Copalis spring bear hunt. Any success stories?

[afaa]

Went in again today. Took the 6000 rd iff Kirkpatrick. Haf the e-caller going all day alternating between fawn distress and coyote pyp distress. No luck. Nothing. I was hoping for at least a coyote to fire a round but nope.

Drove out to Ocean Shores. Sitting at the restaurant now drinking cocktails to make up.

[pd]

Went in again today. Took the 6000 rd iff Kirkpatrick. Haf the e-caller going all day alternating between fawn distress and coyote pyp distress. No luck. Nothing. I was hoping for at least a coyote to fire a round but nope.

Drove out to Ocean Shores. Sitting at the restaurant now drinking cocktails to make up.

Keep the cocktail count low, and get out there again.  This is how you become a better hunter.  (Copalis is tough.  Good luck!!)

[mrgoodwrench]

We haven't been seeing many bears in Copalis yet, but I saw a few peels Monday when I was in there reconing some road construction.  This picture was taken off a spur off the 6000, there were several peels in this area, they looked to be a few days old since they were turning orange.

Hunt the open swamps, grassy roads, anything along the REZ boundary, and the north end of the property.  We usually see more bears later in may, and I think the tag is good until June 15th?  It used to be anyway. 

FYI, we have not hunted bears with hounds in a few years.  Adjacent landowners still do, but we do not.

[afaa]

Sitting out here off of rd 6011. No rain yet. Good thing there's strong cell signal here to keep me entertained.

[notellumcreek]

Sitting out here off of rd 6011. No rain yet. Good thing there's strong cell signal here to keep me entertained.

Anyone else out there hunting? Planning on heading up the last 2 weekends of the season for sure, plus a couple extra days during the week.

[jackmaster]

The absolute best way to hunt bear in the brush is walk the roads, especially roads that are gated that cant be drivin down, you gotta walk slow and hunt with your ears, if the wind is in your face, you will be fine, bear cant see that well , they can hear pretty good but their sense of smell is everything. Evenings and early mornings are best, especially the evening from like 5pm on... you gotta walk slow and open your ears, you will hear them before you see them most of the time, they love to rip into stumps and peel trees, it is actually pretty friggin loud when they are ripping into stuff, again you still hunt with your ears when huntn bear

[sled]

The absolute best way to hunt bear in the brush is walk the roads, especially roads that are gated that cant be drivin down, you gotta walk slow and hunt with your ears, if the wind is in your face, you will be fine, bear cant see that well , they can hear pretty good but their sense of smell is everything. Evenings and early mornings are best, especially the evening from like 5pm on... you gotta walk slow and open your ears, you will hear them before you see them most of the time, they love to rip into stumps and peel trees, it is actually pretty friggin loud when they are ripping into stuff, again you still hunt with your ears when huntn bear

  Exactly How I Have Been Hunting.

[afaa]

Thanks for the tip. I'll try that next time. Saw a couple guys there on my way out. Seemed like hardcore hunters. One of which I recognize the van from last trip. Talked to another hunter who said he lived in the area and been out there like 30 times. This is very discouraging. I'm starting to think there's not many bears here.

[sled]

Thanks for the tip. I'll try that next time. Saw a couple guys there on my way out. Seemed like hardcore hunters. One of which I recognize the van from last trip. Talked to another hunter who said he lived in the area and been out there like 30 times. This is very discouraging. I'm starting to think there's not many bears here.

  I've Been In My Areas 30 Times Also.  I Know There Are Bears, It's Just A Matter Of Right Place At The Right Time.  Good Luck. 

[RadSav]

The first year I guided I had a new hunter book a bear hunt for himself and his expert hunter friend.  The expert hunter had a certain goal in mind and I only had two bear targeted that would break 400# and 19" in skull size.  So we skipped over the high population area close to the house and drove 45-60 minutes to the home of the big boys.  As soon as I pulled off of highway 101 the expert started complaining.  He and his family had hunted this area for elk since he was a kid, "There are no bear here!  Why are we hunting this ^)&^$$ spot?!!!"  He was mad!  Wanting me to refund his partners money before we ever stepped out of the truck!  I asked, "Have you ever walked more than a few hundred yards in this area?  Can't believe you could have or you would have seen bear poop."  His response was, "Sure we've seen poop, but that's probably just bear passing through.  Cause no one in my family has ever seen one here!"

His partner feeling very embarrassed says, "Let's at least give it one evening and see what this is all about."  Huffing and puffing the expert tells him to go ahead, but he's not getting out of the truck as it's just a waste of time. 

In this area I had four swamps we would call at on our way to the bait sites (of course this was back in the days we could actually bait).  The first swamp held three bear...that we saw!  And the new hunter made an impressive 200 yard offhand shot on a 350# boar with his .270 Ruger 77 and the 130 grain Core-Lokt dropped him in his tracks!

Took about two hours to get the bear out of the swamp and onto the Argo for the 1/4 mile ride out to the truck.  The whole time the expert was telling the newbie how lucky he was, how it was a miracle the 130 grain bullet killed that bear and that it weighed at least 500#.  When we got to the Bumble Bee plant and had the bear weighed and field dressed the accurate weight was 348# and the tissue damage from the Core-Lokt was extensive and penetration was deep!  Later that evening after plenty of winged warriors the expert mentioned the family had only taken three elk in 20 years there too

Sometimes just being in the presence of bear is not enough for success.  Takes a while to learn how they move, what and where they eat, and how they use the terrain.  I expect the rut to be early this year making encounters more frequent as time goes on.  They should start responding to calls better as the season goes on as well.  Just keep after it and taking good notes!  Shouldn't be much longer and you will notice where they are and where they aren't.  Then you can invest time doing the most important thing in bear hunting...hunting where the bear are with a positive attitude

[liljozie495]

^ hey RadSav... How about the gps cords to that spot 

[RadSav]

^ hey RadSav... How about the gps cords to that spot 

Not sure what that spot looks like these days.  Been 20 years since I've been there.  But if you plan on hunting the Oregon coast I'd be glad to send you some of my old spots to check out.  Best spot was always the back parking lot of the old Taft Highschool - honestly!!

[MisplacedAlaskan]

Afaa,

Any luck in Copalis?

[notellumcreek]

liljozie and I are heading out tomorrow morning for 4 days to hunt Copalis. Hopefully we will have some pics to post up of our experience, successful or not. Just looking forward to learning some new area and having a good time in the outdoors.

[liljozie495]

Very flat and brushy haha, cruised around 3 or so hrs around 6000 line, does anyone recommend calling for them in here jw? Seen a nice herd of elk this morning a few bulls and about 20 cows and some very very fresh calves. They were pretty cute running around the calves were haha. Any entail to "how" to hunt this out here a little better were all ears. Going to do some walking later after we got te area more figured out.