Bear Baiting Thoughts
If your thinking “man is that freezer full” your right! The only thing is though, everything you see is going to be used for bear bait. What you see here is all sweets and bread. This is only a very small portion of what is needed to keep 6 bear baits fresh for a two week period. Besides all this we have grease, meat scraps, fish, candy, and a concoction of my own consisting of oats, corn, sugar, syrup, honey, and melted marshmallows.
For about $600.00-$800.00 dollars we could have someone do all this “grunt” work for us. Oftentimes us oldtimers have thought about paying a local guide to do all this heavy, sweaty, exhausting work , but then we would miss out on a part of the hunt that is very exciting. Pre-baiting is a butt-kicker, but by being at the bait sight everyday, you learn alot about the animals your hunting. I’m always intrigued by bear tracks, and of course their sizes. Bear scat can tell you about the bears size and what he’s been eating. Claw marks on the trees, paths around the bait sight, and close bedding areas all give you valuable information to use if you want to outwit old “blackie!”
Maybe one of these days I’ll spring for getting rid of this part of the hunt, but for now the excitement outweighs the work. Besides I could stand to loose a few pounds, and believe me “I will!”
Mike
August 23rd, 2008 at 1:29 pm
I’ve been thinking about doing the bait hunt in Utah. What type of bait do you recommend? Do you also have suggestions on the best way to set up the bait? Great post!
August 25th, 2008 at 10:19 am
Wow. That is one full freezer, but I’m sure once blackie is down is makes it all worth it.
I’m telling ya-I have to get into this bear hunting stuff.
August 25th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Hey - good luck! I never thought of the amount of food it would take to keep a bait fresh! Man, that looks like a lot of work - but it should be a lot of fun! Like pre-seasons scouting - only you do it with a bunch of huntin’ buddies…that’s fun!