Bait Theory from a Minnesota Public Land Bear Hunter
Story and photos by Gary Lewis
M
omma bear came in wary. Two small cubs had just walked into the bait, eleven paces from the base of my tree. I didn’t move a muscle. We were 11 yards apart. For 15 minutes the bears fed, then their ears perked up and they looked back into the timber. They had heard another bear. Momma decided it was time to leave before the big one killed her little ones. Forty-five minutes later, I connected on the big male when he showed himself back in the timber. That September, we hunted with Arrowhead Wilderness Outfitters in the Superior National Forest, in upper Minnesota. Our guides used a bait that consisted of mixed nuts, cookie dough and gummy bears. It was pleasant, did not attract flies and had a good mix of protein, salt and sweets. The bears knew when the four-wheeler came and went. All tree stands were set about ten feet high and the prevailing winds were considered. We only hunted afternoons. Because the previous summer’s berry crops failed, the males were hitting baits hard
After 39 years of outfitting for bears on national forest land, Brian Bachman has learned how to put bruins in front of his clients.
When a bear moves in to a bait site, it will probably come in slow and cautious. This boar fell to a 165-grain Nosler AccuBond when it showed itself at the edge of the trees - 23 paces from the base of the author’s tree.
24 April 2019 | SPORTSMAN’S NEWS
