How far away from bait site ?

[Jmv232]

So I have a bait site established for my deer that gets hit multiple times aday. The problem is with 100 pounds of corn mixed with molasses it does not last two weeks when I go and check on my cam. I have four or five really big bears tearing into and hanging around my bait area. Now I know that I can't hunt bear over it but my question is how far away from that site can I legally take one down ?

[ICEMAN]

IMHO, far.

I feel you need to be so far outside of your baitsite, that any bear you hunt has not been influenced by the existence of your deer bait.  I know, vague type of answer, but you don't want to get cited.

[huntnnw]

I dunno if WA has an established distance..ID has 200 yards

[jackelope]

Deer eat molasses?

[Jmv232]

Deer love molasses, I have a good amount coming in for it. I guess ill have to ask a game warden about this. It started with one bear now I have 4 of them coming in at all times of the day.

[singleshot12]

I would think no matter how far away in the general area if the bear you harvest has corn with molasses in it's belly you may be in trouble

[h20hunter]

Deer love molasses, I have a good amount coming in for it. I guess ill have to ask a game warden about this. It started with one bear now I have 4 of them coming in at all times of the day.

You used to have deer....the bear will take over.....

To your OP......a long long long way would be my guess.

[singleshot12]

It wouldn't be very hard to set up on an established game trail 1/2 mile away leading up to your bait pile and then kill a bear on it, i bet a lot of bears are harvested this way,just sayin

[deaner]

yeah, what you have is no longer a deer baiting site.  what youre doing now is baiting bears.  just stop.  dont try to hunt those bears period and quit putting the bait out.  the bears are gonna completely run the deer out so the bait is now useless as the only thing its doing is making it so you cant shoot the local bears

[Jmv232]

It has brought the bears in but it has also brought my nocturnal bucks in during the day so I don't know if I should keep watching it or establish another spot near by with just corn and no molasses?

[CAMPMEAT]

You're not baiting the bear. They just happen to have found it.

[Jonathan_S]

Switch to alfalfa   

Don't risk it.

[D-Rock425]

Switch to alfalfa   

Don't risk it.

[rtspring]

I would do nothing more than remove the sweet stuff. Animals are curious.  Hunt around the bait but not over it.. 

[deaner]

Switch to alfalfa   

Don't risk it.

they eat that too ( though its not nearly the attraction that the sweet stuff is )

[jrebel]

No way....No how....would I kill a bear anywhere near a bait site I knew had molasses and corn!!!     

Ask yourself this...Is loosing your hunting privileges worth killing a bear.  There is a reason this topic is black and white while still being very much grey.....it is so the WDFW can use their discretion based on circumstances.  You have admitted publicly you have bear hitting a bait site and now you want to hunt said bear.      Stay away and change your bait.    

[Jonathan_S]

Switch to alfalfa   

Don't risk it.

they eat that too ( though its not nearly the attraction that the sweet stuff is )

Will they sit on it and eat until they're full?  Then sleep for five hours and eat more?

Or do they browse and move along?

[bullfisher]

Quit baiting for a couple weeks. Bears have a larger home range than deer and will leave. Contrary to some statements, the deer will not leave because of bears. Also, bears are seeking sugar and fat and your molases is the icing on the cake. A good grain and oats mix for horses should do the trick.

[deaner]

ive only had them munch for a minute then move on, but ive talked to other people who say theyve had pictures of the bears sleeping in their alfalfa piles.  but in general its not a big draw to them

[deaner]

Quit baiting for a couple weeks. Bears have a larger home range than deer and will leave. Contrary to some statements, the deer will not leave because of bears. Also, bears are seeking sugar and fat and your molases is the icing on the cake. A good grain and oats mix for horses should do the trick.

ive had certain sites turn into bear parties with 12+ bears visiting.  when that happens, the number of deer visits drops dramatically.  only get a few young yearling deer coming in, acting very paranoid the whole time.  the older deer are smart enough to go eat where theres not a thick layer of bear scent i think.

[Jmv232]

Here is one,

[Jmv232]

Actually two different bears,  ill go and switch to alfalfa and give that a try and see how that works out for me. For the record yes I do have a bear tag, and no I would not shoot a bear over my baited spot I know better than that. That is why I started this topic to see if there was a distance where I could so that I can see if I can track them out of my area.  If I can keep them away and my deer in than that would be perfect.

[h2ofowlr]

Whatever the zone of influence is, it would be considered baiting.  That is up to the leo.  It's been a common thing this years with several guys posting to much info on the web in regards to how and where the harvested their bears.  There may have been tickets handed out, if not they may need to change a few rules in order to keep individuals out of the grey area.  Their is no good reason that they shouldn't allow baiting for bears, but your large city folks don't seem to recon with common sense.  The DFW should just overturn that rule and allow it.  It would allow for better harvest selection for bear hunters.  The stations would draw the bears to those locations vs. neighborhoods, dumps and other locations.    

[Jmv232]

Ok so the main thing I get from this is to leave these bears alone.  Stay on my original plan and head way north. Switch to alfalfa and get rid of the sweets. See if that helps my case any. The last thing I want to do is push away my bucks.

[Jonathan_S]

Assuming you can hunt this unit late season, maybe just let things cool off until late October-ish after modern and then put alfalfa out.  Does will eat the alfalfa and when they're in estrous, it will be good to pull the bucks to snoop around.

[Machias]

When I asked about distance I was told from the game Warden, there is no distance, it's all about were or are the bears influenced.  I would switch and see if the bears loose interest and the deer come back.  Good luck!!

[huntnnw]

I would think no matter how far away in the general area if the bear you harvest has corn with molasses in it's belly you may be in trouble

Then about half the bear harvest or more would be in question...there are thousands of bait sites going in NE WA

[huntnnw]

yeah, what you have is no longer a deer baiting site.  what youre doing now is baiting bears.  just stop.  dont try to hunt those bears period and quit putting the bait out.  the bears are gonna completely run the deer out so the bait is now useless as the only thing its doing is making it so you cant shoot the local bears

not in my exp... I have 5 bears up in ferry with all the deer and moose still coming in. This happens at any bait spot I do

[huntnnw]

Id like to see a ticket written to someone set up 100 yards away from a deer bait.  The gamey better have seen said hunter dump that feed at the deer bait or he has nothing..he will be going on assumption! and that is not held up in court.

[Bullets_n_Octane]

I wouldn't bait Bears with anything that they would WANT to eat, not in this State, with their goofy ass rules and regs.

Baiting bears should just be legal again... save everyone the trouble of dealing with all the drama that has arisen since it was banned. States with less than 1/4 the population that WA has, allow baiting. IMHO, it should JUST be bait, no drums, buckets, garbage, chains etc. etc. That is what should be illegal, is the method of baiting, not the act itself.

[deaner]

yeah, what you have is no longer a deer baiting site.  what youre doing now is baiting bears.  just stop.  dont try to hunt those bears period and quit putting the bait out.  the bears are gonna completely run the deer out so the bait is now useless as the only thing its doing is making it so you cant shoot the local bears

not in my exp... I have 5 bears up in ferry with all the deer and moose still coming in. This happens at any bait spot I do

yeah i have cams set up where a few bears come in, and it doesnt stop the deer, but a couple ive set up that turned into huge bear orgies with 12+ bears coming all the time saw a significant lack of deer traffic once that $*** started.  deer smell bears in the woods every day, i just htink when the bear scent gets too ridiculously thick the deer will find somewhere else to get a snack.