Anyone hunt bear in the Steamboat Springs area in CO?

danadrums · Feb 27, 2018

Greetings One and All,

I am looking at going bear hunting for the first time this fall (bought the tag but couldn't find the time last year

).
I'm thinking of going in the Steamboat Springs area, which encompasses 10 GMUs.
Just wondering if anyone has any insight into bears in general and bears in that area in particular.
Any info is welcome.
I'd be happy to have a conversation about bears. Don't know anyone personally who hunts bears, so this forum is a great thing.

Thanks.

--Dana

Bowhuntrben · Feb 27, 2018

I've hunted the area a couple times for elk. I've seen some bear poo but haven't seen any bears yet.

wytex · Feb 27, 2018

I know they have tons in and around town and up towards Stagecoach. Have friends that have run into them mountain biking on the trails.

danadrums · Feb 28, 2018

wytex said:
I know they have tons in and around town and up towards Stagecoach. Have friends that have run into them mountain biking on the trails.

Yeah, I picked up a leftover tag last year for this area but didn't have time to go. I called the CPW office in Steamboat and asked for any pointers and she told me the same thing. Seems like there's a lot of bears and they are getting too used to human garbage. Not good.
I'll do some scouting, of course, but it's a LARGE area and it would help to narrow it down a bit.

Thanks.

SFC B · Feb 28, 2018

I shot my bear this year in 26 on the edge of the Flat Tops. I picked up the tag because while scouting in July my buddy and I watched a BIG cinnamon bear gorging on a hillside while we sat a couple hundred feet above eating our lunch. The bear I shot was different and about 1.5 miles away but feasting in a meadow as well, this time right before sunset. Here are some pics..... BTW the grasses the bear is browsing in were chest high and we had walked through there about a half an hour earlier

BBHPRO · Mar 1, 2018

I’d recommend late night mini golf.
Never hunted bears but have had multi run ins around Steamboat. Including having an elk quarter carried off right in front of me by a very large one.

recon6036 · Mar 1, 2018

I hunted just north of Steamboat Springs for Elk 4 times. Saw 2 bear and lots of sign in those 4 years.

danadrums · Mar 2, 2018

BBHPRO said:
View attachment 80671 View attachment 80671
I’d recommend late night mini golf.
Never hunted bears but have had multi run ins around Steamboat. Including having an elk quarter carried off right in front of me by a very large one.

Hah!
Well, I'll keep my eyes open around the mini golf. And if I find the culprit that stole your elk quarter, I'll tell him that this is for you before I plug him.

--Dana

TheDudeAbides · Mar 2, 2018

wytex said:
I know they have tons in and around town.

Walmart every morning around 4 am.

danadrums · Mar 2, 2018

TheDudeAbides said:
Walmart every morning around 4 am.

Ya know, interestingly, the lady from the Steamboat CPW office told me that there is public land around the ski areas and that those would be great areas to try.
Seems like, from everything I have seen here and heard from others, that hunting relatively close to town is the way to go.
I don' know.. I'm curious how far these bears travel to get to town, and if it's more of an issue in the late summer/early fall when the bears are fattening up, or if it's all year long.
Research this year is going to be interesting and fun.

--Dana

Redman · Mar 2, 2018

Baiting is illegal but you can always pack in plenty of bacon and cook it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Just hang out around camp, if your arteries don't clog first a bear will show up sometime.

timbertrash · Mar 4, 2018

Like others have said, they are all over in town. You can see them all over in town like most places have feral cats or coons. I get the tag that you have every year. If you don't want to hunt the outskirts of town, it is a ski town so there is some unfriendlies around. If you go north east in town, around the strawberry park area there is an access area to get above town, lots of bear there. The 10 GMU units are all overrun with bears, PAW can't give enough tags away. On top of buffalo pass is also good, depends on the year, look for the choke cherrries

danadrums · Mar 5, 2018

timbertrash said:
Like others have said, they are all over in town. You can see them all over in town like most places have feral cats or coons. I get the tag that you have every year. If you don't want to hunt the outskirts of town, it is a ski town so there is some unfriendlies around. If you go north east in town, around the strawberry park area there is an access area to get above town, lots of bear there. The 10 GMU units are all overrun with bears, PAW can't give enough tags away. On top of buffalo pass is also good, depends on the year, look for the choke cherrries

Thanks Timbertrash. I know about the unfriendlies. No problem handling them. I think the Strawberry Park area is one of the places the PAW lady mentioned. I'll have to do a fishing/scouting trip up in that area in the late summer. Looks like getting a tag won't be an issue.

Anyone hunt bear in the Steamboat Springs area in CO?

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