N. Cascades is a tough hunt. Take a look at ODFW's controlled bear hunt statistics
here. It's for 2000, not last year, but you get the idea. Not very good odds. 200 tags and 2 bears killed. That's a 1% success ratio. Compare that to some of the far NE units, the SW or even the Alsea.
That's not to say that there aren't plenty of bears in the Cascades (During the fall 2000 general season, 248 bears were taken in the Cascades, 54 of those from the Santiam unit). They are just hard to target in the Cascades. Bears are going to be wherever you find them, especially in the spring. They'll be at one elevation on week and higher up the next week. You won't be able to find them by just looking at a certain elevation. You have to find them first (their sign, actual bears), and then following them as they go up.
Honestly I wouldn't start till early May. By then there will be less snow, you'll be able to get higher up and cover more area. All the bears would be out actively feeding by then. I imagine most are out now, but it takes them a little while to get going. They've been sleeping most of the winter, they're still tired, really hungry have no energy and their muscles have atrophied some. It's not like a bear wakes up one day and starts eating for the rest of the spring. It's a gradual process.
That all being said, focus on the areas where there is new growth. Particularly skunk cabbage. Meadows and clear cuts are great. Most important find areas where you can glass a lot of country. And glass it hard. Bears are surprisingly easy to miss. Right now I'd cover as much area as you can and familiarize yourself with where the sign is, where the food is, etc.
I wouldn't worry too much about the deer and elk right now. Bear are usually a little higher up than they are in elevation as they start going up, but I've also found spring bear right in the same canyons as deer and elk before. Later in May the bears will start focusing on the deer and elk as they drop their young. In that case then I would try to go to where they are calving. Predator calls can be very effective.
That's another idea for you. Calling bears takes a lot of patience. Usually it's a long process (not always) 1 hr + on a given stand. I don't know that I would sit down anywhere unless I knew a bear was right around there, but you may be able to call at different glassing locations and look for movement.
So that should give you an idea. Bears are rarely easy, but it can be done. Good luck to ya. Any other questions, let me know.
[ 04-03-2003, 02:53 PM: Message edited by: birdhunter ]
Spring Bear Questions?
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