sealevel

In british columbia we can`t bait bears deer but not bears. You don`t really want to bait bears here cause you can get grizz coming to your bait station. Do you have to bait here no . And who has more bush and big woods then we do. In the spring i can see a dozen bears a day So i have never baited but spot and stalk a big black with a bow if you ever did it you would never sit over again.

Hiawatha

I agree sl, it is a very rewarding way to hunt and you are able to move around and galss several bears in a day while enjoying some great scenery. However your land allows you to do that, ours does not. Here it is flatter than pi$$ on a platter and solid. The bush near me i really have to search for an open spot. When everything is leafed out you cannot see 5 feet inside it. We have some logging cuts but not as many as B.C no large glades,medows, mountain sides etc and once you hit the Canadian Shield she is solid rock. I agree if i lived in B.C i would not use a bait, however here i do not know anyone who spring hunts without one.

Sliverflicker

You wont see Tred Barta doing no spot and stalk Bear Hunt in my State, He would not even get film of Him Missing!!! Bears in my part of the State are reclusive, nocturnal, and unpatternable. A big Boar can cover 5 miles in a night, they might eat Berrries 2 days in one spot and be eating Acorns 2 miles away tomorrow, or do both the same night. For those that think Bear Hunting over Bait is nothing more than droping a pile of bait in the Big Bear woods, and sitting around waiting for one,are under some sort of Delusional Assumption. It's just as hard to Establish a Big Bore Bear Bait as it is to pick a stand for a Book size Whitetial, if not harder in some places, and would compare it to Scrape Hunting Mature Bucks. There is no less Scouting involved than there is Deer Hunting, Looking for Tracks, Stripped and or Broken Limbs, Marked Trees, Scent Posts, Overturned Logs, Torn up Stumps, Wallows, and so on. After all the scouting is done, and you have picked a spot to place a bait the work Begins, packing bait in often enough to keep a Bear interested enough to come back, and even if he does come back, does not mean you will ever see Him! Dont have to take my word for it, check the stats in States that allow Baiting, I think you will find it's no where near 100%. I have never Baited for Deer, never needed to!

TJF

You can place" one " stand to cover a bait pile.Where do youplace " one "stand tocover all300 acres ofa corn field?? I am not following you on how a baitpile and a corn field is the same. A baitpile concentrates the deer to a specific very small area.300 acres isn't what I consider a specificvery small area. Deer can'thide in a bait pile... they can in a corn field.

You can't generalize.Each is different. Just as comparing ag land hunting to big woods huntingor bear hunting to deer hunting. We seem to get locked up in our own little world and judge others on our own little world. These forums should show us that there is a bigger world out there then our own little world.

Each statesets up guide lines ( laws )to manage animal populations. Baiting bearsis an effecient way of managing them when other methods won't work for that area. Bottom line... the bears need to be managed by the state.

Deer.... we have a lot more methods for hunting and more people hunting them compared to bears. While baitingcan be aneffective way ofkilling deer, there are downsides. Those downsides can and do effect hunters who don't bait. There is your problem in a nutshell. I don't surf the bear forums as we don't have bears here and I haveno real interest in traveling to hunt them.Are there as manybear baiting bashing threads... errr debates in the bear forums like we seein the deer forums?? Does bear baiting effect the non-baiting bear hunter in the same area?? I bet not and think you are comparing apples to oranges... eeerrrrr bait piles to corn fields.

Tim

GMMAT

Tim:

Fair outlook......but if you have 3 acres of shelled corn or 3 acres of soy beans......what's the REAL difference?

FOR THE RECORD:
I live in a state that allows baiting. I keep a feeder up all year long (except during turkey season....and then it's just empty) to feed the deer. I hunted over this feeder, some, my first season......and baited a certain field with apples, that year. I talked to some guys here that I trust a LOT when it comes to all things DEER. They convinced me to try something this year that would change the way I deer hunted, .......FOREVER. They convinced me that it was easier to kill deer (around here, at least) when you were NOT hunting over bait. They told me deer coming to bait were extremely skiddish (which I've found them to be)....and that animals traveling their normal routes aren't (which I've found to be true). I can ONLY say for me that NOT hunting bait (for deer.....which is all I can speak intelligently to) has made a HUGE difference in my success.

The only reason I mention THAT is........it's typically the people sho've never hunted over bait that seem to know all about it (and I PROMISE I'm singling NO ONE out when I say that). It's also funny that a lot of the same people that find baiting deer disgusting.....will seemingly have no problems with baiting other animals (or sitting on a water hole in Africa). It just seems hypocritical, to me.

This thread was tointended to just make people think aboutothers.....and look outside the box.

Dan.....I'll be in your area this weekend. We have friends in Ontario.....and we'reheaded up there, Friday night. We're headed to Huntsville, Saturday morning. I packed my warm undies.

wis_bow_huntr

Real simple answer, Herd Control, they allow baiting in wisconsin in areas that are not eradication zones and have an over population in areas.

_Dan

I have no problem with baiting either. But get real Jeff, who spreads shelled corn out over 3 acres? Your comparison is a little out there.

Actually, you won't be even close to my area. Ontario is a huge Province and my camp is on the other end, almost in Manitoba. Plus, I'm in Wisconsin right now. [8D]

GMMAT

Dan...

My point was.....everyone wants to draw a line of distinction between food plots/ Ag. crops and baiting. I don't see much difference between the two. It's a personal opinon.....and not really relative to why I posted this.

In NC......if I were rifle hunting and wanted to.....I could put corn in a spreader on the ATV and spread it all over a cut corn field to draw deer in. I know people who do it. That's why I made the comparison.

have a great week.

heo kyle

fellow northwoods hunter, how do you feel about baiting? It seems to me like it is not beneficial to anyone but the guy sitting over the bait pile.

heeze gutshot shortee

hey fellas same ol stuff....just do the legal and eat