How to lure big black bears to your bait sites—and keep them there longer during legal light

For years, I could pretty much count on the same scenario playing out every May. Smaller black bears would invade my bait sites during the waning evening hours, given free rein until legal light faded into night. That’s when the big boars would come in and chase them away, then proceed to clean out my bait. After a while, this not only became frustrating, but also downright expensive and time-consuming considering the price of gas and driving time alone. Sure, I had bears coming in, but things got to the point where I’d either have to find a better way to bait or risk walking away each season with a sub-standard bear and minimal meat for the freezer.

So, I got creative, and began examining what black bears are actually doing in the springtime from a biological standpoint. The end result is the following series of tactics for keeping bigger bears at bait sites longer during legal light. And as a bonus, I’ve found these four methods are also great ways to fool particularly tricky boars into making a mistake—and giving you the advantage.