new hunter heading to fort st james

[olympia]

hey guys im a very green hunter, i will be heading to fort st james in 2 weeks with an experienced guy. Does anyone know where a good spot for black would be? I was thinking of going to north side of stuart lake. Anyone know the area enough to tell me where the densest pop. of black bear would be?

[bearhunter338-06]

Look for "BLACK" in dark places. Find a cave and you'll find lots of "BLACK"...................:-)

[carnivore]

Look for "BLACK" in dark places. Find a cave and you'll find lots of "BLACK"...................:-)

Providing information on where to find Black is somewhat of a Gray area........:???:

[elkdom]

just DON'T kill any Spirit-bears, they are kinda white, but not always,,,,,,,,

so again, not everything is in Black and White,,

it is a bit of a GREY area, when it comes to Spirit-Bears identification,,,


hope this helps,,,,,,,,,

[Sitkaspruce]

There is so many places to go.

Head up the North Road to 39km, turn left and head back in towards Dolphin and Dem Lake. Travel all the roads back there, I have picked up a lot of nice bears feeding on the fresh grass along side the road and the green up in the cut blocks.

Or head out on the west side of Stuart lk, off Sowchea Rd, Turn left onto the Cunningham FSR (900 rd) amd go back about 40 5 k and hunt every where you can get to. Lots of bears back there.

PM me if you want more info.

Cheers

SS

[elkdom]

garbage dumps and old clear cuts are good places to see bears,,, so this would tent to include the majority of land in BC, specialy around FtSt James,,,,

[dellis]

You will see more bears north of the fort if you wait until mid may............2 weeks from now will be a bit early.
Darcy

[moosinaround]

hey guys im a very green hunter, i will be heading to fort st james in 2 weeks with an experienced guy. Does anyone know where a good spot for black would be? I was thinking of going to north side of stuart lake. Anyone know the area enough to tell me where the densest pop. of black bear would be?

In 2 weeks, it may still be quite wintery out there. In between the Fort and Vanderhoof may be ok, still too close to civilization for my liking's, especially if yer gonna eat the critter. I like a nice fat mountain bear, one like you would find North of the Fort! I like Sitkaspruce's suggestion of heading North! Moosin

[bearhunter338-06]

Southern Slopes are your friend

[1980skywalker]

We head up past Fort St James every year for our moose and we normally see a ton of bears all over, however that is late september early october. I just talked to my trapper friend whos cabins we stay in up there and he said they had a hell of a winter. He was barely able to trap this season as the snow was so deep, so if I were you and you are planning on going anytime soon I would push back your dates if you want to be succesfull. As other members have said, wait until mid may, let the weather catch up and you will see lots of bears.

[olympia]

thanks skywalker, unfortunatley everyone has booked days off and rented a vehicle to go up oh well

[moosinaround]

Still take the rifles, you never know! Days up here have been warm, but the nights are still getting down to minus 7-10. By the first week of May, you should start to see the bears in the lower areas. Dandilions, and clover will be your friends, not to mention the fiddleheads! Good hunting to you guys! Moosin

[olympia]

thanks moosinaround, i read in a few places that u have good knowledge about the area, i was waiting for you to speak up, i will definitly be taking a rifle on the ride up

[junkyard_g]

dont bother going to far up the north rd. we just pulled out a few weeks ago from the G.I. road and still had 4ft of snow in our block. we were up on a hill above chuchi though. my buddy seen a couple bears off hwy 16 between pg and the hoof the other day so there is the odd one wondering around in the lower elevations. i usually wait til mid may for bears in this area. good luck though, i've bumped the odd bear in the middle of winter so u never know.

[geoskier]

If you are willing to drive north and camp for a few days; I would head up the Leo Creek FSR, then continue on the Driftwood. At ~16km (just past Tchentlo lodge) turn east onto the T road. You will pass a gravel pit, last year there were people camping here. This should be the junction of Tchentlo .5 on your backroads map book. Continue on across the Nation River bridge and take a left a few hundred yards after it. You are on the Rottacker road there. TONS of bears there. Black and a some grizz. Working there I would see 5 min a day.

[Wild one]

Lots of nice bears up that way but I think you are heading out too early. I have family out that way that work in the bush and they are saying mid to late May should be prime time for black bear this spring.

I would not worry too much on where you should hunt up there as there is no lack of bears. You just need to find the areas that are greening up at the time you are up there and you will find them.

[olympia]

thanks for all the responses people, i never thought i would meet such a good group of people when i first got my pal a year a ago. I thought I was gonna be meeting a bunch grumpy ruff n tuff type but i find some of the most helpful and nice people i meet are at the range and on cgn and this forum. once again thanks