Thank you

[kbdavear]

I have spent the last few days looking through the fifty something pages of posts on here, and there is an extreme amount of information. I just wanted to say THANK YOU to those of you that take the time to answer questions for those of us that are less experienced in Bear hunting. I am looking forward to continuing to gain knowledge from this site, and with any LUCK, maybe get my first bear this year. I know the area, now I need to find the spot. Which brings me to my question.

When (in your opinion) do you feel is the best time to start scouting the areas that you want to hunt? If I see a clear-cut that I want to try and get to, how do I find out how to get there?

[Woodchuck]

county auditor should have maps that tell who owns what, from ther you know who to call to ask or find what is public. google earth is a great tool to find spots that are not easily seen

[kbdavear]

The problem I have with google earth is the last year I looked at Suattle and it showed nice clearings. The image was from '06 though. Thanks for the info on the auditor, I will keep that in mind.

[let.it.fly]

i usually start poking around in early july. im looking  for the berry bushes, looking to see what stage they are in so i can kinda determin when they will be ripe. it helps. in my experience its good to be there in the first week of being ripe. bears seem to hit them very hard when they are first ripe. a new food sourse is good. i gues its kinda like eating burgers all year, then your wife asks if you want steak. imo. 

[kbdavear]

i usually start poking around in early july. im looking  for the berry bushes, looking to see what stage they are in so i can kinda determin when they will be ripe. it helps. in my experience its good to be there in the first week of being ripe. bears seem to hit them very hard when they are first ripe. a new food sourse is good. i gues its kinda like eating burgers all year, then your wife asks if you want steak. imo. 

Now, are you scouting areas that you have previously utilized? I am checking an area that I have never been, should I still wait until the berries are at least starting?

[saylean]

Nothing beats boots on the ground. Look around for food sources and those that come in first (not all black berries/blues, come in at the same time). Thats were you'll find some bearskies....

Think food, find bears.

[Shootmoore]

Nothing beats boots on the ground. Look around for food sources and those that come in first (not all black berries/blues, come in at the same time). Thats were you'll find some bearskies....

Think food, find bears.

Pretty much this!  Luckily I think like a bear, if it makes a turd I'll eat it. 

Shootmoore

[JackOfAllTrades]

Nothing beats boots on the ground. Look around for food sources and those that come in first (not all black berries/blues, come in at the same time). Thats were you'll find some bearskies....

No kidding there! Learn where the Huckleberries are and when they ripen. Salmonberries, Blues, Blacks.. Learn areas where south or west slope grasses, then later the north slope grasses are young and growing as the snow melts to reveal them. Skunk cabbage areas.
Old cuts that have insects in rotting stumps. Bee hives. Find an area that has all of this to offer, and you're in Bear country!

-Steve

[Alchase]

Nothing beats boots on the ground. Look around for food sources and those that come in first (not all black berries/blues, come in at the same time). Thats were you'll find some bearskies....

Think food, find bears.

Dang, do they not even chew? Looks like they could be re-used in a cobbler
LOL

Cool pick Saylean

[carpsniperg2]

that is a cool pic right there. i find the buggers move around so much that i only like to scout a few days before i plan to hunt i call so i like to find area that has freash sign and then that is o.k. for. but not everyone calls just the way i do it.

[winston2789]

Saylean's right, find the food=find the bears. Then it becomes a waiting game. good luck

[saylean]

I dang near popped one right in my mouth. Smelled like berry pie....

but then I thought about what the hell I was doing...

[machine]

Id also like to thank everone that posts info in here.Knowing absolutely nothing about bear hunting,or hunting anything for that matter I started reading at page 1 in the bear section.Hitting the berries when there first ripe must be good advice because I've found rows of salmon berries with scat every 10 feet but after many days of hunting no new sign and no bears.When i found the huckleberry's up high i thought i was set but the only place I've seen bears is clearcuts.

[MikeWalking]

The problem I have with google earth is the last year I looked at Suattle and it showed nice clearings. The image was from '06 though. Thanks for the info on the auditor, I will keep that in mind

Good point. most Google Earth images are several years old. I counted on one G-E search to take a trip up the Rapid River road off Beckler, North of Skykomish. It didn't show the planted boulders closing the road at the 2.5-3 mi mark. The road is about 12 miles long.

Berries, Vine Maple...went through one area where the bark was eaten off a dozen or more trees all at the same height and plenty of scat. Looked like toasted oatmeal.

[billythekidrock]

I am looking forward to continuing to gain knowledge from this site, and with any LUCK, maybe get my first bear this year. I know the area, now I need to find the spot. Which brings me to my question.

When (in your opinion) do you feel is the best time to start scouting the areas that you want to hunt? If I see a clear-cut that I want to try and get to, how do I find out how to get there?

If you already know there are some bears in your primary area then I would suggest scouting a few new areas right now. Look for skunk cabbage and new grass in the swamps and openings. Then early July is a good time to check the food sources in your chosen area. Check again for fresh sign just prior to the season. Monitor any and all options of food and definitely learn scat.

As for locating ways in and out of areas...as mentioned, Google Earth and County Auditor sites as well as Terra Server are all good sources. Yes, some aerials are old but you just have to learn how to read them. Most every aerial of WA in color is from 2006 (possibly newer) so if you see a new cut in the photo you can expect it to be at least brushy with visibility if not fairly thick with good cover.

One way to stay on top of new logging on state lands it to monitor the DNR webpage for timber sales and watch the deadlines on specific sales.