing at the truck in shorts. Bugs were bad. As I stopped to talk to her she grabbed a can of bug spray and sprayed her legs and arms down. She had 2 other students with her. They cut a trail to each set with chain saws, put yellow and blue flagging tape every 10 feet. I talked to her about 2 weeks later and asked how her test baits were doing... she said not well. No hits. I told her mine were being wiped out. The way they set up and marked the trail had everyone stopping to see what the trail led to. All these people walking into a test site wasn't very helpful to the study.
About a month after I last talked to her I went into the OMNRF office and looked at the data she collected. I told the manager what I observed while talking to her earlier in the month.
This was how they calculated a bears population within an area.
Very stupid way of calculating bear population. I know all about it, and I have told the MNR guys that they are wasting time and money, doesn’t even make any sense.
So, in 2016, 17 and 18 they conducted a more enhanced bait site. This time they would check the baits more often. They hung barbed wire in a 10 metre square around the sardine tree, about 2.5 feet off the ground. They did the study during the Spring bear hunt.
They now were able to collect the bears hair off the wire for DNA tests. This way they were now able to see by DNA, how many different bears were actively in the general area of the bait. Along with sex of the Bear.
In my Far North BMA, when they set out their first test sites they set these big DANGER signs at the beginning of the road. BEWARE BEAR BAIT TEST SITES!! Scaring everyone that someone is out baiting bears... LOL.
They baited the same road network I had my baits set up on. About 3rd week of May I got a phone call. They asked if I would go into the OMNRF office and mark all my baits on a huge map. I did. They also asked me to send in the pre molars of any Bears shot within their test area to compare with DNA collected.
This time, beings they conducted the study right and collected DNA, their sites showed a healthy population of Bears in our BMA and all over the study areas. Now we have a Spring Bear hunt Forever!!! Okay not counting the China Virus years.
Setting hair snares is how Michigan does bear sampling/studying.
Screwballs son Nick Phelps...
Screwballs son Nick Phelps...
1998 Spring Bear... Screwballs son Nick. Last Spring Bear Hunt before they closed the season.
Don’t see many that color. Nice
Bears are not a true Hibernator.... the state they enter once in the dens is called " The state of TORPOR".
A hibernating animal does not move or give birth while in the dens. Bears breathe and have a heart beat, although decreased and nurse their cubs which are born in January. Bears are amazing animals.
The last couple of years I have manned all my sites with camera's. I have noticed many things with monitoring the sites constantly. Some sites all winter long, getting me pictures of other animals surviving the long winters.
Now, Bear's seem to roam late into the Fall season. Is it because of my "New" cam use or is it because the Bears are becoming more populated. Clients previously while manning deer stands never saw bears at the deer sites, now frequent sightings.
Sleeping at the bait. First hit of the year.... 13 days till Bear season begins.
That one looks like he ate too much and is sleeping it off. It looks like it took about 13 days to get the first hit. That seems a little long....yes???
Looking through the pics, this was the earliest JL.... I wanted to show a daytime picture first. We had cold and snow for about 5 days. Bear also ate one of my camera's.
I have a bait run Sunday.... should have a bunch more pics to post after.
Hopefully they will pick up as it warms up. On the fall ones I've done DIY....the quickest I got a hit was about 2.5 days on one bait. Most others were in the 4 day range. Had one that never got a hit.
I might have earlier hits at the other sites.
Very interesting and typically stupid stuff on how the government collects bear population data!
First hit for this bait
First hit for this bait
Mike its easy conducting a moose count which they do in the winter follow tracks in snow right to the moose. This Sardines and barbed wire trick is pretty well the only way I know they conduct population studies in the USA like the Smokies. Was said to be VERY costly to do the DNA.
Sow
Sow
Boar...
Boar...
Double Dam Bait...
Bait Barrels are all getting emptied within 2 days. All hit with multiple bear's.
Sure wish we could come up this year, really became addicted to bear hunting! Thanks for the pictures.
Chris- that pic of the bear rolling in the popcorn is PRICELESS! : )
Rut Nut, she stays at the bait all day long. Must know there will be no hunters this Spring. I noticed that this bear is raking up grass and piling the grass on top of the bait she spilt out of the barrel. I notice breeding females have a tendency for doing this.
As usual, such a fun thread to follow. Thanks for taking the time Chris!
Nice Spring coat... thanks guys / gals for following the thread.
I spoiled this bear today with 1/2 bag of dry dog food coated with honey.
Nice pics....thanks for keeping the thread going.
Going to check Trail cams tomorrow. 4 Baits.Will see where I want to sit on Saturday. Will have my camera to get some good bear pics I hope. Season starts May 1rst!! Might just tag a Bear if the right one shows up.
this is a cruel thread.........it's just not fair!
I have heard many times in bear camp, you should leave your camera, phone, recording device at camp or it will cost you a bear??? LOL good luck Chris.
Good question Brian. I still say that .... leave your camera till hunt is over. Especially during a Fall hunt!! Better to have your hands free, ready to grab your bow. A few guys spooked the bears as they drop the camera, in excitement. Notice the bear staring at the treestand?? ***Nothing lost if I spook a bear.... am not paying to hunt a bear or travelling for a day to get here.
Got this Boar 1/2 hour on stand opening day.... no mosquitoes or ticks!!
Thanks for sharing this with us, Chris! Our group has all their collective fingers crossed that they open the border before our hunt scheduled with you for next year!
Congrats....1st bear to be posted this season.
I missed out on a lot of Trail Cam Pics as didn't format SD cards. Now will start photos rolling in
We are going to try for this guy next... I'll get a better pic of it tomorrow. Finally got a daytime pic of him in computer somewhere. I dropped my computer and just got it working again. Had to down load pics on my Nephews computer.
Wow!....that one is a belly dragger.
This is a pic of the Belly dragger at the open end of barrel.
This guy visits on a regular basis. No time to hunt him yet though. Wait till sows come in heat.
Private land in Quibell.... new site. Go across tracks at Trevor's take first rd to left. Between tracks and Bowden Lk.
Trevor and his son having fun Bear hunting...
Trevor and his son having fun Bear hunting...
Double Dam Bait...
Double Dam Bait...
Clay Lk Bait...
Clay Lk Bait...
Honey Moon Suite Bait...
Honey Moon Suite Bait...
Walleye opener today!! File picture.
Walleye opener today!! File picture.
Your killin Man! Those bear and oh to be in the lodge with a Lottie fish fry! Beans, Taters, salad! Your killin me! Oh I'll throw in a Lottie Blueberry pie!
May 15th, 2021. Brady gets his bear.
May 15th, 2021. Brady gets his bear.
Screwball, Brian, the lodge is being totally redone. Inside and out. Pictures when done.
Tell Brady, Trevor and son congratulations. Lottie and Saxon as well. Brian and Kathy
Clay Bait... she actually has a litter of cubs.
Clay Bait... she actually has a litter of cubs.
It will be nice seeing Cathy and you once again Brian!!
Man this is making me wish COVID was done and we could cross the boarder. This year was suppose to be my first spring bear hunt. Cancelled obviously. Darn virus
The main reason I use camera's is to identify the Bears as Sows or Boars. Get to see the size in the process. The pics I post are of individual bears. Many pics with more than one bear in but sex is more important when there is a fine of $25,000.00 or five years in jail if you kill a lactating sow ( Ontario).
Ouch. That’s a fine alright
Sows will come into heat soon!!
Sows will come into heat soon!!
A calm over Long Lake....
A calm over Long Lake....
Best time to Bear Hunt..... Sows are in heat. We are going out and try to get Saxon a Bear this afternoon. Then Joe Tanner Saturday!!
I should be up there right now Chris. I am really missing these hunts. Thanks for posting pics and keeping us up to date. Wish the boys luck from me.