Fall black bear opener

[plumberjustin]

Hey friends, wondering if anyone has had any great success specifically targeting black bears between September 1st and 10th before deer season opens?? I've only hunted for bears in the spring, and to date have not had any luck cutting a tag. What sort of elevation and habitat would be best to find bears in the fall, besides the obvious salmon filled streams. I've been out a bunch of times for hares already and have seen little to no recent sign of bears. Looking for any constructive advice or tips anyone is willing to share. Would really love to put a bear in the freezer before I start focussing all of my efforts on deer. Thanks in advance, cheers.

[rides bike to work]

I was up in the caribou for four days scouting for my 5-2b moose leh and saw 5 bears and tons of poop full of berries unfortunately not much moose sign. I have seen many bears opening week up high in the past as well.so I would say up high is probably good bet.

[ducktoller]

Alpine berries.
You wouldn't want a salmon bear anyways.

[two-feet]

Go into the high country for a berry bear, dang fine eats.

[Sofa King]

well, if the bear are deer-killers, would it not kinda suggest looking for them where you'd be looking for deer.
I know I see them all through the pre-season and during the hunting season right where I'm deer hunting and scouting.

[IslandBC]

what sofa said. I just went and checked my cam and its all deer and bears. deer at night and bears early morning and late evening. on my walk in i spotted a two point BT and about 100 yards away was a decent BB... feeding on black berry bushes. this is about 7:00am before it warms up. Find the scat and be around in that area in the evening

[jessonml]

Find the blueberries up high and the bears won't be far.

[604ksmith]

I always end up seeing bears everywhere I go. In my mind, they're simply not as picky as other species.

If you're hunting with a friend, or extremely cautious, try using a predator call. I've had very good success calling bears in, from up high to down low, regardless of weather. But if you're solo, or don't want to call a bear in, just keep hiking around. We have 150,000 or so black bears, if you're in an area with both water, shelter, and a few open areas you'll find what you're looking for quite quickly.

Also, I like the late morning or early even for bears. I haven't had much success with first or last light - sleep in!

[plumberjustin]

All great info, thanks so much for the tips guys. Been spending most of my time between Coquihalla summit and the Fraser canyon area. I obviously need to expand my range and spend a little more time trying to locate berries and less time trying to spot bears. I'll definitely keep at it, bound to stumble upon something. On the upside, no shortage of hares, and seeing plenty of grouse.