Spring bears anyone?

[Art Lambart II]

I'm looking for a 2026 Spring bear hunt for my son and I, ill be following this thread closely.

 

[Est.1970]

I was supposed to go up to Alaska for a spring bear this year but due to so much chaos in the system I opted to save as much money as I can. Besides I have a crate coming back from RSA sometime this year and I took a great bear on my last trip in 2022.

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Beautiful bear. From the land of limestone i find myself fascinated by that rock! I'm guessing it shows I've never been there. Lol.

 

[Green Chile]

There are bear camps with excellent fishing and depending on the province, 2 bear tags per hunter. This particular camp doesn't have those features but the food is good and plenty of it. I also like the guides and I enjoy helping with the baiting.

 

[Mnovak]

Leaving for Manitoba on 5/30 to go after big bears. Looking forward to getting away and enjoying the outdoors of Northern Manitoba Canada.

 

[Scott CWO]

Little size comparison between a B&C coastal brownie and interior. The brown bear had some kind of bone infection going on likely from his dental injuries (not uncommon with brown bears) but the old interior sow was totally calcified over, not a single noticeable old fused growth line anywhere, and her molars were gone, leaving just worn down roots.

Wow! The jaw on your bear reminded me of this bear and hunter that I guided in 2012 on the Peninsula. Figured it was broken by a moose kick, possibly. All healed up but the lower canine grew parallel to the jaw after the fracture instead of perpendicular. Ouch! Bears are tough!

 

[TaylorM456]

I am in Texas, does anyone know of any black bear guide/outfitters in nearby states like Arkansas?

 

[rookhawk]

I'm prepping for a return to Saskatchewan in 2 weeks. I took an awesome 7+ foot cinnamon last year that was written up here. The camp just took this bear that was 20 13/16" and 504 lbs...truly a great bear anywhere, anytime.

Who is going after bears this spring?

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My bear last year...

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Great pics you shared!

While I'm not after spring bear, I'm pleased to report that after 14 years of accumulating points, I drew my Fall bear tag for Wisconsin unit A. Looking forward to the hard-earned opportunity!

 

[Green Chile]

Wow...14 years of points...congrats! What are your plans for that tag?

 

[Wildwillalaska]

Thi

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Wow! The jaw on your bear reminded me of this bear and hunter that I guided in 2012 on the Peninsula. Figured it was broken by a moose kick, possibly. All healed up but the lower canine grew parallel to the jaw after the fracture instead of perpendicular. Ouch! Bears are tough!

Think this happens more than you’d think. Same year I took that bear I posted, had a buddy who took one here close to the house (South of Kenai) off his bait site that was broken similarly as well.

The local bio said it’s when they fight and bite each others’ faces, so when their jaws lock and both clinching hard while doing that whole-body shake that looks like
It could rip a telephone pole out of the ground…they can break the front portion of their jaw, ripping it downward. If bad enough and if bear already reaching end of life cycle, could spell the end. If it fractures at that center growth line in the lower jaw, breaking only one side down, they will often fully recover and prove no worse for wear. That bear I took had broken it a long while before. Couldn’t tell if all the bone loss in his skull was from that jaw injury or from the infection he’d had in his broken upper canine.

Hard to tell in the photos, but there’s a moose kill underneath him. Even with his previous broken jaw, it didn’t slow him down any. I watched him beat the hell out of a bear almost as big as he was, and take over kill the evening before. He ran off a couple smaller 8’-9’ bears the morning before I stalked into 40 yards as he slept. Had to wait the first evening and most the next day for the wind to change. We had three separate bears come in on us close as a buddy of mine helped me get him caped out. One refused to leave until we had to shoot in the ground to his front at 15yards. He was too heavy to completely roll and had to take quarters off one side to roll far enough to get the center back skinned. Looks like an open field, but the alders are only like 60 yards away and remain super thick for couple miles back into the drainages in both directions. Just a solid shit-ton of bears back in there. And certainly not a rank moose kill I wanted to hang out well into night…heads truly on a swivel as we continued to hear all fighting not too terribly far away, like they were fighting and posturing for the rights to charge in as soon as we packed out.

What part of the peninsula did you guide on that bear. The one I posted, if you guided/hunted the peninsula much might even prove familiar. Is the last major lake and salmon run out that way. Lodge construction started late 60’s and was fully up and running by early 70’s. My ex-FIL guided out there for years for Don and then Warren Johnson.

 

[Scott CWO]

Thi

Think this happens more than you’d think. Same year I took that bear I posted, had a buddy who took one here close to the house (South of Kenai) off his bait site that was broken similarly as well.

The local bio said it’s when they fight and bite each others’ faces, so when their jaws lock and both clinching hard while doing that whole-body shake that looks like
It could rip a telephone pole out of the ground…they can break the front portion of their jaw, ripping it downward. If bad enough and if bear already reaching end of life cycle, could spell the end. If it fractures at that center growth line in the lower jaw, breaking only one side down, they will often fully recover and prove no worse for wear. That bear I took had broken it a long while before. Couldn’t tell if all the bone loss in his skull was from that jaw injury or from the infection he’d had in his broken upper canine.

Hard to tell in the photos, but there’s a moose kill underneath him. Even with his previous broken jaw, it didn’t slow him down any. I watched him beat the hell out of a bear almost as big as he was, and take over kill the evening before. He ran off a couple smaller 8’-9’ bears the morning before I stalked into 40 yards as he slept. Had to wait the first evening and most the next day for the wind to change. We had three separate bears come in on us close as a buddy of mine helped me get him caped out. One refused to leave until we had to shoot in the ground to his front at 15yards. He was too heavy to completely roll and had to take quarters off one side to roll far enough to get the center back skinned. Looks like an open field, but the alders are only like 60 yards away and remain super thick for couple miles back into the drainages in both directions. Just a solid shit-ton of bears back in there. And certainly not a rank moose kill I wanted to hang out well into night…heads truly on a swivel as we continued to hear all fighting not too terribly far away, like they were fighting and posturing for the rights to charge in as soon as we packed out.

What part of the peninsula did you guide on that bear. The one I posted, if you guided/hunted the peninsula much might even prove familiar. Is the last major lake and salmon run out that way. Lodge construction started late 60’s and was fully up and running by early 70’s. My ex-FIL guided out there for years for Don and then Warren Johnson.

Makes sense about the fighting causing broken lower jaws. The bear in my pictures was 9’10” with a perfect hide. My client killed him in the snow up on a mountain in May 2012, which was a very late spring with lots of snow.

Haha I thought the mountains looked familiar! I guide for Mel Gillis on federal land next door to the Johnson’s! Mel was good friends with Don & Warren. We have even stayed at Bear Lake Lodge, the Johnson headquarters, since Johnson’s retired. We rented the lodge from Laurie Johnson in 2022 and 2021 when the season was delayed from 2020 to 2021 because of Covid.

 

[Wildwillalaska]

Figured if you guided out that way, likely somewhere not too terribly far away. Here is a picture of Don and David Vienna, my former FIL and still one of my best friends. Snapped the photo of the Polaroid from one of the albums when we were out there in 2020, enjoying a couple weeks of friends who I never get to hunt with since they are always transporting, guiding, or outfitting. We had to fix up a bunch of mess the winter watchman had left.

The place should have been a sportsman’s museum. Not many lodges in Alaska where you’ll find elephant foot ash buckets, Tur mounts, rhino euro, elephant and walrus ivory adorning rafters. Even what’s alleged to be Hoss’ gun belt that Blocker supposedly gifted Don after guiding him on a bear (not sure if brown or polar) back in the day.

David’s a young man in the photo, first year guiding at Bear Lake, think it’s 1979. He’s now 74 and was supposed to be sitting between my 13yo daughter and I on this flight as we head into Johannesburg. Had a cardiac hiccup over the weekend, doing ok now, but doc wouldn’t clear him to fly.

 

[Scott CWO]

Figured if you guided out that way, likely somewhere not too terribly far away. Here is a picture of Don and David Vienna, my former FIL and still one of my best friends. Snapped the photo of the Polaroid from one of the albums when we were out there in 2020, enjoying a couple weeks of friends who I never get to hunt with since they are always transporting, guiding, or outfitting. We had to fix up a bunch of mess the winter watchman had left.

The place should have been a sportsman’s museum. Not many lodges in Alaska where you’ll find elephant foot ash buckets, Tur mounts, rhino euro, elephant and walrus ivory adorning rafters. Even what’s alleged to be Hoss’ gun belt that Blocker supposedly gifted Don after guiding him on a bear (not sure if brown or polar) back in the day.

David’s a young man in the photo, first year guiding at Bear Lake, think it’s 1979. He’s now 74 and was supposed to be sitting between my 13yo daughter and I on this flight as we head into Johannesburg. Had a cardiac hiccup over the weekend, doing ok now, but doc wouldn’t clear him to fly.

Yeah there’s also an African lion skull there as well. It’s quite a place! Warren is a legend!

 

[ACE (in CT)]

I'm headed to New Brunswick in a week, we do a bow hunt there every year. Pretty good moose population in the area, and we see a few every year. 2 years ago I saw one every single day, one even came by my stand at about 30 yards. I put in for all the eastern moose tags, but they are very long odds. I did draw an archery tag in VT and shot a non typical bull there. Drew ME once but it was not a good zone, and I never saw a bull until the last day, and we were in the truck, so never got a shot.
I always hold out hope for a big bear for a few days but by Thursday, I'm thinking about how much we like the meat so I'm willing to shoot a meat bear if no giants seem to be around. No color phase bears there, so one day I may venture west. Good luck to all!