Black bears in Idaho??

I was thinking of going to Idaho to hunt black bears. Is it really hard to spot and stalk bears? I will try the bait thing but I would rather spot and stalk. So am I dreaming or is this a realistic idea??
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well Iam guessing you are bowhunting and spotandstalk well they a fairly blind but dont let that fool you they have a great scence of smell and they can also here very good. so spot and stalk is not out of the question just make sure you have a plan B if you get in a sticky situation
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The north slope
Has anyone killed a black bear doing a spot and stalk?? (???)
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I have killed a couple that way, but not with a bow. Like the other poster said, they don't see all that great but have a great sense of smell, so make sure you use the wind correctly. I've had much more luck with this method of hunting in the spring. I live in AZ now but when I lived in MT I saw plenty of bears in the spring but hardly any in the fall. Find south facing hillsides that green up first in the spring and that is a likely place to find a bear in the evening. As with any other game, trying it with a bow is much more challenging than a rifle.
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supersider34
I bait here in Idaho and once in awhile I will see a bear open feeding. Most area's have alot of tree's and glassing is hard. But you never know on a spot and stalk if you can. Good luck.
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The north slope
I cheated the last night of the hunt I pulled out my rifle and took this cinnamon. We ended up taking two bears for three guys. This was our first bear hunt and it was self guided on public land, so we were really happy with the results. Next year I will not be bringing my rifle.
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AGCHAWK
North Slope...CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!! Man, that is a pretty bruin too! I'm happy to hear that your hunt turned out as great as it did.
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MuleyMadness
Good looking bear for sure, thanks for sharing! :thumb
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fatrooster
Northslope, awesome job on the bear hunt. Looks like something I might want to do one day. fatrooster.
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The north slope
Thanks guys....
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That is a great colored bear, were you hunting in Idaho when you got him?
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The north slope
Yes, Idaho in the sawtooths.
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fatrooster
North Slope, you really caught my interest on this bear hunt. I hope you don't mind me asking questions when I get ready to really get serious and look into this. fatrooster.
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The north slope
Like I said this was my first black bear hunt. I did a lot of research, looked over topos and talked to Idaho fish and game, forest service and every person that I knew in Idaho! We made a plan and stuck to it. We hunted hard for 6 days and came home with 2 bears. I learned a lot from Cameron Hanes book backcountry bowhunting. We used bear crack his recipe and it works well! A out of state tag cost just over 300 bucks but you could add a deer or elk tag for around 2-3 hundred more.
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Heads or Tails
'Slope, how were the deer and elk in that area, did you see much?
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fatrooster
North Slope, I have Camerons book and have read it and it has great info. You definitely did your homework and got your reward. Good job. I hunted Idaho several years ago and am actually researching Idaho moose at this time. Idaho has some great oppurtunities. fatrooster.
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The north slope
"Heads or Tails" wrote:'Slope, how were the deer and elk in that area, did you see much?
 I had a bull come right under my stand. I saw elk and deer just about every day. I was sneeking along a trial in some dark timber just before dark and had a doe snort at me. It scared the crap out of me, hunting bears and all!
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