Bear hunting in Maine

[Jeff505]

Bears are hard to judge by size, look for small ears and short legs. By comparison small bears have proportionaly large ears and long legs. Good luck.

 

[colorado]

@colorado - I agree there are occasional “monster” large Black bears in Adirondacks but NY does Not allow hunting with Bait and No Hounds can be used - success rates are very low and bears live longer and get to “grow older”. Most Guides in Maine make the $$ Money guiding Bear hunts….it is a very important industry and a Maine source of income for guides - likely brings in more revenue to Guides then deer/moose/& small game combined. Bears can be found in Maine (or any State they are native to) but the averages recorded each year by Maine Guides and Fish & Wildlife consistently report the average bear killed in Maine is 135 lbs. Also, very few Maine bear will make the B&C record books. I’ve read (not an expert) that because Maine is a colder climate the Bear hibernate weeks to months longer then in States like North Carolina or even PA and NJ - less time feeding & growing and more time in hibernation. That fact was also cited as a reason for Sows giving birth to more cubs in PA - averaging 3+ vs 2+ in Maine. I’m not a biologist, just a random hunter with some limited experience. From data I’ve read, North Carolina is producing the heaviest bears by far in the U.S and hunting near agricultural areas with hounds is producing real giants - actually look “too Fat”. Maine bear hunting is an industry in the North Woods and baiting is effective - most hunters shoot the first bear that shows up and most bears killed are 3 years old or younger. I think it’s a great State to hunt, nice people, real hunting traditions, and a very high bear population —- just a low percentage of Big 300lb+ bears.

Great points! Here's a picture of my son with a black bear he got (we hunted with dogs) in New Mexico, a state not know for really big bears. Not a monster but a solid black bear boar.

 

[Doubleplay]

@Doubleplay - did you have negative results on your bear Hunts in Maine? I know luck plays a big part in bear “size” and because of that I know many hunters that were disappointed ….but only 1-2 that failed to at least “see” a bear.
I’ve been on 6 Maine bear hunts (2/Hounds & 4 Bait) and hounds by far were the highest success rate — although bears were small and never treed/bayed one even near 200 lbs. For Me - I never got one over 200 lbs on a guided hunt but also Always saw bear, passed up several as they were under 150lbs. I think most Outfitters will show you bears over bait in August to mid September - that is usually prime season because they feed heavily then and none have entered hibernation yet. By the end of September it seems to become less consistent and regardless - as you point out - one over 150-200 pounds is a rarity and my guess would be less then one in five “scales” over 175lbs….but they are there and those are the photos every Guide puts in his brochure and website. As for the Food/accommodations - I never cared?? When a hunter tell me about the “great food” in Camp I assume he either eats poorly at home or there were No good bear around to talk about.
I think the OP has a great chance of seeing Bear and better than 50% at shooting a legal bear, as for “How Big”? That’s where the Luck factors in….

My wife and I have been on many black bear hunts and killed a couple,
We hunted in Maine and also in New Brunswick on bait and all we see was small bears that we passed and all the ones got killed were around 100lbs..
I would rather pay a little more and hunt Saskatchewan or Alberta to hunt bears where we both killed very nice bears.