If we’re talking successful harvest of a fall bear while targeting them, end of Sept. I have seen plenty of bears in October and November but not while primarily looking for them. In NW WA bears are relatively easy to find from August 1st through mid September, just follow the feed. After mid September most of the bears I run into are incidental, still hunting dark timber for blacktails or hiking. If I had a tag in my pocket that late in the year I would probably focus on bushwhacks and timber still hunts in locations that have fresh bear sign. Generally I either don’t have a tag left or I’ve moved onto other hunts or activities by this time of the year.