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

#1  GET INTERACTIVE

When it comes to bear baiting, people usually think of a bait-filled 50-gallon barrel chained to the trunk of a conifer. In many places, that’s all it takes to put a bear in front of you. That was certainly the case with me, but again, it only made it easier for the smaller bears—under 120 pounds—to fill up without putting in much effort. Then by the time the big boys showed up, there would be very little bait left, which ultimately meant they’d spend minimal time around the site. That was clearly not an ideal scenario.

Then I learned about an outfitter south of the border who used a method that was pure genius. He would drill holes in the bottom of five-gallon buckets, fill them with bait, then suspend them with paracord between sturdy trees, at a height only six-foot-tall bears could reach. Then when the big bears disturbed the buckets, the bait would fall through the holes down to the ground.

I bet you’re wondering how a system like that doesn’t get destroyed by the biggest bears in the forest. The answer seems to lie in their curiosity—when they shake the bucket and bait falls out, they stop to investigate, leaving the bucket alone. In fact, it doesn’t take much to keep a big bear occupied with such a set-up.

To sweeten the deal, I even added a half-carton of molasses into each bucket, while leaving one bucket without the sweet syrup. It didn’t seem to matter, though, as the bears were more entertained by the buckets themselves than what was inside them. And make no mistake about it, they would stick around for hours.