Hello Rokslide,
I drew a spring bear tag in 32A. I normally spot and stalk spring bear in the end of the season in unit 35. The Weiser River zone in April is a lot different than the Sawtooths in the June rut, so I'm pretty out of my element.
I've spent the second week of April glassing along the middle fork, but I think it was early. I saw wolves and moose and just about everything else on God's Green Earth, except bear. I've been told to look for wild onion, skunk cabbage, and arrowleaf balsamroot for food sources. It looks like the grocery store just wasn't open yet, as skunk cabbage was just coming up and balsamroot was only out down low.
I was up the middle fork road, but don't think I'll be using that access unless a lot of snow melts and that road opens a lot further. So many of the basins and meadows off the middle fork access are private DFD land.
I have a couple of questions for you folks.
Are there any other food sources or landscape features I should be concentrating on?
When do you think the bear activity tends to pick up in this area? I have a lot of time available to hunt, but still need to prioritize dates between now and May 22nd.
When folks say "hunt the snow line" - how large is that buffer? I was generally around 4800 -5000 feet, and it varied from dry ground to four feet of slush. Down at 3500, everything was electric green. Going forward, should I prioritize patches of vibrant green over areas that are just coming uncovered?
I'd really appreciate any insights you folks might have. I am very excited to have finally drawn this tag.
I drew a spring bear tag in 32A. I normally spot and stalk spring bear in the end of the season in unit 35. The Weiser River zone in April is a lot different than the Sawtooths in the June rut, so I'm pretty out of my element.
I've spent the second week of April glassing along the middle fork, but I think it was early. I saw wolves and moose and just about everything else on God's Green Earth, except bear. I've been told to look for wild onion, skunk cabbage, and arrowleaf balsamroot for food sources. It looks like the grocery store just wasn't open yet, as skunk cabbage was just coming up and balsamroot was only out down low.
I was up the middle fork road, but don't think I'll be using that access unless a lot of snow melts and that road opens a lot further. So many of the basins and meadows off the middle fork access are private DFD land.
I have a couple of questions for you folks.
Are there any other food sources or landscape features I should be concentrating on?
When do you think the bear activity tends to pick up in this area? I have a lot of time available to hunt, but still need to prioritize dates between now and May 22nd.
When folks say "hunt the snow line" - how large is that buffer? I was generally around 4800 -5000 feet, and it varied from dry ground to four feet of slush. Down at 3500, everything was electric green. Going forward, should I prioritize patches of vibrant green over areas that are just coming uncovered?
I'd really appreciate any insights you folks might have. I am very excited to have finally drawn this tag.
