Help me please!

[nickp90]

Hi there every one this is my first year ever hunting in my life. Originally I am from cali but have lived in Wa for almost five year and have slowly got myself into hunting. This year i thought i could handle getting a bear because out on hikes I would hear ppl say they saw bear or storys of a lot of bear are here. Ive done alot of scouting and fail at seeing anything everytime. I am 8 weeks deep and I really am lost and im pleding for anything. Advice for hunting this late maybe some hotter spots than ive been or maybe let me come on a hunt, wages can be talk about if necessary.....  just please help. thanks every one

[iwagner]

Hey Nick - don't really know what to tell you - I'm in the same boat.  The saying around here is "you find food, you find the bears" - I know, easier said then done though.  Go check out the Wa Trails Association trip reports here:  http://www.wta.org/go-hiking/trip-reports  (sneaky, I know, lol) and you can do searches for hikes with ripe berries in your area and then you can scout them out. 

I've also been using google earth and looking for clear cuts that I can hike into and glass.  Once I've hiked into an area a mile or two, I usually never see anyone.  You could also look on the WDFW website and look at harvest reports to get an idea of historical data of black bear kills in your GMU. 

If you have a mountain bike, even better.  I'm thinking about buying one just because my legs are killing me with all the hiking!  Keep it up - I am too, our day will come and we'll be posting a picture of a killer boar and posing with our glass of whiskey.

Ian

[nickp90]

Haha thanks yea I use all the sites you mentioned and ive been going to all the GMUs with high density according to the hunting prospects for wdfw hopefully we can connect with something soon end of season is around the corner. A bike is a wonderful idea but I go off trail so much i dont know if i would use it that much. Thanks for replying.

[csaaphill]

Ya any good old orchard you find should be a good bet been really dry at least where I am so hard to track but if your seeing lots of sign then they should be there.
If you can have  a friend hit the brush for ya see if that wont drive them out.
Grats on becoming a hunter though.

[cryder]

This is my first year going after bear only because my property is no longer safe because of the number of bears in our area,ive hunted everything else since I was 6 years old and im 56 now and I can tell you having added bear to the tag soup I create every year I have become a human sponge when it comes to bear.I learned a lot from this and other forums the guys are happy to help they just anrt giving up there spots ussaully,but any ways,blown up stumps bear poop or scat is what the pros. call it I geuss berry plots , wich some last through the winter,and spots that they have been digging these are all things ive been told to look for.As for my own personal travels this year I have seen 7 bears in our area and im pretty sure they were different critters each time ,I had three in one picture on the bated trail cam this summer but ill be darned they have since went on a group hike or something ??So im back to asking theses guys what happened,( still on that sponge thing )As they tell me and as my pops allways says keep at it !!!O BY THE WAY THAT SORE LEGS THING IS A PART OF HUNTING AFTER AGE 30 !!! :chuckle:just ask me

[Jingles]

 !!!O BY THE WAY THAT SORE LEGS THING IS A PART OF HUNTING AFTER AGE 30 !!! :chuckle:just ask me

You think after 30 is bad wait till you are after 65 with knees that need to be replaced.... Enjoy your youth

[jasnt]

If there's apple trees near your hunting area set up on them. Plums are about done but could still get checked from time to time. Are you hunting locally or up north? Rose hips have been hammered hard latly too but if your still seeing those in your area they may be getting some bear attention. I been seeing alot of poo around ponds and creeks lately and also seen some bedding spots above a Hawthorne patch with fresh poo. Good luck. If you want to pm me your hunting area I maybe able to help more. Or possibly point you in a good direction.