Bear Hunting Tips | sweetbearbaits

SBBS Bear Hunting Tips

Bear hunting is an awesome experience for all ages of Hunters. Watching Black bears in the wild is absolutely amazing how they respond in their own environment. Bears are more intelligent then most people would think. They are very smart and very cautious. Bears use their noses to detect danger.

Baiting for Black Bears is costly and time consuming. Sweet Bear Bait & Supplies (SBBS) will provide the steps needed to Successfully Bait for Trophy Bears.

1st is Location, Location, Location. Bears need to drink often. A water source needs to be close to the bait. Bears Love Water!! Bears Need to drink often while feeding.

Treestand Placement is Very Important! Most hunters clear-cut an area to get better shooting lanes, etc. Checking for paw prints is important to know the size and age of bear that is feeding from the bait. There is various baits that most hunters typically use and other baits that work much more effective for Trophy Bears. Below we will explain what baits are best to use and how to bait for Black Bears.

Examples of Natural Bait Sites:

Here is a fallen tree hung up off the ground with raspberry bushes grown all around it. Bears love to feel safe in comfortable surroundings. The barrel is chained to the tree. If this was cabled to the tree, the bears would shred the cable with their weight. It is best to hang a barrel because it is harder for a bear to feed while the barrel is swinging. The bait will last longer. A crib in this situation would be ideal to force the bear to feed from only one side for the proper shot placement.

This bait site has a fallen trees around bait barrel. The loggers dropped the trees in such a way it forces the bears to come around to the front of the bait for a perfect shot. Cut logs in a upside down V shape behind the bait barrel making a crib which will force the bear to the front of the bait barrel in order to get some bait. Some hunters prefer no crib and instead position the bait barrel so the bear will approach bait barrel for the kill shot the hunter desires.

Swamp Hunting:

Swamp Hunting in thick dense cover offers many opportunities to harvest huge bears. Bears like dogs like to lay down in water to cool during the hot sun. Bears tend to lay in swamps for most of the day to cool themselves. Hunting beside or near a swamp offers great success.

Treestand Placement:

Always make sure you are elevated higher in your stand to be scent free from the bears nose. Bears will walk a few steps stop and stick their noses in the air often to smell for danger. Here is a built platform in a tree top with a branch breaking up the camo of the hunter. The branches you see in the 2nd photo is the two branches in front of the hunter. Hide treestand in the branches/leaves of the tree for best results. Cut 2 to 3 small holes thru the branches/leaves. The holes should be about one foot and a half or less of a clear view for a shot to a bear at the bait barrel. These holes will be the shooting lanes for a clear shot. The hunter will be hidden in the leaves and undetected by the bear. This will provide camouflage for the hunter by not leaving the hunter exposed in a tree as a big blob.

Bear Magnet Feeding System:

The Bearmagnet Bait Barrels saves a huge amount of bait loss to raccoons, squirrels, etc. The barrel is designed to hold a 600lb bear without bending the barrel. I have witnessed a 550lb bear weighing down on the bait barrel. The barrel was not crushed or any damage to it. These barrels are easy to use and the tops are removable to add in Alpha Pellets, Popcorn, Trail Mix, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Etc. The bears have to work at getting the bait out of the small holes. A chain is included to tie off to a tree about 5' from the bait barrel. The Bearmagnet Bait Barrels comes in 30 and 55 gallon sizes.

Checking for Bear Paw Prints:

If not using a game camera to check sizes and ages of bears. Spread sand in front of the bait where the bear would be standing. The bears will leave their prints when feeding. This will show if a sow and cubs are feeding at the bait.

Typical Bear Baits:

Bear Bait usually include household table scraps, dog food, grains (oats or corn), molasses, and meat scraps. When using these baits the brush wolves, ravens, and raccoons will frequently feed from the bait. Bears and wolves do not get along. Usually, The bears will stay away from bait once wolves come into feed. Grain can work but the cost rises as molasses and other grains are added to fill the bait barrel.

Unfortunately, Bears do not desire the taste for grains as they do for Alpha Pellets or Sweets.

Bear Bait to Use:

Donuts: Bears Love Donuts!! They will steal the donuts 1st before eating anything else from the bait barrel.

Peanut Butter & Corn Syrup: Use a long stick and place Peanut Butter & Corn Syrup in Crotch of tree branch. Bears will climb for the taste.

Alpha Pellets – Liqourice Flavoured

Absolutely the Only & Leading Bear Bait in Canada!!! 5 Stars!!!!!

The Wolves, Raccoons, and Ravens want nothing to do with this bait! Bears Hammer the Baits for a Chance at a Very Tasty Meal!

Sweets:

Candies, Blueberry Filling, Toasted Marshmallows, Blueberry Bits, Sweet Vanilla Roll Icing, Sugar Coated Popcorn, Caramel Fondant, Sponge Toffee, and Many More Sweets.

Bears Love Sweets!! All Bait Sites Must Have Sweets to Entice the Bears to Remain On The Baits!!!!!!!!

When Sweets Are Used for Baiting. The Bait Site Becomes An Established Bait Site Claimed by Massive Huge Black Bears!

Drip Bucket:

Use a small bucket. Cut three, half inch holes in bottom of pail. Fill Scent Pail with three inches of Sweets. Use any type of sweets from Blueberry Filling, Vanilla Icing, Raspberry Filling, etc. Hang Scent Bucket 9′ high. Hang Pail away from bait barrel tree so bears cannot climb the tree and reach the scent bucket. During hot sunny days the bait will melt and drip out the bottom of bucket. Bears will stand tall to swat at scent bucket hoping for a taste. Often Bears will sit under scent bucket and wonder how they will get the tasty treats down.

The Drip Bucket will keep the bears on your bait site 24 hours a day.

Fillers:

Fillers is food that fills the bears stomach such as Alpha Pellets, Rice Krispies, Cherries, Corn, Oats, Donuts, Cakes, Etc.

Scent Cover:

There Are Various Scent Covers such as Intense Blueberry, Blueberry Extract, Raspberry Scent, Liquid Smoke, Etc.

Spray Scent Cover to Cover the Human Scent Left at the Bait Site!

Caramel Burn:

Burning Caramel or other sweet syrup will attract bears from miles away. Do a burn on the 1st day of the hunt. Place burn on ground away from leaves and wood. Burn needs to be visible to the hunter in case bear tips the burner over. Use a can of Jellied Cooking Fuel. Fuel will last up to 3 hours. Use a 45 degree flue pipe as a funnel with the burner inside. Cut 3 small V’s in bottom of funnel for air flow. Place aluminum container on top of funnel filled with something sweet.

Watch! The Bears will come right to it! Hunter will have enough time to make a good kill shot.

French Fry Grease:

Must Use French Fry Grease. Bears Will Dig to China for The Taste of French Fry Grease. Roots will be dug up and broken all for the taste of the Used French Fry Oil. The grease will soak into the pads on their feet. As the bears roam back and forth to watering holes and the bait. Other Bears will smell the grease on the bear trails and find the location of your bait to fill their stomachs.

Steps To Baiting Successfully:

Below SBBS will explain how to bait, how often, and which types of bait are best to use. The bear has to be programmed to come by the bait every evening when the bear goes searching for food. Once the Bear is feeding regularly he has to be kept fed, which means a lot more food has to be baited more often. Most bait sites of ours has anywhere from 4 to 8 bears per site every night feeding. Now thats a lot of bears to feed. If you follow the instructions below your success will be the same as ours. The bait will be the same as an established bear bait site.

SBBS had 6 baits in 2014 with other hunters. There was 3 bears in particular taken on one bait site from September 2nd to the hunt ended September 7, 2014. WOW! Bears Galore!!

How To Make The Bait Site Successful:

There is many different types of ways to bait. Some hunters live much closer and are able to bait every day to a few times a week. If baiting every other day I would suggest baiting with a 20L pail of bait each time. The example below is for hunters who live far away from their bait site locations.

Start baiting the middle of July. Bait every two weeks until the Middle of August, then bait weekly until 3 days before the hunt.

– Fill 55 gallon drum with Alpha Pellets. Three bags will fill 55 gallon drum.

– Use a paint brush, brush on Vanilla Icing or Blueberry Filling on tree/logs.

– Hang drip bucket 9′ high with a sweet syrup

– Spread sand in front of barrel, sand will provide a print of the bear

– Spread grease in front of bait barrel on the ground or sand where Bears front paws will be standing.

– Put peanut butter & corn syrup in the crouch of tree branches up high.

– Add in Donuts, Bread, Grease, and Sweets to Bait Barrel.

– Throw 3 hand fulls of candy or popcorn around bait barrel. The bears will take hours picking each one to eat.

– Use BearMagnet Bait Barrels 30 to 55 gallon drums for bait barrels, plastic ones are available but BearMagnet Barrels are much stronger

– Spray scent cover around the bait site to cover your human scent and provide a fresh strong scent.

– 3 days before the hunt. Every night bait with a 20 litre pail. Mix all sweets and fillers into a 20 litre pail including Sweets, Donuts, etc that you used during the baiting season.

Hang Drip Buckets for added scent to bait site. Do not change anything, do everything the same as you did during the baiting season.

Every time the bait is baited. Hit a tree with a container about ten times. This will be a dinner bell for the bears to know there is bait available. Although, if using an ATV. The ATV instead is a dinner bell for the bears.
Do not change anything while baiting. For example, if bears are used to hearing you hit the tree as a dinner bell keep doing that even on the day of the hunt. If a cable breaks on the bait barrel. Leave it alone! Changing the bait or site location before or on the day of the hunt will scare the bears off the bait site!! Bait the same way each time! Do Not Change Anything!!
Do Not Use different sweets on the day of the hunt. The bears will smell something new and different. They will be very cautious to enter the baited site.
Do a sweet burn (a sweet which has been used during the baiting season)
Use ATV 3 days before the hunt and during the hunt to get the bears accustomed to the sound of the ATV as a Dinner Bell.
Do not bring more than 2 people on the bait to keep the Human Scent Down. Bears do not like the smell of Human Scent.
Always pick up garbage on baits as it is illegal to leave garbage on Crownland.
Do Not Move While Sitting In The Treestand. IF a bear see’s a hunter move he will be long gone, the bear may never return!
Always be ready to take a 2nd shot. Bears are very tough. If possible it is best to take a 2nd shot to bring them down for the kill.
All of these tips will help make your hunt a success.