What happened to west side bear hunting?

[jackmaster]

Infertility drugs in the pellets at the feed stations on tree farms is more likely.

or   

[JimmyHoffa]

or in the herbicides being sprayed. 

[BUTTER]

The state changed the opener from August 1st to August 15th which might not seem like much but where I hunt it matters a lot depending on the season and berries your hunting the berries can dry up faster even in those 15days

[CAMPMEAT]

You guys must live on the wrong side of the state. We have a buttload of bear in the 101 unit.

[justyhntr]

I believe the bears are still there,I think a lot of the hunters have changed..

 

653 has a lot of bears , just take some apples up somewhere and put a camera on it . A couple years ago we did this to see if deer would come in , what we got was over a hundred pictures of 7 different bears .I don't bother putting apples out anymore .  654 is the same way , there are a lot of bears . We are on Hancock managed land so that may make a difference , they are logging and there are a lot of cuts unlike a lot of the public land in those units .

[JakeLand]

My opinion is since baiting and hound hunting became illegal a lot of immature and sows get shot . When you could bait and hound hunt you could be selective and either not pull the trigger on one at a bait station and or just pull the dogs off a bayed (treed ) bear 
 My   but there's still bear out there you just got to follow the berries right now

[h2ofowlr]

Less hunters or more hunters not willing to put in the work.  If they can't drive to the location they don't go.  In the past you could drive hundreds of miles of gravel roads seeing lots of good cuts and that has really changed in the last 15 years.  Now, you see a good cut and many times about the time it looks really good for bears, they spray it.  Or if you can't get a good spot via the internet you stay at home and say it's not worth it.     Definitely not as easy as it once was.

[Katmai Guy]

You guys must live on the wrong side of the state. We have a buttload of bear in the 101 unit.

Man Camp meat, don't tell anyone, that's a well kept secret!

[huntingaddiction]

D-rock doesn't seem to have problems.  I think it has a lot to do with getting out of your truck.

[180-GRAIN]

I usually hunt around Stevens pass and I will say 5-6 years ago I could go out and gaurantee seeing a bear if not 4 or 5 a day. The last couple years I can say that I don't have that confidence anymore the bear are heed to predict because of the food pattern. That is the main thing I have seen change is most berries are gone in the lower elevations anymore come August 1st. I can also say that this year besides most berries being gone Weyerhaeuser has bought most of the logging property and destroy bear habitat for the most part. I went into 3 cuts that were 4 years old and prime last year and found there fertilizer bags all over the place and it was obvious they sprayed as they were barren dirt and chopped up tree chunks everywhere. I don't think they do the animals any favors when they do that. Maybe after a few years it will benefit critters but not right now. I think the only bear hunting for me will be high from now on.

[rasbo]

I have taken several people up where  I used to hunt,only 2 of them would stay where I told them to stay,they got bears,the others were afraid of the area it was to thick..An old houndsman showed me a couple of trails bears used every year,and these trails put out..They were steep ridges with tons of cover...Lots of small drainages which the bears love, running off these ridges..The bears are still there,the people for the most part wont get after them..Geez and some of the crap folks think they have to bring everytime  they get out of the rig is unreal...Damn ya would think they were hiking the pacific crest trail south to north...Man I wish I still had the legs to hunt these areas...

[Duckslayer89]

I have taken several people up where  I used to hunt,only 2 of them would stay where I told them to stay,they got bears,the others were afraid of the area it was to thick..An old houndsman showed me a couple of trails bears used every year,and these trails put out..They were steep ridges with tons of cover...Lots of small drainages which the bears love, running off these ridges..The bears are still there,the people for the most part wont get after them..Geez and some of the crap folks think they have to bring everytime  they get out of the rig is unreal...Damn ya would think they were hiking the pacific crest trail south to north...Man I wish I still had the legs to hunt these areas...

PM me your spots I will live it for you rasbo 

[JeffRaines]

I have taken several people up where  I used to hunt,only 2 of them would stay where I told them to stay,they got bears,the others were afraid of the area it was to thick..An old houndsman showed me a couple of trails bears used every year,and these trails put out..They were steep ridges with tons of cover...Lots of small drainages which the bears love, running off these ridges..The bears are still there,the people for the most part wont get after them..Geez and some of the crap folks think they have to bring everytime  they get out of the rig is unreal...Damn ya would think they were hiking the pacific crest trail south to north...Man I wish I still had the legs to hunt these areas...

PM me your spots I will live it for you rasbo

Agreed!

Getting out of the truck isn't the issue with me at least. I enjoy hiking in the off season so putting in miles/elevation doesn't scare me in the least. I just wanted to know if there was any one change that's happened to lower the bear hunting success locally.

[Whitenuckles]

I agree. It's been alot slower these last few years.

[klikboom]

I have taken several people up where  I used to hunt,only 2 of them would stay where I told them to stay,they got bears,the others were afraid of the area it was to thick..An old houndsman showed me a couple of trails bears used every year,and these trails put out..They were steep ridges with tons of cover...Lots of small drainages which the bears love, running off these ridges..The bears are still there,the people for the most part wont get after them..Geez and some of the crap folks think they have to bring everytime  they get out of the rig is unreal...Damn ya would think they were hiking the pacific crest trail south to north...Man I wish I still had the legs to hunt these areas...

I'd like to hear more about how you hunt the west side ridges. Do you find them running ridges during day? I've never seen a bear in timber yet, always the open. I actually know of a timbered ridge which i saw huge bear piles but it was in mature timber so limited visibility. Are you sitting on this ridge all day every day till it produces?