Idaho Spring Bear

[Mtbhikernv]

My first spring bear hunt went without seeing anything other than beautiful country and getting some good work out of my snowshoes a couple weeks ago.

Addicted to getting more reps hunting so I’m heading back to 33 the first weekend of June. Looking for any general input like elevation and such? I’ll be bringing some calls and looking more for boars chasing sows, so my understanding is be ready to move quickly if sighted. My thinking is elevation matters less, so being up high isn’t as critical if I pick areas near rivers and water? I also want to get a boar before he grabs an elk calf, but what kind of areas am I looking for? My read says well protected flat areas near feed and water, somewhat isolated?

Thanks to everyone for all the info I’ve already picked up on this site, it’s helped me catch up on years of missed knowledge! Now I’m playing catch up before I’m too old to pursue this passion.

 

[Jtb.kfd]

My first spring bear hunt went without seeing anything other than beautiful country and getting some good work out of my snowshoes a couple weeks ago.

Addicted to getting more reps hunting so I’m heading back to 33 the first weekend of June. Looking for any general input like elevation and such? I’ll be bringing some calls and looking more for boars chasing sows, so my understanding is be ready to move quickly if sighted. My thinking is elevation matters less, so being up high isn’t as critical if I pick areas near rivers and water? I also want to get a boar before he grabs an elk calf, but what kind of areas am I looking for? My read says well protected flat areas near feed and water, somewhat isolated?

Thanks to everyone for all the info I’ve already picked up on this site, it’s helped me catch up on years of missed knowledge! Now I’m playing catch up before I’m too old to pursue this passion.

My son and I just got back from two weeks out chasing bears. We saw bears almost every day. Their elevation ranged from 4,500’ to over 8k. I think a lot of people hear “green up” and look for the greenest terrain they can find. A lot of country we find bears in has new plants they like that are just emerging. Some of these hillsides don’t look very green or look like there is much to feed on. But they have what the bears want and they will travel a long ways to get it. Most of the bears we saw were within a 1,000’ of the snow line and also in areas that have good flowing water. A basin that is super green and lush, but lacks good running water won’t hold bears in my experience. We did find two bears in a basin such as this last week, but they were just moving through. We found one of these bears (sow with three chocolate cubs) in another basin miles away two days later just under the snow line and with good running water. She stayed there for days. Another terrain feature we look for is south facing, steep slopes with rocks/cliffs coupled with patches of timber. The last week we were out was in the upper 80’s each day. We would see bears from 8am-10am and then again later in the afternoon, after 5pm. As other posts have suggested, if you are not seeing bears, you’re not in the right area. As a general rule, we will watch a basin for an evening and then the next morning, if we don’t see any bears we move on regardless of how good it looks. Find the right basin, and you will likely find multiple bears. This info applies mainly to early April to mid May. After that, the north facing slopes melt off enough where bears will shelter there during the day to keep cooler. Once this terrain opens up it makes things a bit harder. Then June rolls around and the boars start covering a lot more ground looking for sows. Still a good time to be out, but again it can be just a bit harder.

 

[Jtb.kfd]

I will add a couple pics. One pic you can see the terrain is super green. That bear spent less than 8 hours in this basin before moving higher. He was just passing through, everything looked lush, but the plants were weeks older than the same type of newly emerging plants just below the snowline. He moved up several thousand feet and stayed for days when we found him again. The other pics are not great, but you can see from the background that things don’t look very green. But with the newly emerging plants, we found multiple bears in relatively small areas.

 

[Matt5266]

My son and I just got back from two weeks out chasing bears. We saw bears almost every day. Their elevation ranged from 4,500’ to over 8k. I think a lot of people hear “green up” and look for the greenest terrain they can find. A lot of country we find bears in has new plants they like that are just emerging. Some of these hillsides don’t look very green or look like there is much to feed on. But they have what the bears want and they will travel a long ways to get it. Most of the bears we saw were within a 1,000’ of the snow line and also in areas that have good flowing water. A basin that is super green and lush, but lacks good running water won’t hold bears in my experience. We did find two bears in a basin such as this last week, but they were just moving through. We found one of these bears (sow with three chocolate cubs) in another basin miles away two days later just under the snow line and with good running water. She stayed there for days. Another terrain feature we look for is south facing, steep slopes with rocks/cliffs coupled with patches of timber. The last week we were out was in the upper 80’s each day. We would see bears from 8am-10am and then again later in the afternoon, after 5pm. As other posts have suggested, if you are not seeing bears, you’re not in the right area. As a general rule, we will watch a basin for an evening and then the next morning, if we don’t see any bears we move on regardless of how good it looks. Find the right basin, and you will likely find multiple bears. This info applies mainly to early April to mid May. After that, the north facing slopes melt off enough where bears will shelter there during the day to keep cooler. Once this terrain opens up it makes things a bit harder. Then June rolls around and the boars start covering a lot more ground looking for sows. Still a good time to be out, but again it can be just a bit harder.

This is solid info

 

[Mtbhikernv]

I will add a couple pics. One pic you can see the terrain is super green. That bear spent less than 8 hours in this basin before moving higher. He was just passing through, everything looked lush, but the plants were weeks older than the same type of newly emerging plants just below the snowline. He moved up several thousand feet and stayed for days when we found him again. The other pics are not great, but you can see from the background that things don’t look very green. But with the newly emerging plants, we found multiple bears in relatively small areas.

Beautiful pictures, sounds like a fantastic time, thank you for all the info!
So with the highly varied terrain in Idaho, do you find the rut changes based on general elevation/longitude? I.e. in areas still with snow higher up, even in June, bears will still be exhibiting early season behavior, coming out of hibernation later, and still in find food mode?

 

[Jtb.kfd]

Beautiful pictures, sounds like a fantastic time, thank you for all the info!
So with the highly varied terrain in Idaho, do you find the rut changes based on general elevation/longitude? I.e. in areas still with snow higher up, even in June, bears will still be exhibiting early season behavior, coming out of hibernation later, and still in find food mode?

What I have found is the rut starts roughly the same time each year regardless of weather/elevation. When I say roughly, I mean within a couple weeks timeframe. Lower elevation bears may start exhibiting signs earlier than higher country bears but I can’t say I have seen that enough to make an opinion one way or another. Last June we went into an area of central Idaho that was 8k feet. There was still 1’ of snow but the rut was starting. You could see it with the boars behavior and also with the sows/cubs behavior 1500’ lower elevation. In WA when there was a spring bear season I would see bears starting the rut in late May while there was still several feet of snow where their dens were. From what I understand, bears come out of the den based on temp and daylight. If they come out and the area around their den is snow packed, they just drop lower. Much like elk, deer, turkey etc I have seen bear rutting behavior alter a bit with weather. On super hot days, rain or in high winds their rutting behavior slows or stops until the barometer settles down. Then they just start going again.

 

[Jtb.kfd]

Beautiful pictures, sounds like a fantastic time, thank you for all the info!
So with the highly varied terrain in Idaho, do you find the rut changes based on general elevation/longitude? I.e. in areas still with snow higher up, even in June, bears will still be exhibiting early season behavior, coming out of hibernation later, and still in find food mode?

As for longitude, I haven’t noticed a difference. I have only done spot and stalk though, maybe guys who bait in the northern part of the state can chime in. I have hunted bears for 30+ years in WA, ID and Montana in many parts of each state including north Idaho. Can’t say I have ever seen or noticed a difference in timelines of the rut from longitude. Maybe it varies by a week or so, but maybe not. I don’t think it changes a whole lot from location to location. That’s just a guess based on my experience however so take it for what it’s worth.

 

[Mtbhikernv]

As for longitude, I haven’t noticed a difference. I have only done spot and stalk though, maybe guys who bait in the northern part of the state can chime in. I have hunted bears for 30+ years in WA, ID and Montana in many parts of each state including north Idaho. Can’t say I have ever seen or noticed a difference in timelines of the rut from longitude. Maybe it varies by a week or so, but maybe not. I don’t think it changes a whole lot from location to location. That’s just a guess based on my experience however so take it for what it’s worth.

Ok thank you! Think I’ll take a stab at 27, I’d expect all the rivers to be pretty uncrossable at this point, so that’ll be a big consideration.

 

[Fyrfytr1805]

I just struck out on my second bear hunt in Idaho....Still got the tag in my pocket and willing to travel.

 

[Ztm91]

My son and I just got back from two weeks out chasing bears. We saw bears almost every day. Their elevation ranged from 4,500’ to over 8k. I think a lot of people hear “green up” and look for the greenest terrain they can find. A lot of country we find bears in has new plants they like that are just emerging. Some of these hillsides don’t look very green or look like there is much to feed on. But they have what the bears want and they will travel a long ways to get it. Most of the bears we saw were within a 1,000’ of the snow line and also in areas that have good flowing water. A basin that is super green and lush, but lacks good running water won’t hold bears in my experience. We did find two bears in a basin such as this last week, but they were just moving through. We found one of these bears (sow with three chocolate cubs) in another basin miles away two days later just under the snow line and with good running water. She stayed there for days. Another terrain feature we look for is south facing, steep slopes with rocks/cliffs coupled with patches of timber. The last week we were out was in the upper 80’s each day. We would see bears from 8am-10am and then again later in the afternoon, after 5pm. As other posts have suggested, if you are not seeing bears, you’re not in the right area. As a general rule, we will watch a basin for an evening and then the next morning, if we don’t see any bears we move on regardless of how good it looks. Find the right basin, and you will likely find multiple bears. This info applies mainly to early April to mid May. After that, the north facing slopes melt off enough where bears will shelter there during the day to keep cooler. Once this terrain opens up it makes things a bit harder. Then June rolls around and the boars start covering a lot more ground looking for sows. Still a good time to be out, but again it can be just a bit harder.

Thank you for all the information and guidance here. Put in two weekends thus far with tons of miles and elevation hiked but no bear sightings yet. Going out for a 4 day weekend beginning of June and if that doesn’t work out we’ll throw a Hail Mary last weekend of June.

 

[.204smokechaser]

I have run into quite a few folks from east of the Mississippi in the last week including a family from Indiana today while I was glassing goats with a goat tag holder. Good luck to y’all.

 

[Schoolhousegrizz]

Finally spotted my first bear around 7000 feet a few days ago. He was a good bear. He was in an opening surrounded by miles of thick forest. Tried to make it happen but couldn't find him again. Headed to different terrain that's more open. It seems like there are some good bears in thick country but man it is hard to get on them.

 

[arrowjunkie]

Figured I'd throw in my two cents for those trying to plan for the future. Just got back from 5 days chasing bear. Fairly new to this so take this info with a grain of salt.

We covered a ton of ground and turned up a few bears but couldn't get back on them once we relocated. It seems the lack of snow this year really accelerated the green up. Where we were it was difficult to find places where the green up was super fresh. The snow line was almost non-existent in most places so it made it hard to work. I'm guessing this spread the bears far and wide. Coming from out of state, putting in vacation time and one guy having to book a plan ticket really locked us in to dates. If you have the ability to tailor your dates to the green up that probably will be best, otherwise it seems results may vary. We went to Montana a few years ago when they had a really late spring and ran into the opposite issue with snow and green up, but overall I wish we could have done this trip two weeks earlier.

We spent part of our time in unit 39. It was not quite the zoo I expected. About the only difficult part was finding decent camping because it was around memorial day weekend. Once we got back off the roads a bit we saw two other groups of people, both hunters, the whole time, regardless of unit. Maybe if we had been able to locate a basin or drainage with multiple bears this might have been different though.

The ticks are there but they also were not as bad as I expected. I'd say we each averaged one tick a day we found on us or our clothes. We did not use permethrin. Tick checks every night were a real thing though, so bring some close buddies...

Water seemed to be the biggest driving factor of where we located bears. We pushed in to basins that looked awesome but saw no bears or sign. The common theme was if it didn't have easily accessible water they just were not there regardless of how it looked. It took us a few days to truly make that connection so we wasted some time in areas that were never going to pan out. Once we made the connection we finally started seeing bears and were able to bail from useless areas quickly. Don't get married to a spot.

The bears we ended up finding were on north facing slopes. I'm guessing the lack of snow and accelerated green up let them move to these slopes with better shade and cover a bit earlier than normal. These bears were at about 6,000 ft. I say this as a diehard coues deer hunter but these things are incredibly easy to spot once you are in the right area. One of the bears I glassed up was 6 miles away just messing around with the spotting scope. They are big moving black objects that stand out. Finding that right area and then getting in range is the real challenge.

We only stumbled on one bait sight. So if you are worried about this being an issue for your spot and stalk I'd still say just go for it.

I'm sure some Idaho natives or experienced bear hunters can add to or correct some of this info. I wish we could have removed some predators from the population but it just wasn't in the cards this year. All in all it was still a great time in the mountains and we will be back.

 

[Mtbhikernv]

Figured I'd throw in my two cents for those trying to plan for the future. Just got back from 5 days chasing bear. Fairly new to this so take this info with a grain of salt.

We covered a ton of ground and turned up a few bears but couldn't get back on them once we relocated. It seems the lack of snow this year really accelerated the green up. Where we were it was difficult to find places where the green up was super fresh. The snow line was almost non-existent in most places so it made it hard to work. I'm guessing this spread the bears far and wide. Coming from out of state, putting in vacation time and one guy having to book a plan ticket really locked us in to dates. If you have the ability to tailor your dates to the green up that probably will be best, otherwise it seems results may vary. We went to Montana a few years ago when they had a really late spring and ran into the opposite issue with snow and green up, but overall I wish we could have done this trip two weeks earlier.

We spent part of our time in unit 39. It was not quite the zoo I expected. About the only difficult part was finding decent camping because it was around memorial day weekend. Once we got back off the roads a bit we saw two other groups of people, both hunters, the whole time, regardless of unit. Maybe if we had been able to locate a basin or drainage with multiple bears this might have been different though.

The ticks are there but they also were not as bad as I expected. I'd say we each averaged one tick a day we found on us or our clothes. We did not use permethrin. Tick checks every night were a real thing though, so bring some close buddies...

Water seemed to be the biggest driving factor of where we located bears. We pushed in to basins that looked awesome but saw no bears or sign. The common theme was if it didn't have easily accessible water they just were not there regardless of how it looked. It took us a few days to truly make that connection so we wasted some time in areas that were never going to pan out. Once we made the connection we finally started seeing bears and were able to bail from useless areas quickly. Don't get married to a spot.

The bears we ended up finding were on north facing slopes. I'm guessing the lack of snow and accelerated green up let them move to these slopes with better shade and cover a bit earlier than normal. These bears were at about 6,000 ft. I say this as a diehard coues deer hunter but these things are incredibly easy to spot once you are in the right area. One of the bears I glassed up was 6 miles away just messing around with the spotting scope. They are big moving black objects that stand out. Finding that right area and then getting in range is the real challenge.

We only stumbled on one bait sight. So if you are worried about this being an issue for your spot and stalk I'd still say just go for it.

I'm sure some Idaho natives or experienced bear hunters can add to or correct some of this info. I wish we could have removed some predators from the population but it just wasn't in the cards this year. All in all it was still a great time in the mountains and we will be back.

Appreciate this info! I’m heading up to 27 next weekend and hopefully I can use some of this.