Quote:
Originally Posted by Dean2
If you want to eat the meat, NEVER use rotten meat for bait. Second thing, people think rotten meat attracts bears better because they can smell it so well. Trust me, the bear has a great nose and can smell donuts just as far away as he can smell rotten meat. The only meat I like for bear bait is FRESH, beaver carcasses. Either recent shot or frozen and fresh when put out. If they start to go rancid, I used to toss them at the landfill or dispose of them at least 20 miles from the bait sites.
[I]As far as getting rid of the butt plug, that is all about volume and green dandelions, grass etc are usually what gets that job done within a day or two of coming out of hibernation. The bear isn't waiting to find meat for his first good poop of the spring.
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As far as your bait being dead last fall, Bears will travel the shortest distance they can to get quality and quantity of food to bulk up on for winter. Given the fall we had there were a ton of options. You will know after you bait this spring what the outcome is. Having a bait in the same spot for a lot of years is a big advantage, I would not move it unless it went completely dead for spring and fall.
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Are you sure about that ? A good source told me that the last food intake they have in the fall is a small amount coniferous needles. These can't be digested over the winter dormance but can be expelled when the Bear gets mobile in the Spring.
Dunno if thats true, but it makes sense... especially when there is no dandlions or grass available in the early spring.