Fishy Bear

[hparrott]

I came across a good sized bear eating nasty looking dead fish the other day. This bear was located in an area where fish certainly wouldn't be a main staple of the bear's diet until last month. So...how long until the bear tastes fishy so to speak?? I had contemplated shooting the bear but now I'm unsure that it would have actually tasted differently.

[Wild one]

I would pass

[IslandWanderer]

The one we just got smelled like a salmon. Gonna eat it anyway. I probably don’t have much choice here on the island- lots of rivers.

[guest]

Yuk, although always thumbs up for predator hunting, I do like to eat bear, black or grizzly, that said i vow to never shoot a fish bear, if I want fish tasting meat...... I go fishing.

Just my 2 cents

[Blainer]

I imagine it had a Great hide, shinny and healthy from fish, but the meat is not going to be favourable.

[hparrott]

Yuk, although always thumbs up for predator hunting, I do like to eat bear, black or grizzly, that said i vow to never shoot a fish bear, if I want fish tasting meat...... I go fishing.

Just my 2 cents

I couldn't agree more. I have also vowed to never eat a fish bear either but that's why I pondered it because I know fish had not been available until a month ago. If you go eat McDonalds everyday your body composition is going to take time to change right? So I wasn't sure how long it would take to be gross.

[crazy ducker]

Get it smoked bear smoked it might just be some of the best smoked salmon you will ever have, but I would pass

[Salty]

The problem isn't the bear's been eating fish. The problem is its been eating rotten fish. If it lived on a fresh fish diet sign me up. When the fishing's good they high grade a couple chomps and leave it and on to the next one when the run starts slowing down the go to clean up mode on carcasses well into decay, its pretty disgusting.

[mpotzold]

The problem isn't the bear's been eating fish. The problem is its been eating rotten fish. If it lived on a fresh fish diet sign me up. When the fishing's good they high grade a couple chomps and leave it and on to the next one when the run starts slowing down the go to clean up mode on carcasses well into decay, its pretty disgusting.


Or carrion?
They say it will taste like what it has been recently eating. This is why a cougar tastes great according to people who eat/ate it. It eats mainly fresh meat & carrion only if starving.

[dougan]

Don't eat anything that craps like a man . Problem solved

[srupp]

Hmm pass if it were me..i used Vicks under my nose for caping fish fed bears..

100 % of salmon fed bears now rely on hedisarium" tuber to kill the bugs in their stomachs so as not to be eaten alive in hibernation..found on north facing slopes under ground tuber/plant.
Srupp

[boxhitch]

Whats with the naysayers?
H , nothing ventured, nothing gained. It will cost you a bear tag, lots of those around too.
It may be good eats, the right seasoning can hide almost anything, someone may appreciate the superior dog food, takes another pred off the landscape, another story, lots of pluses.
Down side is a little effort

[Thunderstix]

Well so far none of the responders mentioned any firsthand experience. Fireonethree and I shot and ate a fish bear many years ago. Its hide smelled to high heaven of fish, but it did NOT taste like fish whatsoever.... So there you have it, can't guarantee it but that is how it was.

[Blainer]

The one we just got smelled like a salmon. Gonna eat it anyway. I probably don’t have much choice here on the island- lots of rivers.Hunt the Spring, not fall during the salmon return/spawning.

[blackhawk19]

good one .lol

[hparrott]

Thanks for all the insight into this.

[IronNoggin]

The one we just got smelled like a salmon. Gonna eat it anyway. I probably don’t have much choice here on the island- lots of rivers.

Lots of choice here on The Rock! Look for areas away from the rivers. Mountain Berry Bears are Excellent this time of year, and yield a LOT of good fat for making lard. Meat is quite good too!

My latest had no smell to him whatsoever, and is in fact delicious. And yeah, from the Island. Up a longs ways from any fish bearing river...

https://i.imgur.com/5UJlgCd.jpg

Cheers,
Nog

[ian745]

Lots of choice here on The Rock! Look for areas away from the rivers. Mountain Berry Bears are Excellent this time of year, and yield a LOT of good fat for making lard. Meat is quite good too!

My latest had no smell to him whatsoever, and is in fact delicious. And yeah, from the Island. Up a longs ways from any fish bearing river...

https://i.imgur.com/5UJlgCd.jpg

Cheers,
Nog



looks like he`s just laying there waiting for you to scratch his belly!!!..lol, and i second the berry bear, my last one was shot way up top, away from any salmon streams or rivers, not a drop of fish smell, and extremely tasty!

[patbrennan]

So how long does it take in the spring for the "fish" bears to clean out their systems (i.e. take away the fishy smell/taste so they are a good meat bear)?

[HappyJack]

IF it tastes fishy just turn it all into dog food, a good bear is a dead bear.

[Ozone]

IF it tastes fishy just turn it all into dog food, a good bear is a dead bear.

or feed it to other critters out in the bush. Set up a trail cam and see what eats it.

[patbrennan]

I'd much rather avoid shooting one that is inedible, if possible!

[jbruce]

you shot it now eat it,won't taste fishy,will taste like bear... just don't look to close when your butchering your bear,it's gonna be riddled with worms .

[ian745]

you shot it now eat it,won't taste fishy,will taste like bear... just don't look to close when your butchering your bear,it's gonna be riddled with worms .


not all bears are wormy, my last one was zero, and i`ve helped with 5 other bears this year that are all worm free...

[IronNoggin]

not all bears are wormy, my last one was zero, and i`ve helped with 5 other bears this year that are all worm free...

Not a single worm encountered in the bear I posted here. As in NADA!! :grin:

Cheers,
Nog

[two-feet]

you shot it now eat it,won't taste fishy,will taste like bear... just don't look to close when your butchering your bear,it's gonna be riddled with worms .

Sorry, but bad info. Worms are possible, but not guarenteed.

[mpotzold]

Would you shoot this guy?:mrgreen:

https://photos.smugmug.com/Wildlife/North-American-Bear-Program/i-NLctt8b/1/087cb03f/L/2A9K9218-L.jpg

[Pioneerman]

you shot it now eat it,won't taste fishy,will taste like bear... just don't look to close when your butchering your bear,it's gonna be riddled with worms .


Farthest from the truth I have heard, I have taken at least 20 bears and consumed them and non were wormy