California Deer / Bear

[LCH]

Booked the fligh

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ts and reserved a car this morning. Doing a Columbia Blacktail and Black Bear hunt in N. California this September.

Anybody have any general advice for either species? Looking hard at Trinity Alps Wilderness.

 

[1_pointer]

You might be able to add two notches to your belt on the "Tree Squirrel Slam"! Both the Western Gray Squirrel and Douglas Squirrel are found in/around Eureka, CA.

 

[jryoung]

Trinity is a great place to start. B-zone tags generally sell out. For both its about finding their food sources, if you're early enough it'll be berries for bears. Willow and high mountain seeps of water are a good sport for deer.

 

[LCH]

You might be able to add two notches to your belt on the "Tree Squirrel Slam"! Both the Western Gray Squirrel and Douglas Squirrel are found in/around Eureka, CA.

I hadn't considered that! Our flight is into Reno, any more around there?

I could probably squeeze a .22 in the gun case along with the. 30/06.

 

[BucksnDucks]

Hey LCH I could probably be of some assistance but I need a little more info. How much time do you have, rifle or archery, what is your priority deer or bear, and what dates-heat can be a major issue in the early part of season.

and is this a DIY deal or do you have a guide or someone helping out?

 

[LuketheDog]

Trinity Alps can be steep and brushy, also hot in the summer, but there are big bears and a fair amount of deer. I used to spend time around the Trinity Center area every summer. The KOA there has (or had at least, the lake may be way down) a good campground with pretty close access to the mountain roads. The lake used to have great smallmouth fishing as well, but it's been a while since I was there.

 

[Deleted member 22670]

Do yourself a favor and hunt the Trinities! If you're going for the rifle opener (which I assume you are since your going Sept), you're going to want to get as high as you can. We used to go out of Coffee and Swift Creeks. Also check out Diamond Lake. FYI these areas are a good distance from the road and we used horses, but you can get a 22" buck back there. The opener can be hot, but at those elevations it's usually not an issue mid-Sept. One year it snowed on us, so be prepared. I often times saw more black bears up there than blacktail bucks. One summer trip I counted 9 different bears in Mumford meadows, including a VERY large cinnamon. Post up picks! Sometimes I miss that country, but then I look out the window and see the CO Rockies and the nostalgia goes away

 

[BucksnDucks]

"

I often times saw more black bears up there than blacktail bucks

." YES!!!

This is more true now than ever in many parts of Nor Cal. The bear population seems to be higher every year since the ban on hounds took effect.

 

[KRasmussen]

Stay out of the lower zones, D8, D9 etc. TOO many people and TOO many lions. Try and get as far away from roads and campgrounds as possible

 

[sneakypete]

There's packers who pack hunters into the alps, you may want to search that. I've never hunted the wolly bolly area you may want to reap search that area also.

 

[LCH]

The plan is to camp a couple miles into the wilderness, then day hunt further in from there if necessary. It'll be all DIY.

We'll arrive Sunday, 9/18 and leave the next Monday, so probably 7.5 hunting days. We'll just miss rifle opener, so hopefully most of the pressure will be past.

I mostly want a deer, but having read about the bear density I plan on having a tag just in case.

 

[LCH]

Do yourself a favor and hunt the Trinities! If you're going for the rifle opener (which I assume you are since your going Sept), you're going to want to get as high as you can. We used to go out of Coffee and Swift Creeks. Also check out Diamond Lake. FYI these areas are a good distance from the road and we used horses, but you can get a 22" buck back there. The opener can be hot, but at those elevations it's usually not an issue mid-Sept. One year it snowed on us, so be prepared. I often times saw more black bears up there than blacktail bucks. One summer trip I counted 9 different bears in Mumford meadows, including a VERY large cinnamon. Post up picks! Sometimes I miss that country, but then I look out the window and see the CO Rockies and the nostalgia goes away

Thanks for the advice - I'll definitely check these spots out on the map. I hear Blacktails don't weigh much, so I don't mind getting in a ways.

I'm not going to be too picky on bears.. 2 consecutive years eating MT bear tags have left a foul taste in my mouth

 

[Deleted member 22670]

Thanks for the advice - I'll definitely check these spots out on the map. I hear Blacktails don't weigh much, so I don't mind getting in a ways.

I'm not going to be too picky on bears.. 2 consecutive years eating MT bear tags have left a foul taste in my mouth

NO problem. Yeah blacktails aren't very big. Nothing like the mule deer here. Still fun to hunt though. I'd be very surprised if you didn't get into the bears in there. You can also check out Bowerman Ridge. It's outside of the wilderness area, but I killed my bear there. Good luck!

 

[jeremys4]

Watch out for the cartels the grow a lot of pot up that way. Also squirrels are mostly prevalent in neighborhoods in Reno.

 

[big28hunter]

Not much advise here as I have only hunted them once in Oregon last fall. Just wishing you luck on a beautiful trophy! Can't wait till the taxi's finished mine. Good huntin' and looking forward to your report.

 

[LCH]

I've been looking over your suggestions "Ishootdasmallones," I really appreciate it. Looks like some really cool country.

I'm starting to do some fairly serious mapwork now. Anyone know what elevation you could expect to find ripe berries in the Trinity's, late September?

 

[Brn2hnt]

Been hunting in the Alps since middle school, and camping there before that even. Shoot me a pm and I will see if I can help. Good spot to camp a couple miles in if you want to day hunt from there as you can get to multiple drainages from there. Good Luck!

Mike

 

[LCH]

Purchased my license, deer tag, and bear tag today.. $730.45 poorer now . Come on September.

 

[Deleted member 22670]

Nice!

 

[Fischead]

why

Booked the fligh

​

ts and reserved a car this morning. Doing a Columbia Blacktail and Black Bear hunt in N. California this September.

Anybody have any general advice for either species? Looking hard at Trinity Alps Wilderness.

I'm kind of shocked that anyone would come to California to hunt deer, Haven't you seen our success rates? Ha ha you are on the right track and the Alps or other Wilderness in the B zone are a great place to go. and surprisingly the advice I've seen is on the money. And yes if your looking for a bear "oh Boy" the Alps are Loaded . Things i havn't seen mentioned is be prepared to bone out anything you get if your over a mile in and if your looking for a nice buck plan on getting away from the trails and into the roughest ,most likely highest areas you can find. And just because it looks good to us Doesn't mean it will hold bucks. glassing isolated timber and brush up high is usually the ticket early in the season. Sometimes they will already be in the mid elevation timber/brush by rifle opener but the conditions up high should be good this year.It gets real tough once they go into the thick stuff all you can do is hope for some weather to move them around at that point. i will be up there for the first two weeks of rifle and have plenty of spots if you want to PM me.