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bear crack


melt marshmallows in a coffee can at bait site. Add a packet of coolaid and stick stir. Pour over large rock. It gets very hard, and bear will lick on it for hours.

I have really been wanting to bait Black Bears for awhile now, last year I gave it a try and never had any bears come into my bait site.
I was using oats, syrup, marshmallows, and donuts.

What would be the best area to bait the bears in? and what's a good homemade item to attract bears into the bait site? Any other tips/tricks would greatly be appreciated

First, second, and third rules of bear baiting is to place the bait where bears want to be. Just because you dump some food in the woods doesn't mean bears will flock to it. A poor location will have the bait ignored or hit only at night when darkness gives the bear some concealment. Any bears that do hit these baits will typically be very young ones as they have to work the hardest to find food.

A good location will have lots of cover right up to the bait site. If I can see more than 30 yards when standing on the ground I feel it is too open. If my first sight of a bear is when it steps onto the pit, I figure the sight is secure. You need the bear to show up during legal shooting hours and the less secure the bear feels, the more likely he will show up after dark, if at all.

I like low lands as the dampness gives bears a place to escape the heat and is pretty well stocked for food. This tends to attract the larger bears of an area which tends to be one's goal. Higher ground often has better sources of food but is more open. Sows with Cubs and young boars are often found in these areas which are either illegal to shoot or not as desirable. Larger boars will use these areas but often at night or at least when light is very dim.

Keep area as natural as possible. I can't bait until 2 weeks before the season opens but I can prep the site any time. I get out in June or early July and selectively cut brush and saplings that might deflect the shot. I tend to have a very narrow shooting lane and rely on the placement of select baits to position the bear for a shot.

As for bait, that is a good question. We can only hunt in the fall but it seems there are some differences in bait preferences between spring and fall. Spring seems to find grains and large amounts of meat good choices. Some have good experiences with these in the fall but mine has been very mixed. Grains such as corn and oats mixed with molasses have been ignored by bears in one location and eaten occasionally in another. My most consistent producer has been caramel corn and Rice Crispy bars substituting various sugared cereals for Rice Crispies. I double the cereal amounts as one only needs enough marshmallow stuff to bind everything together.

A mix of granola, trail mix, honey roasted peanuts, and cake frosting or pastry filling is also good. I've gotten away from breads, pastries, and the like as they succumb to mold quickly. Dog food fits into the same category. I'll use them if a bait is getting hit daily but otherwise not. I add jellies, syrups, or other flavoring S to the breads and gravey to the dog food to make them more appealing. Given a choice, whole grains and flavored breads like raisin, berry, and cinnamon are preferred. Toasting them can delay mold for a few days unless the toast gets wet.

Candies by themselves haven't been great in one region but have done OK at the other. They have staying power when wet and don't rot but the bears don't seem enthused with them. I'm going to add candies to the granola concoction to see if the bears will develop a better taste for them.

I use a fair amount of fruits and vegetables in my pits, anything other than tomatoes, onions, peppers, and the like are eaten. I'll cook vegetables and squash as that seems to be more attractive and smash fruits like apples and pears. Over the pit cover I will smash a water Mellon which gives off a sweet scent as it rots. That odor carries a long ways. Honey dew Melons and cantaloupes fill in when water melons aren't available.

Meats are saved for late in the year as they rot quickly early when it's warm. Bears prefer fresh meat and eat rotted meat when there aren't many other choices. I deep fry meat as it lasts longer before rotting and the oil can be used as a scent attractant. The larger boars seem to be the most attracted to meat and more so later in the season.

Another problem with meat in Minnesota is it attracts wolves. The best bear country is also wolf country and even the biggest bears don't tolerate being harassed by wolves over food. If wolves move in the bears will leave.

As for scents, I use fryer grease, bacon grease, fish oil, Jell-O mix, and fermented corn. I hang a pair of rags doused with bacon grease and fish oil from a limb several feet off the ground. Melt the bacon grease and pour it onto the cloth and then left solidify and it will last a couple of week so easily. The fish oil needs to be renewed every 4-5 days if it rains.

I ferment corn by filling a 5 gal pail 2/3 full of corn, add 5-8 pounds of sugar, then fill with water to the top. Use a tight fitting lid to keep out air and then place in the sun for at least a month. Slop 1/4 - 1/3 the bucket on the ground around the pit. The odor will waft over the area and any bears or other animals that traipse through it will carry the scent over a larger area. I do the same with fryer grease except a half gallon per pit each week is enough. I might use a gallon initially but it doesn't take much to refresh.

I take strawberry and raspberry jJell-O packets and open them along two sides. Then I toss them as high and as far through the trees as I can. The odors are very pungent and when there is a dew it is even more so. These same packets can be dumped over popcorn to make another decent bait.

Getting to your stand is also important, entering and leaving from a direction not likely to be used by the bears is important. So is getting into position at least 4 hours before a bear is expected to show up. This allows your ground scent to dissipate some which hopefully will give the bear a sense of security to come in during shooting hours. I hunt evenings only Asit is possible to spook a bear in the morning. Once spooked a bear may abandon the bait or only return at night. I also replenish baits around mid-day, no earlier than 10 AM and no later than 2 PM. I am least likely to run into a bear at those times and if I do it tends to be a young one which I don't care to shoot. These young bears are not the wariest either and may stick around even after identifying you. That is not bad, think of them as live decoys and an alarm bell. Their presence is some security and a challenge to larger bears which may bring them in sooner and the sudden disappearance of a small bear may be the first clue a bigger bear is in the area.

Whole books have been written on the subject and there seems to be regional and personal preferences on how to go about baiting. Getting experience can be difficult and time consuming but it is needed to become successful. As already mentioned, the first priority is setting up in a good location. If that is done correctly one can have a chance at bringing in a bear. If done incorrectly, the odds of seeing any bear is drastically reduced.

How many bears in your area?

I have really been wanting to bait Black Bears for awhile now, last year I gave it a try and never had any bears come into my bait site.
I was using oats, syrup, marshmallows, and donuts.

What would be the best area to bait the bears in? and what's a good homemade item to attract bears into the bait site? Any other tips/tricks would greatly be appreciated