First time baiting

[Barronpreciate]

Hello, this is going to be my first attempt at baiting bears in Idaho. I have been around it before, just never tried it myself. The dilemma I am having is that the sites I wanted were taken so I got areas close to them. I was wondering if using a smaller test bait would be the way to go before I set up my barrels? Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks

 

[pugwylde]

Came here to comment, then I realized I only have experience on other people's baits. Decided I would just learn, instead. Looking forward to seeing what people say.

 

[Barronpreciate]

Also looking forward to some good info.

 

[IDVortex]

Folks are already placing baits out?

 

[pugwylde]

Folks are already placing baits out?

Hah, not legally. I assume this is just planning.

 

[VernAK]

Can I assume this is black bears?

How long before you return?

I wouldn't do a taste test. Put out a load of food that will keep them from wandering very far in search of more as they may find your competitor's bait. Typically, I start with 200 pounds of cheap dog food split between an easy access barrel and a dribble barrel. The easy access barrel will have a large opening so they can gorge themselves easily. The dribble barrel requires them to spend hours to get a snack quantity

The dog food is usually topped with grease or fish gurry. There are many good scent attractants on the market. I usually fill a burlap bag with fish gurry or other smelly dead stuff and drag it behind my quad for a couple miles leaving a scent trail back to my bait.

Good luck!

V8n

 

[Charlie-NY]

I've hunted in an awful lot of bear camps in the US and Canada. Virtually all of them used different baits and different technics. You might want to consider what bait you can get in large quantities. I've seen baits that concentrated on, meat scraps, fish trimmings, candy, pie & donut filling and sweetened up popcorn & dog food.

Some sites put bait in ground depressions, covered with logs, others used spackle pails on the ground while others tied them high enough in a tree that only larger bears could reach. 55gal drums are popular and hold a lot of bait if you can't check your bait site often.

Many outfitters use an attractant scent that they spray on foliage all around the site.

Good luck with whatever you use.