Pig bait recipe for game trail camera

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phil mcwilliam

New member
I bought myself a Bushnell game trail camera for christmas. Since my mates 2,000 acre cattle property ,(which is my main hunting property) is 5 hours drive , I only make it up there every 4 to 6 weeks. Although I've been hunting on this property for 18 years, the pig numbers vary considerably- sometimes we go months without seeing a pig, but over christmas we saw around 50- with some monsters among them.
The main reason for the camera is to have some fun & see if we can work out which are the more popular game trails- with camera set over holes in fences- during our time away from the property, so we know the more productive areas to hunt when we get there.
For some more fun, when I was up there 2 weeks ago I mixed up a 4 gallon drum of cracked dry corn, 1 pinneapple, half a dozen peaches & apples, a pint of mollasses & water. This mixture will be waiting for me when I go up again in 2 weekends time & I plan to set up the camera overlooking this bait when we leave.
My question is - since this is a long term project with us being away from the property for weeks at a time- should I bury the mixture, even just piercing the top of the drum ,or just pour it around, to get the smell happening?
Any suggestions on other pig favourite recipes appreciated.
 
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Al Thompson

Staff Alumnus
If you want to keep the pigs in one area, grab a post hole digger and dig out a deep hole. If they can smell it, they will keep pawing around the hole trying to dig down to the bait.
 
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hogdogs

Staff In Memoriam
Longest lasting pig bait/feeder is a blue 50 gallon drum with screw in lid. Drill a gob (gob = hundreds) of 7/16th and/or 1/2 inch holes all over the sides. A 1 inch or so hole in the bottom. Pass some "mule tape" thru the hole in the bottom and attach to a big washer or whatever. I suggest 50-100 feet minimum on the mule tape. Tie off barrel to a tree. Pre-drill some screw holes thru the rim of the lid so it won't come unscrewed. Put 150-200# or so pounds of corn, a few packs of fruit punch/ grape jello, a couple packs of yeast won't hurt either... Minerals will also work so long as you don't use too much. This can be left standing up and decent size pigs easily knock it over to get started "roll feeding". Unless it is near empty, only hogs are able to really use it. Expect it to travel quite a bit when the hogs are around.

Sour corn buries well but to extend the life of the feed hole use post hole diggers to bury the sour corn. You can save the sour mash liquid when burying the corn to fill hot water bottles or other drip system to drip the mash over the area. Hogs are fun to play with...
Brent
 
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fisherman66

New member
I've hear about dieseled corn being a great bait. I'm a little worried about eatin' something that eats diesel fuel. Anyone know how that's metabolized?
 
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hogdogs

Staff In Memoriam
I have used it to keep out deer and coons but I rather not put diesel into the pig or the ecology. Now I just trap out some of the coons to save on corn.
Deer don't really hit piles of sour corn too much from my experience.
Brent
 
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Doyle

New member
If you want your corn mixture to ferment better, add a couple of cans of cheap beer to the mixture.
 
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fisherman66

New member
Doyle, what makes you think we drink cheap beer?:D I sure ain't gonna waste a Newcastle on a piggie.

J/K. I wonder if a pound of sugar and a pack of yeast with the beer might put everything into overdrive.

When the G-men show up and see the still I can claim to be baitin hogs.:eek:
 
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Rmart30

New member
make ya a sour mash drum with a drip tube coming off of it to keep the ground smelling for them. throw in a cpl or 3 bags of corn, water and yeast. cover, let it ferment a cpl of weeks then turn on the drip. When you go collect pictures add water and throw out a small amount of the fermented corn to sweeten it up for them.
Also if you can find a restaurant to let you have their waste cooking oil the pigs go crazy over it. Posthole diggers and dig a few holes about 4 ft deep and pour in the grease. Also, whatever you throw the used cooking oil or grease onto the pigs will eat. We pour it on kudzu patchs or briar patches we want to get rid of and the pigs will clear them all the way to the dirt.

About the diesel corn being great bait..... adding diesel to corn is to keep deer from eating it, not to get pigs to eat it. When that technique is used all it takes is a spritz of diesel over the corn to discourage deer from it. Probably 4 or 5 pumps from a spray bottle might equal 3 or 4 tablespoons of diesel to cover 100+# of corn.
 
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globemaster3

New member
Lots of good data thus far. I was doing the same exact thing in OK until Oct. If you google wild hog baiting, you'll come up with some dedicated sites. Some things I learned from them:

The post hole digger is good, I used a normal shovel. Dig 2', pour some corn, add a little dirt, then more corn, then dirt, etc. This layering keeps them from getting to a single layer and getting it all at 1 shot.

There hundreds of recipies for sour corn and all the ones mentioned, or combinations, work. I used molasses and beer. I mixed it up in 5 gal buckets with lids and left it out in the sun for a week. It fermented real well as long as it didn't get too cold.

To bait the spot, I used the sour corn with regular corn, burried some as mentioned and spread some on the surface, dumped 5-10 gallons of grape kool aid, a couple bags of sugar, and set up the cameras. As long as I kept the spot baited, the hogs came. Lots of black piney woods rooters with a dalmation, red, and some red/black.

In addition to hogs you will get coons if they are in the area. Lots of them! That's why some recommend the diesel fuel. Hogs don't mind it, but the coons and deer will avoid it. Something those sites mentioned is also put in an old telephone pole with creosote on it. The hogs will rub on it and the creosote acts as an insect repellent.

Another thing I learned is they will stay in an area until the food dries up, the water dries up, or something drives them out. Any of the 3 will cause them to move along to somewhere with the first 2.

Good luck! I had a lot of fun with the kiddos setting the cameras and coming back to see what we got. It was kinda like trotline fishing: you never know what you are going to see next!
 
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troy_mclure

New member
we take a large wheelbarow, add 10lbs of chopped apples(the older the better), 10lbs of chopped potatoes, 25lbs of cracked corn, 5lbs sugar, 1 jar of bakers yeast.

fill with water till its 3" over the stuff, then stir till well mixed. cover with a sheet of ply wood and let sit 24hrs, add more water till its up to the top of the stuff.
it should start stinking here within another day or so.

use post hole diggers to dig 5-6 holes as deep as you can get them 3-5 feet apart.
pour in the slop.

this bait draws in coyotes, coons, opossoms, deer, hogs, and foxes.
 
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Al Thompson

Staff Alumnus
Looks like we're all on the same page. :)

As regards diesel - if they eat it, it's just like mineral oil - goes right through them, no big deal.
 
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SavageSniper

New member
My favorite is a 2ft piece of PVC pipe capped and filled with peanut butter. drill a bunch of 3/8th holes in it and hang it about 3-4 feet off the ground. Every critter in the woods like p-nut butter. *Note* be sure the limb you hang it from has some spring to it. If you tie it off solid and they get ahold to it, it is gone.
 
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phil mcwilliam

New member
Thanks for the feedback. Looks like I'll be tinkering with the old masey fergerson tractor & post hole digger next time I'm up there. I'll also add yeast or beer to my next batch, just to see if it makes a difference.
 
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hogdogs

Staff In Memoriam
I have used both beer and yeast. A cheap pack of yeast does more to make a good sour scent. It sours plenty fast.
Brent
 
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