flyla

[Guest Colorado Bob]

How did the bear hunt go in ID?? CB

[fly]

Hi CB, I just got back and must say the bear hunting was a disapointment. My first bear hunt in Canada was in 2000 with an outfitter and I didn't see a bear. This trip I did it myself and again, I did not see a bear. There really are bears out there right? I mean other than in a zoo.

My buddy Dave saw 2 bears on the trip. He had a big black come down the hill to his bait the day after we set it. He moved for his gun before the bear put his head in the bait can and the bear saw his movement. It bolted and never returned. He esitmated it weighed about 300 lbs. The second we bumped as we were setting up baits, Dave saw it, I only heard it running up the mountain.

Idaho is 6-8 weeks behind on spring/summer. It snowed several days we were there including June 8th. The only day the temperature exceded 55 degrees was early in the hunt, the day Dave saw the big black. If it wasn't snowing it was raining (every day except the first).

I asked the check station about bear harvest numbers and it wasn't just us. No one was having luck. Normally 60-70 bears are checked by the time we arrived on May 30th. Only 10 were checked since the season opened. When we left on June 8th a total of 11 bears were checked. The additional bear was taken on the same day Dave saw the 300 pounder.

I spoke with several unhappy outfitter clients. Dave even heard a client cursing an outfitter (they were glassing a hillside) because the bear activity was so poor. That client needed a good kick. I've learned a lot on this trip and one thing is that I have a new found admiration for outfitters (at least the ones that I saw in Idaho). Those guys were working so hard, I know because me and Dave were doing the same work. It's just about the hardest hunting I've ever done. I hiked several miles (almost straight up) every day. The outfitters were doing the same. They were pulling every trick to get a bear for their clients. Nothing was working. I think most of the bears were still in hibernation. This was sort of a freak year from what the locals were telling me.

People in Idaho and Montana are great. I made several contacts who were all willing to help a couple Illinois boys bag a bear. We also befriended a retired 65 year old from Oklahoma who has to be one of the toughest cowboys alive. Ron was his name and he hunts bears all over the country. He spends 6-8 weeks huntng bear (by himself) in the spring and fall. He sleeps in a 1-man tepee the whole time. He was a little upset when a rat chewed a hole in his tent (everything the man owned was wet). When everyones spirits were down Ron was always in the game ready to get you fired up.

I'm going to take some time and reflect on the positives as well as the negatives. I do know that the disappointment of not harvesting a bear has not discouraged me or Dave. We are more determined to get a bear now more than ever. I feel a lot different after this trip than the one in Canada. If I can find a way to finance a trip next year you better believe I'll be hunting for a bruin.

As far as gear and safety the trip went very well. The only mishap was a flat tire in Kansas City. That's pretty good considering the 3400 miles we drove. The 2000 watt Honda generator worked great as well as the treestand I purchased from a RT forum member. Dave had a cold when we left and the cold damp weather worsened his condition which is why we left a couple days early.

I've got some pictures of landscape, Elk, Eagles, and some trout I caught. One pregnant cow Elk was 5 steps from my treestand, she looked miserable. Dave also watched an ariel combat between a hawk and an eagle over a trout the hawk had taken from a pond. I'll post later.

It's good to be back.

>Frank

[WaCoyote]

Where in Idaho? The bears were late where I hunted in NE Washington as well, not near the activity I would have hoped to see. The elevation where I was is only 2500-2800 feet and it was just starting to green. I know higher it was still dormant. Spring bear activity is usually high where I was and I only saw 4 bears total in 6 days. Typically you'll see that in a day in the spring. Fall is a very different story. I don't know where those buggers go in the fall. Hate to see you guys hunt so hard and have such dismal activity. Put in for a NE Washington spring bear tag next year, maybe I can point you in the right direction. I know units 121, and 113 pretty well, maybe a little in 117. I feel confident that I could get you into bear IN THE SPRING in 121 and 117. If your looking for trophy sized stuff you wont get it here consistantly. The average is a 5 footer. I did see a good one though that would have went 6. Unfortunately I already had a 4'11" dry sow in the truck. LOL! Anyways the west side of the state has bigger bears since the seasons arent as harsh as the east side. You may consider the SE corner too, but I would be of no help there. Heck I'd take you to 121 personally and show you where I've seen bears, where you could camp, etc. Just gimme some sausage. 121 is full of merriams too so buy a couple turkey tags and hunt both. Hunt birds down low in the morning then when they shut up head up high in the mid day and afternoon. Doesn't get much better than that. If you ever did hunt here I'd come out a little later in the season which ends may31. This way the turkey hunters will have thinned out and the higher elevations will have greened up. Turkey season ends the 31st as well.

As far as Idaho goes, I worked for the Forest Service in college and I've spent / spend a lot of time up by Avery in the St. Joe National forest. Consider hunting that area in the future. The North fork of the St.Joe is HUGE country with good bear sign though not as good as washington. The Northfork of the St. Joe Runs from Avery to Wallace and is all National forest. I can tell you camping spots to try and point you in the right direction however I never saw as many bears there as I did in WA.

[fly]

The folks in Idaho were great, but you can't beat the RT forum members. Thanks for the offer WaCoyote I may just take you up on it.

I hunted unit 12 around the Lochsa river. We camped near the White Sands campground ~ Powell Idaho. The elevation was around 4,000 feet. There were more people hunting the area than I anticipated. A lot of outfitters.

At this point I'm really just interested in harvesting a bear that isn't a cub or a sow with cubs. Size or color wouldn't matter. The biggest drawback for me is the expense in getting there. I pulled a travel trailer and averaged 10mpg. We went 1700 miles to Idaho. I believe WA would be about 2000 miles. The gas cost was about 1400.00 round trip. Cheap compared to flying, paying over charges for gear, and paying for a place to stay. Who knows what crazy amount gas will be next year???

[WaCoyote]

There were 15 tags given in my unit so other hunters arent a problem. Well, maybe turkey hunters but they'll be lower. I'd start applying for a Washington spring bear tag it'll take a few years to get one. They just opened the NE units for spring bear a couple years ago and I luckily got drawn this year. Let me know.

[aksheephuntress]

...Oh, gee...You know- I was wondering how you guys were doing out there, on the venture...

-Sorry to hear about how it went...-but it sounds like a wonderful time in a lot of ways, regardless...

-sounds like a hard year for bear hunting, for sure...-you know; the bears probably are out of hibernation...-just in different, hard -to-reach areas, trying to get to forage without snow...-that's how it is here, right now..-although there are a lot more bears (nice ones, too...6' and over)...being seen, and 7 taken, that I have heard of , so far...

-Let me know when you are thinking of coming up here....

[Guest Zirkel]

Unit 62 and Unit 61 in Colorado are crawling with the fawn eating son of guns. come shoot one of them.

Zirkel

[fly]

Kathleen, I'll never stop thinking about a trip to Alaska. If it ever becomes more than thinking/dreaming you'll be the first to hear from me.

Thanks for the tip on units 61 and 62 in Colorado Zirkel. Being a teacher means late August-early December is my busy time at work. It's hard for me to justify finding a sub or cancelling classes for a fall hunting trip. What I need is a dean that understands the fall schedule of a hunter. Since I teach in a school of nursing I doubt that will ever happen. This is why spring bear hunting is so attractive for me. Colorado sure is a lot closer than Idaho, maybe they will offer a spring hunt some day?

[elkoholic]

This spring was indeed a strange one with colder and wetter weather than usual. Just this past weekend the elevations above 5000 ft. received from one to two feet of snow. As WaCoyote stated, the St. Joe River is an excellent place to hunt and is loaded with bear. Not a bad place to hunt deer and elk either. Northwest Montana is also excellent, with plenty of bear but the hunting is spot and stalk, which I prefer, and you can cover a lot of miles in one day. There are hundreds of gated logging roads to walk and glass the clear-cuts as you come to them. Just have to make sure you have a black bear in your sights and not a grizzly.