1. Get in the stand early. Bear hunting over bait is mainly an afternoon game. With that being said, the fun can start at any time so stay alert!! Getting to the stand a few hours before you expect the bear to show will allow your scent to dissipate. Staying on stand may let the bear get used to your presence and may just go for your bait..

2. Be comfortable in your stand!! Having a comfy seat with back support will keep you comfortable. Keeping comfortable will maintain your alertness and keep you on stand longer. Time on stand is what bags you a bear.

3. Use scent control detergent on your clothing and store it in a plastic bag to minimize your clothes picking up odors. Many hunters believe that his is the number one thing you can do to improve their odds of pulling bagging a bear.

4. Make a plan for scent control while in the stand. Have a container with a lid to urinate in, don’t smoke and think about what you are eating when on stand.and think about what you are eating and drinking while on stand.

5. Use pheromone spray to attract big male bears in the spring. The scent of a female bear can cause the males and especially dominant males get careless and approach the bait earlier than usual – in the day. Cover scents are also valuable to mask the presence of the hunter.

6. Install cover around your stand with burlap or branches. Long hours in a stand will test your stamina and focus but having some cover may just give you that extra second to make the shot of a lifetime!!

7. Stealth: Approach your bait slowly and at the ready to shoot. Your bear could easily be on the bait. You may end your hunt before you even get into your stand. That’s when you can spend the rest of your vacation fishing and telling bear stories.

8. Patience: Bears are not easy to hunt. They have extremely sensitive hearing, an amazing sense of smell and they are one, if not the smartest mammal in the northern forest.

What Bears Eat: Bears are eating machines and will eat just about anything. Their typical foods are softer plants, berries, nuts and insects. They are especially fond of freshly killed wildlife such as deer, moose as a carcass packs a lot more calories than berries and bugs.

When bears wake from their long hibernation they are very hungry. They will immediately start eating new spring shoots such as skunk cabbage and any winter kills they can find. When it comes to food bears have an amazing capacity to remember when and where to go.

Throughout the spring, summer and fall, bears will visit sites that have provided food for them in the past. Berry patches, grasses, bugs, fruit trees such as cranberries, hazelnuts, acorns are all on the menu. It is during the late summer and fall that bears start eating in earnest and can consume up to 20 000 calories in a single day as they prepare for hibernation.

Hearing is the black bear’s best line of defence against danger because they can hear farther than they can see in thick woods. A bears hearing is at least twice the sensitivity of human hearing.

Bears are usually silent but do produce a  variety of grunts in friendly situations.  A bear will make loud blowing noises when frightened and will clack their teeth when frightened.  They use a clear and deep  “voice” to express a range many emotions from pleasure to fear.  Bears do not growl!

A bear’s strongest sense is by far its sense of smell. Bears can easily pick up a scent from over a mile away! This makes their sense of smell seven times better than a trained bloodhound. Bears have the best sense of smell of any land mammal in North America.