Well, that's enough for me

[DoubleJ]

After multiple days out and not finding any sign, let alone bears, even though my boots are black from all the berry juice on them from all the berries I was stepping in, I think I'm done.  If I see one while hunting for something else, that's fine but, I don't think I want to waste any more gas looking for bears.  Gas is expensive and, with elk right around the corner to go along with the $4/gal gas we're about to swallow from the California refinery fire yesterday, I think I'll waste my money chasing elk rather than bear.

[seth30]

Sorry that your bear trips will be over.  I hope you are able to bag a big elk and deer!

[DoubleJ]

Well, maybe I'll go one more time.  Damned hunting bug

[seth30]

Well, maybe I'll go one more time.  Damned hunting bug

Thats the spirit  

[windygorge]

shelton?? aren't bear in your back yard.  use your mt bike

[DoubleJ]

shelton?? aren't bear in your back yard.  use your mt bike

I spent a ton of time today literally in my back yard.  Acres of Green Diamond logging land where I have trail cam pics of bears from years past.  Berries everywhere and no sign.  Frustrated.



And no bike

[bobcat]

Just park at a gate and walk all day. Don't think of it as bear hunting, but exercise for getting in shape for elk season.

[seth30]

shelton?? aren't bear in your back yard.  use your mt bike

I spent a ton of time today literally in my back yard.  Acres of Green Diamond logging land where I have trail cam pics of bears from years past.  Berries everywhere and no sign.  Frustrated.



And no bike

why?  Logging, herba spraying, hikers???  I lost my best area this year to logging

[DoubleJ]

shelton?? aren't bear in your back yard.  use your mt bike

I spent a ton of time today literally in my back yard.  Acres of Green Diamond logging land where I have trail cam pics of bears from years past.  Berries everywhere and no sign.  Frustrated.



And no bike

why?  Logging, herba spraying, hikers???  I lost my best area this year to logging

They sprayed July 11th.  Thought it'd be ok since they only sprayed 10' from the road.

[DoubleJ]

And most of the area has grown over the years and is now over my head.  I can't see in or out of there.

[sled]

  I have not had any luck yet either.  I dont hunt far from where d-rock hunts and he has seen many already.  I feel your frustration!  I'm going to keep at it.  I dont need to drive very far to hunt so i dont spend much in gas.  One of these times i will connect on one i just need to keep going.

[DoubleJ]

If they sprayed July 11th, should I even bother with that area even though the spray death only looks to be 10' from the edge of the road or should I find somewhere else?

[saylean]

Wait another week or two (or three) for when the black berries come in. Might have a better chance for the final hurrah.

[DoubleJ]

There aren't very many "Blackberries" like we have in our back yard but there are a ton of those wild vine berries like you posted in that thread a few days ago.  That and salal berries all over too

[bobcat]

The blackberries are ripe now and have been since the first week of July. I found bear crap full of blackberry seeds about 4 weeks ago.

[saylean]

Ya, I was referring to the type you have in the back yard. Bear sign seems to peak around end of Aug/mid sept, for me. Last weekend of Sept has been my golden time.

Bobcat, depends where your at I guess. All the ones round me are still green...found fresh bear sign today, looked like black berries, but the hucks and thimbles were all I found in the area.

[DoubleJ]

I'll post pics in a minute.  BRB

[JCKILLSHOT]

Black berries are still green where I hunt also just cause one area has berries doesn't mean the whole state does.  Keep at it at you'll see one sooner or later and if you don't you'll be ready for elk season.

[DoubleJ]

Blackberries like I pick for jam.  It is a bush.



Those berries are still green everywhere I've been



The vine berries you talke about.  We call them tangle weed because it tangles around your ankles and trips you.  Not a bush but spreads out at ankle height and acts almost like a ground cover



Those berries are ripe all around here, including my back yard and the Green Diamond land that was sprayed that is 2 blocks from my house

[bobcat]

Yeah, the Himalayans and the Evergreens (invasive species) don't get ripe until middle to late August.

I'm talking about the "real" blackberries. (native)

[saylean]

Ya, I dont know, bears seem easier for me to find when the bush black berries get in....maybe they are easier to locate...they stay put a bit longer...

I'd just give it a week or two, cause by then, you wont be able to stand it anyway!

Thanks for the pics, good examples. Dont give up....find a hunting buddy and carpool....oh gawd, I sound like a greenie...soon, I will say buy a Volt car.

[DoubleJ]

If they had a volt pickup, I'd be in line to get one.  I have been screaming for an electric truck for years

[billythekidrock]

Ya, I was referring to the type you have in the back yard. Bear sign seems to peak around end of Aug/mid sept, for me. Last weekend of Sept has been my golden time.

Bobcat, depends where your at I guess. All the ones round me are still green...found fresh bear sign today, looked like black berries, but the hucks and thimbles were all I found in the area.

Are you talking Himalayans or the trailing black berries. Most of the areas I hunt on the westside have a gap between the two ripening. Usually the little trailing berries are ripe from early July to early August and then the larger himalayans ripen in late August or September.

I have had the best "blackberry" luck with the little trailing berries. By the time the other blackberries are ripe, so are the huck, blue and cascara.  Then in October the evergreen huck ripen up.

[RadSav]

If they had a volt pickup, I'd be in line to get one.  I have been screaming for an electric truck for years

You might get 5 miles on a charge then   Instead of the 20-25 you get now on a Volt.  What a piece of stollen tax payer money crap!  Better to buy an old toilet seat 90 scooter.  Or a Geo.  Buddy of mine hunts in an old Honda Coupe 65 mpg.  about the size of my backpack, but it gets him where he needs to be to start walking.

[saylean]

Ya, I was referring to the type you have in the back yard. Bear sign seems to peak around end of Aug/mid sept, for me. Last weekend of Sept has been my golden time.

Bobcat, depends where your at I guess. All the ones round me are still green...found fresh bear sign today, looked like black berries, but the hucks and thimbles were all I found in the area.

Are you talking Himalayans or the trailing black berries. Most of the areas I hunt on the westside have a gap between the two ripening. Usually the little trailing berries are ripe from early July to early August and then the larger himalayans ripen in late August or September.

I have had the best "blackberry" luck with the little trailing berries. By the time the other blackberries are ripe, so are the huck, blue and cascara.  Then in October the evergreen huck ripen up.

Hey Billy,
I guess they would be the Himalayan types, never called them anything other than black berry bushes...the big bushy pain in the arse ones that take over peoples property. The small ground running vine ones I never paid much attention to till bout 3 years ago when I called in a blonde bear out of the woods that were covered in those things. Half the time I wouldnt even bother hunting for bear till the Himalayans (as ya'll call them) would be ripe.

[DoubleJ]

If they had a volt pickup, I'd be in line to get one.  I have been screaming for an electric truck for years

You might get 5 miles on a charge then   Instead of the 20-25 you get now on a Volt.  What a piece of stollen tax payer money crap!  Better to buy an old toilet seat 90 scooter.  Or a Geo.  Buddy of mine hunts in an old Honda Coupe 65 mpg.  about the size of my backpack, but it gets him where he needs to be to start walking.

Yea, they'd have to really make a strong battery for a battery pickup

[DoubleJ]

Ya, I was referring to the type you have in the back yard. Bear sign seems to peak around end of Aug/mid sept, for me. Last weekend of Sept has been my golden time.

Bobcat, depends where your at I guess. All the ones round me are still green...found fresh bear sign today, looked like black berries, but the hucks and thimbles were all I found in the area.

Are you talking Himalayans or the trailing black berries. Most of the areas I hunt on the westside have a gap between the two ripening. Usually the little trailing berries are ripe from early July to early August and then the larger himalayans ripen in late August or September.

I have had the best "blackberry" luck with the little trailing berries. By the time the other blackberries are ripe, so are the huck, blue and cascara.  Then in October the evergreen huck ripen up.

Hey Billy,
I guess they would be the Himalayan types, never called them anything other than black berry bushes...the big bushy pain in the arse ones that take over peoples property. The small ground running vine ones I never paid much attention to till bout 3 years ago when I called in a blonde bear out of the woods that were covered in those things. Half the time I wouldnt even bother hunting for bear till the Himalayans (as ya'll call them) would be ripe.

We just called them blackberry bushes too.  And like I said, we called the others tangle weed.  Is that stuff worth hunting or just wait for the Hymalayan?

[AKBowman]

The blackberries are ripe now and have been since the first week of July. I found bear crap full of blackberry seeds about 4 weeks ago.

Times two. I took some pics of ripe berries in my area about 7 weeks ago. I couldnt beleive it, LOTS of bear sign. A member on here killed one not far from there Friday.

[bobcat]

I also got a trail cam picture of the bears that have been eating the blackberries:

[hornhunter1987]

when that black huckle berry stuff ripens up in a couple few more weeks is when i see the most sign in the younger cuts. i think there in the timber  mostly now eating the salal berries. those are ripe and huge around shelton. so is the red huck too though. my bear was  eating the red huckle berrie bushes.

[billythekidrock]

when that black huckle berry stuff ripens up in a couple few more weeks is when i see the most sign in the younger cuts. i think there in the timber  mostly now eating the salal berries. those are ripe and huge around shelton. so is the red huck too though. my bear was  eating the red huckle berrie bushes.

I agree. Especially  it is hot like it has been. Alot of people often confuse salal seeds for bears feeding on blackberries.  The "black huckle berry stuff" you mentioned is Evergreen Huckleberry and it ripens late and stays edible into November.

Here is a link to some good info on Evergreen huck. http://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/cs_vaov2.pdf

[sirmissalot]

Thanks for posting that billy, I've always wondered why the huckleberries here around town are much smaller than those up high. I think the smaller ones are sweeter, and they are literally everywhere around here. The red hucks are perfect right now, along with salal berries. The wild black berries are at the tail end of their season by my house, while the thorny big blackberries are mostly green but I did see some yesterday that get a lot of sunlight and were mostly red with some black ones mixed in. I'm finally getting out for my first real look for some bear sign tonight.

Doublej, I'm not sure but I think your area produces a ton of the evergreen huckleberries, even more than here closer to shelton, they grow like crazy and are easy to find in clear cuts. I will post some pictures from my phone in a few of some outside my window, the berries have a ways to go they are still very green.

[sirmissalot]

[bassquatch]

After multiple days out and not finding any sign, let alone bears, even though my boots are black from all the berry juice on them from all the berries I was stepping in, I think I'm done.  If I see one while hunting for something else, that's fine but, I don't think I want to waste any more gas looking for bears.  Gas is expensive and, with elk right around the corner to go along with the $4/gal gas we're about to swallow from the California refinery fire yesterday, I think I'll waste my money chasing elk rather than bear.

I would think you would be wise to stay out of those berries? If that's what and where you want to hunt, get above them somewhere with your favorite pair of bino's and your rifle about 2-3 hours before dark with this heat, keep the wind on your face and watch those berries like a hawk for movement!

It took me 5 years before I even saw a bear during bear season and I missed him! However, I love the challenge, the learning opportunities and it keeps me in shape for the deer and elk seasons! Keep at it, keep going to your area, it's only a matter of time

[Biggerhammer]

Years ago in a prior life I was laying on a barracks floor at about 4am in the morning at Ft. Benning GA up on sandhill, trying to get a grip on anything to keep from falling off the planet. I was swearing a oath that I would never drink again if the good Lord let me survive the night. In that moment a good friend leaned over the edge of his bunk. Looked my straight in the eyes, all serious as hell and said:

" GOD HATES QUITTERS!"

He passed me down another cold one and that was that. I've been in some crappy situations and for some reason my mind always takes me back to that moment.

[billythekidrock]

Here is a belly full of Evergreen Huck from an October bear in the CF.

[hornhunter1987]

thanks billy i always wondered what that evergreen huck was called. they just love that stuff

[DoubleJ]

Going out again up near the steel bridge here in about 2 hours.  Taking my oldest son and his friend