How Long Does It Take for a Bear to Find Bait?

Putting out bear bait is supposed to attract bears, right? The question is how long will it take before the bears actually find your bear bait?

On average, a bear-baiting station will be found by bears anywhere from 1 to 7 days after you stock it. If the bears aren’t finding your bait in over a week, then you probably hit a dry hole and should make other plans. Of course, there are many variables that add to the success of your station, such as the location, the bear population, the time of year, and the types of bear bait and attractants you are using. Here are three things to consider.

Bear Bait

As the song goes, “My bear bait brings all the boars to my yard.” Or something like that. We all know that there’s a gazillion (yes, gazillion) different mixtures, recipes, tips, and tricks when it comes to the “Best Bear Bait of All Time.” And I’m not here to sell you on a specific recipe (though here’s a link to a good one), but of course, your setup does make a difference.

What’s working in the area where you plan to bait? You have a few resources at hand: 1) Personal Experience, 2) Local hunters who bait, and 3) the ever-knowing internet.

1. Personal experience – if you already baited the area in previous years then you know what works. YOU ARE THE RESOURCE! What worked? Did you try to switch up your recipes at different stations to see what works and what doesn’t? You got this then!
2. Local hunters – of course, you can lean on your friends, both local and across the globe, for their ideas. Also, spend a few minutes in your local hunting shop, or a shop nearer where you plan to set up your stations. Take a minute to lean on the counter and talk to the guys and gals working the counter. They put up with “hunter stories” all day and can be a great resource, sort of a bear-baiting Wikipedia!
3. Google it – there are a number of resources (this is one of them and thanks for visiting), including hunting boards out there where hunters are more than willing to share their successes. If I’ve learned anything about hunting, it’s that the hunting community supports one another and love to hear about the success of other hunters!

Location

The key to getting hit fast is baiting where the bears want to be not where you want them to be.

Luv2huntup – Michigan-Sportsman.com

When it comes down to it, after all your research, chatting with other hunters, and personal experience, you end up needing to put your analysis and experience into action and dive into the area where you are going to ultimately setup your bear baiting station. I’ve gleaned a few good bits of information from my own research that may help.

Here are several good indicators of a “sweet spot,” definitely not an exhaustive list, but a good start:

• Turned over rocks and logs.
• Shredded stumps.
• Source of running water nearby (Bears eat over 20,000 calories a day and need a lot of water to help in digesting those calories.)
• High ground for airflow to carry your bait scent (wind drift is your friend)
• Low/no signs of humans or other hunters (Duh, right?)
• And of course, bear scat!

Bear Population (density)

You can’t attract what isn’t there. I know, I know…here’s your sign. My thoughts usually drift to this visual…

Picture a guy selling snow cones in the desert. If he’s way out in the middle of the desert, I’m talking wayyyyy out in the desert, with only an occasional camel trodding through, well, he more than likely is going to go out of business. No matter how good his snow cones (bear bait) are!

Picture the same guy, in the desert, but near a common trade route. Yes, he’s still in the desert, but he took the time to find a common route where caravans (bears) stream through on a fairly regular basis. And boom! Snow cone business is a success. Full disclosure: I like snow cones.

So yes, it’s a duh that you should at least bait where there’s already a population of bears. I could go with another analogy of using the best fishing bait in the world and dropping a fishing line in a bucket of water…but you get what I’m saying.

When it comes down to it, you have to do your homework. This means population reports and actually putting your hunting-boots on the ground doing your own investigation of the area and finding “signs” of obvious “bear activity.”

What should I do if I’m not getting any action on my bear bait station after a week?

So, you got skunked. Welcome to the world of hunting.

The simple response not getting any action on your bear bait station is to relocate. Yes, it’s a pain. Yes, you are going to lose a lot of your bait in the process, but hey, think of all the other little critters that are going to benefit from your attempts (don’t kill the messenger here).

Pack up what you can, including any barrels and other chains, ropes, or cables, and reevaluate your location. Trust me, you’re not the first person having to kick the ground and sharing a few less-than-loving words into the forest air.

Put in the work and find your sweet spot. The one spot that no one else knows about. The one that helps you bag a trophy and has your friends begging you where you “found” your lucky spot. Only, you didn’t find it. You earned it!

Safe hunting and good luck!