Reporting bear baiting

[Bango skank]

People who dont live in NE WA have no clue how out of control bears are! when you have 30 cams out on salt and each cam has 7-10 different bears a cam you have an issue!  I have seen over 20 bears this year and Im not even looking for them! Then WDFW gives out 15 tags or so in the units up here for spring bear give me a f^$%#% break! it should be over the counter!!!!! Gov't scam for money. There are serious issues when looking for deer in some units and you see more bears than deer in a week!  I have cams where I have yet to see a buck in what should be a great deer areas.

I ran into 8 up here this weekend while scouting for elk.  Not out of the ordinary!  Almost stepped on one in a service berry patch I was hiking through.  We would have 10x the number of deer, elk and moose up here if we could just run hounds and bait again.  But since that will never happen, OTC spring bear, an Aug 1st opening like the west side heathens have, and a 2 bear limit would do wonders.  I have seen on the WDFW page that the NE bear management zone has the greatest number of bears, and the highest density.  So why is it that we can not take 2 bears here, and our season has to start a month later, after all the berries are dried up?  I also run nothing but salt on my cameras and I've still had over 30 bears on cam this year.  Only rarely do the bears on cam even seem to look at the salt.  That is just how many there are that they will be passing through any set up you have, despite a lack of goodies. 

[Buckhunter82]

RCW 77.15.792 Intentionally feeding or attempting to feed large wild carnivores or intentionally attracting large wild carnivores to land or a building — Penalty.

(1) A person may not intentionally feed or attempt to feed large wild carnivores or intentionally attract large wild carnivores to land or a building.

     (2) A person who intentionally feeds, attempts to feed, or attracts large wild carnivores to land or a building is guilty of a misdemeanor.

     (3) A person who is issued an infraction under RCW 77.15.790 for negligently feeding, attempting to feed, or attracting large wild carnivores to land or a building, and who fails to contain, move, or remove the food, food waste, or other substance within twenty-four hours of being issued the infraction, is guilty of a misdemeanor.


I wasn't even aware of this new law.(2012) I did use to bait bear for trail cameras but that was before this law and I never hunted them. I haven't baited them in years because I don't like them around my cameras. Now that I know its illegal I wouldn't do it anyways or maybe I would just say that they are actually omnivores and eat mostly plant material. The law should state which animals fall under large carnivores. All of you WDFW boy scouts that think the guys that are baiting are doing it for black market trade and are probably breaking tons of other laws, and killing dozens of bears have quite the imagination.

[mountainman]

Don't be too naive Buckhunter. ...

[KFhunter]

Baiting is unnecessary, wasteful, and lazy in my opinion. Proper scouting and responsible hunting is the only way to go. Good on you for reporting it!

I don't think baiting is wasteful or lazy.  Baiters go to a lot of work to get bears to come in.  They have to pack in all that stuff regularly; I've never baited but I am certain baiters are not lazy. It looks like an awful lot of work. And what part of baiting is wasteful?

Now, it may be unnecessary,  but what does it hurt, except that it is illegal?

With all that said,  I could go either way on reporting a bait site. I don't like some people just disregarding certain laws even though they are stupid laws.

What's lazy is sitting on a berry patch waiting for a bear to walk in. 

Utilizing mother natures bounty as natural bait,  now THAT'S lazy!

Lots of hunting could be categorized as lazy work....sitting and glassing, taking an afternoon drive, sitting in a tree stand... Who cares!

If guys are so excited to allow some  knucklehead to abandon normal legal hunting practices and bait in bears, can they also shoot after dark? I mean, what is the difference? A little spotlight to help make sure of a "safe" game ID and shot placement, I mean, what's the big deal?

I should have put the little sarcasm emoticon there....hrm where is it anyways?

 

[Biggerhammer]

 

[hooker]

Bear baiting does not bother me, it should be legal!  Anti's got that law passed not hunters.  I wouldn't call anyone.

I agree 100%

I'd set up and kill one. Too many predators and no one in the department cares.   Hope they don't catch the guy.  Just being honest.

[257 Wby Mag]

Boy of I didn't know better I'd say it sounds like a few Guys on This thread may have piles out in the woods. Turn them in, get your points. Just because you don't agree with law doesn't make the practice of breaking it anymore legal.hell by your own post these guys screwed up your bear spot. Is that fair to you ? I know a couple wardens that are very interested in busting bait sites.

TFF , I wouldn't waste the time and energy packing grub for a stinky bear, matter of fact, I like the way most of the Clearwater Idaho boys treat em, center punch em and find another, kinda like they used to do here in the 60's 70's and 80's... Flame on!!

[mountainman]

  and we wonder why we lose more and more seasons..

[257 Wby Mag]

Ya cause Idaho loses soooo many hunting seasons....

[Biggerhammer]

Ooooooh! The drama!

[mountainman]

As expected hammer.  ...lol

[Biggerhammer]

 

[h20hunter]

Yes. Anything and everything that is scent based whether it be natural or man made. No whiks, sprays, blocks, incense, nothing.

[jackmaster]

 

While I hate guys who leave trash in the woods I have a hard time reporting bear baits.  It was not a WDFW decision to eliminate baiting.  And the bait hunting was actually doing a lot of good for the timber, deer and elk.  It was uninformed voters who really had no business getting involved in wildlife management that made that decision.  So while I personally would never take the risk and believe we are all better off if we obey the rules of the land I usually just ignore them when I see 'em.  And since the WDFW officers I've talked with seem to be completely uninterested when I've reported illegally shot elk why would they give much of a dang about a bear bait.

Now if I got OIL tag preference points for reporting them...

[Bob33]

I fully understand that baiting bear with any food stuff is illegal.  Is it also illegal to use attractants such as honey burns, or creating a scent based attractant?  No food on the ground tells me there is no baiting, but you never know.

The RCW defines it very clearly.
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=77.15.245

"As used in this subsection, "bait" means a substance placed, exposed, deposited, distributed, scattered, or otherwise used for the purpose of attracting black bears to an area where one or more persons hunt or intend to hunt them."