hey, I am baiting bears in Arkansas this fall, now I have been bear hunting a bunch, but have never actually set and tended the baits.  I am using bread, sweets (cinimon rolls, twinkies, etc) and grease from fryers.  

Will bears eat the bread if it gets moldy?  Any other suggestions?  I am filling 55 gallon drums with the stuff.

thanks,

Scott

Scott... a twenty pound bag of dog food will go a long ways and makes the bear have to hang around to eat it.

Horse sweet feed is another favorite.

Mix a bottle of liquid smoke w/ a gallon of water just pour aroundbait. Get some annis extract from the grocery store mix with some water and spray on bushes , trees around the bait.

One old bear hunter told me to get chicken guts and put in 5 gallon pail and set on top of your roof for a few days. Don't know if it is legal, because I would have never gotten that one by my wife!!

fish in a bucket rotted works great if it stinks they love it

Burnt honey is agood draw to get them into the bait.

Big bag of cheap, dry dog food.  Honey for burning and gallons of used cooking oil.  Pour the oil around the bait site, bears step in it and leave a scent trail.

QuoteOriginally posted by GrnMtnTradNut:
fish in a bucket rotted works great if it stinks they love it

I've heard this too - and it's a great excuse to get out bow fishing!  

The recipe I've seen was a 5gal bucket full of fish parts, and a gallon of liquid smoke.  Mix them together, put the lid on, and place them in two industrial strength black plastic bags.  Tie the bags off TIGHT.  Let it sit out in the sun for 4-5 days, and transport the hole mess IN THE BAGS out to the bait site, and open the bags there.  I would encourage you NOT to have eaten any lunch before the next step, but put some Vicks vaporub under your nose - take out the bucket, still sealed, and put  around one inch holes around the upper circumference of the bucket.  Suspend the bucket above your food, and leave it be.  The bears will come.

Could you always bait bears in Arkansas?  I thought it was like Georgia mostly luck.

Do not forget the marshmellows, never baited bear but read a great article one time and just like the dog food, spreading them around keeps the bear busy, the guy also mentioned shelled peanuts as well. Shawn

Brian, I believe that bait is only legal in Arkansas on private land.  O thers please correct me if I'm wrong....

Kevin

Thanks guys, and yes baiting is only legal on private land.

scott

beaver carcasses rule!!!!

Pic-i-nic Baskets! Hey Yogi! Sorry Scott had to.

Someone mentioned stale popcorn on another thread.  Said it worked and was lighter to carry in.

It was in this thread, you did read this one didn't you?:
http://tradgang.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=060184;p=1

Oh no!!! As soon as I saw your thread I realised I've left something belonging to Doc Ashby back at my last home!  He was 'testing' some old 'bringing in the bear' recipes out for piggies.   :rolleyes:  

We did the 'honey burn' (which seems to work a treat on Aussie piggies) but the BIG one - which I refused to allow him to open within city limits was some rendered fat.
He actually kept the 'pure fat' from some lovely T-bones (big ones), cut it up and stuffed it in tight in some jars.  This was then left out in the sun to 'mature' - I made him put it all into yet another bottle to avoid leakage.
Looked really ucky and when he left I just kept pushing it (the jar) under whatever bush was handy when I was mowing - he did have it up high but at some stage it was blown of the roof and no way was I going to get any closer than need be.

BUT...if we can get the Doc or some one of you other hopelessly derelict bush bums ...on here, maybe they can tell you 'exactly' how to create this horrid stuff - which apparently bears just love.   :eek:

Take a cordless drill out next time you go to bait. Also take along a fresh bag of Gummi worms.
Find a hardwood log, and drill about ten 3/8ths inch holes in the hardwood log. Jamb the Gummi worms down into the holes, leaving a couple hangin out so they are easy to get. Also just drop a few here and there to let them get a taste for them.

You want to see something funny? Watch a two hundred plus pound animal try to dig a Gummi worm out of a tiny hole in a log.

I bear hunted in NW Arkansas for four years. We had great results using old fryer grease and old bread, donuts ect...

I will say to stand your barrel upright, cut a 4"x 6" hole in the bottom at ground level. Stuff the hole full of logs/sticks. Only a bear can pull them out and small critters cannot rob your bait site. Season opens Oct 1st, is someone running your baits now?

Some really rough beautiful country down there. I hunted the far south end of Washington county.

Good luck.

John III

Make sure you cover the bait, depending on what you use, birds and other critters will wipe you out before a bear finds it.    We found that using some brush and a few heavy logs helps keep the smaller stuff out.  It also lets you know if a bear has been in there.

I had great luck with the bait you mentioned. The bears favored the fresh bread over the moldy, but when that is all that's there, they will eat it. I used the "bear crack" recipe and they loved it. Bacon ends also work. I got the bigger beras to show up when I used meat scraps. Good luck, i loved doing it, and am now hooked on bear hunting.Hope you find one like this guy!

Dog food is good for their coat too!