Full Moon and Bear Hunting

[tuffcrk14]

Anyone have thoughts on spring bear behavior and the full moon? I dealt with heat and a full moon this last weekend and could only turn one black bear up. I glassed steep rocky slopes, biked gated logging roads on timbered north faces midday, and checked various springs/marshes but little to no fresh bear sign. The bear I ran into was munching on a rotted log on top of an east slope at 7:30 AM the first morning.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jtb.kfd]

You're not alone. My son and I just wrapped up 8 days in north and central Idaho and saw one bear during the day (11:00am). Temps were in the 80’s with a super bright moon. We have done well in the past with similar circumstances, not sure what was different this time. We were finding fresh scat in the mornings so they were moving. We decided to pull out and give it a few days for weather to move in or the moon phase to change slightly. My son also wants the bear we first saw, it was a big chocolate with black legs. Can’t say I have seen that specific color phase before.

 

[tuffcrk14]

When I saw that bear on the first morning, it was sort of an “ah-ha” moment for me. I had thought that being on a semi open east face would potentially be good, right when the sun hits it so bears could get that first warmth of the day. That turned out to be the case there and has made me get up earlier than I typically do during spring bear to get glass on the east faces. It was dry for a few weeks before our hunt and the logging roads weren’t popping like they typically do with greenery and the bear activity reflected that.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[tuffcrk14]

You're not alone. My son and I just wrapped up 8 days in north and central Idaho and saw one bear during the day (11:00am). Temps were in the 80’s with a super bright moon. We have done well in the past with similar circumstances, not sure what was different this time. We were finding fresh scat in the mornings so they were moving. We decided to pull out and give it a few days for weather to move in or the moon phase to change slightly. My son also wants the bear we first saw, it was a big chocolate with black legs. Can’t say I have seen that specific color phase before.

That’s definitely a good looking bear!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk