Film trail cameras were ok and the digital ones were expensive. Then IR (infrared) came out. That is when I decided to go all out and buy a bunch of digital infrared trail cameras with bear cages and locks. It was like night and day. My biggest concern was theft. The bear cage can be mounted with a screw(s) and then pad-locked with a cable around the tree. The trail timers were under $20 each. Now we were talking $250 for the camera, $50 for the bear cage, 6 D batteries and $20 for a 2 GB memory card. To have a bunch of these units at every bait was a little unnerving. They have come down a lot in price, but still not disposable. Funny thing - no one has ever touched one. Mostly due to no one ever finding them. It pays to put extra effort into your setups and get away from the humans. I carry an extra memory card for every camera. Once I reset or check a bait I swap out the card and make note of which bait it came from. It is worth the investment until you can one day just pull the pictures from your cell phone with blue tooth…hint hint to other EE’s (Electrical Engineers) out there! Another tip is to bring a laptop with you and leave it at your home base or secured in your vehicle. It is always nice to put the photos in the proper folder right away however you decide to organize them. One last tip is beware of the red light emitted from the LEDs at night from the IR. I know deer don’t like them too much. Bears tend to be indifferent. But still try to do something to make it less noticeable at the bait sight. There is also a slight click from the shutter when the photo or video is being taken. I never found the laser to be all that useful. I usually just use a line of sight and that has been good enough.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Trail Timers and Cams
Great aids in bear hunting are trail timers or trail cameras. You can collect data on the date and time, temperature, moon phase and photo of the animal that passed through or stopped at the bait site. The trail timer works by a string line pulling the plastic disconnect (zip-strip) out to turn off the clock - trip it. However, I have had jays land on the line and get tangled-up right in front of me numerous times to send false readings. Coons and skunks are notorious trippers as well. When you place the plastic back between the contacts the clock will show the time and date it was turned off for you to take note of. It will continue running again from that moment on. Bring a watch or cell phone for reference to reset the date and time. I carried a notebook or a smart phone to take stats of the sites activity when I use to use trail timers. This was before the age of trail cameras. Rabbits and badgers are too low to trip the line, but you notice them at the bait with trail cameras. If you leave any scent on the trail timers you will more than likely pay for it. The cubs and the ever inquisitive adult bears will chew on them and there goes your liquid crystal display. It seemed as though all of my cases had at least one nice puncture in them. Bears always brake the lines and obviously get tangled up in the string. I always carried two full spools of sewing string with me in brown. I borrowed them from my wife. These were great aids in knowing when bears were coming in for the first time or if one was there at all along with the obvious sign. There were a few times where I had to fight to get a reading from a smart bear. I once put out three lines cause he kept circumventing the trip. The biggest problem with trip timers is that it is a onetime event. Did other bears come in and who was first? The little print or the big one?
Film trail cameras were ok and the digital ones were expensive. Then IR (infrared) came out. That is when I decided to go all out and buy a bunch of digital infrared trail cameras with bear cages and locks. It was like night and day. My biggest concern was theft. The bear cage can be mounted with a screw(s) and then pad-locked with a cable around the tree. The trail timers were under $20 each. Now we were talking $250 for the camera, $50 for the bear cage, 6 D batteries and $20 for a 2 GB memory card. To have a bunch of these units at every bait was a little unnerving. They have come down a lot in price, but still not disposable. Funny thing - no one has ever touched one. Mostly due to no one ever finding them. It pays to put extra effort into your setups and get away from the humans. I carry an extra memory card for every camera. Once I reset or check a bait I swap out the card and make note of which bait it came from. It is worth the investment until you can one day just pull the pictures from your cell phone with blue tooth…hint hint to other EE’s (Electrical Engineers) out there! Another tip is to bring a laptop with you and leave it at your home base or secured in your vehicle. It is always nice to put the photos in the proper folder right away however you decide to organize them. One last tip is beware of the red light emitted from the LEDs at night from the IR. I know deer don’t like them too much. Bears tend to be indifferent. But still try to do something to make it less noticeable at the bait sight. There is also a slight click from the shutter when the photo or video is being taken. I never found the laser to be all that useful. I usually just use a line of sight and that has been good enough.
Film trail cameras were ok and the digital ones were expensive. Then IR (infrared) came out. That is when I decided to go all out and buy a bunch of digital infrared trail cameras with bear cages and locks. It was like night and day. My biggest concern was theft. The bear cage can be mounted with a screw(s) and then pad-locked with a cable around the tree. The trail timers were under $20 each. Now we were talking $250 for the camera, $50 for the bear cage, 6 D batteries and $20 for a 2 GB memory card. To have a bunch of these units at every bait was a little unnerving. They have come down a lot in price, but still not disposable. Funny thing - no one has ever touched one. Mostly due to no one ever finding them. It pays to put extra effort into your setups and get away from the humans. I carry an extra memory card for every camera. Once I reset or check a bait I swap out the card and make note of which bait it came from. It is worth the investment until you can one day just pull the pictures from your cell phone with blue tooth…hint hint to other EE’s (Electrical Engineers) out there! Another tip is to bring a laptop with you and leave it at your home base or secured in your vehicle. It is always nice to put the photos in the proper folder right away however you decide to organize them. One last tip is beware of the red light emitted from the LEDs at night from the IR. I know deer don’t like them too much. Bears tend to be indifferent. But still try to do something to make it less noticeable at the bait sight. There is also a slight click from the shutter when the photo or video is being taken. I never found the laser to be all that useful. I usually just use a line of sight and that has been good enough.
The Hard Way
Technology is great tool in bear hunting. It can obviously be abused. Tred Barta is not an advocate of technology in hunting. I think he is right in doing it the hard way. As for myself I believe in going the extra mile, being a man, a true warrior and doing it all yourself from start to finish. From the field to the freezer. I see no problem in using these tools with the proper intent as long as it is done cleanly and humanely. Most of us don't have days or weeks to spend in our hunting. That is why we pay guides for thier knowledge. We are lucky if we have hours. Coming from a background in technology - it is hard not to try to utilize it. Sure I could design a bear bait with an infrared crossbow with a digital web cam that can turn 360 degrees and sends an email or text when a bear comes in, login and click the shoot button on the iphone app and thats it. Just cause I can do it doesn't mean it should be done.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Spits or Swallows
Bears that are acclimated to humans in their woods such as ATVs, grouse hunters and their dogs, deer hunters, hikers and the like are a lot more reclusive than the bears you might see on a sportsmen's channel of a hunt in Canada. Those bears may have never encountered a human before and have no real fear of us. There tends to be a lot of activity in the areas I bait - so it requires a bit more thought to get these bears to come into the bait in the daylight. What it is all going to boil down to is risk vs. reward. Is the risk to get the food worth the reward for the bear to get a free meal. All bears have different tastes much like ourselves. I have had bears come in and take one item and none of the rest. The next bear takes something else. Another bear eats everything. Try to make a little variety or simply the best that you can to make it absolutely tantalizing. The more food scent you can get into the air the better.
Try to pick a site that allows the bear to comfortably come and go in heavy cover. Utilize a natural corridor if you can. Try to get off the beaten path. The deeper you go the better. Beware that you are going to have to come out of there in the dark. Try to make it safe for yourself too.
Reduce your scent the best you can. They are going to smell you. That is just a fact. Use scent killer every time out. Wash your clothes if you can with the scent products. Chew some sort of earth gum or Copenhagen snuff - you are going to have to swallow. You can also place scent bombs / wicks between you and the bait. Beware that some scents can induce a charge like a skunk scent. Some scents may make hunters sick. So be sure if you or the hunter can handle warm dead fish cooking in the sun all day in 98 degree weather with a bad wind.
I have also heard of sticking a dead cat in a big jar in water over the summer and then shooting it at the bait sight. I don’t think that is a good idea.
Try to pick a site that allows the bear to comfortably come and go in heavy cover. Utilize a natural corridor if you can. Try to get off the beaten path. The deeper you go the better. Beware that you are going to have to come out of there in the dark. Try to make it safe for yourself too.
Reduce your scent the best you can. They are going to smell you. That is just a fact. Use scent killer every time out. Wash your clothes if you can with the scent products. Chew some sort of earth gum or Copenhagen snuff - you are going to have to swallow. You can also place scent bombs / wicks between you and the bait. Beware that some scents can induce a charge like a skunk scent. Some scents may make hunters sick. So be sure if you or the hunter can handle warm dead fish cooking in the sun all day in 98 degree weather with a bad wind.
I have also heard of sticking a dead cat in a big jar in water over the summer and then shooting it at the bait sight. I don’t think that is a good idea.
Friday, June 17, 2011
I Love College
Since my group and I were not drawn for this years 2011 Minnesota Black Bear Lottery, I am making plans to try to get an unpurchased tag in one of the lottery zones, as are my friends August 3rd. If there are no tags available we do have a backup plan - No-Quota. I am familiar with a few No-Quota spots and plan to start setting them up whether we find tags or not. I hate to sit around doing nothing since September 1st will be here before I know it. I need to decide exactly where the bait sites are going to be. Since my No-Quota bait sites are going to be vast distances apart - I am going to have to visit them sooner than later to make sure they are as I would like them to be before baiting begins in mid-August. The reasoning for them being far apart is that there are a lot fewer bears in the No-Quota areas we intend to hunt. I don't want to be hunting the same bear(s) as my buddies. Plus some areas are closer to home for me as they are for them. We still get to go out and set everything up as we normally would. We just don't get to hunt together. We will be staying at our own homes each night. The potential of taking two bears is still pretty fun. Setting up the sites is not a waste of time. We might not be drawn again next year and we might find something we really like outside the lottery zone. Hopefully we find our way to a couple of lottery tags; otherwise, as today's college kids would put it "Time isn't wasted when your getting wasted" and same goes for setting up these sites.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
KHAAAAAAN!
I just found out my group was not drawn for bear hunting like many of you. What a disappointment. My first reaction was to tell my friends the bad news. My second reaction was how am I still going to go bear hunting this year in Minnesota? The good news in all of this is that I still can go. There is the possibility that some hunters will not buy their tag and there is still No-Quota. The first goes like this...
Unsold Permits
New for 2011, bear lottery winners must purchase their license by July 29, 2011. Unsold licenses will then become available for one week to those that applied but were not selected in the lottery starting August 3, 2011 at 12:00PM. August 10, 2011 at 12:00PM any remaining unsold license will become available to anyone. Please look for a DNR news release or check the DNR Web Site (www.dnr.state.mn.us) in late July, for further information.
The second option if unsuccessful August 3rd is to buy a No-Quota tag. A No-Quota tag is a tag that you can buy over the counter to hunt two bears outside the lottery Quota zones. There are a few guides that offer No-Quota hunts. There are fewer bears in no-quota. The upside is that if you know of a good area - you can take two bears. I would suggest hunting on the fridge of the Quota zones if you are unfamiliar with a No-Quota area. Public land is a great option for bear hunting for No-Quota or for that matter - Quota.
Still - it is hard to get over the fact that we were not drawn...KHAAAAAAN!!!
Unsold Permits
New for 2011, bear lottery winners must purchase their license by July 29, 2011. Unsold licenses will then become available for one week to those that applied but were not selected in the lottery starting August 3, 2011 at 12:00PM. August 10, 2011 at 12:00PM any remaining unsold license will become available to anyone. Please look for a DNR news release or check the DNR Web Site (www.dnr.state.mn.us) in late July, for further information.
The second option if unsuccessful August 3rd is to buy a No-Quota tag. A No-Quota tag is a tag that you can buy over the counter to hunt two bears outside the lottery Quota zones. There are a few guides that offer No-Quota hunts. There are fewer bears in no-quota. The upside is that if you know of a good area - you can take two bears. I would suggest hunting on the fridge of the Quota zones if you are unfamiliar with a No-Quota area. Public land is a great option for bear hunting for No-Quota or for that matter - Quota.
Still - it is hard to get over the fact that we were not drawn...KHAAAAAAN!!!
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Patience is a Virtue
It is almost time to check to see if you or your group have been drawn for the Minnesota (MN) bear hunt. The MN Department of Natural Resources (DNR) says that they will notify you in the mail around mid June. A paper copy of the regulations and rules will arrive for successful applicants in the drawing notifying you as a winner. If you are too impatient to wait you can check for yourself on the MN DNR website with your driver’s license number or hunt id.
However, there was an error with their process this year. Here is the press release from the MN Department of Natural Resources...
Bear hunt lottery to be rerun
(Released May 27, 2011)
Hunters who applied for a 2011 Minnesota bear hunting permit will have to wait a little longer to determine if they were successful in this year’s lottery.
That’s because the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is rerunning the bear lottery due to a computer-related error.
Though no bear hunting licenses have been issued, the DNR reports some hunters may be under the mistaken impression they have been selected as a winner because they viewed incorrect content on the agency’s website before the error was detected.
“The message to bear hunters is that we’ll get the word out when correct lottery results are available,” said Dennis Simon, DNR wildlife section chief. “We regret any inconvenience this misinformation has caused.”
Simon said older data from 2009 rather than the most current data from 2010 was used by the computer to determine hunter preference level. As a result, many bear hunting permit winners were erroneously selected based on incorrect preference information.
“Our job is to conduct a fair and accurate lottery and that’s what we will do,” said Simon.
New lottery results will be posted on the DNR website in early June and successful hunters will also be notified by mail later in June.
Also new this year are the following rules...
Unsold Permits
New for 2011, bear lottery winners must purchase their license by July 29, 2011. Unsold licenses will then become available for one week to those that applied but were not selected in the lottery starting August 3, 2011 at 12:00PM. August 10, 2011 at 12:00PM any remaining unsold license will become available to anyone. Please look for a DNR news release or check the DNR Web Site (www.dnr.state.mn.us) in late July, for further information.
I know “Patience is a Virtue”, but I can never wait to see if I am drawn. I guess I am just like a kid at Christmas and have to take a peek.
SOURCE: MN DNR
However, there was an error with their process this year. Here is the press release from the MN Department of Natural Resources...
Bear hunt lottery to be rerun
(Released May 27, 2011)
Hunters who applied for a 2011 Minnesota bear hunting permit will have to wait a little longer to determine if they were successful in this year’s lottery.
That’s because the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is rerunning the bear lottery due to a computer-related error.
Though no bear hunting licenses have been issued, the DNR reports some hunters may be under the mistaken impression they have been selected as a winner because they viewed incorrect content on the agency’s website before the error was detected.
“The message to bear hunters is that we’ll get the word out when correct lottery results are available,” said Dennis Simon, DNR wildlife section chief. “We regret any inconvenience this misinformation has caused.”
Simon said older data from 2009 rather than the most current data from 2010 was used by the computer to determine hunter preference level. As a result, many bear hunting permit winners were erroneously selected based on incorrect preference information.
“Our job is to conduct a fair and accurate lottery and that’s what we will do,” said Simon.
New lottery results will be posted on the DNR website in early June and successful hunters will also be notified by mail later in June.
Also new this year are the following rules...
Unsold Permits
New for 2011, bear lottery winners must purchase their license by July 29, 2011. Unsold licenses will then become available for one week to those that applied but were not selected in the lottery starting August 3, 2011 at 12:00PM. August 10, 2011 at 12:00PM any remaining unsold license will become available to anyone. Please look for a DNR news release or check the DNR Web Site (www.dnr.state.mn.us) in late July, for further information.
I know “Patience is a Virtue”, but I can never wait to see if I am drawn. I guess I am just like a kid at Christmas and have to take a peek.
SOURCE: MN DNR
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