[muzzy]

Okay some were asking so I'll share a few things. These will not , by any means be the only things that work and I'm going to assume that there are bears in the area, putting a bait out in the prairie region likely isn;t going to work
First off spring bears coming out of hibernation need to get the digestive system fired up again They have had no food intake for likely 6 months so their first food intake is likely a lot of water and succulent greens. That can be first grasses, skunk cabbage,and poplar buds. So with that in mind when I set up I am looking for these things. Creeks, beaver ponds, lakes etc that have that. I also have my own quirky thing about the forest mix. Heavy 100% poplar growth is great and harbours tons of bears but I really like having a mix of poplar and spruce ,maybe weighted 70%-30% poplars Bears climb the poplars to get the buds and leaves when they first break out. If you look carefully on poplars it is very common the see the scarring the claws
have made on the poplar bark as they climb.

I like to put my stands up in the spruce as they camo me well and I look for a tight clump either V or U shaped and have stand in middle.

I like setting up on the higher ground/ridges as these are the drier travel routes but that water source will be nearby ( funny story here, years ago while in thompson Man A hunter approached me and asked for help as he had heard I was getting lots of bears and he had tried for 7 yrs without a hit( thompson is loaded with bears) He said "I dont know what Im doing wrong I have my bait in the middle of a thick swamp just like what I read." So I asked to see his setup Yup it was in middle of a swamp alright a muskeg with a foot of water in all directions for a mile!! Yipes) So yes you want it in the thick stuff but dry!!
Once I find a nice high spot near water I look for a small natural opening within the thick cover I believe the bears especially big one as more comfortable coming out in daylight if its back into the heavy stuff
When you set a stand and bait barrel take into account the prevailing winds. Bears have a habit of circling a bait just out of sight to try and catch your scent. Same goes for approach trails. I try to find natural barriers if at all possible that would obstruct the bear from scenting my position ie lake or swamp shores, steep drops etc where he cant circle completely
Hint: listen to the squirrels if you start hearing several sounding off in different spots a minute or so apart they may well be scolding a circling bear.
I bow hunt my quirky thing is having the bait about 12-13 yds from stand I build a large V shaped crib behind barrel so that bear must circle and come into barrel from stand side giving my a perfect broadside or quartering shot. I can spend an hour just looking for the perfect stand/bait location once Im in the picked area. If you dont build a crib the bear could come in behind the barrel/tree its attached to settle down and eat behind there and leave without giving you a shot, force them to come around to front with crib

Chain barrel to tree I have lost several in early years where bear rolled barrel away and never did find a couple!! I lag bolt it with about 8-10 ft chain.
Barrels: everyone has their preference but because I use oats that have a tendency to "flow" I usually drill 6-8 one inch holes randomly around top half of barrel This helps keep most of the oats inside barrel and away from rain etc and bear has to work a bit for oats. Having 8-10 feet chain allows bear to roll barrel around to get the oats to spill out te small holes. Also you dont have to rebait as much

Baits types: There are tons that work I use oats soaked in used fryer grease and hang two or three scent bags in the surrounding area.

I can't say enough about the scent bags. Bears find your bait by smell so you want to make sure their is lots of scent drifting out. I get burlap sacks from UFA and I fill each with 10-15 pounds of butcher meat scraps or any meat. I then douse the sack full of meat in the used fryer grease, the burlap absorbs it and I hang the bags about head high off ground. These scent bags dont have to be right at the bait They can be 50-80 yds away What I mainly look for are open areas to hang them I want the sun and breezes hitting those bags as much as possible because I want that meat to ripen and the greasy smell to be carried as far as possible so that bears can pick up the scent and hone in. Don't worry if its 80 yds away if a bear finds the scent bag he'll find the bait barrel. I will put some meat scraps under the standing barrel too and I make sure to liberally douse the ground in front of barrel and trees by barrel with the grease ( lots, I use 2-3 5 gal pails at a bait). Hanging a beaver by bait is also excellent
Bears walking into barrel will step in grease get it all over their feet and when they leave they are leaving a great greasy scent trail back into woods for other bears to follow in. Bears hang around with bears so great free advertising
Baits We did a ton of experimenting back when I outfitted bears and we found different bears had different tastes. We would lay out a number of different foods side by side to see what was eaten first etc Interestingly many baits the fish were left untouched but at some they were devoured
Probably the best bait first eaten was butcher meat and fat scraps These were always gone Problem we found was its heavy,messy, hard to get, goes bad real fast when the hot weather hits and if you have a stockpile of meat scraps you better have it out before then ( I won't tell the story of literally shoveling maggots out of my garage with a snow shovel because a real late spring wouldn;t let us get the 200 plus garbage bags of meat scraps out in time. my wife almost killed me for that mishap!)
Oats,beaver carcasses, popcorn,candy,pastries, donuts, molasses, honey etc are all great baits and there are many more
So thats hopefully some tips for anyone new to bear hunting Good luck this spring
One ,more thing if you are topping up or bringing in a few tasty morsels of meat or whatever the day of your hunt, dont just fling them back into bush make sure to place them in front of barrel in a good shooting location.

Gord