Bears are intelligent creatures. Sharing many traits with their dog, wolf, and fox cousins – they aren’t easy to trick. Extremely strong and very territorial, it can be difficult to hunt these forest dwellers. Yet, like all creatures, they have their Achilles’ heel. Like humans, bears love to snack. With the proper bait, you can attract a hungry bear and get the drop on it. However, bears can be somewhat picky depending on how plentiful food is at the time. They may pass up a free meal that they would have happily devoured under different circumstances. If you want to be successful during your hunt, you should pack plenty of their favorites. Curious as to what baits bears adore most? Here you have them.
Honey
You can’t go wrong with this one. It’s a classic bear bait that’s been used with success countless times. Bears are unwilling to pass up the sweet scent of a meal that would usually get them several stings from the local bees. The trick here is that you’re offering a fairly exclusive favorite for bears. For added effect, smear some upwind so that the scent travels even further.
Chocolate
Bears have a serious sweet tooth. The smell of slightly melted chocolate is like a homing beacon for bears. This one also grabs the curiosity of local bears seeing as it is not a scent that they regard as natural. The sweet smell of chocolate will draw them even quicker if you bring an assortment of different kinds- bars, pudding, melted, etc.
Circus Peanuts
Not as effective as honey or chocolate, but a useful bait nonetheless. Circus peanuts are better used as a short-ranged lure. They do have the benefit of being easier to store and set out, which is an obvious plus.
Vanilla
Vanilla has an extremely strong effect on bears. You have plenty of options as well. Vanilla base, pudding, icing, or a vanilla air freshener can do the trick. Upon catching a whiff of vanilla in the air, bears will be quick to turn their heads and start in the right direction. Some hunters claim chocolate is the better alternative, but vanilla’s more defining scent tends to carry further.
Cheesecake filling
That sweet tooth again! Cheesecake filling is another item of curiosity for bears. They smell something that could be delicious that they’ve probably never smelled before and head straight for it.
Blueberry pie filling
Berry lovers to the end. The smell of blueberry pie evokes a certain juvenile attraction in bears. It harkens them back to their cub days and brings them in accordingly.
Caramel base
Where vanilla and chocolate fail, caramel succeeds. It can be easily smeared in high up places to let its scent travel through the air. It has a deeper level of sweetness than the other two that’s even more likely to attract a hungry bear. Its only downside is that, like honey, it can be a pain to store if you don’t buy it in a bottle.
Cherry pie filling
Similar to blue berry, the only difference being that some bears don’t register the smell of cherries as being pursuit-worthy. The scent is also slightly fainter than blueberry.
Attractant Scent
Last, but not least, you can go with the sexual lure. By releasing the scent of a female in heat, you will likely attract an eager suitor before long. The only drawback being that without any food as bait, they may not remain long once they fail to find a mate. I recommend having a pie filling or layer of honey nearby to greet them.
