new to the area

[frankandson]

Hello everyone, First off want to say this site has been great for information and great laughs. Quick back ground moved here from Alaska and was an avid hunter up there though it's completely different down here that's for sure. I have a question on black bear. At this time i am closest to the 520 unit "winston" is what i believe its called. Now would you look high at this time or spend more time low near the rivers or water sources? I have made some great friends down here that want to bring me dear and elk hunting which i am excited for but none of them are bear hunters and tomorrow i was going to put some miles on the old boots just looking for some points in the right direction. If that area is not good for bear just let me know might just take my hunter in training for a little hike. Thanks everyone for any info and help to this newbie to washington.

[Skyvalhunter]

Mid to high areas. Some places have a few berries still

[frankandson]

o.k i spent a little time low hiking around the last few weekends and not alot of sign. Really dont know if there are even alot of bears in this unit. Tomorrow i'll hike up high and see what i find. Thanks

[Kain]

I dont know that unit well but most of the bear sign I have seen was above 2000 feet.  There are bears everywhere though.

GMU 520-WINSTON (Cowlitz, Lewis and Skamania counties):

2006 General Harvest = (Deer - 381) ( Elk - 390) ( Bear - 6) ( Cougar - 2) (Turkey - 7)
2007 General Harvest = (Deer - 429)  ( Elk - 475)( Bear -8)  ( Cougar - ?)(Turkey -7)
2008 General Harvest = (Deer - 339) ( Elk - 427) ( Bear - 19) (Cougar - 1) (Turkey -3)
2009 General Harvest = (Deer - 337) ( Elk - 223) ( Bear - ?) (Cougar - ?) (Turkey -5)
Winston Creek drainage is where most of the access will be found.  Deer and Elk will be found in the clearcuts.  Primarily off of the gated roads.  Just like unit 524, this area is loaded with Elk.   Pretty much any clearcut south of Riffe Lake will hold significant numbers of elk and deer.  The roadless areas around Winters mountain and elk creek will be very productive.

[frankandson]

well just a little update on my adventures. Went out early Friday morning in what i would say is the closest i have been to being in a monsoon. After a long wet muddy hike up to the top of a clear cut i found a large semi dry area under a tree and sat for awhile near afternoon the rain started to let up and i was able to get out and hike around some. I did find some berries though most looked moldy and rotten then found some older scat. No tracks though but do to the rain not surprised. Finally after about three hours of glassing and hiking i saw a black bear my heart about jumped out of my chest and shot the rifle itself. Well after calming down and looking and watching for what seemed an hour "actually about 15 min" and starting to make a plan to get closer "it was on the opposite ridge about 600 yards away" i noticed a two smaller black balls following about 50 yards away. DARN! oh well it was a great sight and ended up watching them for near 40 min until they disappeared in the timber. After that it was getting late and had to hike back down. So all was not lost and there are bars in them Thar hills.Saturday came and spent the day with my little boy shooting his 22 and having a great day with him. So thank you this site has been invaluable for information and help hopefully I'll get up there one more time before this weekend. Due too this Thursday night my buddies are bringing me out for mule deer hunting for 4 days. So good luck to everyone out there. Hopefully I'll be able to post pics of a deer soon.

[BlackRidge]

Glad you were at least able to get a few in your bino's, you know oyu're on the right track though!

Good luck on your next outting and the mulie opener

[saylean]

Good luck Frankandson...good job!