calebmason33
FNG
- Joined
- Jun 24, 2018
- Messages
- 94
My son shoots NASP archery in school and last year he qualified for nationals, which for our region is held in Sandy, UT. Assuming he qualifies again this year, I'm looking at killing two birds with one stone and driving an additional 6-8 hours north into Idaho to hunt black bears. This would be the last part of April/1st week of May. Having combed through a lot of the forums here, I understand I'll be up against accessability issues to certain areas due to snow. I've also found by trial and error, through two trips to Idaho for bears, that elevation is essential to finding bears and their food source. We hunted the bitterroot range along the Montana border, in reduced tag areas. The first trip, we ran into a guide 9 miles up a drainage and was told we were too high in elevation, and the bears were weeks away from being at the elevation we were hunting. He also claimed to have passed 2 bears on the way up that were a mile off the road we parked at 
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One strategy that I don't find a lot of discussion on is still hunting/spot and stalk lower elevation areas near streams/rivers. For example an article by George Bettas that talks about doing this some time ago along Hwy12 along the Lochsa
westernhunter.net
It may be that due to more traffic, hunting pressure, etc. this sort of method is no longer viable. I guess I'm looking for some guidance on still stalking/spot and stalk hunting low areas along streams and creeks or walking old logging roads that aren't accessible by truck, but would be greening up. Is this still a practice people use? I'm trying to whet my boys' appetite for western hunting, but not put them through the grinder of packing miles back and up a mountain. They will be able to put on some miles, just not the grueling 2000' vertical climb that seems more characteristic of these types of hunts. I'd appreciate any guidance that can be offered. This will be my boys' first trip to the mountains (we live in Iowa) so even if we aren't successful it will not be a wasted trip. Thanks in advance.
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.One strategy that I don't find a lot of discussion on is still hunting/spot and stalk lower elevation areas near streams/rivers. For example an article by George Bettas that talks about doing this some time ago along Hwy12 along the Lochsa
Spring Bear Hunting in Elk Calving Areas
Find out where cow elk are raising their calves and use that into for spring bear hunting and see your success rates increase.
westernhunter.net
It may be that due to more traffic, hunting pressure, etc. this sort of method is no longer viable. I guess I'm looking for some guidance on still stalking/spot and stalk hunting low areas along streams and creeks or walking old logging roads that aren't accessible by truck, but would be greening up. Is this still a practice people use? I'm trying to whet my boys' appetite for western hunting, but not put them through the grinder of packing miles back and up a mountain. They will be able to put on some miles, just not the grueling 2000' vertical climb that seems more characteristic of these types of hunts. I'd appreciate any guidance that can be offered. This will be my boys' first trip to the mountains (we live in Iowa) so even if we aren't successful it will not be a wasted trip. Thanks in advance.
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