California bear

[Hooverfb]

Well had planned on trying montana spring, but isnt going to work out for me. However I have a sister in Redding, and family in Washington, so thinking of hitting up Cali for bear still.

I'm looking at the Shasta-Trinity NF, but to be honest I dont know the area that well and my sister is more just a hiking companion, not knowledgeable of hunting. Any tips or general locale info is welcomed.

 

[cmahoney]

No spring season in CA.


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[Hackleback]

Oregon does, think it is draw though

 

[Hooverfb]

Right, this wouldn't be for spring.

 

[Hooverfb]

Bump

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

That’s B2 zone. Lots and lots of bears. Are you doing rifle or archery? That’s a mid August to early September zone for archery and a late September to late October rifle. Also. It’s a $310 tag and $175 license. Plus a ton of other fees and rules. Read up.

 

[jfs82]

Agreed, tons of bears from Mendocino county all the way up. Also tons East in the Sierra foothills. Trinity Alps is beautiful country, and bear filled. And (I believe) OTC deer tags for non res.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Agreed, tons of bears from Mendocino county all the way up. Also tons East in the Sierra foothills. Trinity Alps is beautiful country, and bear filled. And (I believe) OTC deer tags for non res.

I was just going to say... without giving too much away. Take a good look at the trinity alps wilderness.

 

[Hooverfb]

Thanks guys. I know I dont want to take anyone's honey holes. Was looking at the alps wilderness area. I'm open to either archery or rifle, I guess I dont know too much on the difference of how the bear's behavior changes between those time frames. I'm guessing archery at the end of summer will be more like spring where they're still feeding on greens and berries before acorns drop in fall. Not sure on elevations and such.

Oh and thanks for clarification on zone. It took me a while to figure out, and even then I wasnt totally sure of it.

I'll be sticking to a bear tag for now.

 

[jfs82]

The area we talked about is half million acres, You'd have to get real lucky to take anyone's particular spot! When I was out this year the scat was full of manzanita berries, but the acorns hadnt dropped yet.

 

[Hooverfb]

Okay cool. Yeah, I know it's a lot of land, but I know how folks can get about public land haha, especially since california bear season coincides with deer.

It's too bad they banned hounds, thatd be cool to watch the dogs work and all.

 

[MeatBuck]

Don't waste your time hiking way into the trinities for bear unless you are just really into long grueling pack outs.
As many bears or more can be found in the lower elevations 3-5000ft tearing up logs and powering down manzanita berries before acorn drop. Once acorns drop, focus all your efforts on glassing oak patches.
Be ready to shoot across canyons anywhere from 300 yds and up.
Also be ready for above average temps, they can make for spoiled meat if you aren't careful. And here in California you have to take ALL the meat and the HEAD.
Another thing to think about is whether or not you are after a trophy hide. If so, you will be in a pickle on a hot day. Being that the hide spoils as easily as the meat, and knowing that meat and head is top priority to dfg, you will likely be packing the hide out last. Without a sturdy partner to help pack out meat and hide n head all in one shot, you may not recover the hide in time to save.
Not that I can guarantee you will get a lead but a local butcher shop or sports store may have current info on where bears have been spotted by deer hunters.
Head east or west on 299 or 36, you'll find bears if you put in your time.
Good luck, and post up your experience for the rest of us to read.

 

[Hooverfb]

Just for sheer chance of seeing bears, is it better to go during archery? I hunt with a struggle stick here in texas and know I'd be more likely to kill with a rifle, but chance of seeing things is more important to me (potentially).

That could be just my fault as a hunter though, since I have an easier time glassing when rifle hunting versus feeling like I need to be moving with my bow.

 

[cmahoney]

Just for sheer chance of seeing bears, is it better to go during archery? I hunt with a struggle stick here in texas and know I'd be more likely to kill with a rifle, but chance of seeing things is more important to me (potentially).

That could be just my fault as a hunter though, since I have an easier time glassing when rifle hunting versus feeling like I need to be moving with my bow.

I see plenty of them in the sierras during rifle season. They are a real problem for fish and game in a lot of areas where they damage property. Its probably worth contacting a biologist, I would imagine you could get a lot better intel on bears then deer.

 

[MeatBuck]

In my expirience, more of my bear sightings come in sept and October but I'm not in the high country early season very often either. Have seen them during b zone archery deer but not near as many of em.

If you do kill em early you will be helping a fawn or two to survive a while longer.

Regardless, in California, we need help reaching the bear harvest quota. It hasn't happened, to my knowledge, since they banned hounds.

 

[JohnnyB]

This past season it seemed liked we had such a late winter and plenty of snow in mid August that the bears were still behaving like it was late spring. This was in the Sierra (not sure what was going on in the Coast Range).

One persons observations aren’t statistically relevant but it also seemed to me this year that bears were not active above 8500 feet roughly after mid October. I’ve seen bears active up high later in other years so it could’ve been just me. Ymmv

 

[qwerksc]

I hope we will still be able to hunt bears in Ca. Everyone should buy a tag, just to prove we are still here.

 

[Rob5589]

I hope we will still be able to hunt bears in Ca. Everyone should buy a tag, just to prove we are still here.

Only a matter of time until we can't. I plan to actively bear hunt this year with my daughter. Have "passively" hunted them in the past; just having a tag in my pocket just in case during deer season. But have never killed one. Tags are too cheap not to.

 

[270Hunter]

There are a lot of bears in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, in my experience the best way to find bears in Northern California is to find the food, and find trails that bear like to use, the thing about bears is that they like to wonder around, they are constantly having to search for food, so they usually move around quite a bit. Glassing clear cuts and open canyons are proven ways to find bears here, if you would like, send me a pm and I'll point out some good spots for bears around Redding.

 

[Hooverfb]

Thanks for the input everyone. Getting excited even though I've got a few more months haha