Spring Bears in Idaho

[bowhunter1691]

Hey guys, I am new to this site so bear with me if I ask or post something I shouldn't. Myself and a friend are planning a spring bear hunt in Idaho for mid to late April of 2017. I would really like to hunt units 10 and 12 (the reduced tag fees are very appealing ). But I also noticed unit 39 appears to have a pretty high success rate compared to other units. Can units 10 and 12 be easily accessed during this time, or are they pretty well snow covered? We will be hiking in on foot for some spot and stalk hunting. We are both in good shape and covering ground on foot is not a problem for us, even though we are from Nebraska. Any input or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ida homer]

No intel on units 10 and 11, but 39 is great. I hunt it 10-15 days each spring and there is no shortage of bears or public land.

 

[bowhunter1691]

Is the public ground in unit 39 pretty accessible in mid to late April twsnow?

 

[idnative1948]

Is the public ground in unit 39 pretty accessible in mid to late April twsnow?

Parts of it are.

 

[choc dogs]

Most years a lot of 39 is accessible mid April. Some years not so much. It's been quite warm this year, and there is still some snow about 6000 feet.

Sorry. Turn your computer sideways.

 

[bowhunter1691]

Ok, here comes a dumb question, are there plenty if bears out in late April? Forgive me for the stupid question. I am a whitetail hunter from Nebraska and know very littlr about bears.

 

[Elkmagnet]

I say go with units 10/12 for a few reasons. Less pressure, Lower elevation and a little less steep in most areas = more fun for someone who is not use to big mountains.

The snow will vary from year to year and drifts can stay into july some years. With both areas receiving a significant amount some years no one can say.

In my opinion late April is a good time to start getting after bears but won't work out on some years due to temps and snow level. Mid may might be a safer bet for such a long trip but remaining flexible and keeping an eye on snotel is your best bet.

 

[1_pointer]

I say go with units 10/12 for a few reasons. Less pressure, Lower elevation and a little less steep in most areas = more fun for someone who is not use to big mountains.

The snow will vary from year to year and drifts can stay into july some years. With both areas receiving a significant amount some years no one can say.

In my opinion late April is a good time to start getting after bears but won't work out on some years due to temps and snow level. Mid may might be a safer bet for such a long trip but remaining flexible and keeping an eye on snotel is your best bet.

That last part is what makes, IMLE, planning a long distance bear hunt tough. If you can be flexible with dates follow his advice. I went to MT last year and the early spring seemed to have shifted activity according to the local that was helping us out.

 

[sra61]

When we used to hunt back in Unit 10, we would always see most activity from May 10th on. After years of time there that was the magical date. After May 1 we would really start looking. It was interesting, my experience was that it didn't really matter how much snow there was. Those dates seemed set in stone. Snow depth dictated where they went to feed once out of the den though. No snow look high, lots of snow look low. As was stated earlier in this thread just below the snow line, or for me, I always kind of looked for that line where you could just start to see a hint of green. They would kind of follow that line up until full green up and then kind of spread out.

 

[ida homer]

Planning an April bear hunt is a gamble for NR's for sure. My favorite time is May 1st-15th considering snow depth, bear sightings and enjoyable weather in southern Idaho.

Tons of color phased bears in 39, I'm not sure about up north.

 

[bowhunter1691]

Thanks for the help guys. Fortunately I work a job where I can take off about any time I want. But the guy Im going with doesn"t have a whole lot of flexibility but I will try to talk him into waiting a couple more weeks.