Post by tuketu on Feb 3, 2016 14:51:33 GMT -4
BAITING SETUP
IT AIN’T ROCKET SCIENCE
Bear baiting does not need to be a complicated procedure. Bears by nature are opportunistic when it comes to finding food sources especially during the fall season when trying to bulk up for their winter hibernation. The main trick to attracting bears to your site is making it easy for them to find.
A bear lives by his nose and follows it everywhere he or she goes, and therein lies the secret to bear baiting! It’s really that simple …if they can smell it they will find it! The black bear’s sense of smell is seven times sharper than a bloodhound’s. Bears rely on their sense of smell to locate mates, detect and avoid danger, identify their cubs, and locate food.
How we attract them we will discuss later.
THE RIGHT AREA
Habitat and Range …. For the most part, the habitat of the black bear is a forest abundant in fruit and nuts. Black bears can be found in deciduous, coniferous, or mixed forest regions. The home range of a black bear varies depending on the location, the season, food availability, and the density of individuals. The home range of a male is normally larger than that of a female; the male may roam an area anywhere between ten and sixty square miles while a female may wander an area of fifteen square miles.
Barrel Location … For hunting purposes bears will tend to seek out areas that provide thick cover usually near wet areas, rivers, lakes and streams, as they like to travel the corridors they provide. Spruce thickets and swamps can prove to be Honey Holes for bears.
THE BAIT
Bears not being fussy eaters will pretty much anything you put out for them...within reason. Breads and sweets are always great if you have an abundant supply. And that is one of the keys to successful baiting - abundance. Apples, corn, cattle feed all work… Meat scraps and fish have also been used with success, sometimes it just comes down to whatever you can get your hands on.
Attractants … “Their Nose Knows” … Stink buckets can, and are an essential part of the baiting process. If they smell it they will come. Black buckets work best as they absorb the heat to help things decay. Just use your own recipe to find the rankest, foulest most putrid odours you can come up with. Stick it all in a sealed bucket about 3 weeks before you set up your bait site to let it ‘Ripen”. When you set up your bait site try and find a high branch to throw some twine over and hoist your bucket where the bears cannot get at it. Unscrew the cap and hoist away … a good whiff of that concoction will woof your cookies!
Another scent trick is to use old fryer grease form a Pub or Restaurant and pour it about the ground around the bucket or on the trails leading in and out of the bait. Bears will get this on their paws and as they wander through the woods they leave a scent trail. Any bears that happen to come upon their trail will follow the scent trail right back to your site
Scent spraying your area can also pay off in attracting new customers. Remember bears are wanderers so you never know when a new bear(s) may start calling. Get yourself a good spray bottle or fancy squirt gun and fill it with any combination. Popular choices are anise oil, peppermint, or a mixture of vanilla and hickory smoke with a little oil added for stickability. Whenever you are into rebait, scents freshen high in the trees around your site so the wind will carry it off to parts unknown.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with flavoured crystals, bbq sauce, icing sugar or any host of flavours you may have at your disposal
tuk
d 1
IT AIN’T ROCKET SCIENCE
Bear baiting does not need to be a complicated procedure. Bears by nature are opportunistic when it comes to finding food sources especially during the fall season when trying to bulk up for their winter hibernation. The main trick to attracting bears to your site is making it easy for them to find.
A bear lives by his nose and follows it everywhere he or she goes, and therein lies the secret to bear baiting! It’s really that simple …if they can smell it they will find it! The black bear’s sense of smell is seven times sharper than a bloodhound’s. Bears rely on their sense of smell to locate mates, detect and avoid danger, identify their cubs, and locate food.
How we attract them we will discuss later.
THE RIGHT AREA
Habitat and Range …. For the most part, the habitat of the black bear is a forest abundant in fruit and nuts. Black bears can be found in deciduous, coniferous, or mixed forest regions. The home range of a black bear varies depending on the location, the season, food availability, and the density of individuals. The home range of a male is normally larger than that of a female; the male may roam an area anywhere between ten and sixty square miles while a female may wander an area of fifteen square miles.
Barrel Location … For hunting purposes bears will tend to seek out areas that provide thick cover usually near wet areas, rivers, lakes and streams, as they like to travel the corridors they provide. Spruce thickets and swamps can prove to be Honey Holes for bears.
THE BAIT
Bears not being fussy eaters will pretty much anything you put out for them...within reason. Breads and sweets are always great if you have an abundant supply. And that is one of the keys to successful baiting - abundance. Apples, corn, cattle feed all work… Meat scraps and fish have also been used with success, sometimes it just comes down to whatever you can get your hands on.
Attractants … “Their Nose Knows” … Stink buckets can, and are an essential part of the baiting process. If they smell it they will come. Black buckets work best as they absorb the heat to help things decay. Just use your own recipe to find the rankest, foulest most putrid odours you can come up with. Stick it all in a sealed bucket about 3 weeks before you set up your bait site to let it ‘Ripen”. When you set up your bait site try and find a high branch to throw some twine over and hoist your bucket where the bears cannot get at it. Unscrew the cap and hoist away … a good whiff of that concoction will woof your cookies!
Another scent trick is to use old fryer grease form a Pub or Restaurant and pour it about the ground around the bucket or on the trails leading in and out of the bait. Bears will get this on their paws and as they wander through the woods they leave a scent trail. Any bears that happen to come upon their trail will follow the scent trail right back to your site
Scent spraying your area can also pay off in attracting new customers. Remember bears are wanderers so you never know when a new bear(s) may start calling. Get yourself a good spray bottle or fancy squirt gun and fill it with any combination. Popular choices are anise oil, peppermint, or a mixture of vanilla and hickory smoke with a little oil added for stickability. Whenever you are into rebait, scents freshen high in the trees around your site so the wind will carry it off to parts unknown.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with flavoured crystals, bbq sauce, icing sugar or any host of flavours you may have at your disposal
tuk
d 1