Hey Kooty,
Come on back up and spend some time at the shack with me. Have tons of books and supplies.
Bic lighter, ferrocerium rod and steel and always have enough beer!!

CONGRATS!! Very nice bear. on your perseverance.

It’s always a good idea to bait at the same time of day to let the bears pattern you because they will be more comfortable at your bait site. Be sure to make noise on your way in when baiting to give the bears plenty of warning. To surprise a bear up close would only send him nocturnal or stop him from hitting your site altogether. Baiting then sitting is a differant tactic so being quiet is a must. I would rather bait, go back and shower get ready then sneak in and sit. Seems to work better in our area. We have a saying at our camp that the guy with the best bait wins. With all the other bait sites out there you want the bears coming to yours first. We use mainly sweets with some meats. Our typical bait crib would be made up of pastries, nuts, cherrys, honey, peanut butter, apples covered in caramel, gummy bears and popcorn mixed with fryer or bacon grease. Peanut butter has been an A 1 bait for us along with honey. We will keep these somewhat separated to give the bears a choice. No use using a variety if your going to cover everything in caramel. We spray liquid smoke on all the trees in the area for scent and pour the fryer grease around the crib to let the bears track it back into the woods. We have never had a problem with adding different food baits and have actually switched up on purpose trying to bring a cautious bear in for a shot. I would try a little honey and peanut butter smeared on a rough barked tree and some in the crib. I applaud you for being able to sit all day . I cannot. Sitting motionless that long for bear hunting is to hard on my old bones and back, 4 to 5 hours is my limit. Most of the bears I have shot have approached unseen and unheard by me and were within yards of the crib watching for sometime before they were satisfied enough to come the last 10 yards or so. My point being is that they could be within 10 to 50 yards for hours watching and listening to be sure the coast is clear. You usually only have one shot at even the young bears. Good luck hunting! Sam

They will be back. A ¼ mile is not that far away and if you’re baiting with sweets and not corn they will keep checking back looking for the goodies.
It could very well be that some of the bears know your there. A lot of the time bears will sit out 30 or more yards from the crib four hours and just watch and listen; waiting to make sure the coast is clear. They know humans are bringing the food out and they do not want a confrontation with us or the big dominate bear. This is were hunters usually screw up by not sitting quiet or still enough. The bear I shot last year I spotted just glimpse’s of him an hour and forty five minutes before he finally came in. The bear I shot this year I never know was there until a bird went nuts and he was only 18 yards from me. As one of the members here posted “Whitetail still won’t cut it. You have to stay absolutely motionless.” Bears can figure out pretty quickly where you’re sitting because your scent is mostly in that area. Several things you can do is leave your stand there and put another one up down wind. Doesn’t need to be moved far. Then two guys in and have the one leave your old stand 45 minutes before quitting time. If you don’t have the man power just sitting in the new stand very well could do it. I try to set my stands for bow hunting 16 to 20 yards from the cribs and if I have a big boar hanging up on me I’ll set a stand 30 to 50 yards away and use a rifle. You could also follow there trail back to where they are hanging up and set up a stand. Drop a few marshmallows to give your bear a distraction.
Good luck with your hunt!!! Sam

I’m sorry, but I just wanted the guys to vote on who was better looking.

Thanks for the welcome everyone. Look forward to being part of this team. Here are a few pics from the hunt.

Thanks for the great write up Kooty, as we all found out it was a tough year in our area. The season started out with warm weather and a good crop of hazel nuts. As in the past the bears stopped hitting the sites when we started hunting, but unlike in the past they did not start trickling back into them within a couple of days.
Having Labor Day right after opener with all the people camping and target shooting is always a factor in bear hunting. After day 4 we found out that 3 of our sites had other hunters that inadvertently set up within a couple hundred yards of them. All that commotion in the woods can drive the bears back in the swamps not to return until things settle down.
The first 4 days of the hunt I sat and filmed for my girlfriend Kathy trying for a large boar with a cinnamon mane. I spent the rest of my hunt at that same stand not seeing the boar with the mane but arrowing a nice chocolate boar.
When I was in the stand that night I saw a spot about 15 yards away and was thinking that I did not remember seeing that log before. I just stared at it for a couple minutes, not seeing it move. I was looking around but kept coming back to that spot. Then a bird went crazy with its alarm call and I saw the ear and that light brown muzzle. Reaching down I turned on the video camera and was not going to grab my bow thinking it was a cub because a full grown bear could not hide in that little area. Boy was I wrong! He ended up walking out after awhile and giving me a broadside shot at 18 yards. With my heart pounding I made a double lung hit and he ended up expiring 13 yards from the crib.
On the day we were leaving we collected the scout cams and stands we found out the bears were starting to hit the sites during the day. Thats bear hunting.

Thanks Kooty for all your hard work and the laughs you brought into camp. Will look forward to seeing you next year.

I want to thank Kathy and Mary for all the work they put in keeping a clean camp and good food on our plates.
Mike and Jason for their contributions and of course my 76 year old father who can still out work me.
I’ll post photos when I can figure out how.
Sam

P.S. Kooty watching you hit the bulls-eye with your bow on the deer and bear at 40 and 50 yards was inspiring…. But your rifle shooting needs a lot of work.