Just wondering if anybody has had any luck with baits getting hit yet? I have a Utah Archery Bear Tag and am wondering if it's time to get baits out. We've had a ton of snow here in Utah, so some of the areas we want to bait are still not accessible. Anyways, any luck yet? Any trail cam pics to post? Thanks! Kip
Hitting Bear Baits Yet?
- Thread starter LuckyShot
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utahheadgear
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Nothing yet on my wife's bait site. Soon....very soon!
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utahheadgear
Guest
I have a guess who that idiot might be. Ha, ha.
Nope i'm in Idaho. Very very late spring here. Bear took a crap at the bait yesterday and it was pure grass....looked like horse crap. I think the bears stomachs are still transitioning.
My bait it at about 4000 feet. Just starting to see mushrooms it finally has that feel of spring.
PW
My bait it at about 4000 feet. Just starting to see mushrooms it finally has that feel of spring.
PW
Whats the word guys? I went up again today and checked baits. Still nothing hitting. Getting worried! Especially since I could smell my baits from like two miles off......and apparently the bears can't! I think my baits are the stinkiest things on the mountain! Anyway, how you others doing?
greatbasin
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Consider yourself lucky, my woods are still snowed in. However Ia m going to try to get there on Monday. Good luck all.
ELKOHOLIC
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Anyluck yet? What part of the state are you hunting? I kept looking up at all that snow on the mountain and decided to go with a fall tag this year. Not very many bear pics yet.
Around here it ain't lookin good for the spring guys. They get an extra week, but were still getting snow.
Around here it ain't lookin good for the spring guys. They get an extra week, but were still getting snow.
greatbasin
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I got to my spot on Monday, so we'll see what shows. I'm sure they're still real sluggish with the March weather in May and all. Gotta try!
Of our 4 bait sites, one finally got hit on Sunday night. That is the only action we have had. I know of two other guys with tags here in Utah that just recently had their first action as well. Pretty slow going right now. This weather just wont let up! I went up Tuesday and checked two fo our baits and I'm going up again today. Will let you know. I have a north Manti tag this year.
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Tbuck
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We have had steady action since around april 18 here in South Eastern UT.
Even a Coyote was hitting.
Even had an Elk hitting the bait. LOL
Even a Coyote was hitting.
Even had an Elk hitting the bait. LOL
greatbasin
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Cool photos with some daytime shots. That always get's me going! Good luck. I'm going to feed my spot today.
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Tbuck
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My son ended up taking the bear in the photo's on the 11 on the evening of the 14th. So we are done now.
This was his first Bear.
This was his first Bear.
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patientlywaiting
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NIce bear and photos. Thanks for posting.
Still tough going. Of our 4 baits, two are getting hit. One has multiple bears coming in, but nothing very big and most the action is in the middle of the night. The other bait has one small blonde coming in....thats it......Still pounding it out though, but we have not had a good bear hit yet and we have less than two weeks left....
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patientlywaiting
Guest
Luckyshot,
Something you may want to try... Years ago (1979-82) when I lived north of Jackson Wyoming a neighbor and a bear outfitter mentioned that he would change his baits up a little to get the night bears to come in earlier. He mostly used pastries,bread, meat & dog food but then would use a 50# bag of horse conditioner to draw in the late bear. I went with his nephew a few times to refill the baits and he would take a small plumbing torch with him and after dumping a gallon of molasses and a couple gallons of bacon grease on the tree trunks he'd scorch it all with the torch to get the scent out stronger. Probably the same effect as those "Bear Bombs" they sell now days.
I honestly don't know if it worked to bring the bear in earlier but he was very successful and i believe his hunters killed 100%. But there were alot of bears up there back then. I killed mine on the very first night after dumping the bait only one day earlier, which was kitchen scraps (corn cobs and steak bones) from the dude ranch that I worked at.
One thing I do remember is this guys week long bear hunts were only $900 which included lodging and food, and another outfitter that I actually worked for in 1980 had 10 day elk hunts between Yellowstone and Teton Park (Pilgrim Creek) for $1800 and he killed almost 100% on 6-point bulls in his area. Seems way cheap until I remember that I was only making $6 a hour and had a wife and one child.
Would love to see some of your game camera pics which you get time.
Good luck.
Something you may want to try... Years ago (1979-82) when I lived north of Jackson Wyoming a neighbor and a bear outfitter mentioned that he would change his baits up a little to get the night bears to come in earlier. He mostly used pastries,bread, meat & dog food but then would use a 50# bag of horse conditioner to draw in the late bear. I went with his nephew a few times to refill the baits and he would take a small plumbing torch with him and after dumping a gallon of molasses and a couple gallons of bacon grease on the tree trunks he'd scorch it all with the torch to get the scent out stronger. Probably the same effect as those "Bear Bombs" they sell now days.
I honestly don't know if it worked to bring the bear in earlier but he was very successful and i believe his hunters killed 100%. But there were alot of bears up there back then. I killed mine on the very first night after dumping the bait only one day earlier, which was kitchen scraps (corn cobs and steak bones) from the dude ranch that I worked at.
One thing I do remember is this guys week long bear hunts were only $900 which included lodging and food, and another outfitter that I actually worked for in 1980 had 10 day elk hunts between Yellowstone and Teton Park (Pilgrim Creek) for $1800 and he killed almost 100% on 6-point bulls in his area. Seems way cheap until I remember that I was only making $6 a hour and had a wife and one child.
Would love to see some of your game camera pics which you get time.
Good luck.
pookiebar
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I don't think that using pastries and table scraps is allowed in Utah. But a couple things you may want to try:
1) Take in the molasses as suggested before and smoother your bait in that. Also as evening approaches take a bunch of the molasses and put it in a small can that can sit directly on a burner of some kind, using a chafing dish can of fuel works well cause it does not have a smell of its own. Get the molasses in the can hot and smoking and the bears will come in to the sweet smelling smoke.
2) Take in a predator call, a fawn in distress call, and set up not too far from your bait. See if anything might come in.
3) Fish is not a good bait, most bears in UT don't realy eat too much fish, so if you have been using fish you will want to get rid of it as best you can.
Just my 2 cents.
1) Take in the molasses as suggested before and smoother your bait in that. Also as evening approaches take a bunch of the molasses and put it in a small can that can sit directly on a burner of some kind, using a chafing dish can of fuel works well cause it does not have a smell of its own. Get the molasses in the can hot and smoking and the bears will come in to the sweet smelling smoke.
2) Take in a predator call, a fawn in distress call, and set up not too far from your bait. See if anything might come in.
3) Fish is not a good bait, most bears in UT don't realy eat too much fish, so if you have been using fish you will want to get rid of it as best you can.
Just my 2 cents.
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utahheadgear
Guest
With the utmost respect intended Pookiebar, pastries are legal in utah (meat scraps aren't unless vet certified), and the bears at my wife's current Utah bait site are eating six or eight large and very rotten carp a week, so to say they won't eat fish has not been my experience at all. I would say the opposite. Plus, you can't beat the amount of smell those nasty fish put out. Nothing else comes close to putting out as much scent.
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patientlywaiting
Guest
I have to agree with ya Utahheadgear, I hauled Utah Lake Carp and Utah grown field corn (fall hunt) to Wyoming back then and the bears ate all I cared to haul up to them, including the grizzleys. It took me a year of living there, 2 spring and 1 fall hunt before I finally had a bait that the grizzley's didn't hit and I finally killed my bear. For the past 20 years they stopped the baiting north of the highway 26 to Riverton because of the grizzleys.
The corn was like candy to the bear. Too bad the corn isn't availible for the spring hunt because it worked great.
The corn was like candy to the bear. Too bad the corn isn't availible for the spring hunt because it worked great.
pookiebar
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Well I stand corrected! Thanks for the information on that. I guess my main point I was trying to make was that the sweet stuff seems to keep them coming back better than anything.
Sure you gotta have some stink to get them to find it, but sweets, i.e. molasses, pastry's (which I now know are legal) and other sweet stuff will keep them coming back so that you can get a shot.
Sure you gotta have some stink to get them to find it, but sweets, i.e. molasses, pastry's (which I now know are legal) and other sweet stuff will keep them coming back so that you can get a shot.
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utahheadgear
Guest
Seems like everyone has their secret "bear recipes", myself included. In the end though, it seems they are simply opportunistic and will eat what is fed to them, as long as the natural food sources aren't so plentiful as to negate the draw of donuts and nasty fish.
Good luck everyone. Hopefully I'll have some photos of a dead bear for you after this weekend.
Good luck everyone. Hopefully I'll have some photos of a dead bear for you after this weekend.
buglinbilly
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I spent a few days last week in Utah's bear country with my son, whose friend happened to have a permit.
The evening of the day we arrived, my son and I went and sat one of his baits. In Utah you are only allowed two baits.
We had a decent bear come in just before dark, but it was too late to get any good photos, but I did take a few and I apologize for their poor quality.
I have baited bears for over 25 years and from my experience there is nothing that compares to a cow or horse carcass. The next best thing in my opinion are their quarters.
I have never baited with beavers, but legend has it they are the very best. But a good cow or horse carcass has to rule in this country and location.
The next evening, my son went and sat with his friend and watched him undershoot a true monster. It was a tank. My son took a few photos of that bear, but he has the card and so I don't have the photos of it, but I veiwed on his camera and its half again as big as the bear in this post. I will try to get his card and get a photo or two of that bear. It was truly a bear of a lifetime.
I took my son with me from the time he was just a pup, so he has seen a ton of bears and a few really nice ones, and he said this bear was one of the bigger ones he has ever laid eyes upon.
Have a good one. BB
The evening of the day we arrived, my son and I went and sat one of his baits. In Utah you are only allowed two baits.
We had a decent bear come in just before dark, but it was too late to get any good photos, but I did take a few and I apologize for their poor quality.
I have baited bears for over 25 years and from my experience there is nothing that compares to a cow or horse carcass. The next best thing in my opinion are their quarters.
I have never baited with beavers, but legend has it they are the very best. But a good cow or horse carcass has to rule in this country and location.
The next evening, my son went and sat with his friend and watched him undershoot a true monster. It was a tank. My son took a few photos of that bear, but he has the card and so I don't have the photos of it, but I veiwed on his camera and its half again as big as the bear in this post. I will try to get his card and get a photo or two of that bear. It was truly a bear of a lifetime.
I took my son with me from the time he was just a pup, so he has seen a ton of bears and a few really nice ones, and he said this bear was one of the bigger ones he has ever laid eyes upon.
Have a good one. BB
longshooter338
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I killed this bear with my bow over bait a couple years ago and we used skinned beavers exclusively tied in trees to guage size and they wouldnt leave them alone.
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patientlywaiting
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Tikka - Horse Quarters
Tikka,
I know where you can get yourself four 100% USDA Choice Mule quarters, plus you'll get the rest of the animal but it's going to cost you $1500. But look on the bright side, you can ride her in to your bait site, pack your camp in too and you'll be saving me a bunch on hay at $4.00 a bale
Tikka,
I know where you can get yourself four 100% USDA Choice Mule quarters, plus you'll get the rest of the animal but it's going to cost you $1500. But look on the bright side, you can ride her in to your bait site, pack your camp in too and you'll be saving me a bunch on hay at $4.00 a bale
