spring spot and stalk hunt planning help 2022

[zach0860]

Trying to take 10 year old son on a bear hunt next spring. Pretty settled on unit 39 in idaho because we have friends in the area that can give us some good direction on spots. Our issue is time, driving from Nebraska is roughly 15 hours. My question is what is a reasonable time to plan to hunt. Is a 3 day hunt doable? My vacation time at work can be pretty tight and I usually take a week elk hunt in the fall. My plan B is unit 7,8,or 9 in Wyoming because we can make that drive in 6ish hours but doesn't seem like success rates are very high. Any other ideas on closer spots that we would have a good shot at least at seeing something? Thanks.

 

[maniscalco1818]

Trying to take 10 year old son on a bear hunt next spring. Pretty settled on unit 39 in idaho because we have friends in the area that can give us some good direction on spots. Our issue is time, driving from Nebraska is roughly 15 hours. My question is what is a reasonable time to plan to hunt. Is a 3 day hunt doable? My vacation time at work can be pretty tight and I usually take a week elk hunt in the fall. My plan B is unit 7,8,or 9 in Wyoming because we can make that drive in 6ish hours but doesn't seem like success rates are very high. Any other ideas on closer spots that we would have a good shot at least at seeing something? Thanks.

If you have a spot in Unit 39 that is know to produce I think 3 days of HUNTING is enough.. a hunt with your son is more for the memories regardless. Idaho is beautiful country and in unit 39 you would certainly see bears. I’d go with unit 39. Having good direction to a sweet spot is invaluable!


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[zach0860]

If you have a spot in Unit 39 that is know to produce I think 3 days of HUNTING is enough.. a hunt with your son is more for the memories regardless. Idaho is beautiful country and in unit 39 you would certainly see bears. I’d go with unit 39. Having good direction to a sweet spot is invaluable!


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appreciate it, really all i needed to hear. He's been hunting with me since he could walk and neither one of us are disappointed to go home empty handed but would at least be nice to look at some bears on a bear hunt. Thanks again!

 

[maniscalco1818]

appreciate it, really all i needed to hear. He's been hunting with me since he could walk and neither one of us are disappointed to go home empty handed but would at least be nice to look at some bears on a bear hunt. Thanks again!

I’m in the same boat but vise versa. My dad and I are actually doing the same hunt in the same Unit.. I’m 22 and he’s 55, but we are just looking to get out in Gods Country and hopefully see a bear! Best of luck!


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[Ntuttle15]

I personally would never hunt in 39 for any thing for any reason. It's so unbelievably crowded it takes all the fun away from it. Between purple actually hunting, people who think they are hunting and people just out on a mountain joy ride, you just cannot get away from other people. But if your pal knows of some spots it could be worth it... your call of course, but that's my opinion

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[Fingershooter23]

3 days is going to be a quick hunt but if you know a good spot that holds bears it should work out. I typically go spring bear hunting in the north west for 5 days but tag out in the first few days. Of course it's all about making memories at that age and if you don't see anything you can still have a great time.
Good optics are important here too .

I don't know anywhere closer for spring bear. Is Idaho spring bear otc and can you draw a tag? Can you combine the lower success rate Wyoming spring bear hunt with Turkey? If so that might be the ticket...more time in the field with your son, less time driving and maybe if you don't see any bears you can come home with a turkey?

Good luck to you.

 

[zach0860]

3 days is going to be a quick hunt but if you know a good spot that holds bears it should work out. I typically go spring bear hunting in the north west for 5 days but tag out in the first few days. Of course it's all about making memories at that age and if you don't see anything you can still have a great time.
Good optics are important here too .

I don't know anywhere closer for spring bear. Is Idaho spring bear otc and can you draw a tag? Can you combine the lower success rate Wyoming spring bear hunt with Turkey? If so that might be the ticket...more time in the field with your son, less time driving and maybe if you don't see any bears you can come home with a turkey?

Good luck to you.

Thanks, we don't have any problem with turkey and deer back home and he spends plenty of time in the woods. He's been begging to go to the mountains since I started elk hunting a few years back but we backpack in and I don't think he's ready for that. So main point is getting out in the mountains and stomping around ,hopefully see a bear at least.

 

[zach0860]

I personally would never hunt in 39 for any thing for any reason. It's so unbelievably crowded it takes all the fun away from it. Between purple actually hunting, people who think they are hunting and people just out on a mountain joy ride, you just cannot get away from other people. But if your pal knows of some spots it could be worth it... your call of course, but that's my opinion

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Do you have any other areas that might be good for a first hunt? Would like to stay out of areas with grizzlies.

 

[Ntuttle15]

Do you have any other areas that might be good for a first hunt? Would like to stay out of areas with grizzlies.

Really you can find bears anywhere in Idaho. Its just a matter of going out and being outside. You realistically won't see a grizzly unless you're hunting by island park...

Basic rule of thumb:
More bears up in northern units. Much thicker timber. More snow to deal with which limits access.
Central units: sometimes less bears, more capable of spot and stalk, snow is a little easier to work with.

Pick a spot on the map that follows with what kind of hunt you want and just stick with your gut


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[MillenialHunter]

A few buddies and I drive from Nebraska to the Panhandle region in Idaho to hunt bears. This was our 3rd year going and our first year notching tags. The thing that made the difference was getting to know some good ole boys and having them show us what we were doing wrong. So if you’ve got somebody that goes hunting there pretty regular that should help you out big time.

I don’t know what the harvest stats look like for unit 39 but I’d check on bait vs spot and stock stats and take into account outfitters in the area may be raising the numbers. Just try and get an honest overview of your expectations based off the harvest statistics.

If you have any more questions being that we’re kind of from the same area and doing a very similar hunt I’d be happy to answer them.