# La Sal spot and stalk bear



## dark_cloud (Oct 18, 2010)

Just curious if anybody drew this tag last year and seen some bears? I hunted deer down there last year during that hunt and never seen any bears at all. I have hunted it in the past and seen lots of bears on the deer hunt, just nothing last year. Did they all get shot or pushed out of the normal areas, or was the hot dry summer the cause of them not being in the normal places? Even all of the bear sign I found, looked to be at least a month old. Is the tag worth burning my points on? Any info would be great


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## Kevin D (Sep 15, 2007)

Find the food source and you'll find the bear. Bear on that mountain rely heavily on acorns from the oakbrush, which can vary dramatically in intensity and location from year to year. Some years one patch of oakbrush will produce a bumper crop of acorns and will be full of bear in September and the next year nothing. I remember one year hunting down there and turning the dogs loose in one small 5 acre patch of brush and watching 7 bear come boiling out. The next year the same patch was barren and I doubt there was a bear within miles.

Do some scouting and pay close attention to the mast crop and you'll be into the bear.


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## goofy elk (Dec 16, 2007)

I've been watching La Sal closely too, as I have enough points there as well.

Here's the problem the 'spot and stalk' season has,
Before this hunt even starts, there's a TON of bear related stuff going on.

April 6 through May 28, 35 spring bear permits.
2 summer pursuit seasons, July 6 through August 11, 26 permits.
Early fall hunt, August 24 through September 29, 5 permits.
5 premium tags PLUS several conservation permits....

50+ kill tags ,all open to pursuit with dogs BEFORE spot and stalk even opens on La Sal.

I'd take that into consideration..

I've been waiting for the 2012 harvest numbers on this hunt to see success rates.
I'm guessing they were quite low.


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## dark_cloud (Oct 18, 2010)

Thanks for the replys......I under stand they have alot of tags down that way, they have been like that for a few years. We have deer hunted down there for several years and have always been abel to find the bears, without even trying. Last year was the first year we didnt see any bears or fresh sign at all. The acorns did seem a little scarce, but didnt seem that much different then years past. I just thought that maybe where the spot and stalk started weeks before the deer hunt that all the bears had been pushed out by the bear hunters. I would like to see the harvest data on this hunt.


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## mikevanwilder (Nov 11, 2008)

What part of the Mtn do you deer hunt? I was down there most of Aug-Oct for Elk and had 6 bears coming into a trail cam and had one within 30 yards of me and a friend during the muzzy elk hunt. We had one that came into our camp after we had killed an elk. This was on the north east side around Hidden and Dons lakes. The trail cam was up high in the timber but the one we seen was down in the oak brush. 
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/ ... =2&theater
Not sure if I posted it before but here is the video of that bear.


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## dark_cloud (Oct 18, 2010)

I have hunted all the way around that mountain. I have seen bears on all sides. Almost all of the bears that we see are all in the oak brush, just didnt see any last year. Some of those bears must have to run for miles from the hounds man before they can find a big enough tree to climb.


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## goofy elk (Dec 16, 2007)

La Sal, 2012 spot N stalk ...

30 permits, 7 hunters were successful.


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## dark_cloud (Oct 18, 2010)

Thanks for the info goofy, did you find that on the division web page? Thats not to bad of odds. I might go with a spring hunt and hope for the best. This cabin fever is killing me. I need to get outside.


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## goofy elk (Dec 16, 2007)

They tore it up on the la Sal spring hunt (2012)..

35 tags,,,,22 successful hunters.
14 males
8 females

And ya, The 2012 harvest info is on the DWR bear page.


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## 35whelen (Jul 3, 2012)

did they have a la sal spring spot and stalk? i didnt see one offered this year, but mightve missed it. I applied for all spring hunts myself.


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## Poo Pie (Nov 23, 2007)

goofy elk said:


> La Sal, 2012 spot N stalk ...
> 
> 30 permits, 7 hunters were successful.


Poo was 1 of 7 8)
[attachment=0:3py5e2gu]image.jpg[/attachment:3py5e2gu]


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## 35whelen (Jul 3, 2012)

strong work, poo


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## goofy elk (Dec 16, 2007)

VERY NICE POO!!!!!


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## dark_cloud (Oct 18, 2010)

Nice bear. Most of the bears I see down there are black very few color phase bears


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## Poo Pie (Nov 23, 2007)

Thanks boys! If you guys were members at the dark side you could read the whole story. It was memorable to say the least!


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## mikevanwilder (Nov 11, 2008)

dark_cloud said:


> Nice bear. Most of the bears I see down there are black very few color phase bears


When I had a camera on a wallow last year I had a blond, a cinnimon and a black coming in.


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