# San Juan Bear Survey



## schoolhousegrizz (Nov 23, 2014)

I have this tag for the summer season and have heard that the season has been real slow. I am just trying to get a better understanding of what I am in for. Please fill out the form if you have ever spent time on this unit, thanks!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1qfF_SrVUK4naNs9s38UH0KMKaT0DugDfhN6XHYXyMt0/edit?chromeless=1


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## sheepassassin (Mar 23, 2018)

It won’t let me take the survey, but you and I talked on MM about this last week. My dad has a tag and it’s been super slow. Anyways, if you didn’t have a bunch of points invested, keep the tag and hunt. If you are into this tag with a pile of points, I’d turn it in and try again on a better year. My dads into his 10 points and I’m sure it will be a OIL tag for him, so hopefully things work out this weekend. Headed down tomorrow afternoon until Monday night


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## elkantlers (Feb 27, 2014)

It's the San Juans, There are bears there. I wouldn't turn in a Summer Bait tag because someone is having a little trouble finding them with dogs. You put out a pile of bait in a good area and there will be bears hitting in short order.


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## sheepassassin (Mar 23, 2018)

elkantlers said:


> It's the San Juans, There are bears there. I wouldn't turn in a Summer Bait tag because someone is having a little trouble finding them with dogs. You put out a pile of bait in a good area and there will be bears hitting in short order.


Every houndsman running there so far is getting their ass kicked. It's not just one guy


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## 3arabians (Dec 9, 2014)

sheepassassin said:


> Every houndsman running there so far is getting their ass kicked. It's not just one guy


I have some houndsman buddies and am hearing the same thing. The interesting thing is that on the bordering unit they are catching bears left and right.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk


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## schoolhousegrizz (Nov 23, 2014)

I am going to hunt my ass off. I think bear hunting in Utah is going to continue to decline. The Bears get hit harder and harder every year. We will give it hell and hope for the best. Thanks for your comments. Sheep I would love to hear how it goes this weekend for you guys.


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## elkantlers (Feb 27, 2014)

schoolhousegrizz said:


> I am going to hunt my ass off. I think bear hunting in Utah is going to* continue to decline*. The Bears get hit harder and harder every year. We will give it hell and hope for the best. Thanks for your comments. Sheep I would love to hear how it goes this weekend for you guys.


Continue to decline? Bear hunting is better now than it has ever been and is far from declining.


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## sheepassassin (Mar 23, 2018)

elkantlers said:


> Continue to decline? Bear hunting is better now than it has ever been and is far from declining.


How much does the state pay you per year to be an arm chair biologist?

They had a lot of bears head into winter in pretty rough shape, especially in the southern part of the state. They lost a lot more than normal this year and with the continuing drought, it's only gonna get worse.


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## schoolhousegrizz (Nov 23, 2014)

Haha Sheep, you are funny. Every site you're on you try and come across as a hard ass, which is proof that you are not. Good luck to you and your dad.


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## schoolhousegrizz (Nov 23, 2014)

I talked to a guide in the area and he said it's just getting harder and harder to find mature boars with the tag increases. I tend to believe him when you look at how many more bears have been killed in the last 2 or 3 years.


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## Kevin D (Sep 15, 2007)

I just got back yesterday after spending a week on San Juan chasing bear. It was a good time, we ran bear every day and seen bear every day. Both hunters we had in camp filled their tags, one with a nice boar and one with a so-so boar.

A couple observations though, I never seen a sow with newborn cubs on the unit this year which is somewhat alarming. Typically a good portion of the tracks we come across are sows with cubs, but not this year. Also, of the bear harvested off the unit this year, I've only seen or heard of a couple real giants. Overall, I'd say the quality of the bear harvested on the unit has been declining in recent years. There's still a lot of bear, it's just getting tougher to find those big 7 to 10 year old boars like we used to come across on a regular basis.

The bear population statewide seems to be doing well, particularly in the northern areas of the state. Bear population densities may still be greater in southern and eastern Utah, but central and northern Utah bear populations are definitely on the upswing.


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## schoolhousegrizz (Nov 23, 2014)

Thanks Kevin, I appreciate the information. Were you guys seeing Bears only by running them with hounds or were you coming across some just spotting them? Well sheep looks like I'm not the only one with that point of view.


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## Kevin D (Sep 15, 2007)

I run my own hounds and have for 35 years now, so my main goal heading down there every year is to run them ragged on bear. This year we started some bear by spotting them across the canyon and running dogs onto them, some races were started by the dogs winding them off the trucks, and some were started by walking the dogs down bear looking canyons until we hit on fresh tracks. Hell, we even had a little bear wander into camp one night.....not a good idea when there's 25 dogs staked around (of course I never knew what all the dogs were barking at so I went out there in my underwear in the middle of the night and beat them quiet with a shovel. It wasn't until it got light that I seen the bear tracks :redface. 

Weather last week was ideal which also played a big part in our success. I've been down there some years where we had a lot of wet, cold, and windy days, where the bear holed up and not moving. It's tougher to get something going in those conditions. Most of the other houndsmen I talked to were saying it had been a slow year until last week when things broke open a bit. I think about every camp I talked to also ran bear everyday last week too.


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