Monroe Spring Bear

[Diehard0123]

Kellogg Lake is a good area, If you turn off of SR2 in Startup onto Kellogg Lake Road and follow it up a few miles you will find some gated DNR roads that you can hunt.  Some of them go pretty far back and you can get into some good clear cuts.  You can also try the Sultan Basin Road.  If you go up about 5 miles and park at the yellow gate just past Lake Bronson and hike in there are alot of bear in there.  You may also want to try the area at the end of Mann Road just on the other side of the Skykomish river from Sultan. 

[Diehard0123]

PM sent

[Skyvalhunter]

Just remember that just because it is a Monroe Spring bear hunt you still have to go by the hunting area map they provide. Alot of these spring bear hunts are because some private timber company(Like Hancock Timber Co, or Port Blakley) complained that the bears were damaging their trees thus the permit.

[arees]

For those who are interested, I put a scanned copy of the Monroe hunting area map here:

http://www.tgfoitwoods.com/images/MonroeBearMap.pdf

You will need to rotate the view to see it correctly.

It looks like there are damage areas North of Kellogg Lake and both North and North East of Lake Bronson.  There are also lots of damage areas near the Western end and a large block along the North edge of the map.

[billythekidrock]

One thing to think about is that every permit holder will have this map and most will flock to the damage areas. I would learn what bear damage looks like then try to find areas of repeat damage that are not marked on the map.

Sending a pm in a minute.

[huntncoug]

Pretty impressive pictures sir.  You're on the right forum for local bear hunting.  A lot of knowledge & experience here.  I have gotten quite an education here myself.  Only part of Green Crow I really know is from the locked gate off Kellogg Lake Road.  It turns northward off of SR 2-you can see the gate about 300 yds up on the right after you turn off 2.  I always have parked there w/o blocking the gate & walked in.  Where the road turns North you will see some trails thru grass & blackberries to the right.  They lead off towards the river.  This is a little past the backside of the hatchery which is on the other side of the small river.  I have found sign here & for the rest of the way up that road.  I told you on the other forum Wallace Falls, but as I am looking at the map now, it looks more like Olney Falls.  There is also an interesting gated road to the right a few hundred yds past the falls which will lead to some grassy areas under the pwr lines.  Good luck, watch out if you walk about a mile further or so for park boundry.  Oh-Kellogg Lake Road is between Startup & Goldbar w/the hatchery just about in the middle.  In years past bears have actually come down by the hatchery & cruised the apple trees in broad daylight-but I'm sure that isn't inside the hunt boundry.

This gate you are referring too is not Green Crow it is DNR.  The Greencrow gates are the next two past this one.

[huntncoug]

I have a few things to mention that I have not heard yet on this board.  These Spring Bear hunts are damage control hunts.  That means they are meant to cut down on the number of bears that are peeling and killing trees.  I talked to some DNR biologists that told me that not every bear is a tree peeler.  When you go out using calls to bring in Spring bears you will be killing the more predatory bears and not the problem causing tree peeling bears.  Another thing to think about is that many of these private timber companies have licensed hound hunters that hunt their property year round to keep the number of bears in check.  It may be worth talking to Green Crow or any other of the private owners you may find some access.

[huntncoug]

I too have drawn a Monroe tag.  I live up on the Sultan Basin Road and mountain bike up there almost every day.  If anyone wants to know any specifics of the area pm me.  I wont give up any top secret locations but I can probably answer a few questions.

[billythekidrock]

I have a few things to mention that I have not heard yet on this board.  These Spring Bear hunts are damage control hunts.  That means they are meant to cut down on the number of bears that are peeling and killing trees.  I talked to some DNR biologists that told me that not every bear is a tree peeler.  When you go out using calls to bring in Spring bears you will be killing the more predatory bears and not the problem causing tree peeling bears. 

Remember that every bear is a predator and if you are calling near damage you have a better chance at harvesting that nuisance bear.
A couple more things to remember.  These damage hunts are not intended to kill a bunch of bears but rather to keep them disturbed and to move them around. I got this straight from DNR when the started the westside hunts.
F&W has approached some of the private timber companies to provide "opportunity" even though the companies say there is no bear problem. Got that straight from a Rayonier employee.

[huntncoug]

I understand that but I heard from both a DNR Bio and a Game Warden that you are more likely to shoot a non tree peeling bear when you use predator calls.  I havent heard anything about the "moving around theory" so I cant speak to that.

[arees]

I made my first scouting trip today.  It was a family outing so I didn't cover as much ground as I originally hoped to but I did get into some of the bear damage area and it was quality time with the family.  We drove up to one of the DNR gates and hiked in from there.  We carried on to an abandoned road and hiked farther in along that.

We did see what we presumed was bear damage on the trees.  All of the damage we were certain of was from last year or before as expected.  I have been told by a friend who works in the area that most of the bear damage starts in mid May once the sap is really running.

Here is one picture showing my hunting buddy with what we take for bear damage on a tree:



Here is a closer look at that tree:



Here is another that looked older:



We also saw some damage to trees that we were less sure of.  The ones we were sure of started at the ground level and worked up from there.  Here is one that I just don't know about because it was all higher up.



Near by, we spotted these shreaded tree bits on the road.  I don't know what to make of it.



It was a good day prowling around the woods and getting to know one section of the access roads.  When we pulled into the driveway at home, this is what greeted us:



I think my hunting buddy is starting to take them for granted and they might be feeling the same way.

[saylean]

Looks like a fun trip Arees.

Looking forward to getting my first trip in up there. I will probably see some of you guys there.

Cheers!

[billythekidrock]

Yes, you found some peels. Looks like at least one year, maybe two on some. The newer one up high is probably an elk...or bigfoot.

[arees]

I made it out again on Saturday for more scouting.  Diehard0123 met me in Sultan and showed me around the area.  It sure helps to get a tour from someone who knows the area well.  We were up Sultan Basin Road and Lake Kellogg Road.  There was at least one place that the bears were peeling savagely last year.  There were some places that might have been digging in stumps recently.  There was some scat, but it was hard to determine the age.

We only ran into one pair of hunters on Green Crow land.  I am looking forward to getting out with a rifle in hand soon.

[Diehard0123]

I had a great time Arees, I hope you get one and post the pics on the site.