# Mrs. CCG's 2018 Manti-North summer bear hunt thread



## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

I've decided to do a pictures and play by play of my wife's bear hunt. There is nothing too spectacular to report yet because the hunt and legal baiting period both started today. I will have a few non-bear pics up shortly. Things started to look a little sketchy when the arrangements I made for a bait source (a buddy whose wife works in the bakery of a Fresh Market store) fell through unexpectedly last week. Apparently some other bear baiter has been grabbing up all their stuff for the past couple years. But where there's a will, there's a way. Improvise, adapt, and overcome. A country boy can survive and all that jazz. 

I met up in Payson with UWN poster "Oppertunist" last week and I was able to collect five 20 pound tubs of chocolate frosting, a big bag of m&m's, a bag of dog food, a couple jars of bacon grease, some bear lure, and a whole arse load of life saver's gummies. Oppertunist and I had a nice, long chat about bear baiting techniques, bear behavior, blinds, camo, wind, and about anything else bear baiting related you can think of. In addition to bears we talked about careers, aging and injury, relationships, politics, blonde and redhead chicks, the hell we put 'em through, like two ol' boys will do. Oppertunist might not have a very high post count, but don't let that fool you into thinking he doesn't have much to say! :grin: If any of you plan on doing a bear bait hunt in the future and you are green like I am, consider having a chat with him. He is an encyclopedia of bear knowledge and all it will cost you is a couple hours of your time! Just kidding, Oppertunist! When I asked him what he wanted for the bear bait, he said, "hell, I'm just giving this to you." Stand up guy. Sportsmen helping sportsmen that's what it's all about.

The day after I met with Oppertunist I met up with a guy in Sandy I contacted off of Facebook and he sold me a few jugs of bear attractant, a barrel, and a several large heavy bags of expired sugary goods. I can't use the barrel here in Utah, but oh well. Just after this transaction I found a local donut shop that said they would put me on a waiting list to collect their expired goods. But as far as they know, I raise pigs. :hippie: I was a little worried about my bait situation but things seem to be falling into place. In addition to the things I have already mentioned I also have some sweet feed, dog food, and have been popping some popcorn. Pop some popcorn for yourself and enjoy this thread.


----------



## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

A couple pics of the scenery of the hike in.


----------



## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

A nice haul I scored from Oppertunist!


----------



## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

WOOF! Okay, just kidding but it is a pretty good size canine track!


----------



## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

I'm pretty new to this whole bear hunting thing, but I've read about these kind of trees on the internet. This is where the boars have come to rub their velvet.


----------



## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

Mrs. CCG had to hunt bad guys today at her job as a policewoman, so I made the first trip in solo. Everything I needed for a burn and some bait. A fully loaded pack and a 5 gallon bucket for each hand was not a great idea. I always seem to overestimate what my body is capable of until it is too late. On the plus side, it's really helping me with my goal of melting some tallow.


----------



## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

This is the spot. A work buddy has baited this site numerous times between himself, family, and friends. Good bears have been taken here and some pigs have showed up on camera.


----------



## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

A little burn I did using the ingredients Oppertunist told me to use. Mrs. CCG told me I ruined this pot while I was popping popcorn on the grill burner for bear bait, so now I get to use it for bear stuff. She's been wanting to upgrade from this Chinese made Rachel Ray piece of crap for awhile anyway so the tongue lashing wasn't even that bad!


----------



## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

Sorry some of these pics are coming out weird. Just c-o-c-k your head sideways like an inquisitive dog.


----------



## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

I've found 3 of these little buggers on me so far. One of them was already starting to burrow. Man, I hate ticks!


----------



## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

That's all for now. I have a trail camera up on the bait site and hopefully the 30ish pounds of molasses covered dog food, 5 gallon bucket of pastries, popcorn, marshmallows, and lifesavers gummies will pull some bears in. In addition to the burn, I soaked some scent wicks, trees, logs, and stumps with some anise extract from a company called Boarmasters I found online. There was a lot of wind up there and this stuff smells pretty potent, so I'm sure it's casting a pretty wide net. I will have to get up there soon and do it all over again. Hopefully the trail camera has something for me to share with you guys and get us excited for Friday when we will be able to do our first sit over the bait.


----------



## weaversamuel76 (Feb 16, 2017)

Subcribed

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk


----------



## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

For the ticks get yourself some Permethrin and spray down yours and the Mrs clothes. Shirt, pants, socks, and hats. Ticks and other bugs hate this stuff and it worked for me when I was in Africa in areas where the ticks outnumbered the blades of grass.

You can find it in the camping aisle of Walmart. You might want to get a couple bottles of it to do all of your clothes that you might be wearing out to get that bear. Here is what the bottle looks like.


----------



## 35whelen (Jul 3, 2012)

I'm excited for mrs ccg. Keep posts coming. 

I second the premathrin thing. I used it on all my clothes this year and no ticks yet. Last year I had several attached ticks and contracted Colorado tick fever. It was no joke.


----------



## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

Thanks for the tip on the Permethrin guys. I'll definitely be getting some of that. Geez, Whelen, now you have me all paranoid. Colorado Tick Fever is the last thing I need!


----------



## 35whelen (Jul 3, 2012)

I think last year was just a bad year for ticks. I'd never gotten a tick in Utah before last year. Another guy I know got it last year too. I grew up in the Midwest and ticks were a Regular thing but they never made me sick.


----------



## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

All it takes is for one of those little buggers that's carrying the germs to make you sick. 



I have been lucky in that the ones that I have picked up working or working in the field before I knew about Permethrin just wanted some blood. Now whenever I am out in the woods during the tick season my clothes get a good dose of it. 



I have actually even thought of going down to a IFA store to see if I could get a 5 gallon bucket of the stuff so that I could mix it myself and then just soak my clothes in it. That is what a lot of the African PH's do.


----------



## 35whelen (Jul 3, 2012)

I think last year was just a bad year for ticks. I'd never gotten a tick in Utah before last year. Another guy I know got it last year too. I grew up in the Midwest and ticks were a Regular thing but they never made me sick.


----------



## 35whelen (Jul 3, 2012)

Weird. Looks like it posted twice


----------



## AF CYN (Mar 19, 2009)

Looks like you've got a good spot with good bait. I hear previous bait locations are quick to attract bears. I hope you guys get a big one!


----------



## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

This guy is totally nuts. It looks like he is having a ball!


----------



## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

colorcountrygunner said:


> This guy is totally nuts. It looks like he is having a ball!


He certainly looks happy to be on camera!


----------



## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)




----------



## Critter (Mar 20, 2010)

colorcountrygunner said:


> This guy is totally nuts. It looks like he is having a ball!


When you got to itch ya got to itch.


----------



## 35whelen (Jul 3, 2012)

awesome! hope she gets up there n gets a bear! another thing you might give a shot is trying some "sow in heat" bear bombs before you sit or spraying boarmasters estrous sow urine around the bait. the bear rut is on. I don't think itd hurt to give it a shot. sportsman's has "sow in heat" and "anise" bear bombs. 
keep the pics coming. 
also if you haven't gotten a 103 fever yet, youre in the clear on the Colorado tick fever.


----------



## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

35whelen said:


> awesome! hope she gets up there n gets a bear! another thing you might give a shot is trying some "sow in heat" bear bombs before you sit or spraying boarmasters estrous sow urine around the bait. the bear rut is on. I don't think itd hurt to give it a shot. sportsman's has "sow in heat" and "anise" bear bombs.
> keep the pics coming.
> also if you haven't gotten a 103 fever yet, youre in the clear on the Colorado tick fever.


Thanks for the tip. I was actually thinking of trying out a sow in heat bear bomb. I just did a bait run tonight and got a bunch of new trail cam pics. I'll post up more tomorrow.


----------



## hawkeye (Feb 18, 2008)

We are ready for some more photos and an update? Don't leave us hanging?


----------



## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

hawkeye said:


> We are ready for some more photos and an update? Don't leave us hanging?


I have got some more photos for you. Mrs. CCG and I just sat down and viewed all the photos we had from the start of the hunt on May 26th until now. I thought we had several different bears coming in, but I was surprised. When we really took the time to look at the pictures we realized we only have two different bears coming in. A young boar that has a very dark head and legs and a more tan body. He kind of looks like an elk so we gave him the name "elk." The other bear is a cinnamon bear that we named "Cinnie." Yes, we are very creative with our names. Cinnie is clearly the bigger bear between the two. I'm thinking about doing another burn to see if we can get any more bears coming in. If not, we will be focusing our efforts on Cinnie.

I have been fortunate to have Oppertunist keeping me stocked up with baits. One thing I have learned about at least these two particular bears is that they have a sweet tooth. If I lay down some sugary pastry type goods they will slick it right up in no time flat. They also seem to really like sweet mix. One time I laid down some dog food with some molasses on it, and I'll be danged if they didn't even touch it. I poured some berry flavored bear attractant on it and then they were sure to wolf it down. If I feed them something that isn't naturally sweet I need to sweeten it up for them or they won't eat it. Little schmucks.

Unfortunately life has been getting in the way and we have hardly hunted it at all yet. That is about to change! It's time to bag us a bear!


----------



## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

A few bear pics....


----------



## AF CYN (Mar 19, 2009)

Is "cinnie" the back scratcher? Those are both decent bears in my opinion. Good luck!


----------



## elkantlers (Feb 27, 2014)

If you want more bears to hit your bait you need to make an oil drag several miles long. Drag a fry oil soaked rag from your bait through areas that bears may be. Keep adding oil as you drag to make sure to get a good trail. I do this for miles with a 4-wheeler and it works.


----------



## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

AF CYN said:


> Is "cinnie" the back scratcher? Those are both decent bears in my opinion. Good luck!


I believe Cinnie is the back scratcher. It's kind of hard to tell in some of those pictures because that trail cam kind of sucks in low light conditions.


----------



## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

Sorry that this thread is really fizzling, guys. I did another burn, put out some grease, and a bear lure to try to bring more bears in. We still have just the two bears coming in we have had all along and they are starting to come in more infrequently. Mrs. CCG isn't too excited about the size of these bears and would like to see if we can find something bigger knowing full well she might not fill her tag in the process. We have until June 29th. We will see what happens!


----------



## 35whelen (Jul 3, 2012)

Best of luck!


----------



## RemingtonCountry (Feb 17, 2016)

How's the hunt going?! Hopefully some success??????


----------



## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

Well, what a lame duck of a thread huh? Last night the sun set on Mrs. CCG's 2018 summer bear hunt. I wish I had some great news to you guys, but I don't. Tag soup. If there is one thing I learned about bear baiting from this it is that bear baiting is a huge time commitment! Keeping the bait site(s) stocked is a huge investment of time and money. Even if you are getting the bait for free you still spend a lot buying $3 a gallon gas for your 4x4 to go up and down the mountains in. This hunt has convinced me that I want to do the spot and stalk hunt when I draw my tag, low success rates be damned. The whole hound thing doesn't really do it for me, but it could be cool if they were my hounds. 

It was fun getting to meet a couple of members from this site. Posting on here I have always thought to myself that there sure seems to be a lot of pretty all right dudes around here and it's a shame I don't really know many of them in real life. During this hunt I got the opportunity to meet Oppertunist and .35 Whelen who are both stand up dudes who gave me some help with some bear bait. Whelen, you live real close so if you ever go out to shoot your big boomers and don't mind me tagging along let me know. 

I probably could have done a few things differently to increase our chances of success, but se la vie. Hopefully in a couple months I might have a success pic of a little spike or raghorn bull to share with you guys when the archery hunt starts haha.


----------



## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

Anybody wanna come over for dinner tonight?


----------



## 35whelen (Jul 3, 2012)

sorry she didn't tag out. i have a drawer full of unused objective harvest tags. 
once I get the timney trigger put in my whelen we will have to go out somewhere to shoot it.


----------



## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

35whelen said:


> sorry she didn't tag out. i have a drawer full of unused objective harvest tags.
> once I get the timney trigger put in my whelen we will have to go out somewhere to shoot it.


Sounds like a plan!


----------



## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

colorcountrygunner said:


> Anybody wanna come over for dinner tonight?


Come on up one of these September's and we'll chase blackies in the alpine! Fix the taste of that soup right quick


----------



## colorcountrygunner (Oct 6, 2009)

johnnycake said:


> Come on up one of these September's and we'll chase blackies in the alpine! Fix the taste of that soup right quick


Hell yeah, Johnny! Then later we can go bar hopping in Anchorage and try to find us some power bottoms...er...I mean go hit the rivers for some salmon!


----------



## johnnycake (Jul 19, 2011)

colorcountrygunner said:


> Hell yeah, Johnny! Then later we can go bar hopping in Anchorage and try to find us some power bottoms...er...I mean go hit the rivers for some salmon!


Figured you'd be interested in slappin some salmon  but summer time is better for those powerful bottoms


----------



## 3arabians (Dec 9, 2014)

Bummer dude. Thats hunting, I enjoyed your thread.

I saw this today. Maybe you used the wrong bait. Next time go with some jack daniels, gold fish crackers, lunchables, and hot dogs. 









Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk


----------

