Hunting Washington Forum

Big Game Hunting => Bear Hunting => Topic started by: ydeardorff on October 07, 2011, 12:41:31 AM

Advertise Here

Title: Bear food cashes
Post by: ydeardorff on October 07, 2011, 12:41:31 AM

ok we have the following edible berries in Washington that I know of:


Black berries

Wild huckle berries

Salmon berries

wild blue berries

Wild thimble berries

But where do these grow, and when?

Also I hear bears love clover, salmon, and grasses, along with south facing slopes in the fall due to the higher abundance no doubt of greenery for them to feast on.

Title: Re: Bear food cashes
Post by: ICEMAN on October 07, 2011, 04:47:08 AM

 :dunno:
 
Cashes or Cache? I would not consider a bears available food source a cache.
 
Bears eat alot of different things, including the "edible" berries you listed.
 
The berries grow all over the place, all the time.
 
Anything else we can help with?
 
 

Title: Re: Bear food cashes
Post by: wastickslinger on October 07, 2011, 08:44:08 AM

juniper

Title: Re: Bear food cashes
Post by: sirmissalot on October 07, 2011, 09:08:59 AM

First, there are 2 kinds if huckleberries, reds and blues. They both grow in similar country, often next to eachother. Anywhere its open with the perfect amount of sunlight, some areas have a lot of berries, some don't. Higher elevations seems to hold more blue huckleberries.

Blackberries there are also 2 different kinds, the "wild" kind, which grow all over especially in salal and are very small. The other thorny kind mostly seem to grow in lower elevations and near roads where the dirt has been dug up.

I'm not sure salmon berries are edible, at least not the ones I call salmon berries. They grow anywhere its somewhat damp and higher elevations say 1-2,000ft

I've never seen wild blueberries, but I have heard of them.

There are wild strawberries here in higher elevations in openings like clearcuts and overgrown roads. They are very small I doubt the bears target them.

So far it seems to me the blue huckleberries are the bears favorite food in the areas I hunt, between mid august through mid October. I thought most of the berries were probably gone by now but yesterday I saw 2 nice fresh piles of bear poo that were plum full of blue hucks.

Title: Re: Bear food cashes
Post by: ydeardorff on October 07, 2011, 09:12:26 AM

I was looking up berries, and other bear food sources.

The Salmon runs have dried up, and most of the berries are gone around here. (of course I may just be in the wrong spot for finding them.  But according to wikipedia, the only berries that should still be ripe at this point are huckleberries. Which of course means going "UP".

And the cashes versus caches,... Well if I find a bear, Id call that cashes! LOL

Title: Re: Bear food cashes
Post by: Wazukie on October 07, 2011, 09:16:11 AM

A lot if different berries that bear will target, some that are not mentioned, gooseberries, Oregon grapes, Choke cherries, blackcaps.  There are still plenty of berries available depending where you hunt.  Another source of food are nuts, like acorns, unfortunately though, where I am at there has been no acorn crop the last two years.  Just got to find a concentration of food and there you will probably find the bears