Baiting Bears: Extend your season and your skills

Hunting bears over bait is one of the most underrated and misunderstood methods of hunting. I often hear people say how easy it is, even though they have never actually done it. The truth is that baiting bears isn’t easy at all. It takes a lot of work to find a good spot, haul bait regularly, hang tree stands, check trail cameras, and have the patience, persistence, and courage to make a well-placed shot on a big bruin. It also provides hunters with an ideal method of selective harvest. At close range, it is easy to decipher males from females and selectively manage populations with consistency.

When I was growing up, we were allowed two bear tags per year. During the fall I was busy hunting deer and elk, but those bear tags allowed me to keep hunting big game during the spring and summer months. Back in those days I didn’t have hounds to hunt with, so we hunted bears either by spot-and-stalk or baiting. Being a bow hunter, baiting bears was always my preferred method. It affords you countless opportunities to make yourself a better hunter. You must study the terrain, practice stand placement, and learn to keep your wits during ultra-close-range encounters with predators. Most importantly to me, it kept me hunting outside of the traditional fall season.

Through the years I have met a lot of people who talk about wanting to become better hunters. Hunting season comes, they hunt their deer and elk, and then they shut it down until the next fall. When I bring up baiting bears, they don’t seem to comprehend that it allows them to hunt big game six months out of the year, extending their opportunity to become a better, more well-rounded hunter and outdoorsman. I spent most of my youth hauling bait and climbing trees with my brothers, and in those years, it taught me a lot about the outdoors all while building my confidence to make the shot count in any hunting situation.

Bait Site Location

The first thing I look for when searching for a bait site is a large, remote canyon. It needs to have a good population of bears or be in a spot bears use as a travel corridor between large canyons. Within this area, I will look for a bench, saddle, or ridgetop where standard morning and evening thermals can be slightly disrupted. Mature bears will almost always circle downwind before committing to bait, and you should use any advantage you can to prevent them from being able to smell you on their approach.

In the springtime, bears will frequently be feeding on the south and west-facing slopes where food sources are typically growing. These open hillsides are good for spotting bears at first or last light, but when it comes to baiting them, I prefer to have cover of brush and timber. Mature bears don’t like to expose themselves very often, and it’s my opinion that you will have better success getting them to commit to bait under cover than in the open. Once I have found a successful bait site location, I try to keep that site as an established site for years to come. Bears tend to return to these areas even after the bait has been removed to chew on grease-soaked logs and check if food has returned.

Bait

Over the years I have seen and used all sorts of different things to bait bears. Some common baits include oats and molasses, trail mix, pastries, granola, dog food, and fryer grease. I think it’s important to mix up what you are using, but due to cost-effectiveness and availability, dog food and fryer grease are my personal favorites. Dog food is always available and is easy to transport on a pack frame. Grease can be carried in milk jugs or five-gallon buckets and mixed with the food. Bears can smell the grease from a great distance, and once bears start hitting your bait, they will track it all over the countryside. This seems to make it easier for other bears to find your bait site.

When using grease or molasses, I like to dump a puddle on the ground in front of the bait barrel, ensuring it gets on the bear's paws so they can disperse the scent when they travel. If you have a friend or two who are baiting, you can go in together on a pallet of dog food to reduce your costs. Just make sure to follow regulations regarding what bait is allowed in the area you are hunting.

When I start a bait site, I will typically use a 50-lb bag of dog food mixed with fryer grease. We have also had very good results using commercial scents, specifically BoarMasters Wildlife Attractant. The more scent you have out, the more quickly bears will locate your bait. We mix a few drops of concentration into the grease and food and rub some of the attractant into the bark or on the undersides of branches to keep the scent from being washed away by rain. Once bears are consistently hitting the bait, I will stop using the attractants and let the odor of the bait draw them in.

Once the bait is getting hit regularly by bears, I will try to bait it as much as possible to keep it full of food. From that point on, the frequency changes based on how many bears are hitting the bait and how much food they are eating. The goal is obviously to keep food available and keep bears interested in the bait. Competition for the food will increase with each additional bear that finds the bait, and they will usually start visiting the bait more regularly.

If you have a connection with a local bakery or butcher, expired bakery goods and meat scraps can be good options. These baits can be cheap or free of charge, but they are time-consuming to use. All bakery goods need to be unwrapped and placed in containers, and meat scraps will spoil in a short amount of time. While the odor of rotten meat will help draw the bears in, I have found that they do not like to eat rancid meat. If bears are not visiting your bait often enough to consume the meat before it turns rancid, I don’t recommend using meat. I have seen bears baited with all sorts of different things, but nothing has proved as consistent and convenient as dog food with a little fryer grease.

Containers

Using a bait container isn’t always necessary. I have seen sites with the bait dumped on the ground that worked just fine. If you are in a situation where your bait is in the backcountry or your bait site is difficult to get to, it may not be worth the effort to pack a bait container. The problem with baiting this way is that rain will deplete your bait and other animals can freely take from it with ease. Baiting this way works best in the summer when the weather is nice and you aren’t as likely to lose your bait to a rainstorm.

I prefer a container to protect the bait from the weather or other animals. Often, it helps to stop bears from eating all of your bait in one sitting. Having a well-designed bait container will protect your bait and allow bears to get some, but not all, of your bait at once. The best bait containers I have seen were made from 16-gallon steel drums. I prefer these smaller bait containers because the areas I bait are usually difficult to pack bait into. Not only is it difficult to pack your container in at the beginning of the season, but most of the time, you are required to remove it after the season as well. If your bait site is easily accessible, then by all means, use a 55-gallon steel drum.

Some steel drums have a removable lid held in place by a ring and bolt. These types of barrels are probably the most convenient for baiting, but you can accomplish the same thing with a regular steel drum by cutting holes however you desire. I like to cut an eight-inch hole on the side of the barrel, usually in the middle or upper third when it is standing vertically. This allows me to use the barrel vertically or horizontally, depending on the bait site. I use a hole saw to put additional holes in the barrel for chain or cable and secure it to a tree with a padlock.

Some states allow the use of plastic barrels, however, I don’t recommend using plastic barrels for baiting. Although they are lighter, they will not last very long, and you will end up replacing them. There are all sorts of designs and theories out there on bait barrels, so do a little research and you’ll find one that works well for your situation.

Stand Placement

Once you have a reliable bait site, it’s time to learn to hunt it. The biggest factor in stand placement is the wind, which determines the ability of bears to smell you before they commit to the bait. I once had bait that was getting hit by several bears every day, only to sit that bait and not see a single bear. As soon as I left that bait, the bears would immediately return. My trail camera revealed that they were smelling me while on the stand.

Mature bears will almost certainly circle downwind before committing to your bait. Hopefully, when choosing a bait site, you can pick a spot that has some geographical blockade on the downwind side of the bait. This could be a cliff, bench, or clearing that the bears don’t want to expose themselves in while approaching the bait. Your goal should be to put your stand downwind of the bait but not allow the bears to easily circle downwind of your stand.

When I choose a bait site, I will typically have one or two trees picked out as possible stand locations. They need to have a good amount of cover and allow me to get above eye level with bears that are on the bait. One trick that helps me is to set my bait and my cameras but hold off on setting my stand. Whenever I fill the bait, I study the tracks and pictures off my camera to predict the direction the bears are approaching from. If I have done a good job of selecting a bait site, this should be predictable and help solidify my placement.

Another factor I keep in mind when selecting a tree for my stand is the position of the barrel in relation to my stand. I try to set my stand so that when the bear is feeding from the barrel, it will provide a broadside shot. The bears’ positioning can be manipulated by the placement of logs and branches, also known as a crib. Creating a crib can help ensure the bear will feed from a broadside position, making it easier to accomplish a well-placed shot.

Hunting

Before I start hunting a bait site, I need to see a picture of a bear I am interested in harvesting. Hunting with archery equipment requires you to put your stand close to the bait, and I have had a lot of bears mess with my stands over the years. This is why I sometimes refrain from hanging a stand until I decide to hunt a specific bait. Having tree stand pegs pre-placed in your tree makes it easy to slip in and hang a stand when you are ready to hunt.

When I decide to hunt a bait site, I try to make as little noise as possible. My approach will be slow and from the opposite direction that most of the bears are entering the bait. Most of the time I will still freshen the bait and check my trail camera before hunting, but I will be very careful and quiet when doing so. I hide any bait containers out of sight and on my exit path so I can easily retrieve them when I leave.

Once I am in the stand, I sit still and quiet for as long as possible. I allow myself to stand and possibly pull my bow back once an hour. Bears are extremely quiet when they approach the bait, and sometimes they will suddenly appear out of nowhere. Mature bears will often circle the bait site before entering, so don’t let your movement get you busted by an approaching bear.

Trail Cameras

When I started baiting bears, there were no trail cameras. We had little or no way of knowing how many bears were hitting the bait or how big they were. Now I use trail cameras on every bait I have as a tool to help me know if a mature bear is hitting my bait and help pattern them to plan my hunts. Baiting can be expensive and time-consuming, but using a trail camera will help you save fuel, bait, and time.

Bears are notorious for messing with cameras, so make sure that you use a good lock box and have it securely attached to a tree. Never fill your bait before you check or set your cameras. Getting any bait or attractant scent on the camera will increase the chances that bears will mess with it. If the state you are hunting allows the use of cellular trail cameras on your bait, make sure you mount them high in a tree and angle them down to take your pictures or videos. Most cellular cameras have external antennas, so placing them up high, out of their line of vision, will help deter them from breaking any external components.

Remember to position your cameras on the side you enter and exit your bait from, as it allows you quick and easy access to see what has been hitting your bait before climbing into your stand. We have had extremely good luck with the Browning trail cameras. They perform very well during all seasons, including the winter months when temperatures plummet.

Conclusion

I can still remember the first bear that ever came into one of my baits. My brother and I were sitting in a big cedar tree when a nice cinnamon-colored boar materialized out of the ferns. He came walking up the draw, swaying his head back and forth as he approached the bait. My heart was pounding, my knees were shaking, and even though I didn’t get that bear, it was an unforgettable experience. What I remember most about that bear hunt was how much fun I had camping out, hauling bait, setting stands, and the anticipation that a big boar might come into our bait.

Baiting bears was instrumental in my development as a hunter and has taught me a lot of lessons over the years while giving me a ton of good memories. If you are looking for a way to challenge yourself or introduce someone new to hunting, baiting bears may be just what you are looking for. Be sure to check your local state regulations to see if baiting and trail cameras are legal in your area before using them.