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spring bear

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spring bear

Postby wawhitey » 03 10, 2016 •  [Post 1]

Drew a spring bear permit for my home unit. I get april 1st through june 15th. Who else is spring bear hunting this year? Im assuming some of you idaho guys will be taking advantage of your otc spring season.
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Re: spring bear

Postby Lefty » 03 11, 2016 •  [Post 2]

Yep . Im lining up small bait barrels, 16 1/2 gallon oil drums

We started a new bait location last year and I have 100lbs of apples for that bear. In three weeks last fall the bear at about a dozen pails of apples plus other bait.
A friend really want us to move to the area he has baited for 20 years, We just might do the for the last week of May
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Re: spring bear

Postby ishy » 03 11, 2016 •  [Post 3]

I'm out, ironman training will be at it's height during the season. I'll be dreaming of bear smokeys all September though.
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Re: spring bear

Postby wawhitey » 03 12, 2016 •  [Post 4]

Rub it in lefty. Sure wish we could bait bears here. Theres a certain one ive been wanting to get in my crosshairs for a few years now, but without baiting targeting a specific bear is pretty damn hard. Whole needle in a hay stack thing. Calling and glassing is all we have. This is my target that ill likely never lay eyes on during season. I call him one eyed willy. If i was to dig up some older pics of him you could see his right eye is gone. His right ear is a good obvious identifying characteristic, ripped in half and bent over, basically a clump of scar tissue.
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Re: spring bear

Postby Lefty » 03 17, 2016 •  [Post 5]

wawhitey wrote:Rub it in lefty. Sure wish we could bait bears here. Theres a certain one ive been wanting to get in my crosshairs for a few years now, but without baiting targeting a specific bear is pretty damn hard. Whole needle in a hay stack thing. Calling and glassing is all we have. This is my target that ill likely never lay eyes on during season. I call him one eyed willy. If i was to dig up some older pics of him you could see his right eye is gone. His right ear is a good obvious identifying characteristic, ripped in half and bent over, basically a clump of scar tissue.

Maybe its the black and white,... but that bear looks like and old boar.
Im sure glad we left Washington,. I enjoy trapping and had a friend with great hounds in Oregon
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Re: spring bear

Postby Lefty » 03 17, 2016 •  [Post 6]

ishy wrote:I'm out, ironman training will be at it's height during the season. I'll be dreaming of bear smokeys all September though.


shouldnt be baiting bears can be ridiculously tough. Year back the Minnesota jokes about guys with big necks, small waists, were bear hunters or beaver trappers
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Re: spring bear

Postby wawhitey » 03 17, 2016 •  [Post 7]

Lefty wrote:
wawhitey wrote:Rub it in lefty. Sure wish we could bait bears here. Theres a certain one ive been wanting to get in my crosshairs for a few years now, but without baiting targeting a specific bear is pretty damn hard. Whole needle in a hay stack thing. Calling and glassing is all we have. This is my target that ill likely never lay eyes on during season. I call him one eyed willy. If i was to dig up some older pics of him you could see his right eye is gone. His right ear is a good obvious identifying characteristic, ripped in half and bent over, basically a clump of scar tissue.

Maybe its the black and white,... but that bear looks like and old boar.
Im sure glad we left Washington,. I enjoy trapping and had a friend with great hounds in Oregon



Hes an old boar alright. He looked old a few years ago when i first got pics of him. Theyre broad daylight, ill post em up next time i get my laptop somewhere with internet.
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Re: spring bear

Postby wawhitey » 03 20, 2016 •  [Post 8]

Is it april yet??????
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Re: spring bear

Postby Lefty » 04 14, 2016 •  [Post 9]

Bought my bait tags yesterday. I have a couple barrels and bait ready to put into the trailer. Headed out to place baits and cameras on one location Saturday.

I had to move a few miles because a mama grizzle is pretty firm about what is hers and all the black bears moved out .
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Re: spring bear

Postby wawhitey » 04 22, 2016 •  [Post 10]

Its starting to pick up. Seen a few bears this week, but nothing that meets my lofty standards :D

Almost shot one, went so far as to have the safety off and finger on the trigger, but he wasnt what i wanted so i backed out. Hard to control it after a perfect textbook stalk. After i got back about 300 or 400 yards away from him i looked at him through the binos again and i swear he grew, almost made another approach.
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Re: spring bear

Postby Elkonthebrain » 04 27, 2016 •  [Post 11]

How's the bear hunting going?
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Re: spring bear

Postby wawhitey » 04 29, 2016 •  [Post 12]

Elkonthebrain wrote:How's the bear hunting going?


Good, from what people are telling me. But im out on the water again making some money. Cant spend every day playing in the woods, as much as id like to. Ill be back at it around may 8th
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Re: spring bear

Postby Lefty » 05 01, 2016 •  [Post 13]

Elkonthebrain wrote:How's the bear hunting going?

Seeing lots of elk
Did I mention Ive seen lots of elk
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Re: spring bear

Postby wawhitey » 05 07, 2016 •  [Post 14]

Getting off the boat tonight, taking care of some stuff tomorrow (tcam check, its been over 7 months since ive been to these two) and then back to bear hunting monday! Taking a couple weeks off to play in the mountains.
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Re: spring bear

Postby wawhitey » 05 09, 2016 •  [Post 15]

Sitting on a rocky outcrop this morning glassing for bear. Less than 200 yards below me is a "no vehicles allowed" logging road. Damn pack of wolves came trotting down the road broad daylight.
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Re: spring bear

Postby wawhitey » 05 10, 2016 •  [Post 16]

Struck out today. Sleeping on a different mtn now. In the epicenter of my best elk area. Lots of bears hang out here, and i figured i should maybe take a stab at a calf killer. Ill start out tomorrow glassing for several hours, hoping for a good spot n stalk deal, and if that doesnt pan out i think a little bear cub distress on the old foxpro is in order. Ill be doing that near the big wallow. Bears are always bumming around the wallow may-september. Just hope i dont call in any of those pesky black coyotes.
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Re: spring bear

Postby wawhitey » 05 11, 2016 •  [Post 17]

Bear on the meat pole
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Re: spring bear

Postby ishy » 05 20, 2016 •  [Post 18]

Get a pic? Story?
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Re: spring bear

Postby wawhitey » 05 20, 2016 •  [Post 19]

ishy wrote:Get a pic? Story?


I posted it on the 2016 meatpole. Heres a copy paste with a bit more info from another forum.

Well its a pretty average bear.  Ive been holding out for a real hog, passed up a couple pretty good bears, but today this bear kinda chose me instead of the other way around.
   Pretty action packed day.  Alarm went off at 5:30 am and i rolled out of my sleeping bag promptly about 8ish    hiked down to a good glassing spot and in maybe 15 minutes i spot a big black one across the steep deep nasty draw.  Game on.  I start moving and halfway to it i run into a nice light brown one, but i think the black one is bigger so i give it a pass.  I get to within 200 yards of the big guy but i needed to get up higher for a shot, then the wind went crazy during my stalk and he smelled me and vanished.  So, hiked back, had some lunch and relaxed for an hour or so.  Went back to my glassing spot and took me all of two minutes to glass up another real nice looking black one.  Back across the draw i go, get close and the wind is once again not cooperating.  Not sure if he winded me or not, coulda still been where i last saw him, so i decided to make a wide loop up onto the mountainside to where the wind would work, got to maybe 100 yards from where i thought he was and figured too much vegetation to push my luck trying to creep closer.  So i sit down in a little clump of trees and dig a call out of my pack and start blowing on it.  After only 5, maybe 10 minutes max, i hear a tiny little insignificant sound and turn my head.  There was a bear 10 yards away staring me down.  At that point my gun kinda went on auto pilot.  Wasnt any rational thought going on.  I shot her and she dropped like a sack of potatos, didnt take one step.  Pretty decent size for a sow, and a very exciting hunt. 
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Re: spring bear

Postby ishy » 05 20, 2016 •  [Post 20]

Sweet! Sorry didn't even think about the meat pole since probably November. You shoulda been packin your bow. That had to have kicked the ticker into overdrive.
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Re: spring bear

Postby wawhitey » 03 13, 2017 •  [Post 21]

Taxi just called and said he has the head in my rug. Shouldnt be all that long before its on the wall. :D

I think from here on out ill just have bear hides tanned, unless i get a real huge one, then ill do a half mount. Rugs take up lots of space
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