Any WV bear hunters on here?

[jpcoll01]

I live in Northeastern KY and am looking to potentially do some bear hunting this December in WV. I don't have dogs so will be still hunting and/or calling. Would love to talk to someone who has done it. I have spot and stalk hunted the last several years in Montana, got one this spring in Idaho over bait so I kind of understand bear hunting but it's different country back here and there is WAY less public land. Could potentially trade a private land hunt on my property in KY for the right opportunity.

 

[jpcoll01]

Bringing this one back to the top so maybe someone in WV will see it.

 

[Gut Shot]

Wish I would have seen this sooner. I hunt WV with hounds from time to time. A big issue in the state is baiting. I don't know who decided that baiting for deer was OK but baiting for bear wasn't. I guess maybe deer hunters should put up a sign or something warning the bears off of their bait piles? I bet most bears in the state get shot of of "deer" bait. Because of this your best bet is to hunt public ground (no baiting allowed on public) and get into a large enough tract to get at bears that can't get access to private ground.

Look for areas with very limited road access, this will keep away many hound hunters.

Find mast, in December that's going to be acorns.

I'd get a deer tag as well and hunt deer in hopes of finding a bear. By December they will start to den up and there will be fewer bears to hunt.

 

[WVmike]

I don't bear hunt but live in WV and Dolly Sods is a popular area for bear hunters and also parts of public land in Pendleton county. I see trucks with the dog boxes on the back all of the time in these areas quite often this time of year.

 

[sccritterkiller]

If you wanna still hunt I would suggest go deep into WA to get away from the houndsmen.