BAITING BEARS

[BIGBLUES]

Looking for advice on what works the best for baiting bears. I so far have 2-55 gallon barrels filled with dog food and donuts, beaver hanging in the tree, and a bunch of cooking grease from fryers. Any other suggestions for what I should add to the mix to get the bears coming my direction? Also what are some of the best locations to but bait piles? Thanks

[warrenj]

I spray 50/50 liquid smoke/cooking grease all around the bait on the trees/leaves works good for me. You can get good ideas out of the Bear Hunting Magazine also.

[Lost River]

Bigblue,
That dog food bill will eat you up if you are running multiple baits. Go down to Cenex or Murdocks and ask for Beat Pulp Pellets. It comes in a 50 lb bag for 14-15 bucks. It will be in compressed pellets and they look are about the size of a tube of chapstick.
Take a coffee can of the beat pulp pellets and put it in a 5 gallon bucket and fill it about 1/2 to 2/3 full of water and leave it over night. It will swell and fill the bucket mostly full. Then you can dump your grease over it and mix it up or buy cheap jellow packs and dump the in and mix them up. The bears aren't super crazy about it plain, but mixed with syrup, grease or something to sweeten it up they love it and it is great filler. A 50 lb bag expanded with water would top out a 55 gallon drum and that is a lot of feed for $15. If you run up and see the honey guy up in Arlee I used to get 55 gallon drums of burnt honey from him. That also mixes with the beat pulp super good.
Another trick is save a metal can from your green bean or corn or whaterver you had for dinner. Save a little bacon grease, honey or mollases. Pour about an inch depth in there and when you go in and bait have a six or so kingsfords with you and kick a little hole in the sand or dirt. Light them puppies up while you are setting bait. Then right before you climb in your stand set the can on the hot brickettes and it will smolder and smoke for 45 minutes to an hour.

[blackpaws]

if you have a subway close by or any bakery that has to throw out outdated bread products go ask them if they will save the bread for you. bring them the containers to throw it in and make sure to pick it up when you say you will. otherwise they throw this stuff in the garbage. also go to a restaraunt that has deep fryers. ask them to save the grease for you or if they just dump it in the big dumpsters get some 5 gal. pails and scoop it out in to your bucket. some will just drain the grease right back in to the bucket or jug it cam from but most just throw it in a big grease dumpster. make sure to have lids on them because if one tips over in the back of your truck you will be pissed off. pour some grease on top of the bread in a 5 gallon bucket. not too much just enough for the bread to soak up. this stuff is all free and works very good. there is no better lure for bear then grease. they will get sick of liquid smoke if you use too much of it. the grease will get all over their feet and when they leave a bait they are helping you lure more bear in.

if you scoop it out of a dumpster, don't scoop from the bottom. the water and grease will seperate and the grease will be on top. the stuff that is at the bottom is water, soap, and any other gunk that will wreck your bait.

good luck.

[BlacktailStalker]

Fish carcasses will help them find it. After that its just up to you to keep an offering good enough to come back. Oats in molases, like a cobb mix, cheaper than dogfood and sweeter...

[BlazeNBrat]

We use a smorgasbord of bait untill we find out what their liking. Some bears are weird, they wont eat what the next bear loves. You are doing good with the beaver, another good attractant is anis oil extract, smells strong of black liquorice. Any berry extract works good as well. once they find it its pretty easy to find out what they like best.
Not sure where your baiting but somewhere not to far from water should work. When I was guiding the Salmon river drainages we had better luck baiting mid to down lower on the mountain off the side of some old logging trails or some of the main drainages that get used by the critters.

[Longspring]

I use doughnuts and sweet feed with grease . I fill 5 gallon buckets 3/4 to the top with sweet feed then fill them up to the top with grease and let them sit for a couple of days then top them off again . I don't use meat for bait because of wolves and coyotes coming to baits .