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

 

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....




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.....










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!  

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!!