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Baiting for bruins
By Keith Dewars*

As the bear disappeared into the thick forest floor brush I tried to replay the shot in my mind.  I knew I had made a good hit, my bright chartreuse arrow fletching sinking deep into the thick black fur.  As dusk fell I readied myself to get out of the tree.

I had been planning this hunt for five years, since I had first applied for a Wisconsin bear hunting permit.  In Wisconsin, bear tags are allotted on a preference point basis.  You receive one point a year until you are drawn for a tag, usually four or five years.  Baiting and hounds are both legal and every year one method will start a week before the other.  This particular year the hounds were going first which made my task a little tougher as many times bears that have been frequenting bait sites will be run off by hounds before the bait hunting season starts.  Guns or bows are both allowed but I wanted the challenge of bow hunting so I planned my stands accordingly.

For personal reasons I very much wanted to do this hunt by myself.  Conflicts with work were a little easier for me since I am self-employed but baiting is still a time consuming chore.  A friend recommended that I try to bait in an area of state forest near my home that has good bear density numbers.  This area has a small triangle of land that is bordered on all sides by railroad tracks, an Indian reservation and private land, so it was unlikely that the hound hunters would be in the area.  Unlike other states that allow baiting, Wisconsin requires that you use no man-made materials; also no animal parts or derivatives can be used.  Digging a hole and sinking-in a large hollowed-out log solved the container problem.  My friend had done this while baiting there years before and the log was still there.  After putting the bait in the log a piece of plywood was set on top and covered with large logs that bears would have no problem moving.  A backstop was created using blow downs to try and direct the bears to one side, creating a better shot angle.

Calling around to bakery distribution outlets had yielded a cheap half-semi load of old out-of-date bread, which I then dried on tarps in my driveway.  Any sweets that were available were added to my bait collection also.  Baiting the site itself consisted of hauling in five gallons of bread and sweets, and a jug of old cooking oil that was poured over the bread after it had been placed in the log.  Liquid smoke from a spray bottle was then applied to trees and trails in the surrounding area to help bring bears to the site.  I started at the beginning of August by baiting twice a week and increased to daily trips by the time my hunt began in mid-September.  The bait was hit the first time I put it out and all subsequent times after that.

The first weekend of the hunt yielded rainy weather and sporadic bear sightings.  A few small bears came in but I only caught glimpses of two larger bears that preferred to wait until nightfall.  I did have fun watching other wildlife though as raccoons, coyotes, grouse and even a hungry fisher made my time in the tree very enjoyable.

Because of work commitments I could not hunt during the week although I did keep up the baiting regiment.  When the next Saturday rolled around I was back at it.  Which brings us back to the beginning of this article.  Only one small bear had been at the bait all day and it was starting to look like I would get shut out again when I caught a flicker of movement to my right.  A nice-sized bear was making its way cautiously up the trail.  While it was looking away I slowly stood up and drew my bow, waiting for the bruin to pass by an opening in the brush 18 yards away.  As it did I released.  I vividly remember the arrow fletching disappearing into the fur as the bear wheeled and ran back the way it had come.  After slowly descending the tree I found my blood coated arrow sunk deep in the ground but as it was getting dark and I hadn’t seen the bear go down I decided to let it have some time while I called some friends.

An hour or so after the shot I returned with friends and we picked up the trail.  It was not hard to follow.  My arrow had done the job well and the blood was plain to see.  We came upon the bear only fifty yards from my stand.  This turned out to be one of the best hunts I’ve ever been on, the hard work and anticipation all coming together in one instant of heightened adrenaline rush.  The steaks were excellent and all I have to do is look at the rug hanging on my wall to relive the excitement, satisfaction and memories that were created during that awesome bear hunt.

*Keith Dewars is a freelance writer, avid outdoorsman and owner/webmaster of Malum Internet Properties. He can be contacted at keithd@maluminternet.com.

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