Idaho spring bear info

[idahomuleys]

yeah, I guess I am not including the time spent researching online, four books I read, hours looking at maps and all the helpful posts and PMs from members here in the overall hunt time . This was a boar, awaiting results from DNR on tooth age.

I wouldnt expect to know the age soon. Takes a year and a half to 2 years for them to get the results.

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[Customweld]

yeah, I guess I am not including the time spent researching online, four books I read, hours looking at maps and all the helpful posts and PMs from members here in the overall hunt time . This was a boar, awaiting results from DNR on tooth age.

If you were on the SF of the Salmon, you definitely earned it!

 

[sneaky]

Congrats! I've only seen sows with cubs and one quick glimpse of a solo bear.

Now, though, a lot of people will read this and "realize" that it only takes 2 days to get a bear in Idaho.

That's ok, they'll " realize" it's a lot steeper in real life than on google earth too lol

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[mdkelley]

the terrain was definitely challenging for a flatlander like me!

 

[CBECK61]

Is the snow pack this year in ID big enough to affect the the timeing of when the bears start coming out? We just had 10 more inches in CO and it looks like we might get a few more this week.

I try to call the forest ranger office and ask about access on specific roads. Lots of areas open up May 1 but passes can be closed much later due to avalanches

 

[CBECK61]

Congrats on a successfull hunt! Looks like a great bear.

 

[MHWASH]

only got two days to hunt out there. Hunted Boise and Payette NF near SF salmon river. was a lot of fun. Saw many mulies and elk only one bear.View attachment 102163

Are you planning on returning next year?
Nice bear by the way.

 

[mdkelley]

Are you planning on returning next year?
Nice bear by the way.

yes, hoping to make it an annual event.

 

[Bastian30_06]

Hey! I Stumbled a crossed this thread and got so excited for you when I saw your post of your bear. Awesome job! I’m planning a similar trip and was curious about which books you read?

 

[eamyrick]

Awesome job.

 

[mdkelley]

Hey! I Stumbled a crossed this thread and got so excited for you when I saw your post of your bear. Awesome job! I’m planning a similar trip and was curious about which books you read?

Sorry for the extremely late response, not sure how I missed this. Going out again this year but possibly first week or so in June. I can't remember all the titles, but I definitely read these three. I am pretty sure there is a thread on this forum where people were suggesting good books to read, that is how I found out about the Doug Boze book. Richard Smith is a Michigan guy that writes in a few of our state based hunting magazines and does outdoor expo show presentations is how I heard about him. I think I rented a few other random bear books from my library as well. We have a inter library exchange in Michigan so I was able to get all the books without having to spend a bunch of $$ to find the good ones.

This was was a really good read:

Amazon.com: The Ultimate Guide to Black Bear Hunting (9781510709799): Douglas Boze: Books

Amazon.com: The Ultimate Guide to Black Bear Hunting (9781510709799): Douglas Boze: Books

www.amazon.com

understanding mich. black bear and black bear hunting v2

Bear Archives - Richard P Smith

richardpsmith.com

 

[Nossback]

Chainsaw


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[Gbond14]

Chainsaw


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Also from michigan trying to plan my first western hunt spring black bear in idaho. Was looking into reduced zones thinking of back packing and truck camping this thread is great for research might order the book you posted. Have any other tips??

 

[mdkelley]

Also from michigan trying to plan my first western hunt spring black bear in idaho. Was looking into reduced zones thinking of back packing and truck camping this thread is great for research might order the book you posted. Have any other tips??

since you are in Michigan, you can request the books from Mel and pick them up at your local library. It is usually free to get a library card. If you want to buy the books that works too!

MeLCat, the Michigan eLibrary Catalog and Resource Sharing System

elibrary.mel.org

The map links I posted on page two I used quite a bit. It almost seems as if a lot of the Xmap data comes from the government GIS dataset. I did not purchase the xmaps for my garmin. I did pick up a garmin inReach so the wife could track where I was from the campground since I was hunting alone and it helped her feel more comfortable.

I talked to people on here to get an idea of what to expect. The local guys were fabulous sources of info (a couple posted earlier on this thread...) They talked me out of thinking I could drive into the Frank and hunt the reduced tag areas in May and it was great advice (many roads were closed above 5000 feet or so). I actually ended up going with my now wife and taking my mom's RV so we had to find a "modern" campground to stay at which determined my hunt areas (no way the motorhome would make it up into the mountains). There were only a handful open before Memorial day so that limited our choices. There is a spot on the IDNR website to see the campgrounds. We stayed at a state park. People on here told me to talk to the rangers and the biologists so I went to the DNR office and did just that. Also, you can get free trail maps from the National Forest Service offices. I used those to find the roads and I talked to the staff at the offices to see which roads were accessible and which were closed or snowed in. I purchased a couple of really nice maps from the NFS also, that were for the entire national forest areas I hunted, but probably the free trail maps would be enough. There was still some snow in the mountains but there were some roads open. The two DNR officers I spoke with told me to just drive along the open trails/roads in the national forest and stop often to glass the hillsides. Also, I think I left camp around 2pm the two days I hunted. It was probably 30-40 minutes drive from the campground up into the mountains where the national forest land started. I took a dual sport motorcycle that I put knobby tires on just for this trip.

The bears come out later in the evening from what I was told. Shot mine around 6pm. Several people on here told me there was no need to hunt the mornings. If you want more details let me know, I can PM you. The members here from Idaho were a great help also. I am going back out this year, probably early June, with a friend I used to work with. We will likely be truck camping in the same general area I hunted last year, but also hoping to do some driving around a few days and explore a bit. I would love to do a backpack hunt at some point in the next couple years. This year we will probably see how close we can get to the Frank if we have time. Not sure if I will be taking the bike again or just my Tacoma truck. Last year I had to take the bike because there was no way to take the RV out in the woods effectively.

 

[mdkelley]

DR650 loaded up, leaving the campground the day I got the bear.

 

[mdkelley]

Chainsaw


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Does this mean I should bring a saw with me? There were a couple of downed trees but I was able to get around OK on the bike, probably not so much in the truck though. I will definitely throw one in the truck!

 

[Nossback]

Does this mean I should bring a saw with me? There were a couple of downed trees but I was able to get around OK on the bike, probably not so much in the truck though. I will definitely throw one in the truck!

I’ve never took a bike but we’ve dealt with downed trees every time we’ve gone but shortly after the trees the snow is usually to deep so you’re hoofing it.


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[Idaho_bow_hunter]

Anyone having success spot and stock hunting in Idaho? It seems like everyone I talk to who hunts bears is baiting.

 

[idahohikker]

Anyone having success spot and stock hunting in Idaho? It seems like everyone I talk to who hunts bears is baiting.

Yes. It’s pretty high success rates if you find a spot with good bear numbers that’s accessible in May. Definitely don’t need to bait. I totally enjoy spot and stalk bears.

 

[Idaho_bow_hunter]

Yes. It’s pretty high success rates if you find a spot with good bear numbers that’s accessible in May. Definitely don’t need to bait. I totally enjoy spot and stalk bears.

Thanks for the reply! My plan is to try to get a turkey opening weekend and then if I haven’t burned my wife out, I’ll head out end of April or May after a bear.