Black Bear Season Preview 2026
Start - Stop - Go
Some warm weather in late March and early April had some early bears out on the prowl and crossing paths with our trail cams. The start of the season, the end of hibernation, the bears leaving their dens in search of food, has had re-start this year. Then it turned white, twice. Two Spring snow storms pushed the bears back into their dens and are just now coming out in force to search for food and to bulk up after the long winter.
Keeping Options Open
Most people would say that we run more baits than are needed but we like the options. While we have hunters in search of big bears positioned over one set of baits, we have fresh untouched stands under surveillance for when we need them.
Bears are hitting the baits hard with little for grasses or leaves available yet.
Our Bear Season Preparation begins several months in advance of the arrival of the first hunters. Trapping beavers beginning in late winter and building a stockpile of this premium bait. We also order 100's to 1000's of pounds of candies, cookies, oats and 100's of gallons of used canola oil. Several weeks before the season, as the bears are just starting to come out, we will load up the bait sites and put the tree stands in place, each equipped with trail cams to keep a watch on each site. When the hunters arrive, we have the most active sites chosen.