Spring bear 2019

[Wild one]

Thanks for that wild one. I was seeing lots of crap, but it was very dark green, near black. Lots of seeds in it. I'll use those tips when I head out in April!

Wait till May or at the min last week of April. I know it’s open April first but from a guy who spent years of rushing out as soon as possible it’s not worth it. Southern BC last week of April is the earliest I have seen reasonable bear activity. I would say majority of the bear kills I have been in on were mid May to first week of June.

But if you must just get out in the bush I get it lol

[snipersights]

There’s tons of hunting pressure on the island here. You gotta get out and hike around but good hunting. Not good road hunting because of the pressure. One thing to keep in mind if you plan on hunting the island is that you WILL BE REQUIRED to trespass past timber west and other companies gates if you want to hunt here. Most of the South Island is gated up tighter then a nuns butt. But if you don’t mind going past gates the hunting is great.

[kelowna.jordan]

Wait till May or at the min last week of April. I know it’s open April first but from a guy who spent years of rushing out as soon as possible it’s not worth it. Southern BC last week of April is the earliest I have seen reasonable bear activity. I would say majority of the bear kills I have been in on were mid May to first week of June.

But if you must just get out in the bush I get it lol

Yea, I'd be heading out mid to later April to start it out. Then a day per weekend until I'm successful.

[rattling_junkie]

Lots of good info wildone! One day I'll make it back to BC for a spring bear hunt. A lot your advice on timing rings true for Manitoba as well.

[Wild one]

Lots of good info wildone! One day I'll make it back to BC for a spring bear hunt. A lot your advice on timing rings true for Manitoba as well.

Timing for spring black bear is one of the biggest factors in my opinion. There is that magic window in some areas where the rut just starts and you can hit that green up where the leaves are not open but there is good quality food that is the ticket. The only way to hit it right is know your location well and the cycle of where greens up first to last. Figure out how the area greens up and you will know exactly where to go each day

for my local spots I pay attention to the trees and veg in my yard to gage where to go. From this I know how things are greening up within 2 hrs of home

Longer trips the trick I have been using for years is BCs highway cams. I use a combo of how green up near the highway is going along with what I can see for snow on the hills in the background. Add in a little firsthand knowledge of the area and I can tell if it is worth the drive or not. Saves wasting time driving out to an area and being too early.

I never have a trip planned for just one location if I am restricted to set dates. I have multiple locations in mind and make my choice a few days before I go according to the conditions

This in my opinion plays a huge roll when you focus on targeting locations according to conditions

[Ohwildwon]

Timing for spring black bear is one of the biggest factors in my opinion. There is that magic window in some areas where the rut just starts and you can hit that green up where the leaves are not open but there is good quality food that is the ticket. The only way to hit it right is know your location well and the cycle of where greens up first to last. Figure out how the area greens up and you will know exactly where to go each day

for my local spots I pay attention to the trees and veg in my yard to gage where to go. From this I know how things are greening up within 2 hrs of home

Longer trips the trick I have been using for years is BCs highway cams. I use a combo of how green up near the highway is going along with what I can see for snow on the hills in the background. Add in a little firsthand knowledge of the area and I can tell if it is worth the drive or not. Saves wasting time driving out to an area and being too early.

I never have a trip planned for just one location if I am restricted to set dates. I have multiple locations in mind and make my choice a few days before I go according to the conditions

This in my opinion plays a huge roll when you focus on targeting locations according to conditions

This is exactly what I do as well!

I then go in and set up a couple of areas with cams, baited with water softener salt and a bit of cob.

Go back a week later and make a plan from there...

[Wild one]

This is exactly what I do as well!

I then go in and set up a couple of areas with cams, baited with water softener salt and a bit of cob.

Go back a week later and make a plan from there...

Umm bait and bears not a good idea in BC

[45freezer]

hi everyone. another question abt taxidermy . if its decent bear 100+ kg should i open and skin him (and how to do it correctly ) ? if its happen far frm the road its only option.
if its 1st week of summer it could be really hot weather - how much time i have ...
that taxidermists charge $2k + for rag ...not cheap . how all that process works ? should i find somebody and book in advance ?
thanks
Rod

Decide if you want a rug, full or half mount ahead of time and watch as many videos as you can on skinning a bear accordingly including paws and face, lots on youtube...if you might potentially be doing it on the spot make sure you have lots of salt with you, if you can get it to the truck whole though just skin it down to the paws and base of the skull, cut at the joints and leave the head and paws attached to the hide. Then fold it skin to skin, roll it up with the head and paws on the outside and freeze asap...the taxidermist will charge a few bucks to skin it out but the peace of mind is worth it if you don't have much experience. Certainly not cheap as you mentioned but you can't shoot the first one twice and if you take good care of it then it should last multiple lifetimes...at least that's how I'm justifying mine lol. Picking my own up from black powder on saturday so I'll be able to give you some feedback on their work soon enough, I never scheduled anything ahead of time just let them know I had a hide on ice and set up a drop off time, that said some taxidermists can probably be picky about how they want hides brought in.

[caddisguy]

I hunt pretty low elevation south "coastish". We usually start seeing good bear activity and at least one bear per trip starting mid April.

If the food is out the bears are out. 2019 looks like it will be an early year. We were still seeing dandelions popping in December and not a heck of a lot of snow has happened since.

No doubt May will bring the most activity like every year, but ample shooting opportunities will begin opening day here and there will be lots of bears dropping all through April.

South facing slopes and open valley bottoms, 0-600M elevation in Region 2 will a shooting gallery before mid April, guaranteed.

[kelowna.jordan]

I'm really excited to dedicate some of my spring weekends to try and get my first bear! Thanks for all of the advice from the seasoned bear hunters