bears last weekend

Went out to foxcreek and whitecourt last weekend for 4 days w/5 other guys only saw 1 bear it was a hog though. Its way 2 early yet not a single dandelion out and very little grass out but lots of water, and snow.>: :rollin not a good trip,

Thanks for the updates. My brother and I are heading up to either Fox Creek or Swan Hills for a short 2 day bowhunt for bears at the end of May. Do you guys recommend driving oil roads looking for stalkable bears , or is a quad on cutlines the way to go... I've always done the bait thing. Curious to know from some of you guys who have done it...
Thanks.

Prdtrgttr, either or, will work. A few yrs ago, me and a couple other board members here went up Whitecourt way for a few days. I think we saw 9 total. Shot 2, one was pretty good.

We didnt know the area, so mainly just drove the trucks around looking for "Greeny" spots.

I will be up around Fox Creek the last week of May, once again, I dont know the area, so cruising in the Truck as well as a bunch of miles on the Quad, will be what I do....I hope to Christen the .416 on a real Toad.

Cmfic1, thanks for the response, it's appreciated. Did you see any bears out during the middle of the day?

Actually the one big one we got was shot early afternoon, on the way back to Camp. The others we saw were in the late afternoon to evening, which is fairly typical of Bear movement.

I like to find areas in the Morning to mid-morn hrs. Then hit them areas in the Afternoon. But with the Rut being on, Boars can/will be on the move at any time throughout the day.

Biggest bear I ever shot (19 3/4 ) was feeding on a pipeline at first light......(no shot)....I got him on the way back to camp that evening, after walking all day, within 400 yards of where he was in the morning. Rut or not, they can be patterned.

Rut or not, they can be patterned.

While this may be true in some occasions, I personally wouldnt spend alot of time Hunting one Bear (unless I was really bent on Harvesting that particular one). There is a strong chance that the Bear you harvested either had an easy Food source near by, or a Sow close by. And if he didnt, I would bet money he wouldnt be there the next day.

I have found that Bears would typically be hard to pattern. Often when Baiting, a large Boar will frequent an area, but its hit or miss whether he will be there on a "Patternable" basis. I have found that the big Beer Belly Boars that hit on a regular basis, usually have a Sow in tow, or one in the general vicinity.

I have used both trail Cams and/or Trail timers, to see which Bears are coming in. And the big guys that come in regularly, were almost always at a Bait where a lone Sow, or a Sow with Yearlings were frequenting.

just my .02

Well said CMFic1. I agree 100 percent. Big boars are hard if not impossible to pattern.