A Scents-able Approach to Hunting Bears
It’s always fun at this time of year to watch and listen as Mike Foss and Northern Wisconsin Outfitters close in on the bear season. Inevitably, the boys of Bayfield County are also closing in on some really big bears as they wind down on a spring and summer’s worth of baiting. Along the way, Mike also always sends us some great videos captured by his trail cams set up to keep watch over many of his bait stations.
In this latest video received at On Wisconsin Outdoors headquarters August 8, our lead bear expert shows us the importance of using the right scents to attract bears. Mike literally builds his business on the bruin’s incredible sense of smell. The bears will follow their nose…each September often right to a hunter waiting on a carefully positioned stand.
“I am a huge believer in using a good quality bear scent when baiting,” Foss said. “In this video I smeared a bacon gel scent on this big oak tree and here is the result. Not only do bears love to rub it all over their body, it is then tracked all over the area, attracting other bears to the bait station.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5R_xIX_5IXA
Bait hunters, despite the season schedule dictating that the hound hunters get first crack at the bears this year, you may find a bit of solace from the Foss column set for publication in the September-October issue of On Wisconsin Outdoors. Bears, Foss stresses, do not disappear from the bait stations because dogs have been pushing them first.
According to Foss, each year that hound hunters start the season first, hunters with Northern Wisconsin Outfitters tag bears off the bait within hours or less of the dogs passing nearby. The photos below show a dog in late summer of 2015 (now) on a practice chase passing within yards of a Foss bait station. The same bait station shows visiting bears just hours later.
Another OWO expert on bait is Bob Spierings from Bob’s Bear Bait. Check out the large assortment of bait on his website or visit his large warehouse personally in Appleton.
“A good thing for hunters to use for bait is the raspberry and blueberry toppings,” Bob said. “They are now growing in the woods. It's almost a must to try to duplicate what is happening out there naturally to help get bears into your bait. Bob's Bear Bait also has plenty of raspberry, blueberry, black cherry, and cherry pie fillings available in various sizes to help enhance bait piles. Trail mix with peanuts and nuts can always be a great attractant as soon the acorns begin to fall in late August and through September and supplies become limited.”
Don’t forget that Kwik Trip often offers great coupons in their OWO ads. For example, in the current July-August issue, buy any Kingsford Charcoal product and use the OWO coupon for a free 12-ounce package of wieners. Don’t forget too that in addition to Kwik Trip, each and every O’Reilly Auto Parts store has your copy of OWO waiting. The bad news is by this time everywhere I go the papers are already gone. The good news is that our next September-October issue is already in production.
Thanks for connecting with OWO. You will never wear out your welcome here.
Shoot straight.
Dick Ellis