Idaho Spring Bear

[van zan]

I really appreciate this thread. Planning a solo spring bear hunt in Idaho for 3 weeks sometime between the middle of May to the middle of June depending on weather and snow pack. Looking at Units 7, 9, 10, 12. The only time I've been to Idaho was in '89. We parachuted into a training area outside Boise. Good trip except for the landing. Might as well been concrete.

 

[alisue91]

Anyone hunted 22 and willing to share information? I drew 22-1. I haven’t been able to find much information online specific to that draw tag.


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[westernwa]

I have been pouring over internet threads and google scouting it seems like unit 39 gets all of the attention, so I was looking at 43 or even possibly up along the snake in the Craig Mountain WMA my head is kind of spinning with all of the options and info anybody have a more dialed in opinion? Ill be coming from Oregon but driving extra doesnt bother me I would prefer spot and stalk

I'm in the same boat. Wondering if you ever made it into 43?

 

[westernwa]

Does anyone know anything about Unit 43? I'm planning on going in there hopefully early June, but most likely mid-late June.

Did you make it into 43 last year? I'm looking at 43 and also McCall for mid to late May this year..

 

[Ntuttle15]

Did you make it into 43 last year? I'm looking at 43 and also McCall for mid to late May this year..

Yes. Spent several days in an area that we've seen fall bears in. Didn't see a sign in the spring. Early June. Pretty disappointing. As far as I know there wasn't very good success there last year

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[westernwa]

Yes. Spent several days in an area that we've seen fall bears in. Didn't see a sign in the spring. Early June. Pretty disappointing. As far as I know there wasn't very good success there last year

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Would mid May be too early for 43? It seems like most of the unit is above 4k where I was looking? I know snow melt can be tough to gauge …

At some point I'll have to just pick a spot and go!

 

[Ntuttle15]

Would mid May be too early for 43? It seems like most of the unit is above 4k where I was looking? I know snow melt can be tough to gauge …

At some point I'll have to just pick a spot and go!

Should be just find. Just depends if you are trying to access from North facing or not.

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[Westward]

A hunt residents should be happy to help with. Come have a great time and kill a bear. Montana and Wyoming also have good spring bear hunting. Spot and stalk is lots of fun and totally doable for hunting. On multiple trips I've spotted bears on day one.

Nonresidents wondering where to go have lots of options. The units with the most bears killed, say top three, are well known. They're good and have a lot of bears killed to some extent because of their popularity. Not crazy busy in those units from my experience but also kind of nice to get off the beaten track a bit more.

Salmon, McCall, Sawtooth, Beaverhead, Lemhi all have at least decent bear numbers. The Middle Fork and Selway Zones are not very accessible due to high country access points until Mid June or later when the bear hunting starts to drop off or get closed. You could target a mid June backcountry hunt in there and make it work but access will be a challenge and the bear hunting won’t be easy that late and in huge country. You could also do a fly-in hunt earlier in the season when the greenup is closer to the river and animals are closer to winter range. That would likely be a better hunt. You could have a wolf, lion, bear combo hunt and just an amazing time in deep backcountry. The other main access point to the Selway and Salmon Zones is along the river roads. Steep hiking but a good number of bears if you hike away from access points.

In general, for the average guy not messing with the lower priced tags which are more difficult to access and rugged to get around will make for a more successful hunt. Buy full price and go for it.

Throughout the state, you'll want to do your research to see if the road you're planning on taking will be open. Anything above 5,000 feet is a red flag. Call the forest service office and post on here if you want about the roads. Look at Snotel and information available online about snowpack. Many will be closed or impassable. You might be good for a while and then hit a snowbank. A common good approach is to find a lower elevation road and hike up from there. 4 wheelers are very helpful for getting around when access might be hit or miss.

Northern Idaho has more bears generally speaking than south and central Idaho. Panhandle, Clearwater, and Lolo areas can be productive. You will have to plan for how you hunt with all the dense timber but there are bears around and more wolves up there too.

Pioneer and more desert units south of I-84 don't have a lot of bears.

Normally the later part of April through early June the hunting can be good. May is a nice middle ground. You might want to hunt a little lower or higher depending on the timing.

Feel free to PM. Depending on volume and where you're looking, I might be able to help. I don't know that much about the areas north of the Salmon River Breaks. Anything south of that I've probably ventured through and hunted at least a little for some critter.

 

[Westward]

Awesome thread guys, we are planning a hunt around the first part of may. Thinking about hunting 14/18/19 around the Salmon area for an early greenup. Any info would be greatly appreciated! Grabbing a wolpart. If available while we are at it. Going to try to do our part.

 

[sneaky]

Awesome thread guys, we are planning a hunt around the first part of may. Thinking about hunting 14/18/19 around the Salmon area for an early greenup. Any info would be greatly appreciated! Grabbing a wolpart. If available while we are at it. Going to try to do our part.

14/18/19 are a long way from Salmon, unless you mean hunting near the Salmon river in those units. Usually when people say around the Salmon area they're talking about the town of Salmon

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[Westward]

14/18/19 are a long way from Salmon, unless you mean hunting near the Salmon river in those units. Usually when people say around the Salmon area they're talking about the town of Salmon

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Sorry for the typo. I ment salmon river..

 

[Muledeerfanatic]

Anyone hunted 22 and willing to share information? I drew 22-1. I haven’t been able to find much information online specific to that draw tag.


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I have hunted it a few times
Was about 25 years ago when you could draw it fairly easy
lots of bears and nice and open country

 

[Westward]

Has anyone hunted around unit 28...the Panther Creek area? PM if you dont want to post. Thank you all.

 

[14idaho]

I really appreciate this thread. Planning a solo spring bear hunt in Idaho for 3 weeks sometime between the middle of May to the middle of June depending on weather and snow pack. Looking at Units 7, 9, 10, 12. The only time I've been to Idaho was in '89. We parachuted into a training area outside Boise. Good trip except for the landing. Might as well been concrete.

I hunted unit 7 and saw plenty of bears. Some open and logged off areas as well.

 

[tculv]

A hunt residents should be happy to help with. Come have a great time and kill a bear. Montana and Wyoming also have good spring bear hunting. Spot and stalk is lots of fun and totally doable for hunting. On multiple trips I've spotted bears on day one.

Nonresidents wondering where to go have lots of options. The units with the most bears killed, say top three, are well known. They're good and have a lot of bears killed to some extent because of their popularity. Not crazy busy in those units from my experience but also kind of nice to get off the beaten track a bit more.

Salmon, McCall, Sawtooth, Beaverhead, Lemhi all have at least decent bear numbers. The Middle Fork and Selway Zones are not very accessible due to high country access points until Mid June or later when the bear hunting starts to drop off or get closed. You could target a mid June backcountry hunt in there and make it work but access will be a challenge and the bear hunting won’t be easy that late and in huge country. You could also do a fly-in hunt earlier in the season when the greenup is closer to the river and animals are closer to winter range. That would likely be a better hunt. You could have a wolf, lion, bear combo hunt and just an amazing time in deep backcountry. The other main access point to the Selway and Salmon Zones is along the river roads. Steep hiking but a good number of bears if you hike away from access points.

In general, for the average guy not messing with the lower priced tags which are more difficult to access and rugged to get around will make for a more successful hunt. Buy full price and go for it.

Throughout the state, you'll want to do your research to see if the road you're planning on taking will be open. Anything above 5,000 feet is a red flag. Call the forest service office and post on here if you want about the roads. Look at Snotel and information available online about snowpack. Many will be closed or impassable. You might be good for a while and then hit a snowbank. A common good approach is to find a lower elevation road and hike up from there. 4 wheelers are very helpful for getting around when access might be hit or miss.

Northern Idaho has more bears generally speaking than south and central Idaho. Panhandle, Clearwater, and Lolo areas can be productive. You will have to plan for how you hunt with all the dense timber but there are bears around and more wolves up there too.

Pioneer and more desert units south of I-84 don't have a lot of bears.

Normally the later part of April through early June the hunting can be good. May is a nice middle ground. You might want to hunt a little lower or higher depending on the timing.

Feel free to PM. Depending on volume and where you're looking, I might be able to help. I don't know that much about the areas north of the Salmon River Breaks. Anything south of that I've probably ventured through and hunted at least a little for some critters

I realize you posted this awhile ago so for now just wondering if your still active on here for now. If you are Ive been looking at some of the wilderness areas now due to the increased cost for NR this year. Specifically I would prefer the Southern ends of the Frank. Interested in your opinion?

 

[Z71&Gun]

I have been pouring over internet threads and google scouting it seems like unit 39 gets all of the attention, so I was looking at 43 or even possibly up along the snake in the Craig Mountain WMA my head is kind of spinning with all of the options and info anybody have a more dialed in opinion? Ill be coming from Oregon but driving extra doesnt bother me I would prefer spot and stalk

PNWILD just did a podcast on spot and stalk unit choice. Worth a listen if you haven’t already.

 

[alaskabound]

My wife and I are flying in to Fish Lake (Unit 12/17) June 19th for a week. We are just looking to get out and do some hiking but I will have a bear tag. I'm willing to take any suggestions on specific drainages/areas to check out. And definitely which lakes to toss a line into.

We could also fly into Moose Creek but this is her first backcountry trip and I figured I would start her off at higher elevation as opposed to landing at the river and climbing up from there.

 

[Ravenk]

There isn't a bad option among what you've described. Pick somewhere and go.

 

[Cervid]

For those of you local to Idaho, how's the snow pack looking? I understand the snowfall has been about average to a bit higher than average this winter, but from what you know now are you expecting this to be a pretty typical year for when some of the higher elevation passes are thawed out?

I will be coming out to Idaho this spring for bear, but I do have some flexibility in my schedule. Earliest I could make it out is mid-May and I could stay as late as the first week of June. I've been attracted to the reduced price units for the wilderness experience (avoiding other hunters, hopefully seeing more wildlife, etc.) but of course I am concerned about high country access.

 

[Andrew12gauge]

For those of you local to Idaho, how's the snow pack looking? I understand the snowfall has been about average to a bit higher than average this winter, but from what you know now are you expecting this to be a pretty typical year for when some of the higher elevation passes are thawed out?

I will be coming out to Idaho this spring for bear, but I do have some flexibility in my schedule. Earliest I could make it out is mid-May and I could stay as late as the first week of June. I've been attracted to the reduced price units for the wilderness experience (avoiding other hunters, hopefully seeing more wildlife, etc.) but of course I am concerned about high country access.

Southwest Idaho has been warm and dry for a bit now, high country is going to be clearing out pretty fast at this rate. But Idaho is a big state with lots of little microclimates and it only takes one curve that stays in the shade to keep a road inaccessible well into May or even June


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