Anyone else getting skunked on this spring bear season ?

[Jord1022]

Seems like after my hunting partner shot and missed a very nice bear we haven't been able to see any since then. We have gone out to new areas on different trips. We have seen sign everywhere. The one deactivated road we hiked on for 10km had about 15-20 piles of scat on it. We have seen chewed on grass and snapped sapplings.

Everytime my hunting partner says "hey look another pile of shit" I say to him "shit doesn't fill the freezer"

The last area we went to had lots of bear sign but it didn't look fresh. The area was also insanely thick and overgrown. In my opinion it wasn't worth shooting a bear for it to take off down a very step bank and into thick bush. Wouldnt want to be stuck on the thick of it with a pissed off bear.

Plus side to our efforts:
-been able to see the beauty of our province in areas vehicles or atvs cant go
-gets me out of the house or off the lawn mower
-time away from insanely busy work schedule


Last ditch effort will be the last Saturday/Sunday of the month. Going to bring a couple of my dogs this time. Maybe they will bring me some good fortune.

Anyone that wants to meet up are welcome

[caddisguy]

Are you focusing on the first few hours of light and after 4:30pm until last light? I have never seen a heck of a lot mid day... some guys get them in the afternoon but it's less common.

Hunting thick crap and using your nose and ears is effective and pretty exciting, though tracking and packing not so much.

Those areas you mention sound nice and I would stick to them if the sign (nipped grass and scat) is fresh... just try to be in those areas morning and evening.

There will be grass, dandelion and bugs everywhere now so bears will be spread out but the most nutrient rich place you can find is a safe bet.

The rut should be in full swing, so anything could happen anywhere. You could roll up on a sow and a boar and not even need to guess which one is which lol

Doing what you are doing, its going to happen. Looking forward to the bear-down story.

[HarryToolips]

Hey you've got some very good plus sides to your endeavours thus far, and that's the most important thing: just getting out there..I've been too busy to get out as often as I'd like, but I too have not been able to take down a bear that's not on the smaller side, they've all been too small for me thus far...but I'm having fun that's the main thing..

[Linksman313]

Not sure what region you are hunting in, but instead of melting all the boot leather, try to find the sunny, grassy slope with decent sign around and stake it out morning and evening as caddisguy mentioned. I too have passed on a few smaller boars this year, waiting for some color to show up. Good luck at the end of the month.

[plumberjustin]

The last area we went to had lots of bear sign but it didn't look fresh. The area was also insanely thick and overgrown. In my opinion it wasn't worth shooting a bear for it to take off down a very step bank and into thick bush. Wouldnt want to be stuck on the thick of it with a pissed off bear.
If you're hunting in region 2, this is exactly what you should be looking for. Don't be discouraged by the thick stuff, close quarters hunting bears is probably the most exhilarating thing you'll do. If you're into good fresh sigh, stay put, keep your eyes and ears open. Keep the wind in your favor and you'll likely smell the bear before seeing.

[monasheemountainman]

hunting....not killing

[Wild one]

Passed on lots and helped others drop a few if I eat my tag I am ok with it

[Jord1022]

Every trip we have gone up the night before we hunt. We are hiking before the sun is up so we get to areas where we have seen sign on previous trips.

We have gone to region 3 mostly. We went for a quick trip in region 2 on the crowsnest.

persistance will pay off in the end. End of the month will be a good trip lasting 3 days.

[Wild one]

Water feed thick cover and sign find these

yes cut blocks hold bears but I never focuse on them

last few hours of the day are best but 3 of the bear kills I helped with this spring were mid day 1 late afternoon. Find peaceful places and hunt all day

stay away from crowded places this is huge

[caddisguy]

While it is somewhat region and terrain dependent, I think for the type of hunting you are doing (you aren't glassing bears from 2km up in the alpines) sticking to one area (once you have keyed on a pocket with 1 or more feeding areas close together and fresh sign) is the best way to go IMHO. Covering ground burning boot leather or tire tread can certainly work in bear-rich areas with low pressure, but we don't really live near any such places.

In my area of focus, I have only seen 3 bears on the road in the last 20 years or so (probably 50000kms of driving) They all bolt just the same, whether they hear an engine or gravel under your feet. Creeping around 0.5-1km off of the road, we have seen dozens (maybe over 100?) and many not even trying. Just counting the 3 "potentially productive" trips we did this year (not counting the trips where there was snow, no grass, no sign) I think we saw 8 just halfassing it (afternoon naps, cooking 3 warm meals, tea, coffee, playing cards, etc)

Deactivated and overgrown trails, drainages are good places to make your way around. You still want key in on the feeding areas (ideally 2-3 good places to feed with cover around in a 1-2km area) and be super sneaky like you are hunting deer. Most black bears don't realize they are tough. They are often shy by nature (not always obviously, some can be ballsy or downright jerks) not just with humans but often other bears too. I imagine they bolt when a grouse flushes or when a squirrel drops a pinecone. Others will hang around and play cat and mouse (you are the cat) ... the bear is there and knows you are there too... they are just waiting for you to do your thing, pass by / move on and leave their feeding area before they come back out and take their turn. It's not just with humans, bears do this with other bears too.

If you are walking around near a feeding area, they know you are there, unless you snuck in quietly and had the wind in your favor and you were lucky enough they had their head down munching on grass or clawing up a stump. Have confidence in your spot, or better yet, place where there are 2-3 good feeding spots with sign all within 1-2km of each other. Spend time sneaking in and out of these spots like a ninja. Approach them like you would if they were holding blacktail bucks on high alert. If there's seemingly nothing there, hang out for 20 mins, if nothing comes out, walk away, scuff your feet, step on sticks on the way out if you want... then just when you are out of sight for a few mins, walk another 100M, then sneak back in like a ninja. Still nothing? Do this in the next area and repeat this all day between the 3 areas. You are going to confuse a bear. There will either be one when you (re)approach the area, or one will come out when you are sitting in the area.

We used to worry about getting our scent in places (ie: walking through the feeding area, checking our their scat, etc) and "ruining" the spot for the day/weekend, but after walking in on countless bears or having them walk right up to us (within a few yards) ... we started to notice a pattern. We could pound an area all day... sit there all quietly for hours and see nothing... then by chance we started combining trailcams with casual bear hunting. In our case this meant we were walking back and forth through the feeding area, hiking up into the timber making tons of noise, spooking bears and having them bolt all over the place. After a day of being careless, getting our scent all over a bear area and spooking bears we found that if we just sat down and waited quietly after being obvious a bear would come out. Often you could hear the bear coming in through the thick stuff and it was evident he wasn't far away to begin with.... probably just sleeping 10 yards in the nearest patch of devils club, figured we were gone, got up and started walking through the brush.

Once they are good and confused, you will find they will even approach from down wind with you sitting right there and they still have no idea you are there. They can smell
your scent, but knowing whether you "are" there vs "were" there or "safe distance" gets kind of blurry. It could still be a bit spooky, but they use their eyes and ears too. You've been in and out of their kitchen all day making some noise and now there's no noise and no movement. Bear thinks great, my turn now... snack time!

Obviously this kind of strategy is not going to work in the fall up in the alpine where your scent is more spooky and there is a less cover. My main point is that valley bottom bears in areas with any sort of pressure will try to pattern you. They are taught how to evade humans from birth. Take cover when you see/hear/smell something not right. Come back out when you think it's safe. Adding some deception to your routine could make all the difference. They are taught caution and evasion but they aren't really that bright and they generally aren't going to key in on deception or trickery. Sometimes it is as simple as walking out of the spot and then walking back in 5-10 minutes later (because who does that?!) Other times it's keeping your scent in an area and stomping around a little loud, then sitting quietly. I have heard of hunters sending one guy a few hundred meters back to the truck, get him to slam the door, start it up and drive a little ways away while the other stays behind... by the time his partner comes back, bear down.

I would leave the dog(s) at home though

[nuadixion]

try calling them....but be at ready all the time ...they come quietly and quickly.....very exciting:)

[FortBoy]

very interesting caddis guy, never thought of going after bears like you mentioned, but it sure does sound logical in my head. will give a try this weekend. thanks for the info

[Jord1022]

Very good info caddis. I don't have a computer or I would be uploading photos to my posts. I agree with Fortboy it makes sense the hunting style you're talking about. Hell my wife does this to me all the time. One minute she's in the room then she's gone. Most of the time I can't tell if she's behind me or not. Sneaky women :)

Our last trip it was very foggy in the area. We weren't high up in elevation but it made glassing impossible. We did get to a spot and heard some weird noises about 100 feet down a slope but couldn't see anything. Tried calling with a distress call. The noise kept up even with the sound of a call. We waited 20 mins saw nothing and continued on.

I should mention my hunting partner isn't as out going and willing to truck through the thick stuff or going down a slope. He's older and worried he will get hurt. I also don't want him to get hurt or carry him lol

last hunting trip will be 3 days as mentioned. The area I know well from camping and hiking it over the years. Took the family and some friends there for May long and of course there was bears being spotted all over the place. Just my luck right.

For my dog she's a German short hair pointer. She was trained by me, doesn't make a peep when something is near. She just stands there pointing away like she's supposed to. She's a greatly bird dog. She's spotted grouse for me in the past. My other dogs are camp dogs. Make a bunch of noise and chase things off if need be.

[two-feet]

I have been skunked so far as well, but I have only been out once and saw 11 bears so not complaining. I had a round chambered 4 seperate times, twice the same big boar gave me the slip, once I could not ensure there were no cubs, and once I saw some cubs shimmy up a tree. The lesson- watch those bears a good long while for cubs before pulling the trigger!

[ACB]

It's called being in the right place at the right time, right for you, wrong for mister bear. It's been my experience that you don't see a lot of boars where you're seeing sows and cubs. The sows with cubs will try to stay away from boars, because boars are death to cubs.

[plumberjustin]

While it is somewhat region and terrain dependent, I think for the type of hunting you are doing (you aren't glassing bears from 2km up in the alpines) sticking to one area (once you have keyed on a pocket with 1 or more feeding areas close together and fresh sign) is the best way to go IMHO. Covering ground burning boot leather or tire tread can certainly work in bear-rich areas with low pressure, but we don't really live near any such places.

In my area of focus, I have only seen 3 bears on the road in the last 20 years or so (probably 50000kms of driving) They all bolt just the same, whether they hear an engine or gravel under your feet. Creeping around 0.5-1km off of the road, we have seen dozens (maybe over 100?) and many not even trying. Just counting the 3 "potentially productive" trips we did this year (not counting the trips where there was snow, no grass, no sign) I think we saw 8 just halfassing it (afternoon naps, cooking 3 warm meals, tea, coffee, playing cards, etc)

Deactivated and overgrown trails, drainages are good places to make your way around. You still want key in on the feeding areas (ideally 2-3 good places to feed with cover around in a 1-2km area) and be super sneaky like you are hunting deer. Most black bears don't realize they are tough. They are often shy by nature (not always obviously, some can be ballsy or downright jerks) not just with humans but often other bears too. I imagine they bolt when a grouse flushes or when a squirrel drops a pinecone. Others will hang around and play cat and mouse (you are the cat) ... the bear is there and knows you are there too... they are just waiting for you to do your thing, pass by / move on and leave their feeding area before they come back out and take their turn. It's not just with humans, bears do this with other bears too.

If you are walking around near a feeding area, they know you are there, unless you snuck in quietly and had the wind in your favor and you were lucky enough they had their head down munching on grass or clawing up a stump. Have confidence in your spot, or better yet, place where there are 2-3 good feeding spots with sign all within 1-2km of each other. Spend time sneaking in and out of these spots like a ninja. Approach them like you would if they were holding blacktail bucks on high alert. If there's seemingly nothing there, hang out for 20 mins, if nothing comes out, walk away, scuff your feet, step on sticks on the way out if you want... then just when you are out of sight for a few mins, walk another 100M, then sneak back in like a ninja. Still nothing? Do this in the next area and repeat this all day between the 3 areas. You are going to confuse a bear. There will either be one when you (re)approach the area, or one will come out when you are sitting in the area.

We used to worry about getting our scent in places (ie: walking through the feeding area, checking our their scat, etc) and "ruining" the spot for the day/weekend, but after walking in on countless bears or having them walk right up to us (within a few yards) ... we started to notice a pattern. We could pound an area all day... sit there all quietly for hours and see nothing... then by chance we started combining trailcams with casual bear hunting. In our case this meant we were walking back and forth through the feeding area, hiking up into the timber making tons of noise, spooking bears and having them bolt all over the place. After a day of being careless, getting our scent all over a bear area and spooking bears we found that if we just sat down and waited quietly after being obvious a bear would come out. Often you could hear the bear coming in through the thick stuff and it was evident he wasn't far away to begin with.... probably just sleeping 10 yards in the nearest patch of devils club, figured we were gone, got up and started walking through the brush.

Once they are good and confused, you will find they will even approach from down wind with you sitting right there and they still have no idea you are there. They can smell
your scent, but knowing whether you "are" there vs "were" there or "safe distance" gets kind of blurry. It could still be a bit spooky, but they use their eyes and ears too. You've been in and out of their kitchen all day making some noise and now there's no noise and no movement. Bear thinks great, my turn now... snack time!

Obviously this kind of strategy is not going to work in the fall up in the alpine where your scent is more spooky and there is a less cover. My main point is that valley bottom bears in areas with any sort of pressure will try to pattern you. They are taught how to evade humans from birth. Take cover when you see/hear/smell something not right. Come back out when you think it's safe. Adding some deception to your routine could make all the difference. They are taught caution and evasion but they aren't really that bright and they generally aren't going to key in on deception or trickery. Sometimes it is as simple as walking out of the spot and then walking back in 5-10 minutes later (because who does that?!) Other times it's keeping your scent in an area and stomping around a little loud, then sitting quietly. I have heard of hunters sending one guy a few hundred meters back to the truck, get him to slam the door, start it up and drive a little ways away while the other stays behind... by the time his partner comes back, bear down.

I would leave the dog(s) at home though
Caddis the bear whisperer. Really good info here, this is how you get it done.