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Baiting For Bears

2K views 25 replies 11 participants last post by  Bucksnbows 
#1 ·
Picked up my lottery award permit this Saturday!

Time to start planning my hunt. For those of you who have been successful in the past I want to know:

How do you physically setup your bait stations?

Do you try to put bait in cover or in the open?

Is it just a pile? Is it a barrel dug into the ground?

What are you using for bait?
 
#2 ·
I am not sure what is legal in NJ
I have thrown corn with molasses in piles.
I have hunted Canada for them several times.
They use a 55 gallon drom with small openings so the bears have to work to get at it. They also cable the drums to trees so they cannot take them away.
They cover with logs and pine barnches to semi water proof.
 
#3 ·
Bears eat anything and pretty much everything, so there is no wrong answer when it comes to bait provided you are hunting over it legally (300'+ if in a stand, etc.). Some of the better things I like are molasses, anise oil and peanut butter. All three can be smelled from great distances, and a bear's nose is his greatest asset.

We set up only 2 bait stations on our 110 acres as the season nears, and both are well over 300' from any of our stands. We're not hunting "over bait" but rather hunting areas where bears are coming from or going to our bait.
 
#4 ·
Q) Can I use bait to hunt black bear if I am hunting from the ground?
A) Yes, but you must not be in any type of constructed blind. Baiting on National Wildlife Refuges and the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is not permitted.

Q) Can I use bait to hunt black bear if I am hunting from an elevated stand?
A) Yes, but your elevated stand must be at least 300 feet from the bait.

Q) Can I black bear hunt from my elevated stand after harvesting a deer if the remains from field dressing the deer are within 300 feet of the elevated stand?
A) No, if the deer field dressing remains are within 300 feet that would be considered baiting and would not be legal. The only way to legally utilize the field dressing as bait and hunt within 300 feet would be to hunt from the ground provided you are not in a constructed blind.
 
#5 ·
Thanks.

My main concerns are really do I use a barrell or some other type of container to hold the bait? Or just dump it on the ground?

I saw a guy in the '05 bear season who cabled a tire to a tree and smeared the inside with molasses / whatever else...

Anyone else try something like this?

Also are there any legal issues with using a container for bait?
 
#8 ·
My main concerns are really do I use a barrell or some other type of container to hold the bait? Or just dump it on the ground?
That is a great method for bow hunting where you are trying to keep the bear at the bait station and close to you for a longer period of time to get a good, ethical shot. Nothing wrong with trying that here, but if you did it on public land, you're guaranteed to have lots of company of the orange type nearby;)

Although I hunt private land, I don't use a container, just a small pile of molasses covered corn or smear the tree with peanut butter, etc.
 
#9 ·
Can I black bear hunt from my elevated stand after harvesting a deer if the remains from field dressing the deer are within 300 feet of the elevated stand?
A) No, if the deer field dressing remains are within 300 feet that would be considered baiting and would not be legal. The only way to legally utilize the field dressing as bait and hunt within 300 feet would be to hunt from the ground provided you are not in a constructed blind.
[hihi] Who comes up with this stuff??[hihi]
 
#12 ·
Yes and 300+ feet away from blind. Any stand or ground blind made of man-made or even natural materials like branches is considered a stand and you need to be 300 feet or more away from your bait. But you can sit on a rock, stand against a tree or just stand in the forest at any range from your bait so long as you're not hunting from a blind/stand.

The rules are pretty simple even if a bit crazy. In time, the Division wants to make changes there as well. You have to remember that this is NJ, a state overrun with anti hunters and the Division needed to jump through ridiculous hoops just to get us a shotgun/muzzle loader season. In time, look also for a fall bow and perhaps the move up of the shotgun season before 6 Day when all our bears are still out roaming the woods. Right now, we need to send the antis a clear message that NJ will be holding ANNUAL bear hunts each and every year so they head to some other state to attempt to stop them like so many antis from out of state have attempted here in NJ with our hunts.
 
#13 ·
Division needed to jump through ridiculous hoops just to get us a shotgun/muzzle loader season
Understood, but if the division was serious about reducing the bear poulation, they would allow baiting, an early season, and archery. I personally dont bear hunt, but if your gonna do. do it. no more dilly dally. I know some farmers that get hit pretty hard by bears, as well as my own corn fields.
 
#15 ·
Understood, but if the division was serious about reducing the bear poulation, they would allow baiting, an early season, and archery. I personally dont bear hunt, but if your gonna do. do it. no more dilly dally. I know some farmers that get hit pretty hard by bears, as well as my own corn fields.
If they tried that here, we would have gotten zero bear hunts. They want bow and early seasons just as much as we do, maybe more. After all, they're the ones that get thousands of nuisance calls each year and are understaffed to handle them. Only a reduced bear population will take the pressure off of the Division.
 
#20 ·
Start baiting about 3 weeks ahead of time.It dont take them long to find it. If you use a trail cam, make sure you have it protected in some type of metal enclosure. We had one group of bears coming to the bait last year and the first thing they went for was the camera. We always returned to no bait and camera knocked off the tree. They will just about eat anything. We used fish,salad,popcorn,syrup,donuts, marshmallows, old venison,pizza(they love pizza).One key ingredient you must have is used cooking grease/oil.Dump it in front of the bait pile.When the first bear comes to the bait, he steps in it and tracks it off thru the woods. Another bear will hit that track and come right into the pile. He will step in it and track it tru the woods again. Every bear that comes in is advertising the bait for you.
Make sure you hunt the wind, they have very good noses.If your baiting and using a blind or stand, make sure you are 100 yrds away.Last year we sat on the ground and killed 2 bears in 2 days. 3 hunters total. The 3rd guy missed his bear with a muzzy.
 
#26 ·
From willies post it reads that you can not hunt from any blind if baiting.
You can hunt from a blind or stand over bait provided that you are at least 100 yards away from that bait. Long shot, but very makeable with modern sabot slugs or muzzle loaders. Or just hide behind a rock or tree and stay in close if you feel the need to hunt close to your bait station.
 
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