Bear Hunting Advice Please!

[Taijimagus]

Hello all, looking for some advice about hunting bear - I am thinking Cache Creek / Clinton area, but would be open to other suggestions. This is in part because I'm somewhat familiar with the area and like the terrain, however, I was reminded by a friend that there is a huge landfill in Cache Creek and started to think maybe not the brightest idea if the bears in that area would be potentially feeding on it. This would be my first bear so I'd like to get one that is good eating. I heard another story from a fellow on the island that he nailed 2 bears and both were completely full of worms. So my question is - can anyone speak to the Clinton / Cache Creek areas for the quality of bear hunting generally? I keep hearing not to shoot garbage bears, or those that live too close to people - but not sure what the parameters are for that - are we talking 10km or are we talking 100km from people / garbage?

Thanks for reading and for your thoughts!

[walks with deer]

Hello all, looking for some advice about hunting bear - I am thinking Cache Creek / Clinton area, but would be open to other suggestions. This is in part because I'm somewhat familiar with the area and like the terrain, however, I was reminded by a friend that there is a huge landfill in Cache Creek and started to think maybe not the brightest idea if the bears in that area would be potentially feeding on it. This would be my first bear so I'd like to get one that is good eating. I heard another story from a fellow on the island that he nailed 2 bears and both were completely full of worms. So my question is - can anyone speak to the Clinton / Cache Creek areas for the quality of bear hunting generally? I keep hearing not to shoot garbage bears, or those that live too close to people - but not sure what the parameters are for that - are we talking 10km or are we talking 100km from people / garbage?

Thanks for reading and for your thoughts!

Legal garbage dumps no longer have bears..nothing to worry about there its more of a concern near ski resorts and run down rual properties..

All bears can have some worms perhaps some mpre refined reading for you if worried.

Bears are quite easy to harves this time of year you just have to get out tgere!

[MichelD]

Filial worms are common in bears. Nothing to do with garbage or trich.

If this bothers you, then you probably shouldn't be hunting bears.

From a previous post on here by Seizuresalad:

I butcher all my own meat, and I see those white worms in most island black bears I've shot. They are not trichinella spiralis worms, which cause trichinosis, and are only about 1-2 mm fully grown. They are filarial worms. They are spread by mosquitoes, black flies, and the like. Bears get them from repeated bites from insects. The filarial worms can be a few centimeters long, and you typically see them bailing out of dead muscle tissue while you're skinning and de-boning black bears. Freezing kills any of these worms remaining in the meat, and they're not particularly well-suited to infecting humans, anyway. Freeze your meat before consuming it, cook it to 165 degrees, as always with bear meat, and you've got perfectly edible meat. I eat it almost every week. No worms popping out of me yet!

[wideopenthrottle]

those are spirit worms...they should be protected...

[Taijimagus]

Fair point. My guess is that most of the commercial meat ppl consume has it's share of worms as well - just not really sure whether they represented a health hazard or not, or if they were an indication of the bear's diet.
Are the two types of worm easy to differentiate in the field? I might have a look at some google images to compare before I go out. Is there a significant difference between island bears and those deeper inland? Thanks for sharing your knowledge :)

[Taijimagus]

Fair point - I guess around such resorts etc. the garbage would be more accessible and more junk food etc. Would you be willing to suggest some reading? I'd be curious to understand what's normal / reasonable to find in an edible bear. Hopefully I'll get to harvest one and prove you right!

[Linksman313]

Hit up our boy RyoTHC on this site, he is keen on the BB and somewhat in your area, he is a great resource and energy boost for a slow BB season
Good luck

[Taijimagus]

Hit up our boy RyoTHC on this site, he is keen on the BB and somewhat in your area, he is a great resource and energy boost for a slow BB season
Good luck
Thanks for the suggestion :)

[walks with deer]

Yup ryo is a bear slayer secret we may even hunt some of the same areas.. but with out even hunting i have been seeing a couple mature boars a week prerut is started and they need to eat.