Bear hunting ?

Tjay

Beginner
Mar 19, 2015
214
42
I am looking at doing a hunt over bait in the spring of 2020. My question for you that have done this is what questions I need to ask the outfitter before booking. This will be the first hunt of any type over bait any and all advice welcome.
 
Dearly love bear hunting, but here in Washington, baiting was outlawed about 20 years ago. So, most of my bear hunting has been "spot and stalk" and I've been reasonably successful at it.

Also tried the predator call, and doggone, a black bear came in looking for a meal!

But... I don't have any info re baiting for bear, outfitters, etc...

Best o' luck!

Guy
 
Couple of things to ask-
1) Numbers of bears hitting baits per day and overall age/size/ etc. Baiting is a numbers game and a well established bait will have a variety of bears coming in. It's no fun sitting over a bait waiting for a single bear to come in.

2) Stand location. A good bait site will have you far enough back to not disturb the bears but have good visibility to the bait. It depends on your weapon and what you want, but I'd prefer an elevated stand so I can see more.
 
Thanks hodgman.
Guy
Did the spot and stalk in Idaho in 2013.
It was fun but tough/steep.
 
I have hunted with various outfitters over the last 40 years. Outfitting is a business and it is only natural for outfitters to paint the best picture of their operation and hunting successes. Some outfitters provide a lifetime experience that you'll never forget even if you don't harvest an animal. Others are so full of ...ah, ah, silliness that you can't believe that you got suckered into signing up. Every hunter ultimately wants the accommodations to be as described and to have a reasonable opportunity to see/take the animal pursued. That doesn't always happen.

My suggestion is to use Google to conduct a comprehensive review of any potential outfitter before you invest your time and money on a hunt. While all outfitters may have an occasional bad review; honest outfitters should stand out from the crowd if you spend a little time ensuring that you don't make a bad decision that could have been avoided. Web sites often look great with beautiful lodges and pages of trophy kills. However, they don't always reflect what you see or experience when you get there.

I didn't follow my own advice recently and ended up in a nice lodge with good food and a totally FAKE hunt with no fair chase animals or any indication that there ever was. 15 men in camp all had the same experience.

Bear hunting over bait can be very exciting. The first bear that walks into view will get your heart pounding. You'll have all you can do to NOT shoot the first bear. Rarely is the first bear one of the big ones. Good luck on your bear hunt.
 
Always ask for references and for some one on the list who had a bad trip, call them first


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Tjay":ap8e9ptx said:
Thanks hodgman.
Guy
Did the spot and stalk in Idaho in 2013.
It was fun but tough/steep.

Ya, I enjoy my spot and stalk bear hunting, but I'd love to try hunting over bait sometime.

Guy
 
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