Spring Black Bear

[alaskanwhtail]

I just got back from Packing in a few hundered pounds of dog food, donuts, suet, and salmon scraps, plus a 55 gallon drum. This should be interesting to see what shows up. The 55 gallon drum is full of donuts and dog food with a bag of powdered suger all mixed together and a 5 gallon pale of salmon scraps and another pale of suet, both the scraps lay in a pile outside of the barrel.We have 2 potato sacks filled with suet as well hanging above the bait site. For an attractant I have to cook honey,skunk oil, and anise oil and that will let the bears know I'm thier and they come from miles away. I guess this is like our spring turkey hunting.

Here is a view from our treestand overlooking the Tanana River south of Salcha, Alaska and the Alaska Range. The view is like no other, no houses, no nieghbors dog barking no nothing except vast wilderness.

Sorry its not about whitetails.

 

[Shoot2Kill]

I just got back from doing the same thing. I wish I could be in an area that isn't that populated!!! Anywhere within 2 hours of Anchorage has bear baiters all over the place. We've already made 3 trips in to put up bait...stands...etc. Today we built the biggest platform stand I've ever seen. Tomorrow we're going in with more wood to make it a for real tree house. We're 18 miles in off the road and have to go up one of the nastiest mountains I've ever ridden on a wheeler. If we get any more rain it's going to be a nightmare getting to the bait, but you have to go where others won't!!! When do your bears start to hit up there? We're hoping by the middle of May we'll have them hoveing around the bait. You sure have all kinds of goodies for them. Won't those salmon scraps bring in the grizzlies? Good luck to you man. I have pics of my spots too, I'll have to download them tomorrow night when we get the rest of the palace built.

 

[alaskanwhtail]

After all the the research that was done, this area had an abundance of bears, sure theres grizzlys but who knows. I'm hoping the bears will be out of hibernation sometime in may, I'm only hunting till the end of may when I head for the east coast for the summer. maybe fall. Thought you were getting a portable or are you partnering up with another friend.I drive a hour south and am 1/3 of a mile off the highway, not to far. I will let the bears noses do the work instead of me. Access is very rugged as its all steep incline cliff edge walking with down trees all over. Wish I could ride in but its not to far at all. Good luck and safe hunting down thier in Las Ancorage. I was down your way a few weeks ago and drove right by your post, I couln't stand all the traffic you have its winter and no tourism and its nuts...Best of luck

 

[Rudd]

thanks for taking us along guys...this should be exciting.

 

[tracker]

Keep us posted. Bear hunting is right there with whitetail, and ever since going to Minnesota last year I'm hooked. It will be fun to follow how the baits have been hit and if you get anything harvested.

 

[Shoot2Kill]

Kevin...yeah, I was going to buy portables but I had a bunch of wood in my garage I wanted to put to use and I wanted a stand that my wife and I could hunt out of comfortably together. I didn't make it back out today...I figured it's a wasted trip out because we're going back out next Sat to check the bait, so I'll just finish the Tagh Ma Hall then. It's going to be awesome when it's all done. Too bad I'll only get to use it one season. I'll post pics of it next weekend. Here are some pics of our other station.

This was taken the day we put the barrel and treestands out. Since then, it's now full of 100 pounds of dog food, molasses, chocolate syrup, and 10 pounds of table scraps. We also built up a big wall on the right side of the barrel with huge logs that will force the bears to be perfectly broadside when they come into the bait. 22 yard shot...they don't have a chance.

If you look close you can see both lock on stands in the background.

Here is a view from the trail we take into the bait...this hill is pretty much close to vertical about half way up!

This is the view from the top of the hill before we get to the first bait station.

The second bait station where we built the big stand yesterday is about 1500 feet higher than this one. I think we should start to have hits in a couple weeks. It's not far from where they den. I'd have liked to make it back out there today to finish it, but I'm going shed hunting instead! More pictures to come next weekend. This will be fun posting the updates! Thanks for starting this post.

 

[katy]

You guys dont know how lucky you are with views like that! Send us lots more pics!

 

[DOR]

Awesome!!!

 

[alaskanwhtail]

Your picture of the hill and the wheeler are decieving, are those nylon straps holding your barrel and is it off the forest floor?

 

[Shoot2Kill]

Yeah those are ratchet straps...we've used them before and have never had a problem with them and yes the barrel is off the ground. The hole is directly level with where a bears nose would be so he is nice and broadside when he starts plowing the buffet. We have friends that have baited where we are for the past 6 seasons and have never seen a grizzly in there, so the ratchet straps should work just fine. We baited out in PWS a couple years ago and had bears climbing on our barrel, trying to rip it off the tree, but couldn't budge it. With the 65 degree sunny weather it won't be long now!

 

[NWBuck]

You guys officially suck...and yes, I'm jealous

 

[alaskanwhtail]

I went out yesterday and nothing hit yet, gonna give it a week.

 

[katy]

I second NWBUCKS motion!

 

[akcarv]

I used a steel cable to secure my barrel last year. It lasted a week until a big brownie tore it off and rolled my barrel 40 yards into the alders. I rested the site for a while, but he came back and gave my 15 year old son and I little

excitement

when he ignored our barrel and came straight for our stand and huffed and puffed for 5 minutes or so right below us. My son's eyes got really big when he stood up.

Brought him down to Iowa for a bowhunt this fall and he thinks deer are a piece of cake, he was cool as a cucumber with deer around him. I'm the opposite, cool with the bear but big bucks tear me up! Thanks for keeping us posted and good luck with the black bears. I'll try to keep the brownies down here!

 

[Shoot2Kill]

I finished my big ol treestand(house) today. It's an 8 foot triangle with the floor being 15 feet off the ground...hopefully high enough so the grizzlies can't reach.

The side rails will mostly conceal our movement with the front rail being 18 inches lower than the sides...perfect for a shooting rest while sitting in a lawn chair with a 25 yard shot.

Here is the front that is facing the bait barrel.

A shot with the stand in relation to the bait.

Here is a picture of the bait barrel. It now has 150 pounds of Ol Roy dog food in it covered in molasses, chocolate syrup, and vanilla. The sticks are in the hole so we can tell if it's been hit by glassing it from a hill about 75 yards away...that way we know to be a little careful when we approach it. The logs on top of the barrel are in theory supposed to make the bears be competely broadside when they come into the bait to offer us a perfect shot. We'll see how long they stay up there once the bait starts to get hit.

And one more scenery shot that was taken about 500 feet higher than our bait.

We've had temps in the 70s this week. It shouldn't be long now! Kevin...Magic Man...how's it look???

 

[alaskanwhtail]

My brother checked it out 2 days ago and still nothing, it might be a little longer than yours being further south. I can't wait though...

Did you have that house contracted, holy moly, I would bring on the lazy boy recliner.

 

[Shoot2Kill]

The wife and I went out to the bait on Saturday...nothing yet. There are a couple other baits on our hill and one of them was cleaned out last week, so they're coming!! I might spend the night out there on Wednesday night and do a honey burn and see what happens.

 

[alaskanwhtail]

My parents went out to check ours and still nothing but I know the bears are out up here for sure, seen a grizz on the haul road and tons of grizz tracks, yet no black bears

 

[Shoot2Kill]

Spent the night in my big stand last night not expecting anything since we hadn't been hit yet, but we did a honey burn and 10 minutes after the burn a little 2 year old or so blackie came a strollin in with his nose pointed right in the air getting a big wiff of the honey smoke. He played around our stand and sniffed our bait barrel for almost an hour before he left. I didn't get any pictures because I didn't want the flash to scare him off. We did video tape him for a while. Now all we need is his dad to come in and the canyons will be echoing from my 44 mag. We're going back out Saturday night...hopefully this little guy will bring all of his friends to the buffet now that he found it.

 

[SaskGuy]

I came across a dandy black on Fri, 1/4 mile from my house. I was returning home from my daily jog when I stumble on him. I was thankful when he decided to head back into the big timber instead of coming my way. I've never see one run full out before, "You'd Never Outrun a Bear"