[K-Mo]

Bear croutons!

 

[arkrem870]

Season is timed perfectly with acorns falling

 

[Thenarwhal]

I’ve never seen that drying process. All the guys I know just freeze them.

 

[stealthycat]

I’ve never seen that drying process. All the guys I know just freeze them.

when you have freezer full of donut's and ever barrel/tub filled with nuts ... didn't know what else to do !

if it molds ... well, I tried ....

 

[lightsoutcalls]

Did som walking around below where I plan to hunt. I have pics of a young sow around 150 lbs. in this area. I think I found her footprint on the trail.

This place looked very beary... The larger opening behind the small forked tree was probably 8' tall at the opening. No, I did not take a closer look.

 

[K-Mo]

View attachment 458845
Did som walking around below where I plan to hunt. I have pics of a young sow around 150 lbs. in this area. I think I found her footprint on the trail.
View attachment 458846
This place looked very beary... The larger opening behind the small forked tree was probably 8' tall at the opening. No, I did not take a closer look.

Why not? Didn’t wanna pull your lights out?

 

[Thenarwhal]

when you have freezer full of donut's and ever barrel/tub filled with nuts ... didn't know what else to do !

if it molds ... well, I tried ....

Makes sense. I’ve just never tried it.

 

[stealthycat]

Makes sense. I’ve just never tried it.

I'll report back on mold/no mold etc

I'm also going to heat up apple juice and mix caramel into it - making a thin caramel syrup to pour over breads/nuts

 

[Thenarwhal]

I'll report back on mold/no mold etc

I'm also going to heat up apple juice and mix caramel into it - making a thin caramel syrup to pour over breads/nuts

You should just give in and start making baits commercially. You’re almost there already.

I fill a barrel with donuts and bread and corn and dog food, and pour bacon grease over it. It gets hammered until it’s empty or two days before the season, when the acorns drop and the bears disappear, whichever happens first. Then I repeat the next year. I don’t think there’s anything manmade that can compete with a white oak acorn.

 

[K-Mo]

I'll report back on mold/no mold etc

I'm also going to heat up apple juice and mix caramel into it - making a thin caramel syrup to pour over breads/nuts

I’m gonna say if you add water/juice to bread inside a barrel, you’re gonna get a ton of mold quickly. I’d use grease instead of something water based. The Gold Rush is basically the same thing but for mixing with oils.

 

[stealthycat]

You should just give in and start making baits commercially. You’re almost there already.

I fill a barrel with donuts and bread and corn and dog food, pour bacon grease over it. It gets hammered until it’s empty or two days before the season, when the acorns drop and the bears disappear, whichever happens first. Then I repeat the next year. I don’t there’s anything manmade that can compete with a white oak acorn.

I don't ever have that much bacon grease !

 

[stealthycat]

I’m gonna say if you add water/juice to bread inside a barrel, you’re gonna get a ton of mold quickly. I’d use grease instead of something water based. The Gold Rush is basically the same thing but for mixing with oils.

then how do I think thick caramel ?

your'e saying heat oil and add the caramel and it'll combine to be liquidy ?

 

[K-Mo]

then how do I think thick caramel ?

your'e saying heat oil and add the caramel and it'll combine to be liquidy ?

No the sugar won’t dissolve in oil. I was saying get an oil based flavoring like Gold Rush to mix with oil and use that on the bread. But you could probably take dry bread crumbs and pour hot caramel over them to make a paste of sorts. It’s the juice/water that I think would get you into mold if it’s on the bread, but just caramel should be fine, especially on dried bread. Neither sugar or oil will grow mold, but wet bread sure will.

 

[Thenarwhal]

I don't ever have that much bacon grease !

I give my friends and family five-gallon buckets with lids and they fill them with grease over the course of the year, then I go collect them before bear season and hand out empty buckets for the next cycle. I can usually get 20-25 gallons. They have a way to get rid of their grease and I have a supply. Works for everyone.

 

[stealthycat]

No the sugar won’t dissolve in oil. I was saying get an oil based flavoring like Gold Rush to mix with oil and use that on the bread. But you could probably take dry bread crumbs and pour hot caramel over them to make a paste of sorts. It’s the juice/water that I think would get you into mold if it’s on the bread, but just caramel should be fine, especially on dried bread. Neither sugar or oil will grow mold, but wet bread sure will.

Last year my brilliant idea was boil water in a big kettle - put the 5 gal bucket of caramel in there and double boiler it - yeah ... as soon as it pours it hardened again

I have to find a way to liquify it .... I've read apple cider will do that

If I pour on it same day I put it out - it I get bears soon, they'll eat it so fast it won't mold anyway ??? maybe

 

[K-Mo]

Last year my brilliant idea was boil water in a big kettle - put the 5 gal bucket of caramel in there and double boiler it - yeah ... as soon as it pours it hardened again

I have to find a way to liquify it .... I've read apple cider will do that

If I pour on it same day I put it out - it I get bears soon, they'll eat it so fast it won't mold anyway ??? maybe

Just drizzle it over the bread and make a ton of caramel pastries using the bread as your carrier.

 

[arkrem870]

When I used that carmel a couple years ago I dipped it out with a small metal shovel and put it in barrel in chunks. They loved it

 

[stealthycat]

Just drizzle it over the bread and make a ton of caramel pastries using the bread as your carrier.

Its not easy to thin down ... it'll burn by itself and even like a double boiler its a long process

Thus the apple juice idea

 

[K-Mo]

Its not easy to thin down ... it'll burn by itself and even like a double boiler its a long process

Thus the apple juice idea

Sounds like you need a gallon or two of pure moonshine or everclear….

 

[QuailRidge]

Stop over complicating this. The most important part is the spot. If you don’t have a good spot you’ll have a hard time keeping bears, no matter what you’re using for bait. Even moving a couple hundred yards can turn a bad spot into an exceptional one.

If you’re trying to figure the caloric content of your bait and comparing it to white oak acorns or something like that, you’re spending too much time on what you’re putting out and not enough on where you’re putting it. It really isn’t that hard.