Another new to Bear question

[Pizzlegreet]

I’m in WA. I’ve been reading about summer and fall best season. The information that would help is related to berries and nuts and things and when they mature. My plan is keep learning for 2026 and in the meantime look for bear sign and berries and food sources.

I know what ripens and when in puget sound but is it on the same calendar at higher elevations? Can I just run up into a rural valley and start blowing my bear call if I see recent sign?

 

[Dmoua]

Berries will ripen at lower elevations and move up in elevation as the season goes on. Bears will follow their food source so scout before the season and see what the berries are like so you have a general idea what elevation to focus on the first few days of season.

Calling bears takes a ton of patience. Even with fresh sign, if there is an abundance of food source the odds of you convincing one to come into a distress call is very slim. You would be lucky to call in one bear for every 10 setups. In my opinion, the best time/years to call are when it’s a bad berry year or the berries have come and gone. This year the berries came early and there was a shit ton of it. With an abundance of food “huckleberries” the bears hardly have to move and with the heat we had this season they’ll stay hunkered in their dark/thick holes. If you are not seeing fresh sign, keep covering ground until you find it. Once you do, sit and wait all day if needed. Eventually you’ll hear or see one. This is my bear this season. Shot at 30-40 yards an hour before last light. Persistence is the name of the game.

 

[Pizzlegreet]

I’m happy that you got your bear. It looks great. What part of the country are you in?

I know where I saw bears in the woods when I was a kid camping growing up and I’m going to head back to those kinds of areas and start looking for sign. My next idea is to just head up logging roads and wander around in areas with water supply and berries.

 

[StuckoYota99]

Hey dude I'm in Washington too. Bears are super fun to hunt!
Check out Pnwild podcast they have some great bear episodes.
Generally the berry crop will come in once the snow melts. About 60 days after that the berries ripen.
Southern faces will get more sunlight and have a ripe berries sooner than northern faces.
However if there is a drought or extreme heat the berries will get scorched and wilt.
Logging roads that have been decommissioned or gated keep out a lot of recreational pressure.
Freshly logged areas can sometimes hold bears that are ripping through stumps and rolling rocks.
However generally an area will take 2-3 years after logging to start producing a food source.

Like dmoau says be persistent. I got my first bear after 8 years of eating tags.

 

[Pizzlegreet]

I may eat bear tag this year. I will listen to that poscast

 

[StuckoYota99]

There is a lot to learn, if you eat a tag consider it a tuition payment for knowledge. If you have more questions feel free to ask them.