Idaho Spring Bear Advice

[idahohikker]

Idaho is no longer selling non res anything.

Source? As of yesterday they were selling deer and elk tags.

 

[KineKilla]

Some nonresident licenses, permits, and tags sales temporarily suspended by F&G Commission

idfg.idaho.gov

It appears that idahohikker is correct. Deer and Elk permits for this fall are still being sold for now. I guess they suspect the "storm" to have passed by that time.

 

[idahohikker]

F&G is meeting this morning. More to follow.

 

[GregB]

They just adjusted some of the non-res sales, so if you have a written agreement with an outfitter prior to 4 April you can still buy your tags. If you bout a bear tag prior to the cut off you can buy a baiting permit.

 

[Customweld]

They just adjusted some of the non-res sales, so if you have a written agreement with an outfitter prior to 4 April you can still buy your tags. If you bout a bear tag prior to the cut off you can buy a baiting permit.

The latest press release:

F&G Commission amends earlier decision and allows more nonresident license, tag and permit sales

idfg.idaho.gov

 

[Jesse Jaymes]

The Idaho Fish and Game Commission on April 9 amended its previous decision to temporarily suspend sales of some nonresident licenses, tags, and permits to allow nonresident sales under specific situations, including:

• Allow nonresidents who bought a black bear tag prior to the temporary suspension on April 4 to also buy a bear bait permit, which is only available via mail and at department offices.
• Clarify that nonresidents who had a written – but unsigned – agreement with a licensed outfitter prior to April 4 are allowed to buy licenses, tags, permits for the outfitted trip. Written examples include: an agreement or letter signed by the outfitted client; an exchange of emails agreeing on trip terms; a written confirmation or reservation, or an exchange of emails with payment of a trip deposit.
• Allow people who moved to Idaho to establish residency less than 6 months ago, or who have not gotten an Idaho driver’s license as required within 90 days of Idaho residency, to still purchase a nonresident license, tag, or permit under these conditions:

 

[Njh5587]

Well everyone, I'm getting ready to head out to Idaho in a few weeks and I'm so excited! Just to update everyone on my plan, I'm heading out with two buddies, we are driving straight through (36 hours) and staying from Saturday to the following Saturday.

We all have registered dirt bikes with headlights to use to get to and from our camp and hunting areas. We are going to do a mix of spot and stalk and baiting. The idea is to set up a bait or two per person (with baiting permits) with a camera on it and hope for a legal bear to find it before we head back home. In the mean time we will be glassing and hopefully putting a stalk or two on.

We have fishing licenses as well and will surely spend some mornings casting a fly on the nearby stream.

I do have a question about baiting, I've never done it before and I'm unsure about a few things. While maybe I'm overthinking the whole thing, I just want to make sure I'm not making mistakes if they can be avoided.

Each person in our group has about 6-8 gallons of used fryer oil from the local fire departments yearly fish fry. We were planning on using the fryer oil along with bags of dog food. This would not be in a barrel.

I purchased probably way too many commercial scents- gold rush oil additive, bait em 907 cherry powder, bait em 907 stripper glitter scent crystals and black bear estrus gel.

If we each make a bait pile (not in a barrel) near thick cover, pour oil (with gold rush additive) on the dog food and a ring around the dog food for them to pick up and disperse the scent on their paws are we off base? Will the dog food get soggy? Am I missing anything? I don't want to haul an oily and stinky barrel across the entire country then into the mountains just for a week of use if I don't have to.

Is there a better way to do this? How do you/would you bait without a barrel? Please share your thoughts!

Thanks in advance!
Nick

 

[Coveyleader]

There are tons of threads on this. In short, if that dog food isn't protected, the first rain will turn it into mush. I'd try and find a old stump or put a ton of logs over it to keep it in a solid state.

 

[Njh5587]

Hmm. Should I be using something else? Does anyone use dog food successfully? How about grain or commercial bait pellets?

 

[Britt-dog]

I use nothing but dog food and oil, but I use barrels to protect it from moisture and birds. If you are just going with a pile or a pit, use sweet cob and cover it with sticks and or logs. The logs will help keep out the birds and let you know if the bait has been hit from a distance.

 

[Njh5587]

Thanks for the advice. I've never heard of sweet cob until now. I'm guessing it holds up better in the rain? Anyone have any idea of how much would be a good amount of bait for one week?

 

[Britt-dog]

Bears will eat anything including soggy dog food, but for your short period of time your gonna want something better than that. Cob will also get soggy but they really like molasses. I will tell you, that in my experience when establishing a new bait site it takes about a week for bears to find it and start coming regularly.

ETA: as for the amount. through out a fifty pound bag, pour some oil on it and check it until something shows up. the scents you use will be more important than the bait. Get them to come investigate a smell and make sure there is something there to eat when they get there.

 

[Njh5587]

Great information Britt-dog thanks for helping a newbie like myself! I'll go buy some Sweet Cob, and mix in the oil and disperse my commercial scents and hope something legal finds it before I head back home!