Well guys, tomorrow is the bear opener here in NH. Been opening 1 bear bait on my small piece of land here for about 14 years and really look forward to the next 3 weeks. We're kind of behind the 8 ball as the regs only allow to open a bait on the day the season opens. Nevertheless, 'hope springs eternal in the hearts of men' and I'm excited about the possibilities. May take a few days before my bait gets active but it's all part of the anticipation. Hope to have a story to share in a few.

Good luck-Hap

Good luck bud!

best of luck to ya keep us posted.

Perhaps the addition of a little back-story would be in order:
My small holding (20 acres) fortunately abuts a couple large timber tracts and a state park. This makes for some big, rugged country with a decent bear population though dispersed. Over the last 14 years I've only taken 2 bears - not much success by most standards. However, in all those years I've seen and passed on quite a few bruins - sub-adults, sows with cubs, and known sows without cubs. In this region, the bait site has allowed observation and identification before taking a shot thereby avoiding 'mistakes' in the taking.
Am full of hope again this year.

Good luck Todd. You know I'm always rooting for a fellow northern New Englander.

Not trying to hijack Todd's post, but, Yep...today is the day.!Todd (Birdbow) was good enough to give a frozen beaver carcass which I have chunked up into 5 pieces. Years ago the Maine Bowhunters had a DIY Spring bear hunt and we used plastic grain bags to hang bait in. Laura and I have 23 acres of river bottom that is covered in an abundance of blueberries. Got a pic of a  bear there last deer season so I set up a camera near a stand in a swampy "bearish" looking area. Very dark and thick and the abundance of blueberries made it seem possible that I might be able to lure one in. I set a camera out on the stand site about 10 days ago and got a few pics in the last 2 days of what seems like a nice bear.  Even though I will have a bait set for tonite the wind will be working against me. From Weds. on it looks like a go. I really want him to be comfortable so I will hunt smart and try to use the wind to my advantage. The direction he comes in is not clear but my experience is that they tend to circle a site before they commit.

Here he is a few days ago.

   

Here is one of the pics I got during last years' deer season.

   

The pic from this year he seems to be using the trail I brushed out this summer. Giving him a few more days and some real bait should tell me if he is a morning bear or a later in the day bear. The blueberries are still abundant so hopefully he has a good reason to stick around. The beaver carcass and donuts Todd gave me should help. It's also about a mile or so walk in and it is going to be hot and muggy today. But I need to give him some enticement. Don't know if it shows but I am stoked. I've killed 6 bears with my bow already but this  is special. Never killed one in NH and this is on my own property (or his). Will keep you informed.

By the way, I just got a new set of Morrison Max 2 limbs for my DAS riser. They pull 52/54#'s (my scale is off) and it likes a 340 Beman MFX with a 240 grain Grizzly Instinct 3 blade...about 580 grains.  I could shoot a 400 Beman or Axis but would have to shoot a much lighter head. The area the bait will be in is tight and the shot will be or should be 10 yards or less.

Good luck Todd
We put out 7 baits this morning.
Lot of natural food this year
Put a trail cam up two days ago on one of my established baits and they were checking it out even there was no food there.

Good Luck Todd and everyone else in NH bear hunting this year.

Good luck Todd.

Bill I know for sure there is a bear on property across that main road from your property, I doubt it is a mile in a straight line.

Our bait was set up today in central NH, now it is a waiting game........

David

Good luck to all, this will be fun to follow    

No 'hijacking' here. Good to hear from you both, Bill and David. Keep it coming on your hunts too. DIY in NH!!

Good luck guys! Be good to see some NH stuff hit the ground!

Good luck Todd. Keep us posted.

Too bad about the hot weather. Tomorrow the wind should be perfect for my stand. If it is hot I expect him to be pretty "lazy" until it cools down in the afternoon. Those of us that  hunt NH have to hunt hard and smart. Most other bowhunters here are compounders and they kind of smirk or even snicker when they find out that there are those of us that are trad. We need to show them that we can be effective.

Dave, the owners of the farm we use  to access our land have told us about a bear being seen in our area. And last year when I reported the theft of two trail cameras to the Barrington PD, the officer I talked to told me about all the bears he sees on Beauty Hill Road. After I got the pic of the bear last year I decided to give it a try this year, especially since the blueberries are so abundant. Hope things work out for you in Alton.

Seth, glad to see you trying traditional bow hunting. Want to wish us all a good hunt.

Good luck to you Bill.

Bill, Beauty Hill Road is the spot that at least one bear is hanging out, just past Hall Road. I sometimes hunt a piece there that a co-worker owns, between Beauty Hill and 125. I should bait there, it's a lot closer than where I hunt now.

Good luck, and for the record, Seth should have no problem killing something if the opportunity presents itself.....he can flat out shoot!

David

Hunted outside of Quincey  NH back in 2002. When my buddy was baiting  his spot on lumber property   And he lives in Hampton beach. Long ride. ,   We had a great hunt. Had a big sow and two cubs under me every nite.  When she got wind of me she started popping her teeth but the little buggers kept on eating. That was my first bear hunt . My bud said they closed the spot down.  It was nice . Moose coming Thru. And along the logging roads.  Hope to get back.to nh.

Sitting tonight for the first time this season. Bait was hit @ 0600 today (9/3) by what may be a young adult boar. Trail cam pics were very poor due to heavy overnight rains. This will be the first time I'll have hunted bear from my Double Bull blind. Wind thermals where I'm sittng demand a ceratin geometry from the barrel best suited to a blind. Hopefully will have some action to report on later.