Overall experience from those such as yourself that have done it and possibly outfitter recommendations?

Are you looking for a fully guided trip where they come help you set the snare, or are you looking to use an outfit's bait sites and try it on your own?

Have you looked at the snare options yet? Aldrich vs Crit-R-Done? Blind sets vs baited tubes or cubbies?

Overall experience for me is that it is very fun. It took me a season for the first one, but has gotten easier every year since. I use the Aldrich type and set the trail into the bait. You can get away with a lot of blocking and guiding. If you are planning to blind set I could send you some pictures and tips.

Outfitter recommendation depends on if you are looking to DIY, or to target the biggest Maine Black Bears with step by step instruction, or somewhere in the middle and visit a nice lodge with good food and vacation trap.

Realistically, I am most likely looking at something in the middle, I do not need to be spoon fed, but do need some direction. I would be looking for some type of lodging, hopefully within distance of a good fishing.

I have looked at the snare options and it somewhat depends on if the outfitter provides one or not. If not, I will not be buying a $370 trap that I will most likely just use once.

And I do want a chance at a big bear, who doesn’t. 😀

And let’s be honest, everything is price dependent, I like value, but not cheap.

I would definitely appreciate any advice you have and please post or IM your pictures.

id set ya up but i just sold my guide service here in maine last yr . we alway used the wilson bear snare but i think they changed the name to adx i think ..... my hunters have used that trap to catch around 35 bears over the past 15 yrs . i always liked it because its the only snare trap that has pan tension so as to keep the lil ones from firing it off . my advice is to find a outfiter that has atleast 50 baitsites that he used for the baiting season ,the outfiter will know by the end of the baiting season ware the big ones are that only come in at night and target them spots . most outfiters will work with you on the price for bear trapping if you go after the bait season hunters are gone depending on your wants an needs . any other questions just make a post an i will try an get a fast reply out to ya . ow ya as for releasing bears my rule was we only released bears under 90 lbs its easy pezzy just use a 4by 5 sheet of plywood with a hole cut out an a cupple handles on it an a guy with a good pair of cabble cutters

I have been thinking about a Maine bear trapping trip myself. I love the state of Maine and really need to get back up there. I bear hunted two years and moose hunted another year in Maine back in 2009-2011. I have also been trying to get a few of my friends that bird hunt to travel up with me to grouse hunt.

The Wilson bear snare had to be used with a foothold trap with no holding power and was outlawed from use.

That's too bad^^^

Yep it is.I sure miss my buddy Dave Wilson a local trapper that died of cancer

wow i didnt realize we couldnt use that trap any more sorry bout that . i always enjoyed talking with dave

Maine has some stupid laws.

Dave Wilson

Call Brian Flowers

Dan Wagner MaineTrophyOutfitters.com

dan wagner is a good guy an can set ya up right he also is in a great area an has alot of baits .