Spring Black Bear, to scout or not to scout?

[WesHarm]

How early is too early?

I have a new born (well okay 2 months old but still..) so I'm not going to get out a whole lot this year, want to make as much of it as i can in the days the wifey lets me out! Mostly looking for suggestions of timing to head out, general areas to focus on, and any tips from long time bear hunters!

plus i figured why not get folks excited about it too, so feel free to post pics of ur bears from years gone by!

[RyoTHC]

I’m not positive about the coastal bears but as soon as you go east of hope, don’t even waste your time until May.
this coming from an avid bear hunter. If you want to go for a walk in April you might as well go shed hunting and bring a gun just in case lol

[russm]

I’m not positive about the coastal bears but as soon as you go east of hope, don’t even waste your time until May.
this coming from an avid bear hunter. If you want to go for a walk in April you might as well go shed hunting and bring a gun just in case lol

Yep, i used to get out as soon as i could, learned quickly to save the gas til may

[moosinaround]

Season opens April 1, but up north here, I don't bother till end of April, beginning of May. Bought a quad on tracks to get back, to the back ends of the valleys, before others. Might find some moose sheds too?!!! Moosin

[Pauly]

May is the ticket unless we get an early spring. April the bears are generally hanging around their winter dens yet still somewhat drowsy. Opportunity can be few and far between. May and September best bear hunting months .

[monasheemountainman]

Not necessary to scout for bears it’s more about finding feed when the time comes. But nothing wrong with going in the bush anyway. But if you’re asking if it’s necessary then I’d say no

[HarryToolips]

I’m not positive about the coastal bears but as soon as you go east of hope, don’t even waste your time until May.
this coming from an avid bear hunter. If you want to go for a walk in April you might as well go shed hunting and bring a gun just in case lol
True story.....as soon as they get rid of their fecal plug their metabolism changes, and the clock is ticking for them to start finding calories....you will still see them occasionally in April but far more likely in May...

[IslandWanderer]

Lol, people scout for b bears? We're tripping over good sized ones here in the spring.

[NMO]

Hunting mid-late april on coastal estuaries can be very productive for big boars. Less bears out but if you are after quality, not quantity then fill your boots. Can be touchy with weather however, their metabolism seems to be tied to the thermometer.

[Ron.C]

Really depends on the area. If you are new to bear hunting and limited on time, wait until the second week of May when you know the bears are out. But no harm in taking a drive in April and looking. In my area, local bears can be seen in farm fields in April long before you'll ever cut a track up in the hills.
you've got my blood pumping. Still moping because duck season is over. Here's a few pics from past years

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/943.jpg

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/4131.jpg

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/bear119.jpg

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/2016_2.jpg

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/BEAR211.jpg

[twoSevenO]

nice bears! How big's that bottom one? Looks like a good size melon head on him.

[WesHarm]

This is exactly what i was hoping to see!! Some great photos looking like a great time out!!
Thanks for all the tips! Keep em coming!

[HighCountryBC]

Do a lot of turkey hunting from the Okanagan to Kootenays every April. Usually lots of bears out and about by mid month. Anywhere there's fresh green up like right-of-ways, avalanche chutes, south slopes etc. you will find bears working the hills.

As for the title of the thread - time spent scouting is never wasted. Worst case is you cull some areas from the inventory you thought might have been good.

[835]

Wes,
Wait or a nice day. Pack a bunch of snacks, food water and diapers..... Grab the kid and the wife and go for a drive. Stop a lot and get the kid out. The first few times is rough while you dial in the "how to keep everyone happy" but after a while it all comes together..... Bears are a road hunters dream... Mine is 6 and she loves to go for drives and hunts.... we have taken her all over. I "Missed" a lot of hunting, but now she is old enough I think I can keep her quiet... And get a decent hike in.

[RackStar]

How far are you willing to travel for bear?

if you want to make 1 trip and get it done. Head last week of may, bring gas and explore/road hunt from wells to PG, you will be swatting the bears away.

[WesHarm]

Hahaha i like that idea 835!!! PG might be a little far but i’ll see how far i get!

[Piperdown]

Lol, people scout for b bears? We're tripping over good sized ones here in the spring.

Are you finding them behind locked gates perhaps!!

[caddisguy]

Great to see you back here posting WesHarm!

As others mentioned, timing is important if you have limited time.

My guesswork of timing/conditions is often way off. It doesn't really matter to me, as camping with my emotional support boom stick is always a good time and sometimes more enjoyable than hunting.

Usually when I see green up and some dandelions popping in Langley, I figure those first shoots of grass are sprouting on the south facing exposures, 300 maybe even 700M elevation. Then I show up and it's a foot of snow. Go figure.

Sometimes early to mid April is very productive for Region 2, other times not.

You will need some local intel if you want to make sure conditions are favorable.

You might know a local who can look up at the nearest mountain and estimate the snow line... check local weather reports and assume 6-9C temperature drop for every 1000M elevation... minus -5 is ok at night but you want positive temps during the day. Paying attention to this in the days/weeks leading up to the season can help. You could also ask for road reports in 4x4 or hiking forums, even hunting forums (not a bad idea anyway as you will find our about washouts too) once you know where those snow lines are on the south slopes, odds are viable grass growing places 200M below.

[835]

Big trips can be a bit much,,, I guess what I'm saying is if you want to get out more don't be afraid to go for a rip up the Cochahalla ( sp lol ) day tripping

[walks with deer]

some buddys and i shot 4 in region two first week of april and they all tasted like shit...better to let them get the grass flowing through them first...after mothers day is good and dont go bear hunting take the family for a picknick and bring your gun..

[Rayne]

Walkswithdeer is a born and bred hunter. I wouldn’t question that. From what I’ve read bears aren’t very tasty until after they get rid of their winter butt plug. So I would wait till the last week of April to really start looking at filling the freezer. I’m still new to bear hunting but that’s my opinion. Scout earlier if you’d like but chances of sightings are slim unless your in region 2.

[WesHarm]

Awesome tips for timing guys!! And i guess road ways, Fields and Garbage Dumps are the bear “haunts” of choice ;) but now u got ur bear home.... what are you doing with it? Burger, sausage, pepperoni, hams, all of the above? Recipies highly appreciated ;)

[Fella]

For me with bears I mostly burger it or do fresh sausage. You gotta cook that stuff good to kill trichinosis.

[WWBC]

Region 5 I start to get serious around mid May. My kids love bear hunting, last year I gave my 4 year old a predator call when I spotted a distant bear and let him call the bear in from his car seat with the truck window down. Good times!
Also like hunting them in June with the kids because of all wild raspberries and strawberries to snack on. Can’t wait until May.

[srupp]

Hmmm dont usually do a scouting trip..last 2 weeks of april start to see black bears here near Williams lake..if starting low elevation..grass is greening..but say Horsefly mountain..start climbing grass gets shorter..then sparse then none..and keep climbing..snow and grizzlies tracks heading down .
over 45 years..IMO I have shot more black bears on or around Mothers day..and its still my favorite black bear time of year.find elevation changes...to find that perfect elevation that holds new grass that holds the most nutrients..
Find 3 things..bright new grass..with nearby water.a must...and the 3rd..isolation..may only be couple hundred yards down a skidder trail away from the main forestry service road..out of view.
bears desire require a bit of solitude..hence why they show up at dusk..comfort zone to eat in solitude and not be disrupted.cut blocks..the back skidder trail furthest away from the road holds the bears..and at last low light..the bigger bears.
Wells...over the Cunningham forest service road still holds tons of bears. .best day 40 black bears in 8 hours..harvested a beautiful blond black bear that day...that area still holds great amounts of black bears AND grizzlies.
However due to high elevation and tremendous snow loads..getting through to likely is often not possible till June.
Already planned a spring black bear hunt in the Horsefly..Quesnel lake area..first week of may .
dont scout due to enough time spent..to know why an area is holding bears already.what to look for..tells me why..and when.doesnt change much year over year..
This year is sausage making bear year...adult boar 6 feet..
Cheers and good luck
Srupp

[Pauly]

Awesome tips for timing guys!! And i guess road ways, Fields and Garbage Dumps are the bear “haunts” of choice ;) but now u got ur bear home.... what are you doing with it? Burger, sausage, pepperoni, hams, all of the above? Recipies highly appreciated ;)
I do roasts and grind the rest keep some for sweet and sour. Key is to thaw it slowly in the fridge slowly over 4 days to get the blood out I do this with all my game. Put in a colander on a bowl let it do its thing. Requires planning your meal four days in advance but the results are worth it. Plus I make bear cheese smokies. Pepperoni is riskier because of the temp thing

[srupp]

Hmmm have done the bear cheese smokies..however never ever considered your colander trick..very clever rabitt..thank you for sharing.
cheers
Srupp

[Pauly]

Hmmm have done the bear cheese smokies..however never ever considered your colander trick..very clever rabitt..thank you for sharing.
cheers
Srupp
Yeah it’s the only way to go. A friend turned me onto the method years ago because I always found wild game ... well gamier thawing like this took care of that problem now I enjoy all my wild game. Couldn’t believe it worked so well

[slowjo]

in southern region 4 april is a little slow for bears, may seems to be prime time, and if your lucky to find them in early june they will be plump and healthy with a good coat. if you’re too early the coat might not be in the best condition.
with butchering i do a few roasts and the rest into burger. always great to add to chili, tacos, pasta sauce, shepherds pie, burgers, etc.

[Steeleco]

The question was for help making a decision, not the beginning of an argument. Play nice, no further warnings!

[Harvest the Land]

One thing to consider is the bugs are absolutely brutal by the end of May and they're even worse beginning of June. I really try hard mid-May just before the bugs come out in full force. Look for overturned logs and overturned smaller boulders - they look hard for critters under those things when they just start roaming around before there's much green up. April is better for fishing or scouting and dealing with trail cams

[caddisguy]

Walkswithdeer is a born and bred hunter. I wouldn’t question that. From what I’ve read bears aren’t very tasty until after they get rid of their winter butt plug. So I would wait till the last week of April to really start looking at filling the freezer. I’m still new to bear hunting but that’s my opinion. Scout earlier if you’d like but chances of sightings are slim unless your in region 2.

I've taken bears in Region 2 first week or April. No issues with taste. But a lot of Region 2 bears are up before the season opens in many cases, weather dependent.

I've only ever had one nasty tasting bear and that was back in 2017. I shot it on mothers day. Second I walked up to the bear... I thought what the heck? I'm like 100-200km inland how does this thing smell like seaweed?

Anyway, the bear didn't taste like seaweed (that might have been better?) It tasted like "what a wet dog smells like" if you can imagine that. Really gross. I choked it down, but I was really turned off bear until I was well into the next one, which was a small/young boar shot first week of May.

Last year I think it was sometime in the first 10 days of April we took down an older bear that I thought was going to be absolutely nasty, but turned out to be delicious.

[GEF]

I like late May and go high up to the snow line .Big boars and they are staring to rut.Glassing and spotting scope time required

[MDR]

Mid to late May up here. Never shot one earlier than May 8th. I really enjoy making my own bear ham....seriously, give it a try sometime!

[murph83]

I have had good luck going out for bear in mid to late May.

[weatherby_man]

Hey Ron, great pics, what is the open sight rifle in the last pic?

[BeerMan]

Looks like a Savage Model99.

[Ron.C]

Hey Ron, great pics, what is the open sight rifle in the last pic?

My grandpa's .303 Savage.

[weatherby_man]

My grandpa's .303 Savage.

Nice! It looks like a real beauty!

[Pauly]

Has anyone ever sent in their bear tung to be tested by moe for trichinosis ? I’ve never bothered but am curious as to the process... how long for results and do you have to drop it off at a specific place.

[45freezer]

Awesome tips for timing guys!! And i guess road ways, Fields and Garbage Dumps are the bear “haunts” of choice ;) but now u got ur bear home.... what are you doing with it? Burger, sausage, pepperoni, hams, all of the above? Recipies highly appreciated ;)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xY0MJMoPitY

[45freezer]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjzUO8QyiUw

[45freezer]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDDWvZQBBB0

Sorry about the multiple posts, would only let me attach one video per comment. Tried doing bear chorizo for the first time this year too and that was amazing!

[MDR]

Bear ham:

Bone in bear ham or boneless roast
4l water
2 cups brown sugar
3/4 to 1 cup kosher salt
1tbsp Tender Quick or Curing salt per lb of meat

Make brine, if you have a marinating needle, inject brine into ham in multiple places
Place meat in brine and weigh down with a plate
Keep meat in brine for 7-10 days

Cook thoroughly to 160f internal temp
Allow to cool
Enjoy!!!

[Ltbullken]

In the Interior, I find the May long weekend to be the sweetspot and the time around it. Generally, find back roads, clearings and cut blocks with lots of new vegetation growing (bears love clover btw!) and if you see lots of bear scat, you're in a good area.

[WesHarm]

Wow 45Freezer those are some awesome videos! I want to try everything now hahah!

re: Trich, anyone really care? Or do most just make sure to cook it thoroughly?? Can u usually see the wormy little guys when your gutting/removing the hide etc?

i Think ive convinced the missus to “go see some fanily in the interior” for the May long, so heres to hoping!!

[Arctic Lake]

Has anyone ever sent in their bear tung to be tested by moe for trichinosis ? I’ve never bothered but am curious as to the process... how long for results and do you have to drop it off at a specific place.
I would also like to know if any fellas on here take their bear meat in for testing for trich and if so where ?

Also I would not want to take a bear that hangs around garbage dumps .
There was a black bear in the field opposite the Davison Farm the other day .
Arctic Lake

[Arctic Lake]

Ron C. Nice bears !
Arctic Lake

[45freezer]

Wow 45Freezer those are some awesome videos! I want to try everything now hahah!

re: Trich, anyone really care? Or do most just make sure to cook it thoroughly?? Can u usually see the wormy little guys when your gutting/removing the hide etc?

i Think ive convinced the missus to “go see some fanily in the interior” for the May long, so heres to hoping!!

Don't care at all, I just assume they all have it and if my son is going to be eating the meat I make sure to bring it up to 150 for at least 5 minutes...bringing it up to 150 then tenting in tinfoil is sufficient, most people rattle off the age old 160 but in my opinion that's how you ruin bear meat if you're not cooking it low and slow, look into how trich is killed and you can have a bear steak cooked sous vide style at 126 as long as the temp is maintained for the correct period of time. Trich is one of the few concerns with bears so take that with a grain of salt. I've never experienced filarial worms but they are a thing, usually concentrated between the flesh and hide from what I've heard. I've found what looked like salmon style worms in the meat before after cooking, just ate em along with the meat and never had any problems lol. Trich is certainly no laughing matter but it's most definitely not the big bad wolf people make it out to be.

"The great majority of trichinosis infections have either minor or no symptoms and no complications. The two main phases for the infection are enteral (affecting the intestines) and parenteral (outside the intestines). The symptoms vary depending on the phase, species of Trichinella, quantity of encysted larvae ingested, age, sex, and host immunity."


May long for the interior sounds about right, if the missus will let you take another trip in early may that's a good time up past whistler, I've found may long in that area is about a week or 2 too late for prime time. The rut (mid june) is fun too, huffing a big scrappy boar in so close he almost walks right into you will definitely get your heart going...I recommend having a rifle in hand for that situation instead of a bow ;)

[Pauly]

I agree I’m not overly concerned about it either but testing would allow some latitude as far as doneness goes. I like a little pink in my game bear handles over cooking just fine but why do it if I don’t have to. I’m going to investigate how and where to get tested and will post the answers I get when I get the chance to do so. I’ll actually go up to our office and talk to a biologist can never get through on the phone I think they hate talking with anyone on the phone up their lol

[Arctic Lake]

I agree I’m not overly concerned about it either but testing would allow some latitude as far as doneness goes. I like a little pink in my game bear handles over cooking just fine but why do it if I don’t have to. I’m going to investigate how and where to get tested and will post the answers I get when I get the chance to do so. I’ll actually go up to our office and talk to a biologist can never get through on the phone I think they hate talking with anyone on the phone up their lol
Looking forward to what you find out !
Arctic Lake

[MontyLake]

Well I'll tell you there is one thing I would like to know prior to going out this year.

I prefer to go after the May long weekend.

But last year, bud and me went back to a spot that usually is hopping with bears the third week of May and nothing. Zip. Nada.

Ran into a guy driving up to run a grader on a logging road and he informed us that a prominent Vancouver hunting club had spent the May long weekend there with about 20 pickups and campers, about 40 guys with associated quads and had thoroughly gone over the area for the whole weekend. No wonder game was scarce.

I had rarely run into another hunter there before.

I sure would like to know where they plan to go this year.

[srupp]

Hmmm same as Vancouver fly fishing club decends on mass..can ewe say 40 boats on a small..small lake during prime time..move in take over..boat after boat in gauntlet like baracade along the shoals/drop off completely blocking 40 % ..every freeking year..there are thousands of lakes..nope..I went to 4 lakes for 10 days..came back still there whole club..
grrrr
Cheers
Srupp

[Pauly]

Hmmm same as Vancouver fly fishing club decends on mass..can ewe say 40 boats on a small..small lake during prime time..move in take over..boat after boat in gauntlet like baracade along the shoals/drop off completely blocking 40 % ..every freeking year..there are thousands of lakes..nope..I went to 4 lakes for 10 days..came back still there whole club..
grrrr
Cheers
Srupp
Sounds like pass lake can walk from boat to boat lol I gave up on that

[Ron.C]

Yep, May long weekend is a zoo in allot of popular bear areas on Van Isle. I stopped bear hunting that weekend a few years back.

[ElectricDyck]

We have to go May long due to our kids school schedules, we usually take an extra day before and after...needless to say we shot one the day before all the people showed up and another the day after they all left..

Still saw bears but they were super skidish and there wasn't enough time to persuade them into the freezer...

[snipersights]

May is the ticket unless we get an early spring. April the bears are generally hanging around their winter dens yet still somewhat drowsy. Opportunity can be few and far between. May and September best bear hunting months .
I have to agree May is definitely the best I’ve had the most luck then you see way more bears and have a lot more opportunities. September/October is also really good. If you want a rug bear I would recommend October hitting the rivers. Feel free to send me a pm if you’re on Vancouver island.

[Pauly]

I have to agree May is definitely the best I’ve had the most luck then you see way more bears and have a lot more opportunities. September/October is also really good. If you want a rug bear I would recommend October hitting the rivers. Feel free to send me a pm if you’re on Vancouver island.
I took a nice young meat boar opening day last fall head down in the blueberries snuck to 50 yards and nailed him. Very tasty