I started a thread about baiting for bear but I don't think I'll have the time due to distance to maintain a bait site this year. However, I do still plan to target bear. I have one stand up at our cabin in Northern, NH and will be putting up another one or two next week. The stand I have up sits over blueberry and blackberry bushes and had a lot of skidder trails that lead to that clearing. The property sits along a river and there are also game trails And clearings that go to the river. I have about 10 acres of which I can cut trees and set up stands at will. The property also abuts town land where I could set up a stand. Aside from food sources and scat, what should I be looking for? I also have about 100,000 acres of land to hunt just down the road. I will hunt there a bit but I need to do some scouting/ exploring first. Season is just over a month away.
Only thing I can tell you is that the blueberries for sure and most like the blackberries will no longer be a food source by the time season rolls around. I would be looking for apples and pehaps a mast crop if nothing else is available. Bears are very oppurtunistic when it comes to feeding and do travel a long way for prime food sources. Water and creek crossings are always a decent bet but you could sit for a week and not have the bear come back even though it may be part of thier core area. Not sure what kind of area you are in but if around any types of farms or homes look for good cover travel corridors for bears to be using to get to food sources such as apples, choke cherry, choke berry, black and pin cherry, acorns, grains/crops(they love our corn plots and beets), and peoples garbage cans. Another thing they will look for is fish if you have a prime brook or brown trout spawning stream and if you can figure out the prime spawning grounds(usually pretty small creeks with good flow and clean gravel) you should have a bear or 2 checking them out around end of Sept. and through Oct.(whenever the fish spawn there...it's amazing how the older bears seem to know when and where - we have different runs all the way through the end of Nov. depending on species, water flow and temperatures...we also have 3 species of salmon and the brooks and browns spawning in the fall here). BTW bears like thick cover and to be near water, and when its warmer than normal will be trying to stay cool. I know this is all pretty general but the bears are changing patterns with food sources and weather depending on your local hunting area conditions and I don't really know what you have or will have so....Just remember food is the number one priority(need to build up fat reserves) and available water a neccessity for fall time -till snow falls and they start looking for a den. Good luck! had to add that around here creeks/rivers provide the most consistant trave routes I would look for and then out near Lake Superior or other areas(along our large river valleys) with deep ravines I would look for the easiest crossings. It is always a possibility yoiu can call them in as well with distressed fawn bleats or crow/raven calls as if they are on a carcass. They also have a phenominal sense of smell(poor eyesight and not as good of hearing as you'd think)...so any raunchy smelling meat, rotten fish, or even peanut butter etc can bring them around in a short time even if you can't really establish a bait site.
If the berries are still around you've got yourself a good spot. Food is what is on their mind and something sweet like that will be a good one. In BC bear baiting isn't allowed so I try to find spots like what you are describing. Our wild blueberries will be around late into the fall and if you hang out on a patch long enough a bear or 7 may come along. I've never found bears to use consistant trails on that often but do come back to the same food source. If you have any large patches of clover too. That is definitely one of their favourite food sources that I constistant see bears munching away on.
Is there a local in the area that you can pay to bait for you? Other things to look for are old torn up logs on the ground from them grubbing. Old torn up ant hills is another. You can also try a fawn in distress call and call them to you. BUT either have another guy with you watching your back or have it against something large and substantial so a bear don't sneak in on your back side. It's amazing how quiet a large animal like that can be. Also remember that when you are calling you are now the hunted and not the hunter! If you can't bait, calling for them might be your next best option but use caution when doing so!
