Deer feeder full of corn.

 

I have never baited bears, yet. Other than them tearing my corn feeders up. I’ve been listening to the old Bear Hunting Magazine podcast in between new episodes of Bear Grease podcast. They talked a lot about grease, used cooking oil, pastry’s, dog food and corn. Said they like the oil but it was more so they’d get it on their pads and leave trails all over for any other bear to find the bait. Talked about corn roller barrels. Take a barrel and drill small holes in it and chain it to a tree. The bear rolls it around to get the corn. Talked about raw meat but said it can work some but it can also ruin a site. I wouldn’t mess with it. Don’t know if you do podcast but that’s a good one with lots of good info. With the increase in our south Ark bear population I’m trying to learn more about them.

 

I had a guide in Colorado tell me that the way to bring them in fast and from a long way was to burn honey. He used a large metal can on a small cheap camp stove that you screw on a 1 pound bottle of propane. He really didn't burn it as much as scorching really well. His theory was that one of the few ways bears got honey in the wild was from a lightning struck bee tree and in the process of a tree getting hit by lightning it burned the honey. He allowed if there was a bear within smelling distance it would come into the burning honey, as fast as it could to beat any competition to the bonanza. He said he had clients kill bears over it very soon after putting it out and gettng the honey to burning, but used it more to get bears coming into a bait station quicker and would keep them coming back and hanging around with longer lasting bait.

My SIL swears by used fish cooking grease poured on stumps. At our camp we never pour out any kind of cooking oil anywhere near camp.

 

We used to do honey burns up in Canada with coffee can set up just using charcoal briquettes. It would sure bring em in.

 

Arkansas bears are inconsistent. I have had bears quit a bait covered in imitation maple syrup when I poured honey on the bait. We have used pies, pastries, bread, popcorn, fried bacon, dog food and corn. The most consistent for us has been dog food and pour imitation maple syrup on it. Typically, meat will spoil in a hurry in the heat of AR.

 

I couldn’t get the bears at my place eat corn or dog food the past two years. I tried it twice and both times they left it until it got nasty and the hogs finally ate it.
I had great luck with sweets in my main barrels (pop tarts, donuts, cookies, etc..) and popcorn in my roller barrel.
I do the popcorn about 1 out of 3 refills of the main barrels because it takes a little more prep work. They would hit it within a few hours every time I refilled with fresh popcorn last year.

 

My friends use a mix of little debbies, donuts, dog food and corn. Hung a beaver up last year and was gone in a couple of hours. They put kool aid on a couple of stumps and pour grease over the bait barrels.

 

The nicest AGFC employee I have ever met said to dump out a bag of cheap dog food every few days and sit back on it and shoot the bear

 

I’ve heard a pick a nick basket works…

 

I primarily use corn/dog food with syrup mixed in. When I can get it I add bread or pastries. Pour cooking oil all over everything. Not only does it raise the fat content but it sticks to the bear and they leave scent trails that will bring in more bears.
Once the bears are coming in good I’ll add in some carp or meat scraps on the bait. You have to be careful with fish or meat and only put out enough for them to clean up quickly or it will rot and be a nasty stinking mess that they won’t eat.
In my experience bringing in and holding bears has as much or more to do with the location of the bait than what you are putting out. Get as close as you can to areas that they are already using to bed, water, or travel and make it easy for them to come in to the bait on the downwind side while staying in cover. Two years ago I moved a bait 100 yards and it went from one or two bears at night to 4 or 5 bears in the daylight. Most bears older than a cub are going to circle downwind before they come in anyway and they know you have been there. The trick is to fool them into thinking that you’re not still there or have them so comfortable around the bait that they don’t care if you’re there.
The bear I killed last year came in smelling me, looked at me in the tree, and didn’t care that I was there.

 

Stick a sweaty T-shirt in the barrel and in your deer stand. Swap it out with another dirty one every time you bait. Toss some thermacell pads in too. Stay away from meat in the fall, it’s more of a spring bait. Find water, persimmons, and acorns, then add your bait on top of what they’re already using. Close to dark and thick cover like a cedar thicket in a creek bottom. Honey burns with a coffee can and sterno can are SOP. Anise flavor is another very popular scent for opening a bait. Water it down and spray it all over. Oats covered with fish grease is the cheapest and easiest bait, followed closely by greased dog food or bread.

 

Have you ever actually baited and hunted an Arkansas bear?
This sounds like a collection of internet expert tips from all over the country.

 

We use a pump up sprayer with grease - filter your grease. We have had very little luck using oats or sweet feed. I think the more bears in your area - the less picky they are. If you are in an area of low bear density where they dont have to compete, they are more picky. It is common for our bears to rake the corn out of the barrel and just eat dog food.

 

I use some sweet feed in my troughs mixed rice rice bran and the bears camp in it. My friends put sweet feed/ corn in a roller barrel a couple hundred yards away and they didnt touch it. Last week they were destroying the wheat that I had left standing.

 

I had limited success baiting and seeing bears last year on my first attempt in the bear hunting world.
I didn’t get very adventurous on my bait and stuck to breads, pancake syrup and cool aid powder.
What kind of stuff are you guys using and think works the best?

maybe there wasn't many bears ? breads/syrups should have worked IMO

 

I agree, there may not be a ton of bears in the area and I did see bears while hunting, it just happened to be a mama bear with two young cubs that were in range. I had those three bears and another boar bear in there almost every day. I just thought there might be a way to draw more bears in to have more opportunities. My main problem was sitting in Cabot watching a seventh grade football game opening morning of bear season and watching the boar on camera at my barrel for hours while I’m two hours away.

 

 

@juleo I'll give you a 5 gallon bucket of fish grease if you want it.

 

@juleo I'll give you a 5 gallon bucket of fish grease if you want it.

I might just take you up on that. Where are you located? Feel free to shoot me a PM if you need with a number. Thank you sir

 

The guy that told me dog food was a WMA manager that had to trap lots of bears. He drove me around and showed me sign and what to look for. The bears were a nuisance to him he wanted them thinned. He had to trap them on private and release them on his area and he said it was a waste of his time because they walked back to where he trapped them the day he released them. He had to follow orders. He baited his bear traps with cheap dogfood as well.

 

Well, first off trying to bait bears is a lot harder than a lot of folks think. You need about 3 months of putting out bait every day or at least every other day. So... number one- you need free or very cheap bait. Try to find grocery stores or bakery shops that throw out bread and ask if you can have it. The standard deal is a loaf or two of bread put into an onion bag and hung on a tree about 4" up- to try to discourage other animals. You need a trail cam to see what is hitting the bait. Most folks get gallon sized containers of oil of Anise and soak the bread quite a bit to give it more flavor. You need to plan the thing, where the bear will come in- using cover. The tree you will sit in. A double trunk to hide yourself is good. Then how will you approach the day.
If you don't want to make that kind of commitment, might think about not doing it at all.

 

Arkansas bear baiting starts 30 days before season. Most guys will have a 55gal barrel or two and try to keep it full once a week. Guys that can’t source free stuff have to resort to dog food often. It’s a pretty expensive route, but about to be on par with baiting deer since cheap dog food and corn are about the same price now. But one bear eats a lot more than one deer.

 

Sorry, four feet up, not four inches- typo.

 

Marshmallows and strawberry koolaid in a burn is popular and less sticky to mess with. I dare you to try it and not take a bite……

 

Corn, dog food, and cracked molasses has been my best combination. I’ve also had very good luck with popcorn but you need a legit popcorn popper to make enough to be worth messing with.

 

You can do a honey burn. Use a can of sterno. The honey crystalized but then melts, then crystalizes, on and on.

 

One word, bacon grease candle. You’re Welcome….

 

You coming with those pictures soon or?

 

Trail cams.
Had bears get 2 in just a few days.

 

Do any of you have a lead for bulk stuff in the Conway area? I understand if you aren’t comfortable giving away your stash in public forum, but if you don’t mind shooting me a message.
I did find gallon jugs of mrs. Buttersworth syrup for $7.28

 

It’s a drive, but the Co-op in Elkins is selling multiple bulk packages.

 

Think I need to loan him some?

 

I won’t loan any but I’ll sell a few for a small fee.