Best Week for Spot n' Stalk in Central Idaho

[2rocky]

I'm really wanting to do a Spring Bear hunt.

I like the open terrain of Units 14, 18, and 23
I've been through these units on Highway 95, as well as been to Pittsburg Landing an up the Salmon on Jetboat

I see that the season opens on April 15 for all these units and goes through the end of May or early June.

If you had to pick a week in 2015 when would you pick?

Would one of these units offer higher bear densities and less competition from baiters?

How mobile should I expect to be? Find roadless areas or drive from over look to overlook?

Some folks who have hunted the Oregon Side had good luck with calls in the spring...any thoughts? I know they work in the Fall...

 

[Gerald Martin]

Based on my experience in NW Montana, the first week that warm weather gets grass sprouting is a great time. (I'm meaning like highs of 70 degrees or more.) Last year that was May 6-13. I don't have a clue when that would be in the areas you are looking at but if it is open country I suspect it will be a week or so earlier. Going later means all the bears will be out but they might be a bit more scattered. Local knowledge will trump anything I've written here though so take it for what it is worth.

 

[ida homer]

We hunt unit 39. This will be my 3rd season doing the spring bear thing. I'm far from an expert, but we did put in about 20 days of hunting between the last 2 seasons not far from Boise/Atlanta, learned a lot and filled a couple tags.

As far as I'm concerned, your wasting your vacation days before May 1st... Around the first week of may we will see 3-5 per day and it only gets better. Around the middle of may we will average 5-8 different sightings per day.

If your looking for a rug then obviously the earlier the better, as they will start to rub. But that also depends on the winter and snow levels. Last season I killed my bear on closing day in June and he didn't have a single rub on him. I saw a handful of other bears that same day that also had no rub markings. But the year before we were seeing rubbed bears by May 7th ish. Very evident, even from a mile away with a spotter.

My first trip will be somewhere around May 1st-7th on the first nice day, I don't do the rain thing. And I'll get real serious May 8th-15th.

Go anytime after the first week of May like Gerald said, and you will have a blast.

 

[2rocky]

Hmmmm. Wife's birthday, May 1st....Inlaws in G-ville...

 

[JohnCushman]

In all of my vast bear hunting experience I can offer up this advice...

Do whatever Gerald says