Spring Bear hunting help
 

I will be hunting spring bear for the first time this year but need some help.

What type of terrain should a guy be looking for when setting up a bait site. areas in dense forest or light, along creeks and waterways or beaver dams , or off trails and cutlines? is there certain vegetation I should look for specifically for spring?

Any help and insight would be greatly appreciated.

Bear hunting
 

South facing slopes with lots of green grass. Bears seem to like this as it helps get there digestive system going.

Find pipelines and green grass and sit wait. Walk them

Sounds like you’re just baiting. Find transition areas to big timber, where poplar turns into pine. Make sure there is some sort of water source fairly close as well.

Spot and stalk bear hunting...seems some guys are good at it and others have a tough time even finding bears. I'm not trying to derail the thread but I'm wondering what the hides are like in early fall like end of sept beginning of October?

Like Beaver Hunter said, find a transition area to bait.
I prefer to put my baits on fringe areas. Preferably in poplar stands or big stands of spruce. You need the air to flow through the bait in order for bears to smell it. One year I stuck a bait down along a small lake in a spruce stand. Only ever got one bear in the bait. It was always cold and damp down there with no breeze. The next year I moved 250yds up on top of small poplar stand on the side of the hill down into the lake. Had tons of bears in there.
Scent is everything.
Also try not to let your baits go empty for too long. I can remember when I first started baiting, I never thought in a million years bears could eat as much as they do. It’s crazy. And I find if the bait sits empty for too long they just move on.
Baiting bears is a lot of fun, but also a lot of work.
Good luck

Some great advise here. You definitely need an area that has a close water source, big enough timber for bears to climb, I like areas with a lot of fallen trees as it can make for dens. Also when setting up your stand try to use something like a cliff, lease road, pond or such as your back drop to keep the bears from coming in down wind of you. I have this perfect spot situated on a cliff looking NW so the wind is usually in your face and no chance for the bear to go behind you. Wildwoods knows this spot as well as it played right into his hands last year :)


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Forgot to mention, new baits may take awhile to produce. We ran 4 baits last year, had to abandon one from previous year because of high water level last spring. The new bait was literally quiet for a month, then at the end of May it got smashed. I think we had 5 shooters on it at the end of the season when nobody could hunt. We are looking forward to it this year as bears know its there now!

Be reasonably close to water, and be able to approach from downwind with the predominant winds in the area. Do not place your bait in a wide open area, or the bears won't come near the bait until dark. The bears have to be able to come to the bait without totally exposing themselves. Save up several times as much bait as you think that you will need.

Good advice already mentioned, and if u are that new to the gig, be careful of others established bait areas.
If u see these areas, even if apparently vacant, I would move on IMO, 6-8 km min.
Some may say first in, fair is fair, but would hate to see u have any issues with others on ur first time out.
It’s always better to prep ur own, cut ur own lanes, clearings etc.
And for sure, stay out of Hugenuge and Tyler’s area, they are rough dudes, ha.
Good luck.

TBark

Great info above

to add

elevate your barrel, 3 or 4 feet off the ground , this will allow you to know what size bear is in front of you, make sure you chain your barrel to the tree also, keep them from stealing to go eat in there dining room, keep them there in your dining room.