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Black Bears

2K views 13 replies 12 participants last post by  DEERHAAWK 
#1 ·
This past Fall while fishing the Delware River I ran into a mother black bear and her two cubs. She gave me a flase charge but was far enough away so never charged me. I was thinking about carrying the Mace bear pepper spray. Any thoughts on this? Also any advice while in bear country would be much appericated. FishHawk:(
 
#2 ·
I've only run into 1 bear on the rivers, and my memory of that day was that when I got back my wife was madder than the bear ever was, but thats another story. :hehe: On a more serious note my thoughts on this have been to:
  1. Never get between mother & cub.
  2. Stay alert about the surroundings and make noise while walking.
  3. Keep distance between critters & me.
    [/list=1]

    It will be interesting to see what responses you get to this thread.
 
#4 ·
Agree w/Mark and John.

This is the time of year when they are fattening up. The place I camped last weekend actually had a warning out to everyone there. Saw some matted grass with a 1/2 eaten rainbow trout in it that provided enough proof to be cautious.

I have heard that clapping your hands over your head and making loud noises usually does the trick.

I would stay away from any mothers with cubs around though. From what I understand most incidents happen when a curious cub stumbles upon you and then big mom shows up.

BigD
 
#5 ·
big bear year around here

#1 solution - carry a gun. The only reason I say that is this - whenever I do (I from time to time borrow an 8" .44 from a friend with a sizeable arsenal) I don't see bear-one.

I got stalked out of a hole by a bear late this summer. Hit the creek at high tide but didn't pay attention to the height of the tide and found it 3x as high as the previous tides I'd fished. This also gave all the critters less space to move around til it ebbed. I decided just to wait out the tide and try to hit any cohos I saw rolling when I heard a grunt. I moved back up the trail through some overflow and figured I was far enough off, when I heard the SOB stomp through the overflow after me. I then hightailed it upstream post haste and waited for the tide to go out when I was able to get my spot back. Called my buddy when I got home, set up a date with Maggie, and haven't seen bear one the rest of the season. Same thing in another spot I fish. I can show up unarmed, and the first thing I find are tracks filling back up with water. Show up armed, all I see are day old or older tracks. It's definitely a superstitious and not a reasonable cause and effect, but I feel much better onstream if I'm packing.

Bear spray can be effective. I fished with an AB guide this summer who recounted a tale of watching a surly griz turn inside out when it got a dose. The drawbacks of spray are that you might not get a healthy enough dose on the bear to do the job and that you're very likely to get yourself with it to some degree.

John's got the standard practice down. I would avoid whistling, though, since that can make you sound like food.

Here's a resource you find in just about all the parks up here.
 
#6 ·
FishHawk,

I carried bear mace with me while I was in Alaska four years ago. I was hiking and fishing out there and I was all by myself. Thankfully, I never had to use the mace. I will, however, tell you that it added to my peace of mind. I saw some paw prints that were as big as a dinner plate.

Now I keep the mace in the house. It is, in my mind, a great home defense tool. If someone is breaking into my house I would never shoot them. I am not a fan of using guns for home defense. I would, however, mace an intruder with glee.

I have also spent some time in Glacier National Park. I met many, many locals there that carried bear mace. I never met anyone that had actually used their mace on a bear.

The reports on bear mace are mixed. In some cases the mace has successfully deterred black and brown bears. In some cases it has not. It is better than nothing - in my mind anyway.

Don't listen to people that tell you that capsicum (one of the active ingredients in the mace) attracts bears.

I know a guy that was maced with bear mace and his experience (terrible stinging, vomitting and pain) attests to the fact that bear mace is nothing but miserable.

-Mike
 
#8 ·
Make a racket!

Fished the Muchalet River on Vancouver Island with bears everywhere. Saw fresh tracks and started singing etc, feeling kind of foolish. I heard a curious "mewing" right alongside me in the thick brush along the bank, and kept on singing. Later, on the way out I came across a mama black bear and her two cubs coming out exactly where I'd heard the "mewing". I started clanking cans I'd found, and she tree'd the cubs.

Still get chills thinking how close we must have been.
Making a racket works.

But talking about protecting your cubs, I fished the Morice with a friend and his friend, a guide taking us on his busman's holiday for steelies. He brought along his two boys, about five and seven years old. A sow griz and her two cubs appeared upstream after we'd heard some roars. Being furthest downstream, I looked up in time to see the sow in the distance gather her cubs close by her, and in the foreground our guide with his two boys, one under each arm as he clambered to the jetboat. The sow and the guide united in a graceful get 'em up & go.

Whether man or beast, grab the cubs and run if warned; stand and fight if caught unawares. My experience is limited in bear country, but I'm a believer in making a racket.
 
#9 ·
I've heard that it's a good idea to wear bells on your clothing and carry pepper spray in the event it becomes necessary to use it.

It's also a good idea to know what kind of bears are in the area. One way to tell is by examining the droppings. Black bear droppings may have berry seeds in them. Grizzly bear droppings may smell like pepper and have bells and bits of clothing in them. :devil:

Q
 
#10 ·
Quentin said:
It's also a good idea to know what kind of bears are in the area. One way to tell is by examining the droppings. Black bear droppings may have berry seeds in them. Grizzly bear droppings may smell like pepper and have bells and bits of clothing in them. :devil:
Q
Yes, and if you decide to carry a gun, make sure you file down the front sight. That way it doesn't hurt so much when the bear shoves it up your *ahem* :razz:
 
#11 ·
Quentin said:
It's also a good idea to know what kind of bears are in the area. One way to tell is by examining the droppings. Black bear droppings may have berry seeds in them. Grizzly bear droppings may smell like pepper and have bells and bits of clothing in them. :devil:

Q
What's that old line about telling the difference between a black and a grizz? The black follows you up the tree, the grizz knocks it down? :hehe:
 
#13 ·
Bears???

I've only met up with one bear in all of my times in the woods fishing and that day I learned how to walk on water. I came around the bend of this creek I was fishing on and as I looked up this big black bear came out of the woods and crossed in front of me. I didn't stick around to see what it did as I was really moving out down stream. My one and only encounter.

Now how about cougars. Did you ever meet up with one of those?
 
#14 ·
Bears

Any tracker or backcountry outfitter worth his weight in peppered bell dropings will tell you never, with the key word being NEVER go into any kind of backcountry situation without the proper equipment, that includes what ever type of fire power you feel comfortable with. By the way, Ive seen alot more spooked bull moose than I have bear, point being, you want something that will stop ALL problems that might arise. besides, pepper is a spice, you dont want the bear to actually LIKE what he's eating, do you? I opt for the gun, everytime
Deerhawk
 
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