Hunting Washington Forum
Big Game Hunting => Bear Hunting => Topic started by: Star882 on October 08, 2014, 12:05:35 PM
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So I have fallowed this site for a couple years but just made an account finally. My question is I always hear you don't want a bear that's been eating fish. With that being said I'm going to be over east for deer season and I still haven't filled my bear tag. So if I see one what are the odds of the bear switching to fish by mid October? I only want to shoot a bear if I'm going to eat it and I don't want it to be a fish bear.
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Welcome..
Unless you are hunting next to a river with spawning salmon in it over east you will be just fine...
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Haven't harvested a fishy bear but all the others... the wife asks why I bother shooting deer. Bear meat properly cared for is amazing! Good luck.
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I even think none humpy years you might be able to shoot bears on rivers, this year I haven't seen one dead salmon yet or smelled them as I have river front property on the Skagit. :dunno:
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A fishy bear is mostly a myth, I have personally harvested three bears (1 brown and 2 black) on fish streams in Alaska and all had great meat. I only saved the backstraps from the brown (typical ignorance says any brown is inedible, especially a fish bear but wanted to try eating it anyway) and after frying some I wish I had saved all the meat.
To be honest I am fairly particular about my game meat and have had plenty of bad (gamey, rut stink) deer or mountain goat but never had problems with bear.
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We used to shoot them in Spring near Sucker spawning streams all the time in Ontario, never had a bad one. Haven't had a salmon carcass eater though, so maybe different.
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Won't have a problem with it on the east side I don't think. Good luck
