Plenty of public land. I would think if farmers are having problems permission wouldn’t be an issue.

We were supposed to have moved to Lynchburg for my wife's job last year. Did not take long for her to recognize that company was rapidly unraveling. Moved her out there in January, moved her back in September. I'm so grateful that I didn't get the house sold ,as, she's been interviewed by fraud investigators due to the owners' shenanigans. A bullet was dodged.

But ! We loved the area ! Absolutely gorgeous and I loved seeing all the trucks with dog boxes. My kind of people. And I was really looking forward to the hunting opportunities, to include bears. Might go back to hunt. Breathtaking country.

[quoteVirginia, over the counter tags and they are everywhere in the southwest part of the state. Eric][/quote]

All true, I even have them on my own property every spring, but of course no spring season for bear here. The bigger problem is that there is no hunting over bait and the forest is thick.

I have hunted bear in Maine and in Idaho. It's a lot longer trip but I would recommend a spring hunt in northern Idaho. For many of the northern hunt areas you can get two OTC tags for about $84 total and there is a high percentage of color phase bears. Hunting over bait in Maine you will be in a tree overlooking a bait site a short distance away in thick, dark, conifer forest. There is no view and mosquitos abound (a Thermacell is a must have). The terrain and flora is much different in northern Idaho. It is still conifer forest but more mountainous and open and I don't remember any mosquitos. PM me if you would like to know the outfitter I used. He was recommended to me by a Trapperman member.

https://www.stonybrookoutfitters.com/

They have a lodge in Maine and in New Brunswick. I have hunted with them 4 times in Canada. Bob and his wife Jaye run a great operation. The Canada lodge is right on a beautiful lake with good fishing.


And to answer the NJ questions... tags are $2. It is a lottery, but there are always OTC available as we have a big allotment. It's the north western corner of the state... open for Archery for a week in October (3 days muzzleloader tacks on here), and shotgun for a week in December. Lots of BIG bears. They recently changed the baiting rules (distance) and that makes it... a little bit harder. Depending on where you are, it could be like shooting fish in a barrel. Be leary of outfitters, we have very few and not all are clean.

You can shoot two fall bears in Oregon for about $200 non-resident. No bait or hounds. Plenty of berry patches and old apple orchards though on public land and way too many bears.

Thanks for the replies, really good information here