Mainely Outdoors: Preparing for bear season

When I was growing up, the Presque Isle Fair took place later in August and I can remember year after year hearing family and local farmers say: Well, the fair’s over, it’s time to bank the house for winter. Now the fair takes place earlier and regional weather, especially winter conditions have changed. For Aroostook outfitters, guides and individual sportsman, the Northern Maine Fair’s annual arrival coincides with the beginning of bear baiting season.
Hunters travel from throughout the U.S. and many foreign countries to bag a Maine bruin and spend a lot of money which boosts the local economy. This financial influx is crucial considering the decline in deer hunters the last few seasons and this year’s reduction of moose permits. Whether you’re a novice or an old pro, it’s a proven fact that aroma serves as the main attractant for successful bear baiting.
First and foremost, selecting a location to bait and set up a tree stand or ground blind is crucial. Many folks have no idea how close they live to several black bear. My home is only 1-1/2 miles from Presque Isle’s Main Street and I spot bear regularly in my eight-acre field and woodlot. A dependable bait site need not be off in the deep woods, it does need to be a fair distance from steadily traveled roads or ATV trails and in a location seldom visited by people, dogs and farm machinery.
Once a general location is found, then it’s time to pinpoint the exact baiting spot. If there’s a water source nearby, that’s a big plus. If a tree stand is to be used, try to select a sturdy tree that won’t be backlit by the sun. Whether you’re up in a tree stand or in a ground blind, a clear shooting lane needs to be opened up by trimming brush and limbs that might deflect a bullet or arrow. Since you will be lugging bait every couple of days, and hopefully dragging a bear out, it’s good to pick a spot within 300-500 yards from a field road of sorts.
After a baiting spot is selected, it’s time to settle on the type of container to place the food into. Old-timers used to just dump it on the ground or pile two old car tires up and dump the bait in the center hole. Then sportsmen began using metal barrels or pails and now it’s plastic drums or five-gallon pails wired to a tree so it won’t be hauled away. A few hunters put the food in plastic grocery bags and suspend them over a tree limb so only a bear can reach, but once torn open the food spills onto the ground and any animal can eat it.
It’s best if only a bear can get the bait, it requires a lot more bait each season if other animals can reach it; raccoons visit by the dozen and eat like long lost relatives at Thanksgiving dinner. More bait used means more money and time spent for no good reason. I suspend a 35-gallon barrel sideways five feet above the ground from a cable between two trees to assure only bears can reach it, and regardless of rain, the food stays dry. Also the bruin has to stand to reach the food and this allows better size judgment and shot placement.
The most important aspect of bear baiting is to attract the animal to the food site for the first time, and hopefully multiple bruin on a regular basis. Food smell alone won’t work as well or as quickly as a strong attractant aroma that can be carried on the breeze for a mile or more through the woods. Oil of anise, a licorice-smelling liquid, has been used successfully for decades to apply to trees and bushes near the bait barrel. It isn’t expensive and may be purchased at pharmacies and sporting goods stores.
Another dependable and inexpensive option is a “honey burn.” Pour honey into an old frying pan and heat it over a can of Sterno until it boils, then blackens and starts to smoke. The sweet, smoky residue will climb on the wind and stick to all nearby tree leaves and bushes as well as wafting through the woods. This enticing aroma will last for a week or more and draw bear to the bait site.
There are also dozens of commercial gels, sprays, solid bars and balls flavored with strongly aromatic food smells that prove extremely effective. I’ve enjoyed indisputable success using a couple of products from Bear Scents LLC, located in Wisconsin. These folks manufacture scented bait balls, sprays and flavored liquid to mix with oil and spread on the ground or brush near the bait. There’s blackberry, anise, strawberry, caramel, apple and honey, to name a few flavors, but bacon is my favorite.
I hang a bacon bait ball as soon as I start baiting and it lasts for 45 to 65 days, slowly dispersing its attractant aroma hour by hour. Hot weather, humidity, and rain slowly evaporate the ball little by little throughout the season. When I hunt, before I go into my stand I spray the aerosol bacon spray around the area as much as a cover scent as an attractant. These scents are simple to use and extremely effective.
My final endeavor on each bait site is to set up a digital camera that is motion and body heat sensitive to help me keep track of how many bear show up, how large they are, and what times of day and night are they arriving to feast. I switch digital chips every couple of days and can sit at my computer that evening and view my bear photos.
Bear baiting began July 26 and hunting over bait starts Aug. 25 and is held through Sept. 20. Rifles, shotguns and archery are all legal for qualified hunters and a special bear license is required to go along with a regular big game license. Some folks get as much enjoyment viewing bear and hunting with a camera as actually tagging a trophy bruin, so each to their own. A lot of people enjoy bear stew, roast bear, bear meatballs and several other tasty meal entrees, myself included, so it’s not always about a bear skin rug in front of the fireplace!
Black bear are extremely plentiful this year. Take advantage of this while you’re able — it may be your last chance.