There are lots of bears all over that region. Nothing quite like eagle cap wilderness... it's beautiful - and cold during that time of year. I generally hunt in the Snake river unit for spring bear as the chances to get tags every year are decent, but I do know there are lots of bears SW in Eagle cap.
As far as places to go... I'm thinking anything near Minam river or the south fork of the Imnaha would hold some nice numbers (and some trophy-class trout). I guess you're really just limited as to how far you want to hike in and pack a bear out : )
As far as it goes, just hunt along the streams (checking for signs is easy there), south facing slopes, and take careful watch of grass patches as they'll be there in Apr/May.
Watch the weather for sure as that's pretty high up in elevation, so you'll want to go towards the latter end of the season so the bears are active and some more of the snow is melted. The Enterprise ODFW office is great! Each year a few days before I go out I call them up and talk with a biologist about where the bears are and what they're doing. They're quite excellent and will guide you to success.
oh! and take a cougar tag - them big o' kitties are out there and killing too many elk : (
), I'm hoping you elk and deer hunters out there will guide me to where you've seen bears or reliable sign. Thanks a lot guys.
