when it comes to dining
and sometimes don’t show
any fear of humans when it
comes to filling their belly.
Most folks are thankful for
the DNR control of the population
and would rather not
have any more close encounters
with bears in their yards
than they have already had.
There are as many theories
of what makes good bear bait
as there are bear hunters.
The idea is to make the bait
so appealing that in search of
putting on a winter’s worth of
fat the bear will abandon its
nomadic streak and campout
nearby and then come to
the bait on a regular basis,
allowing a hunter the opportunity
to harvest it.
Examples of common bear
baits are beef trimmings,
cooked pork and bacon,
grains of all kinds, fresh
sweet corn, apples, honey,
rolls and bread, molasses,
candy, other sweets and various
“aromatic” secret potions
hunters have concocted.
Of course, other critters
in the woods also like those
foods. So most hunters dig
a pit to contain the bait and
cover the hole in the ground
with logs of 100-200 pounds
- heavy enough that the only
animals in the woods that can
move them to get at the bait
are bears. And then to keep
the bear coming in, the hunters
“freshen” the bait daily
once a bear hits the bait.
DeBoer had a better idea.
“I have a friend who owns
five kettle corn carts that he
sets up at county fairs, carnivals
and other festivals,”
said DeBoer. “He saved me
all of his screenings and
leftovers.”
When baiting season began
DeBoer hauled up a pickup
full of garbage bags of kettle
corn. He set up his trail
camera and dumped a huge
pile of kettle corn on the
ground near his bow stand.
He had so much bait he
didn’t bother to cover it.
Apparently the big bear had
a sweet tooth and a weakness
for salt. It came to the bait
(and got its picture taken)
within hours of DeBoer leaving
the kettle corn.
Frustration set in for
DeBoer after that first night
of the season when the bear
figured out a human was now
intent upon lurking near the
kettle corn.
DeBoer kept hunting, to no
avail. The camera showed
the bear kept coming to eat,
but after dark. It finally occurred
to DeBoer, after noticing
the time of day that
was imprinted on each photo,
the bear was always coming
to the bait within five to 20
minutes after he left the
area.
Obviously the bear was
lurking within hearing distance
of the bait (maybe even
“seeing” distance), waiting
for DeBoer to leave before
coming in to eat.
A friend suggested to
DeBoer a method to fool a
smart night-feeding bear
into coming to the bait
during legal daylight shooting
hours. He suggested to
have an extra person go to
the bait area with him and
then after leaving more bait
have the extra person leave,
making the usual noise on
the way out. Maybe the bear
will assume the hunter has
left and it will be safe at the
bait and will be tempted to
come right in.
DeBoer asked his wife,
Geni, if she’d like to be the
bear “decoy.”
Geni quickly and unequivocally
declined.
DeBoer’s friend had another
idea. He suggested for
DeBoer himself to leave his
stand well before dark, again
making the usual noise, and
then quietly take a position
on the ground in sight of the
bait, 40-50 yards beyond his
tree stand.
It worked Thursday evening,
Sept. 25, the first evening
DeBoer tried that ruse.
DeBoer said he hadn’t been
settled against a tree for five
minutes and the huge bear
came to the bait.
At first the bear was facing
away - not a shot DeBoer was
going to take. At 70 yards
DeBoer could plainly hear the
bear crunch-crunch-crunching
on the kettle corn. Soon
the bear turned broadside.
At the shot the bear turned
and faced DeBoer. It growled
and then tore off, thankfully
away from DeBoer.
DeBoer sat for a few
minutes and collected his
thoughts.
“I was really positive I made
a good shot,” he said.
He went to where the bear
had been standing when he
shot. DeBoer looked into the
woods the direction the bear
had charged off. It lay dead
35 yards away.
DeBoer had to double up
the rope between his fourwheel
drive ATV and the
bear to drag it to where he
could load it into his truck.
He and Geni couldn’t budge
the bear. It took a tractor and
loader to lift the bear into the
truck.
The folks at Meyer’s Meats
north of Nevis, where DeBoer
took the bear for processing,
have seen some huge bear
come through the doors over
the years.
The last three years they
processed three that were