This outfitter has been in business for over 20 years and has been featured numerous times on big name TV hunting shows. He’s a long established and capable outfitter. We have worked with him on his bear hunts for a number of years. His operation is on the lower end of the price range, especially if you consider that spring hunts allow you 2 bears with no extra charge for the second bear. Many bear hunts being more like $4500 plus a $1000 or more for a second bear. He keeps the price reasonable, but do not expect all the bells and whistles. Food and lodging here is adequate and success is good and the price is great! If you want luxury or more amenities, please let us know as we have many choices to assist you with. These hunts are a solid value with very good success at reasonable prices. Nothing fancy. He also has a one bear area, and we hunted that in May of 2022 with Butch’s wife Joan, taking a gorgeous blonde phase with brown legs and a big chest blaze. And we saw elk and deer literally by the dozens daily. And plenty of turkey to hunt in the mornings.
The outfitter hunts along the Lochsa River out of either a base camp with a series of basic cabins and a comfortable but not fancy base lodge; or you can do a second option of a tented wilderness hunt for 2 bears from tent outposts. He has a third hunt out of one of his two private land ranches, from lodges (again, nothing fancy), which has a one-bear limit with up to two turkeys. Spring hunts take place between mid-May and late June.
Like most baited black bear hunts, you only hunt in the afternoon, since this is when about 90% of the bear activity happens on the baits. They have tree stands and ground blinds set up weeks in advance so the bears have time to get used to the bait area, making them more likely to come in during the daylight hours. They normally establish each bait for well over a week before anyone hunts over it, in order to ensure the best chance possible at a nice mature bear. To access the baits, they use vehicles, on foot, horseback, and even rafting across the river to reach many never before baited spots. This is an any-weapon hunt, so one bear can be taken with a rifle and next with a bow, or even a pistol. On occasion they will do a mid-day hillside hunt to watch some open canyons that bears may be using to do some grazing earlier in the day. They also shoot 1 or 2 wolves most years, usually over a bear bait.
PLEASE NOTE THE WILDERNESS TENT CAMPS DO INVOLVE THE USE OF HORSES AND ARE MORE PHYSICALLY CHALLENGING THAN THEIR OTHER BEAR HUNTS. Most spring non-wilderness private land hunts do not require horses. He also has a fall hunt which offers spot and stalk and hounds as a backup – ask for that separate writeup.
BASE CAMP LODGE OR WILDERNESS TENT CAMP (UNIT 12)
The Lochsa River area they hunt is a wilderness area that has become overrun with bears and Idaho Game and Fish is allowing two bears to be harvested in the spring. They are almost giving the bear tags away at about $31.75 per tag. The hunt is over bait and is easily accessible via a long day’s drive from much of the US and the west coast. Hunting takes place in the Selway-Bitterroot country of central Idaho. There’s fishing nearby, too. All hunts are fully guided. Stay at the remote base camp cabins, or ride horseback a reasonable distance into the wilderness tent camps. You can use bow or rifle or pistol.
OUTFITTER SAYS:
“We have treestands and ground blinds set up weeks in advance so the bears have time to get used to the bait area, making them more likely to come in during the daylight hours. We establish each bait for well over a week before we ever have anyone hunt over it, in order to ensure the best chance at a nice mature bear. To access the baits, they use vehicles, on foot, horseback, and also raft across the river to reach many never-before baited spots.
This is an any-weapon hunt, so one bear can be taken with a rifle and one with a bow, or even a pistol. On occasion we will do a mid-day hillside hunt to watch some open canyons that bears may be using to do some grazing earlier in the day.
We do very well on this hunt at around 90% success, with opportunity easily reaching 100% annually. Bears on this hunt average from 5’10” to 6’6” in length, we will take some each year getting up to 7 feet long, with our largest being 8 feet. The bears this time of year tend to weigh in around 200-300 pounds. We also average about 50% on color phase bears. This hunt is 5 days and includes all lodging and meals.”
Base Camp Wilderness Hunts: We have sent many clients on these Lochsa River area hunts. On these base camp hunts, you hunt afternoons over bait. Because you don’t get back to camp before 9 or 10 at night, morning is used to rest or maybe go fishing. The outfitter uses horses or 4WD vehicles to reach the bear hunting areas. Normally you stay in the cabins and eat at the lodge if you are hunting from the river location. This base camp is modern with a house with bedrooms for twin beds, full kitchen and living room TV and showers. You drive a paved road to camp.
SPRING BASE CAMP TWO BEAR HUNT – $4,000 (all prices subject to change without notice). Observers $750.
2023 DATES: Late May to Early June. These are Monday-Friday hunts, but you can go forward or back a day or so if needed.
WILDERNESS CAMP HUNTS – JUNE This differs from the base camp hunt. The outfitter utilizes classic, comfortable wall tents. Hunting is over well-maintained baits in the Selway-Bitterroot wilderness area. It’s a short two-hour horseback ride to camp. Outfitter states that this area is so vast and has such a high bear population that you have an opportunity to be able to take two bears in this unit. Some hunters have even taken two bears in the same evening.
A typical day involves a hunt in the afternoon with pick up sometime after dark depending on whether other hunters have bears down. You return to camp, have dinner, sack out and sleep late. Wake up, have a late breakfast and a late lunch before heading back to the stand. Stands are both ground blinds and elevated stands, depending on the bait location and choice of weapon (bow or gun). Taking two good bears is not a common event, but it happens every year to fortunate hunters. Most clients will get a chance at least at one bear, however. Consider the second bear a bonus and, besides, who wants to sit in camp?!
2023 DATES: These are Monday-Friday hunts, but you can go forward or back a day or so if needed.
WILDERNESS SPRING TWO BEAR HUNT – $4,000. Observers $750.
• Two bears per hunter
• Hunt is over bait stands in evening (returning to camp after 9 or 10 pm)
• Low-country cabin accommodations or wall tents (wilderness hunts)
• Fully guided with two hunters per guide
• Meals and lodging furnished (bring a sleeping bag and a pad for cot)
• Color phase bears available
• Hunter safety required if born after Jan. 1, 1975
• Trout fishing in the river, if not flooding
TRAVEL DATES (straight from the outfitter):
Private Ranch bear/turkey – arrive the night before hunt (eg. May 10-14 hunt would arrive the 9th)
Wilderness lodge hunts – arrive the morning of the hunt (eg. May 10-14 hunt would arrive the 10th)
Wilderness pack in hunts – arrive the night before hunt (eg. June 10-14 hunt would arrive the 9th)
Fall bear hunts – arrive the night before (eg. Sept. 10-14 hunt would arrive the 9th)
Hope this makes sense. The reason they do this is because on the wilderness hunts you don’t go out until the afternoon anyway so if you make it by noon that first day, you’re good. On the pack in hunts you need to get going early that first morning to pack in, so you need that time to get ready. For the private land bear/turkey hunts, you go out early in the morning for turkeys, so hunters want to be there the night before. Morning means up around 4AM for turkey! Return about 10 for breakfast, rest and leave around 1PM and sit until dark (almost 9PM). On the fall hunts they want you the night before because you hunt with hounds, so need to go out early in the morning.
TRAVEL: If you are flying, you can fly into Missoula, Montana, rent a vehicle and drive 2-½ hours, or fly to Spokane which requires a 4 ½-hour drive. You can typically secure better fares by flying into Spokane. You are heading for an area about 40 miles north of Riggins. You can fly to Lewiston (closest); Spokane (1 hr. 45 min. drive to camp); Missoula (2 hours); or Boise (2 hours). Then rent a car. Check around for best airfares.
THIRD TYPE OF HUNT – PRIVATE LAND: (UNITS 13 & 14) (Two camps: Joseph or Whitebird)
PRIVATE LAND SPRING BEAR/TURKEY COMBO HUNT – $4,000. Observers $750
This is a great hunt as well. Over the years during elk season, they noticed the large number of bears on their two ranches, so about 10 years ago they started putting out some bear baits in the spring and it was a huge success. This led to a spring ranch bear hunt; this is a one-bear area and is a combo with up to 2 turkey tags. This hunt takes place in north-central Idaho on both their ranches in units 13 and 14; one camp can accommodate 4 hunters at a time and the other can accommodate 6.
Hunt Nation founders Butch and Joan Manasse and son Ed Manasse, who is President of this company, just did this hunt in May of 2022. The scenery as you climb the dirt road switchbacks will take your breath away. We consider this private land area to be one of the most game rich areas we have ever seen, and we have seen plenty! We saw dozens of elk daily, same for whitetails and many Merriam’s turkey too. Everyone in camp had a chance at a bear, but weather was cold and damp and slowed bear movement. One gal took a 7’4” monster! Joan got a blonde with chocolate legs and head and a giant white patch. The Snake and Salmon rivers are also nearby.
Access to the baits is fairly easy, usually drive right up to them by 4-wheeler. This is an any-weapon hunt, so do archery, rifle or even pistol. As for success on the bear hunts, they do very well, around 95% success on this hunt, with opportunity reaching 100% most years. Average bears are from 5’10” to 6’6”, with some going 7 foot and larger. They also average about 50% on color phase bears. They range from dark chocolate brown to cinnamon, blonde, and red.
This hunt is 5 days and includes all lodging and meals. You usually bear hunt only in the evenings and then turkey hunt in the mornings when the birds are coming off of roost, generally on your own because the guides are checking baits that time of day. In the evenings, they listen and can easily locate the birds so they can get you setup in the right place for the morning. There are lots of turkeys on the ranch (Merriam’s) and they rarely have trouble getting our clients at least one turkey during this hunt. You normally will need a SLEEPING BAG! Bear movement can be restricted by weather. You must be prepared to wait hours on stand. Or a bear can show up in 30 minutes or 7 hours later! Wear plenty of clothing- it can get cold.
5-DAY SPRING LODGE BEAR/TURKEY COMBO HUNT. 2×1, but you can book solo.
Any weapon, 1 bear, baited hunt & up to 2 turkeys (tags not incl.) $4000. Observers $750.
FOURTH TYPE OF HUNT – 2023 PRIVATE LAND FALL HOUND HUNT/SPOT & STALK HUNT $4,000 (UNIT 14). Observers $750.
They offer a very unique bear hunting experience with their fall hound/spot & stalk hunt located along the Salmon River breaks at their Whitebird and Joseph camps. The Joseph camp hunts about 40,000 acres over 2 different ranches, while the Whitebird camp entails a ranch of about 15,000 acres, but most of the bear hunting is done on the massive (approx. 100 sq. miles) National Forest land that is adjacent to the ranch. During the month of September, the areas here hold thousands of wild plum trees which fill every canyon on the ranches with some of the tastiest wild fruit around. Bears come from the surroundings mountains down to the ranch in order to fatten up for the winter.
Butch and Joan also did the fall spot & stalk bear hunt several times at this location, and saw 12 (Butch) to 26 bears (Joan) in 5 days. If interested, ask for the writeup on that hunt.
You will go out in the morning and try to catch a bear with the hounds. Hounds make for some very exciting hunts and tend to be very successful with the heavy bear population on the properties. This hunt can be done by using any weapon you choose, could be rifle, bow, or even pistol. Then in the evenings, you will sit out on the hillsides and glass for bears walking into the plum thickets. The hillside hunts usually produce shots in the 200-400 yard range, so it’s strictly a rifle hunt. You hunt hillsides over canyons filled with the large wild plum orchards, which the bears come down to in the evenings. You will watch the bears cross the hillsides in search of the ripest fruit available, and then try to get within shooting range.
Outfitter says you usually see around 95% opportunity on this hunt, with about a 90% success. The color phase on this hunt is about 60%, running from dark chocolate brown to cinnamon, blonde, and red. Average bears are from 5’10” to 6’6”, with some going 7 foot and larger. The bears also tend to be fatter this time of year, pushing them up into the 300-350 pound range, with some getting up to 400+ pounds. This hunt is 5 days and all lodging and meals are included.
NOT INCLUDED IN ANY HUNTS:
Idaho Sales Tax 6% and Forest Service Tax 3%
Non-Resident License: $154.75
Bear Tag: $186.00
Backcountry Bear Tag: $31.75 (2 bear hunt only; you need two tags)
Observers are $750 on 5 day hunts; $1050 on 7 day hunts.
CLIENT REPORTS:
“I did see a couple of bears, one really, really big one! But I did not attempt the archery shot. The weather was really cold and rainy the first three days of the hunt, which did not help us at all. Overall though, the country was AMAZINGLY beautiful, the lodge and the food were great, and the guides and the cooks were second to none! I truly had one of the best weeks of my life. I’m not disappointed in the least that I didn’t shoot a bear. The experience was wonderful! Thank you for setting me up on another awesome hunt. I’m really looking forward to the archery antelope hunt coming up in September.” – Bob
“Butch- Thank you for sending me on this bear hunt. It exceeded every single expectation I had. If I could change anything, I would not!! My 73-yr old Dad took a great bear with a nice white V on its chest. I saw blonde bears, cinnamon bears, chocolate bears, but not a single black one!! Unbelievable. My guide was superb, everyone was friendly, helpful and worked long and hard. The best hunt-Thanks!” – Mike M.
“My own first bear hunt was with this long time outfitter, although Hunt Nation has worked with them for years. I found the guides and camp folks to be uniformly personable and very willing to go the extra mile. There were 4 of us in camp. Two of us killed, and one guy wounded one that was not recovered. The fourth guy left early. I saw two bears and took a very nice blackie, and saw another. I had a ball!” – Adam. M.
FISHING TOO!
We also work with a terrific fishing outfitter in the area (Idaho #176) that offers a variety of year-round fishing opportunities in both Idaho and nearby Washington. In spring, they offer trips for walleye, sturgeon, steelhead and smallmouth bass. In fall, they offer trips for walleye, sturgeon, smallmouth bass, steelhead and salmon. Prices are approx. $250/day per person, and all tackle is provided. This is a great add-on to a bear hunt! Just ask us for info.
