Washington bear advice needed!

[hwy1strat]

So this is my first season going after bears. I’ve located a bear and he’s been in the exact same area twice now. This most recent time, I think I may have called him in, but didn’t see him until he was on his way out. I had been calling for about an hour and right on my last attempt I see him walking away about 300 yards away from me on the other side of a creek. Have I screwed up any chance of calling him in again? I’m going back out there again this weekend and it will have been a full week since this occurred. I am planning on getting into the same area and sitting for a couple of hours to see if I can catch him moving through. If I don’t see him I’ll probably try calling again. Is that a sound plan? Should I do something different? Any advice will be greatly appreciated

 

[NateO 77]

If there is feed in that area he will stay. If over pressured he will become more nocturnal find the best vantage point and just keep glassing he will pop up.

 

[roosiebull]

So this is my first season going after bears. I’ve located a bear and he’s been in the exact same area twice now. This most recent time, I think I may have called him in, but didn’t see him until he was on his way out. I had been calling for about an hour and right on my last attempt I see him walking away about 300 yards away from me on the other side of a creek. Have I screwed up any chance of calling him in again? I’m going back out there again this weekend and it will have been a full week since this occurred. I am planning on getting into the same area and sitting for a couple of hours to see if I can catch him moving through. If I don’t see him I’ll probably try calling again. Is that a sound plan? Should I do something different? Any advice will be greatly appreciated

Did he smell you? Is there food there? If he smells you, it could be a hard bear to find again. I have never tried to call the same bear twice, so I can’t help there, but if he left because he smelled you, I wouldn’t try calling him again, but maybe I’m giving them too much credit.

I don’t know what’s going on in your area, but here on the Oregon coast, berries have been nonexistent until recently, so calling would have been a good strategy early, but now they are hammering blackberries, and I have been completely ignored calling to feeding bear, bear are lazy if there is a lot of food around, and get very particular when they have options.

At this point, I would focus on food, and keeping them from smelling you, be mindful of wind and thermals… you can have a good directional wind, then at 6pm it dies and the thermals are taking over, and now your good spot isn’t good… pay close attention to wind, you will not kill a decent bear that can smell you, be mindful of your approach to the area… if you walk in a spur road to glass, and that bear enters the same way, chances are, your ground scent will send mr bear back into the brush, I have watched them do it several times…

A big bear is a careless creature besides your wind, they can see you, you freeze, they calm down and ignore you… you can step on a branch, he may look up but not care… he smells you, and he’s on his way out every time.

Smaller bear are much more skittish to seeing or hearing you, but also won’t tolerate smelling you. I have made successful stalks into close that would never work on deer or elk, but good size bear are pretty careless unless they smell you.

I have seen bear missed with a rifle come right back out… the trend here is don’t let them smell you, a bear that’s reliably in an area will potentially completely vacate the area if they smell you, I have learned that lesson several times

 

[Orchemo]

Agree with all above. Your scent control os priority. Calling has sometimes worked for me, but mostly done it in the spring.

Shot a near least week on OR coast. They are getting a nice layer of fat.