When southerners decide to head to Idaho for a spring bear hunt....

[EJFS]

Do you know what a topo map is? If you do, you should be able to do a little research on your own and quickly decipher which areas are less steep than others. If you don't, learning know to read a topo map and using it to decipher which areas are relatively flatter than others would be a great exercise before you go.

 

[Macro]

I love to watch Southerner talk, aww its sounds so confusing sometimes.

 

[BRTreedogs]

Imo I've only ever seen spring bears where its steeper then the hubs of hades.

Other then maybe an area where there are eating the grass on the side of the road if I was hunting where it was less steep id expect not to see bears.

 

[Customweld]

There is really only a couple of places that are steep in Idaho: North of the Salmon River and South of the Salmon River!
Every part of Idaho has drainages and mountains that are just plain miserable. Every part of Idaho also has places that aren’t so steep and miserable. You’ll have to decide an area and really drill down on it for information. Don’t be afraid to reach out to guys through PM, most are willing to lend some guidance.

 

[Leonard-s]

There is really only a couple of places that are steep in Idaho: North of the Salmon River and South of the Salmon River!

Good one.

 

[Whitey Fisk 88]

Do you have any personal suggestions on a unit(s)?

How about you do the research for yourself instead of coming here asking for hand outs and thinking thats ok because youre claiming to be a woman. Get in better shape, and then hunt where the bears are. Problem solved, no offense but too many of yall act like you need your damn hand held at every turn when you come out west and asking for handouts and info that took some of us seasons to figure out.

Get off your butt, go for a hike, and then go hunting. Read the archives beforehand. Dont expect others to do your research for you

Or dont come hunting, i have no preference

 

[fngTony]

How about you do the research for yourself instead of coming here asking for hand outs and thinking thats ok because youre claiming to be a woman. Get in better shape, and then hunt where the bears are. Problem solved, no offense but too many of yall act like you need your damn hand held at every turn when you come out west and asking for handouts and info that took some of us seasons to figure out.

Get off your butt, go for a hike, and then go hunting. Read the archives beforehand. Dont expect others to do your research for you

Or dont come hunting, i have no preference

Easy now, some good advice but let’s deliver it a little more politely.

 

[SwiftShot]

The mountains are not that bad. Do not worry about them. Most of your hunting should be done with your eyes behind good glass. Eyes walk a long way and it doesn't hurt my feet at all. Use the hunting app. I use gohunt. They should be on grass. Look for grass. Glass glass glass.

 

[AshCain]

Are you trying to spot and stalk? Bait? Got a rare non-resident hound permit?

Spot and stalk.

 

[bisblue]

The west is amazing, hence all the population growth. Read, e scout, just pick a spot and go. You might be successful, most likely not, but year one is gonna be just learning what the west is like... it's a big fun learning curve.
The more physically fit y'all are the more you will learn. Less sweet tea more cardio. Local knowledge is invaluable and hard won.
Best of luck, the drive home will be non stop scheming on how to come back better next season, or **** that I'm never going back there....

 

[sneaky]

How about you do the research for yourself instead of coming here asking for hand outs and thinking thats ok because youre claiming to be a woman. Get in better shape, and then hunt where the bears are. Problem solved, no offense but too many of yall act like you need your damn hand held at every turn when you come out west and asking for handouts and info that took some of us seasons to figure out.

Get off your butt, go for a hike, and then go hunting. Read the archives beforehand. Dont expect others to do your research for you

Or dont come hunting, i have no preference

You triggered? No units have been put on blast and I'm sure you've NEVER asked for help during your entire hunting career.

 

[sneaky]

A couple of us whitetail public land hunters from Louisiana have decided to look into a spring bear hunt in Idaho. I have read the 28 page thread on spring bear hunting, which has provided me with a good bit of solid information. Thanks to all yall for that!

PLEASE do not drag this Louisiana girl for this first question............here goes nothing....

What is the "easiest" area as far as terrain/mountain climb to visit for a spring bear hunt?

Coming from Louisiana to take on the mountains of Idaho is a little intimidating. We hunt and hike a good bit on a piece of public land in Louisiana called Tunia Hills but it is NOTHING compared to any mountain.

What timeframe are you even considering? Lots of places aren't even accessible in the early part of the season, so adjust your expectations accordingly. SnoTel sites let you look at snow levels, but lots of north facing slopes and roads through the trees on north facing slopes may be blocked by snow well into June. Last year it snowed all the way in to June here. You need to have about ten different places scouted on a map, and be ready to adjust plans on the fly. One side of the mountain is going to be the steepest you've ever seen. The other side will be steeper.

 

[Rob5589]

How about you do the research for yourself instead of coming here asking for hand outs and thinking that's ok because you're claiming to be a woman. Get in better shape, and then hunt where the bears are. Problem solved, no offense but too many of y'all act like you need your damn hand held at every turn when you come out west and asking for handouts and info that took some of us seasons to figure out.

Get off your butt, go for a hike, and then go hunting. Read the archives beforehand. Don't expect others to do your research for you

Or don't come hunting, I have no preference

Damn dude...

 

[whoami-72]

Lol prepare to get physically wrecked. Generally speaking, Idaho is one of the most rugged hunting states and even people who hunt many western states agree its rough. Plenty of much easier western states to hunt.

If anyone is going to give you free location advice they probably aren't giving good advice. You can't buy experience but it sure costs a hell of a lot to get it.

 

[Whitey Fisk 88]

You triggered? No units have been put on blast and I'm sure you've NEVER asked for help during your entire hunting career.

No units were put on blast because other sliders havent shared them, it wasnt due to OPs lack of asking for specific units. Thats a no no dude

I have never asked complete strangers, and have rarely asked friends at all. If someone gives me advice then ill take it and be thankful, but i have never expected anything from anyone in this world.

The best way to learn is simply get out in the woods. But the culture these days doesnt appreciate that fact. Everyone wants instant gratification, hunting doesnt work like that unless you use a guide...and then youre not truly hunting, the guide is the hunter, you're the just the shooter.

 

[schweinstein]

If you are wanting to spot and stalk stay away from the panhandle (northern Idaho). Its heavily timbered in most areas. If you do get a guide they may have some spot and stalk areas on public land up north but there are just not as many as units more to the south. Good news about the timbered areas though is it holds bears in lower elevations. Since you're spending so much money travelling from south anyway and are new to bear hunting, I would highly recommend getting a guide. There are plenty of good ones that are reasonably priced especially if your not worried about class of bear.

One thing about the guide is they can really help navigate the locals. As you can tell form this thread, a lot of people get triggered when anyone hunts in "their" spots or asks the wrong questions. Last year I was nearly chased off the trailhead simply for having license plates from an undesirable state.

 

[Big_wals]

If you are wanting to spot and stalk stay away from the panhandle (northern Idaho). Its heavily timbered in most areas. If you do get a guide they may have some spot and stalk areas on public land up north but there are just not as many as units more to the south. Good news about the timbered areas though is it holds bears in lower elevations. Since you're spending so much money travelling from south anyway and are new to bear hunting, I would highly recommend getting a guide. There are plenty of good ones that are reasonably priced especially if your not worried about class of bear.

One thing about the guide is they can really help navigate the locals. As you can tell form this thread, a lot of people get triggered when anyone hunts in "their" spots or asks the wrong questions. Last year I was nearly chased off the trailhead simply for having license plates from an undesirable state.

And yet, every year hundreds of bears get shot in the panhandle by spot and stalk hunters.... because its all we can do. no baiting allowed in griz country. In all seriousness though, it is undeniably harder to spot bears in thick timber. However, in my experience, there's more bears where its thick. Remember, bears are where you find em

 

[LoggerDan]

Be sure to study up on black bear anatomy and the vitals. They’re a little different than deer.

 

[Jskaanland]

Do you have any personal suggestions on a unit(s)?

You're not going to find many people telling you what units to hunt. If someone posts a unit publicly and says it's good and easy, it wont be good long.

Spot and stalk.

Where I hunt the warden was shocked our group does as well as we do, a little over 50% success for spot and stalk. If we took out the years it pissed rain the entire trip it'd be even higher. We hike up, its slow going and we take breaks but it's where we find bears.

As others have said, start by picking a unit, use OnX to adjust to a slope you'd be comfortable with and see what habitat is available. If the unit is too steep or has limited habitat, try it again. You can also set an expected elevation band and scroll around different areas and look for south facing slopes.

Maybe also look for units with open logging roads you can drive. That way you can cover country and then make a call if bear is within what you're comfortable hiking.

Listen to Remi Warren's podcasts on spring bears in June. Look up the older podcasts he did on the Cutting the Distance podcast. I can't speak to the calling episodes on Cutting the distance Jason did but Remi's was good.

 

[Jskaanland]

Side note, dropping a pile of popcorn on a ridge isn't going to work as baiting.