Successful or not, I'll try to keep this going through the 21st of Sept, when our baiting season ends. A friend of mine and I have been baiting for the last two years, and while we haven't shot anything we have had active bait sites, but those of you that have done this before know that an active bait site doesn't guarantee a shot, never mind a bear. We bait with grain and donuts, this year has been very active, it's been work to keep the bait at the site.
Here is the bear I am after, I call him Yogi, though he is not near as nice as the real Yogi Bear.......he is clearly the dominant bear on this bait
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/huntrdfk/Yogi1.jpg)
I have a Vision ground blind at about the same distance the camera is from the bait, but a little to the left of Yogi's butt.....
David
As you can bears are hitting this bait in daylight hours, in fact I have a number of early morning, midafternoon and early evening pictures. Yesterday I drove as near to the bait site as I could, about 75 yards, and replenished the bait. It had been hit hard and was gone......after baiting I drove out, parked, got dressed and went back in to hunt......
I pulled the chip from the camera and saw it had taken 171 pictures since last night!!!! Here are a couple that I especially liked, as they show bear behavior relating to dominance at the site.
The first is of Yogi at the bait, if you look behind the bait to the right you can see part of another bear that we call BooBoo, waiting his turn....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/huntrdfk/YogiBooBoo.jpg)
The last time I bear hunted in Canada I watched a smaller bear crawl through ferns to get to the bait, here is BooBoo doing the same thing, pretty neat sequence.....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/huntrdfk/BooBoo2.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/huntrdfk/BooBoo6.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/huntrdfk/BooBoo7.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/huntrdfk/BooBoo11.jpg)
I actually have 13 photos in this sequence, BooBoo never once gets off his belly, I would hve loved to be there to watch it........
David
Wow, I never would have believed that coon would have come in with the bear there. Then on top of it the bear shares his dinner with the coon.
Jack
looks promising. Good luck.
Yogi is a beauty Dave, hope you get him.
Best of luck to ya!
Jen and I have our fingers crossed for you!
Keep us posted and good luck. Joe
Dave, You're so right about an active bait not guaranteeing an opportunity. Been running a bait here in I2 since 2000, and just last year killed a nice boar, my first in N.H. Passed sows with cubs and younger bruins over time but patience was rewarded. Good luck with 'Yogi' and we should compare notes as this season progresses. Todd
Good luck bud!!
Back to last nights hunt. With all of the daytime activity I got in my blind at two pm, not twenty minutes later I saw the back of a bear walking away about 50 yards away. I never saw another thing until around 7. The wind had died and all was quiet when I heard the sounds of a heavy animal coming in from my left where I had no open windows. I did have a window cracked a coupl of inches and saw Yogi standing about 20 yards away looking my way. My heart was beating pretty good, but I was calm and confident I would get a shot.....then my heart went into overdrive for a couple of seconds when he ran hard at the blind for four or five steps, huffing the entire time. He kept looking at the blind huffing, and then just bolted out of there, running right by the blind! I have never seen a bear run that fast or hard, I could hear him going for a 100 yards or so. Pretty neat experience.
It always amazes me that these animals come to the baits knowing you are there, but Yogi does not like anyone around his food. I think he will be tough to kill.....but we'll see. I am thinking of hanging a stand though, I think I would have had a shot if I had been in a tree as the only shot opportunites from the blind are right at the bait.
My buddy went out this morning and ran a bear off the bait but wasn't sure which one it was, I'll be back at it tomorrow...
David
Jack, you won't see those coons around when Yogi is on the bait....
David
Good luck Dave. I love hunt-a-longs! :thumbsup:
Keep at them Dave..nothing more exciting than a good bear hunt. Hope you arrow a nice one....
Boy Oh Boy! I just know this is gonna get better!
... mike ...
I am so jealous this is the first time in 6 years I've not gone to NH bear hunting a new job kept me from going I hunt in Jefferson over an old apple orchard an arrowed my first last year looking at MT Washington everyday is good mental therapy for this Hoosier good luck an keep up the post an pics I love seeing them
I'll be watching this one.
Good Luck Dave!
best of luck and thanks for sharing :)
Best of luck David he looks like a good one :0)
Cool buddy, sure hope you get him!!
Dave: Hang in there. Laura and I just got back from Maine. I went up for a specific bear that eluded me last year. I'll start the story on another thread.
Good luck David !!! Ground blinds and bears can get very exciting!
Back at it again tonight, hurried to the stand after work and rebaited. It was hot, in the low 80's, so I wore a lightweight top and.........shorts! Never hunted in shorts before, but figured if I wasn't sweating I'd be fine. I had been in the stand for just under an hour when I heard a stick break about 50 yards to my right. I was looking that way for about five minutes, expecting a bear to come from there when I happened to glance left......bear. I hate it when they do that, how can they just materialize without making a sound when the woods are so dry? I never reached for my bow,it was Booboo, and he snuck into the bait, grabbed a donut and ran off about thirty yards to eat. He did this three times, the fourth, as he got to the bait he stopped and looked into the woods. In a flash he swapped ends and was gone.....I'm thinking that Yogi is close and Booboo knew it. I sat for the next hour and a half, every once in awhile hearing something walking in the area that Booboo looked at. If it was Yogi, he never showed himself, but I am confident that when I go to rebait in the morning the bait will have been hit hard.
This past Sunday, when Yogi tried to scare me, I left my blind at 7:10 pm. Check the time this guy showed up at the bait.....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/huntrdfk/PICT0004.jpg)
As near as I can tell we have three bears on this bait right now, there may be more and it looks like they are beginning to tolerate each other a little.....
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/huntrdfk/PICT0034.jpg)
I won't hunt again till Friday, but I'll try to post any interesting pics that come up....
David
Great pics Dave. What kind of camera are you using?
Thanks Greg, it is a Wildgame Innovations X6C. Good little camera that is affordable.....I got mine off of **** pretty cheap.
David
Looking good. Try taking somebody in to bait with you. You bait and stay in blind they walk out to truck. These bears are laying close by and can hear you come to bait amd to hunt and when you leave. They are smart but your smarter, try this old trick I mentioned and I'll bet it will pay off. Also, the reason you are having hard time keeping up with bait is your set up is making it to easy for them to clean it out all in one go or a few trips. Next year get yourself a metal barrel with only a few small holes and chain it to tree. This way they have to roll it around alot and work to get bait out. This will buy you more time between baiting trips and cut down on bait used but still keep them there. Go get yogi!
Dave,
Good Luck Friday!
Can't wait till you say he's down -- I'm excited for you bro!
Thanks guys, I hope to have a crack at him too.
Having someone take me in is a great idea that I really think would have a chance of working Dave, the problem is that no one is available to do that. My partner only has two more days left in the season that he can hunt, the rest of the time he is out of the state. It is a 40 minute ride from my house to the bait, so having someone here do that is not an option either. Like I said though, I really think that would work.....maybe I can bribe someone here to sit by the big lake while I hunt.
David
Ge Dave I wish I was a bit closer I would call in Sick to work just to help you out. I would love to help you drag a bear out of the woods.
David, great pics and good story telling!! Best of Luck bud!! Shawn
Dave: I don't think I would hesitate shooting any one of those bears...even BooBoo.
When we hunt up in Maine at Hunter's Point, the guides drop you off at your bait, you get set up, they add bait, bang on the barrel, make a lot of noise leaving and slam their truck doors loudly when they leave. One afternoon, Laura was in her stand. The guide went back to his truck to leave and when she heard him slam the truck door a small bear ran into the bait. It happens a lot. The bears learn when it's feeding time and I don't think that they can count past number one. Two guys go in, one leaves, the bear thinks the coast is clear.
Well? It's Friday and its dark on the east coast. You are more east than I so So its probably darker there than here. This must mean one of two things.
1. you are dragging a bear out. :bigsmyl:
2. You didn't go and didn't see anything. :banghead:
Oh how I hope it's #!.
You forgot #3 Charlie, I did go and didn't see anything. Neither my partner nor I had been able to rebait since Tuesday, course that meant the bait barrel was cleaned out......It has been rebaited, my partner will hunt tomorrow, I hope to get back Sunday afternoon.......
Bill, we just don't have someone to drop us at the bait, I am sure that would work......
11 days left to "get-r-done"
David
Nice bears, and good luck to you.
Good Luck Tomorrow David! :thumbsup:
Geez Dave, My Buddy is staying in Hampton beach right now. I know he would come and help if only he would answer the phone. Must be the Blues are biting to not hear back from him in 2 days.
Good luck Dave, great story. I passed one up the first week of the Maine season, and never got a crack at another.
Great read along bud, hope you succeed!!
Waiting to hear how ya did! Shawn
A good day today, just not hunting wise......Daughter Avery had a horse show, (which she won), Hunter had a football game, and we just got back from the ER........no broken bones and he'll be alright in a couple of days, so all in all, it was a good day......
This hunt is not over yet!
David
Great Spirit! I'm glad Hunter is OK. I bet Avery will remember that horse show for a long time.
Now on with the hunt :readit: I want stories :readit:
Dave, R. U. OK?
Now on with the hunt :readit: I want stories :readit:
My partner was able to hunt the bait this weekend, no luck. I was able to get up to the site and rebait it yesterday morning, it was completely gone when I got there. I pulled the chip from the camera and found it had 341 images in two days!!!! I'll post some of those pics later.......
Today I made it up to hunt, I brought more bait with me just in case. It was a good thing I did as it had been wiped out since yesterday. When I rebaited yesterday I had filled the 55 gallon barrel 3/4 full with donuts, today it was all gone......
I saw one bear today at 6:50 pm as it circled behind the bait, never coming to the bait itself. I am sure the barrel will be empty when I get back up there Thursday.
Looking at the photos on the camera it appears that they are starting to hit the bait after dark and right at daybreak, I am going to have to catch a break here......
David
Dave: I take it you are hunting from a ground blind. I tried that up in Maine a couple of years ago and all the bears did was walk around the bait and the blind and never came in to eat til after I Ieft. One actually came in and circled the blind from about 30 yards. He disappeared then I could hear him walking up my path. He stopped behind the blind and I could hear him smelling it around the outside edge. Never did get a shot until I got into a tree stand. My goal is to get one from the ground but that may not happen until I can get to a Spring hunt in Canada somewhere. Good luck on the bear and the deer. Today is the day!
Same scenario on my baits David. Small bears coming in during the day but not as much as first week. Big boys after dark. Getting cleaned out every day. Gone through more bait as of last Sunday than I did all season last year. Headed up tommorro or Friday depending... Going to place less bait and see what happens.
Looks like Friday for me too Paul. Will rebait tomorrow morning and see....
someone once told me if the bear are coming in late to put just a little bait in the barrel.When the bigger bear comes in and finds the bait gone he will start coming in earlier to get the bait first.Might be worth a try. :dunno:
DDyer makes a good point Dave. I know at Hunter's Point there was a particular bear that skunked me the first week. I mad arrangements to come back two weeks later. Eldon kept the bait active but didn't bait for the 2 days before I came up. Then on Sunday they put only a small amount. On Monday I shot the bear at about 4 in the afternoon. Sometimes less is more. You may need to give him a reason to come in earlier and he probably will if he thinks there is not enough for two to eat.
Very Interesting.........
Get him Dave!
good stuff!
OK, I haven't forgotten about this, just haven't had time put the rest of the story together........I'll try to do it here all in one sitting......
Once again when I rebaited on Wedsnesday it had been hit hard, it was tough to bait and leave knowing I couldn't hunt again till Friday. I took the advice of DDyer and Bill and didn't bait as much as normal. Friday came, and my plan was to leave work at lunch and be in my stand no later thatn 2:30, but things came up and I didn't leave work till 3:15. When I got to the site, of course the bait was gone again. I rebaited and after getting changed got into my stand for what was left of the evening. About a half hour later I heard two animals chasing each other on the other side of a knoll about 50 yards away, and I figured it was a couple of bears. I was also hoping that a bigger bear had just chased a smaller one away. Every now and then for the next hour or so I could hear the bear walking, and then he started working to my left and behind the bait. It was staring to get dark, I stayed as long as I could before I began to get down. I lowered my bow, climbed down and was gathering my haul rope when I caught movement near the bait, which was twelve yards away.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/huntrdfk/BB091110-23.jpg)
I couldn't believe what I was seeing, this bear was walking into the bait with me standing less than 40 feet from him. I could see he was a smaller bear, and now it was dark enough that I couldn't have shot him anyways so I actually said outloud, " Are you kidding me?" he wasted no time in clearing the area.......unbelievable. I left knowing that I only had one more day that I would be able to hunt before the baiting season closed, that being Monday the 20th.(While this is the bear I saw note that this is an actual trail cam photo taken days earlier)
Friday marked the 5th time I had hunted this site, 4 out of 5 times I had seen at least one bear, not bad I'd say, though I hadn't killed one yet.
Going through some trail cam pictures I found this one pretty interesting. I have been fortunate to see a number of fishers in the woods, this is the first time I have gotten a picture of one.......pretty cool.
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/huntrdfk/BB091210-14.jpg)
I came back ready to go and climbed in my stand just before three, it was really windy but every now and then I thought I could hear a bear walking behind the bait. I'll be darned if at 3:45 here comes a bear, and a pretty good one too. It wasn't Yogi, but he was not small either, and I decided to shoot him if given the chance. Unfortunately he came in behind the bait, looked around and promptly left! AArrgh.... It was quiet for the next couple of hours, when just at 7ish I saw him coming back. I was already standing with bow in hand, he came in, grabbed a donut and ran about 50 yards away. he did this four more times, but each time staying closer to the bait, he was getting comfortable. Up to now he had never stopped moving but the sixth time in he stayed laying down in front of the bait for a minute eating before he got up. He sat on his haunches quartering away and then he stood perfectly broadside looking away into the barrel. The momnet of truth had arrived, I had tension on the string and........it was too dark and I couldn't pick a spot. It was that time when there was no definition on his body, I could see where his legs came out of his body but could not see any definition at all, I lowered my bow and didn't shoot. I watched him for another minute or two and then quietly said, "you win". Like Friday night's bear, he cleared the area quickly, but didn't go far.
Would I have liked to shoot him? You bet!!!! I have no regrets though, I had a great couple of weeks doing this and can't wait to do it again next year.....
This is the bear that came in the last night of my hunt......
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/huntrdfk/BB091210-51.jpg)
(http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v248/huntrdfk/BB091210-65.jpg)
David
You Da Man David! It takes a smart cookie to know when NOT to shoot. Self control is a learned trait. Guess that's part of who you are... :thumbsup: A man in control.
... mike ...
Dave, thanks for taking us along. I think your hunt was a success. Great pics. Mines going to the woods this weekend.
Good for you for not taking an iffy shot.He'll be just that much bigger next year.
Believe me Dan when I say I wanted that shot......I would have been shooting at a black blob on legs though.
I thick it was a success too Greg, not a lot of people get to see what we see in the woods. Good luck with the camera.
Thanks Mikey!
David
Excellent buddy!! You did the right thing, but you know that already :notworthy:
Awesome story!
Thank you for taking us through the hunt with you.
I agree with the above poster.. sometimes knowing when it's not time to shoot is as important as know when it is.
Thanks again.
God bless,Mudd
Great hunt David! Encounters like yours keep the wheels turning till next year.
Thanks for sharing your adventure.
Good story, Dave. Too bad that you didn't get a shot in better light. I find it incredible how long a bear can be in range at a bait and never give you the shot you need. It happens to a lot of us. Maybe next year I can help you out some...would love to see you get it done.
What a great story Dave! Congrats on the success of the hunt. I know that baiting is a lot of hard work, but it sure is fun and you did an outstanding job. I hope you get a crack at him next year!
I really enjoyed this thread! Great decision making at the end. Better luck next time.
Great Story Dave,
Thank you fopr sharing it with us. The best part is, you will never regret not6 shooting as much as you would have regretted shooting and not finding the bear. Any way you replay it, it is as good as it gets.
Great Hunt!!!! Also it sounds as if you have learned a thing or two wich may help for next year.
Thanks again!
Dave...great story and good hunt. Bears are fun to hunt and very frustrating at times. Good luck this fall on those "brown critters"....keep in touch...
Oh yeah...Mikey's only paying you nice compliments cause your 3 ft taller than him....ROFF
:laughing: :nono: