Fall Bait out!

[Tikkamike]

Saturday morning I was able to get out and put in my bait. 100 lbs of feed, half gallon of burnt honey and a beaver castor drip bag all set up and ready to go. There were already bear tracks all over the hillside along with the remains of my bear from this spring. I even found a shoulder blade with a bullet hole in it. Hopefully when it opens saturday my bait will already have activity. I would like to see someone in my family get a bear, if not its not a loss. I am thinking by feeding the bears again this fall itll give them a nice fresh memory of the food source next spring when they wake up.

 

[IdahoCTD]

Mike,

We used a chicken in a water proof bag in the spring season and it worked like a champ for almost a month. We cut small slits in it above the chicken so it would get minimal air and not dry out. That thing stunk like crazy for 3-4 weeks.

Good luck this fall

Nathan

 

[Tikkamike]

I was thinking a fish in a bucket of water would give off some good stink too. fish rotting in stagnant water is usually quite stinky thats right a long the same lines as you are saying. I am hoping this beaver castor drip bag works because it comes packaged so there is no mess just open the package. dump the contents into the drip bag and your set. I haul my bait most of the way in on 4wheeler or pickup, then haul it up hill a couple hundred yards so its not a huge deal putting it in, but the low mess sure is nice using pre packaged feed and scents..

 

[Mike 338]

What's a drip bag and how does it work?

 

[Tikkamike]

First time I have ever used one. I ordered it from Code Blue. its called Power Start. all it is is a bag of scent saturated media of some sort. and it comes with a cheese cloth type bag. You empty the scent media into the bag and hang it. it smells more like anise extract to me, whatever it is its stinky. and its supposed to last 2 months. so itll last the entire bear season and then some...IF the bears dont climb the tree and take it. You should have seen all 300 lbs of me 12 foot up in a tree trying to hang that sucker... didnt feel comical to me but if I would have had spectators I bet they would have thought differently

 

[IdahoCTD]

My buddy got 4 Pelican cases for free from another guy so I think we will use one of those this fall. They are pretty big so we will use 2 or 3 chickens this time and leave them out to get ripe a few days before we take them up. Then we will hang them and shoot holes in them with a .22lr. Our problem is the area where we baited in the spring has a fire burning 2-3 miles from it and they have the roads closed. So we are going to a place I use to bait that isn't on fire with the rest of the state.

 

[Tikkamike]

Good Luck! I was fortunate this year and SO FAR dont have fire to contend with. I was pretty nervous all summer. Hopefully we all get some moisture soon

 

[HARPERC]

Watching you climb that tree would be worth the drive! Black Bear have been tested for memory, and when it comes to food they never forget. They test higher than chimps etc. Sounds like your baits pretty well established, being able to leave the carcasses helps. If nothing else I bet there were plenty of younger bear eager for a chance to bite that old boy in the butt.

 

[Tikkamike]

I was wondering about that, because a couple days after I killed him the younger bears started showing up a lot more often. Hopefully another big one moves in.

 

[HARPERC]

They are a lot more cannibalistic than people think. When I see an old boar like that I wonder if he ate more cubs than he fathered. In the fall throwing the bear fat back on the bait pile really heats up the action, especially the dominant boars. They're tough on the smaller bear.

 

[IdahoCTD]

A few years ago we had a small blonde bear circle our bait but never come in. About 30-45 minutes later a really big black bear came in and we shot him. He just missed state book. 4 days later I shot the blonde one. He was still a bit jittery coming in but he did. He had a gash on his rump about 3" long that I assume was from the bigger black bear. The kids like to play too but they know when daddy is around.

 

[HARPERC]

Absolutely, if you watch a bear come in you can usually tell if a bigger bear is using the bait. Picture me sneaking into big Mikes freezer for elk steaks, and you'll have the general idea.

 

[Tikkamike]

Absolutely, if you watch a bear come in you can usually tell if a bigger bear is using the bait. Picture me sneaking into big Mikes freezer for elk steaks, and you'll have the general idea.

If your after elk steaks at my house its Mama bear you really have to worry about!

 

[HARPERC]

I believe!