Bears. Most of us love them when we see them on television, the internet or at the zoo. They are cute to watch, from afar. No one likes it, however, when we come upon a bear during a campping trip. With a sense of smell that is seven times stronger than that of a dog, it is really important to take precautions to keep them away from your food and other items. Nothing can derail an angler fishing trip faster than finding a bear tearing through your tent.

How You Can Keep Your Campground Bear Free.

• Keep food away from your campground. No, this does not mean you have to fast while on your camping trip. Keep your food away from your tents. Bears can smell it and even if it is plastic, it should always be stored away from your sleeping areas and not stored in backpacks that you keep next to your sleeping bags. Keep in mind that some other non-food items may smell like food to bears so you should not store that in your tents either. These items include deodorant, lotion and toothpaste. Bears’ sense of smell is so good that it can smell anything that may have a food like odor from up to a mile away. Candies and mints also falll into the “food” category.
• Cook away from your campground. All cooking should be done at least 100 yards away from your tents. Make sure you cook downwind from your sleeping area as the smells from what you are cooking can coat the tents and start to smell pretty delicious to bears in the area.
• Bring bear proof containers to store your food and tackle. Companies consider gear to be “bear proof” when they have successfully exposed to bears and it has withstood a full 60 minutes with an animal. You can purchase a live bait cooler, hunting cooler and other camping coolers. You can also hang your food in sacks. They should be high up enough (and far enough out on a branch) so that the bears cannot reach them but easy enough for you to retrieve. When you catch fish, if you are keeping it. Make sure you put it in a safe cooler. You do not want that sween angler you caught to be a nice treat for a bear.
• Take the same precautions with your garbage that you do with your food.It may be trash to you but it may also still be yummy to a bear. Say you catch and cook your angler catch, take care to keep that trash well away from your sleeping areas. Also bring any garbage you create with you when you leave the part.This is just a good policy for any camping trip.
• Bring bear spray. Even with the best equipment, you may encounter some bears. You can buy a spray that is similar to pepper spray that you would use to protect yourself from crime. This can be used to deter agressive bears and protect yourself and your family if they do find you or your camp site attractive.

Fishing and camping trips offer great ways for families and friends to get out into nature and reconnect with each other. Nearly 40 million Americans enjoy hunting and fishing. There is no reason to let potentially dangerous wildlife deter you from going on a camping trip with your friends or family. You can make sure your angler fishing trip is a lot more fun and less dangerous by protecting yourself and your campground from bears.

Most bears try to avoid contact with people. It is true that they are often more afraid of you than you are of them but that does not mean you should not take steps to protect yourself and make your campground less bear friendly. Just remember that they are really interested in eating your food but are not looking for ways to eat you. Just take these simple steps and use some common sense and you and your camping party should be safe from the bears in the area.