New hunter looking for bear hunting location guidance lower mainland

[oscargot]

Hi all,


Wondering if anyone would be able to give some general guidance for a new hunter trying to get their first bear.
I've scouted Coq Summit, Princeton and Skagit before the restrictions hit but I'm hoping to respect the restrictions at the moment.

Since the restrictions, I've been out to Harrison West (suggested by my LGS) a couple of times already, hiked 5-6km up on some of the spur roads each time. So far I've seen nothing and only got a tick bite to show for it (bush whacking).


At this point I think I can make about 2 more trips before the end of the season and would like to optimize my chances.

From what I gather, if I wanted to stay within my health authority, I have either Pemberton, Squamish or stick to Harrison west.
This is probably rude to ask (I know I should be putting in the scouting work), but I'm just hoping for some general suggestions, not your secret hunting spots.


Should I bother sticking with Harrison West or just head up to Squamish (Ashlu/Squamish River Main) or Pemberton? I'm slightly hesitant to go too far up Squamish since I read that it's prone to flooding and I just got a regular clearance vehicle.


Thanks!

[MichelD]

Don't worry about going up the Squamish. There is no real rain predicted for the next six days. I've never seen the main road flooded ever.

I took my family visiting from Germany up the Elaho one year, me in my 4x4 son in law in a 2WD rental car.

Ashlu is pretty darn short these days compared to 20 years ago.

Go in the week if you can. Tons of yahoos all over the place on weekends.

[cameron0518]

Get yourself a backroads map book and pick a road. Good time of year to just get out.

[Blacktail1]

100% bear hunting is just getting out there . Go enjoy the woods scout for deer ect . You will bump into one.

[vincentcui]

Squamish is better than Pemberton in my opinion; Harrison could be a "battle field" due to the limited off roads and amount of vehicles going in and out.

[oscargot]

Thanks for the responses guys, I'll get more miles in up in squamish!

[caddisguy]

All of these places mentioned hold plenty of bears.

It's just a matter of finding the pockets that hold bears and hunting those exclusively. That will increase productivity to the point a single day out hunting is equivalent to 20-30 days for someone who is just out "looking for bears"

I often tell people looking for spring bear, it's best to not even look for bears but rather grassy areas where it is getting nipped. Find a few areas like that and then focus time looking for bears only in those areas.

It's totally possible to aimlessly wander along logging roads and looking in cuts where bears just don't hang out, which is probably around 90% of area in any given MU, which means it's easy to be in the wrong place 90% of the time at best looking for an animal that comes and goes to feed and generally doesn't hang out in the open.

Sign such as nipped grass and dandelions are static. They don't wander off back into the woods. They are either there or they are not. So if you hunt for nipped grass rather than bears, find enough spots with hits where you can spend a day checking in and out of those spots, you'll be bumping into a lot of bears.

PS: I am willing to bet the area you got the tick bite is viable bear turf. Sometimes sign of a good area crawls up your leg and bites you :)

[albravo2]

I've seen the Squamish River FSR flood but only in a rain event coupled with freshet which is still a bit away. I wouldn't worry about flooding.

Come up, take a look around. It is a nice part of the world and it holds bears for sure.

[jezza]

Can anyone speak to the Sunshine Coast? Technically in the Vancouver Coastal region - our trip to the island from the LML got nixed this weekend.

[walks with deer]

All of these places mentioned hold plenty of bears.

It's just a matter of finding the pockets that hold bears and hunting those exclusively. That will increase productivity to the point a single day out hunting is equivalent to 20-30 days for someone who is just out "looking for bears"

I often tell people looking for spring bear, it's best to not even look for bears but rather grassy areas where it is getting nipped. Find a few areas like that and then focus time looking for bears only in those areas.

It's totally possible to aimlessly wander along logging roads and looking in cuts where bears just don't hang out, which is probably around 90% of area in any given MU, which means it's easy to be in the wrong place 90% of the time at best looking for an animal that comes and goes to feed and generally doesn't hang out in the open.

Sign such as nipped grass and dandelions are static. They don't wander off back into the woods. They are either there or they are not. So if you hunt for nipped grass rather than bears, find enough spots with hits where you can spend a day checking in and out of those spots, you'll be bumping into a lot of bears.

PS: I am willing to bet the area you got the tick bite is viable bear turf. Sometimes sign of a good area crawls up your leg and bites you :)

I would agree with caddis guy and have killed bears in all the locations you said with my bow to boot...

[ElectricDyck]

My bro in law keeps.telling stories from 20 years ago of huge bears up ainsle creek boston bar...

[caddisguy]

My bro in law keeps.telling stories from 20 years ago of huge bears up ainsle creek boston bar...

There are some big boys in them hills lucky I wasn't after fall bears.

Have a funny story about one of those :D

I won't confirm or deny I went for a quick deuce and when I pop out of the trees I see my brother climbing up the powerline and I'm mentally facepalming, meanwhile he's onto a bear that resembles a large cow. What the heck, some new late graising lease up there?! Still not confirming fact or fiction, but according to the tale, thermals were still going down hard, busted at around 350 yards.

Seen a few others while road hunting for birds. Crazy how fast they can rip/down near vertical hills between switchbacks. Always see them taking off just up the next corner as you round a corner. They definitely dont like vehicles in there, similar to the LML. Some sure do get big. I haven't a clue how that area works and where the good pockets are, but I'd wager there are plenty of viable pockets spring and fall.