Bear hunting newbie looking for your honey hole!

[JeffRaines]

Just kidding.

So this year my two hunting goals are to get a deer, and a bear. I've had some bear through buddies at work and I really enjoyed it. So throughout the late winter/spring I've been looking at maps and gathering what information there is on bears. I've read No Bait, Just Bears!(and will probably buy his next book as well). I've got some areas picked out that I want to look at(and some that I already have), but to be honest a lot of these areas, the more I look into them, seem really inundated with hikers. Some areas that aren't overrun also have a low success percentage.

With fatherhood around the corner for me, time is going to get really limited. My wife is taking 3 months of maternity leave so getting out of the house for a day here and there won't be a huge issue. How do you guys tell the difference between a spot that will be productive vs not? Is there any good indicator at all(save for sign and food)? Look, I'm not gonna kid myself - I've lowered my expectations a bit for bear. While the goal is still to have one in my freezer, I'd be happy with just an opportunity to get one. Even if I spotted one and blew the stalk - at least I'm learning something, you know? I wish I knew someone successful at this, who's schedule sorta matched my own, who wouldn't mind showing me around/what to look for/how to hunt these. Hell, I'd be willing to help them pack out animals/share some of my harvest for an opportunity like that.

Any other advice for a newbie? Tips to make the limited time I'm gonna be in the woods as productive as possible?

Thanks guys.

[dmoua]

Study what they like to eat. Usually when September rolls around there are still some huckleberries around. Find a berry batch and wait. Look for scat to determine if they are in the area. Pretty much the same as hunting any big game. Scouting is your best friend.

[saylean]

Don't be scared to try predator calling areas. I have called in plenty of bears, in areas that have hikers weekly, if not daily. Thanks for the support, btw.

[JeffRaines]

I have been putzing around locally lately, I did run across 4-5 piles of fresh scat this weekend in one of the areas but its mostly thick stuff with some clearcuts. Will keep an eye on this.

This coming weekend I'm going to try and make the trip up to the 418/436. If the harvest reports hold any weight there should be a higher density of them up in that area. I know its a bit of a drive, and I'm sure that there are bear closer to home - I just don't think I'm going to have the time to adequately learn the area this year. Looking at harvest statistics again, all the stuff close by(White River, South Rainer, Packwood, Skookumchuck, etc) all have a really low harvest numbers... which brings me to my next question...

What happened between 2010-2012 that tanked the numbers? Once upon a time 653 was amazing. I seen years that south rainier was excellent as well... now not so much. Packwood, too. I figure that Hancock probably had something to do with 653... maybe it used to all be open to the public. But that doesn't explain south rainier and packwood.