TOPIC: 'Sang Expo next month here in NC. Y'all come now, hear?

Tell ya what Hugh, if you come on down and help me plant this thirty some odd pound of seed i have, then, ill help you finish yours up. Deal? Lol

Hillhopper

Hill,
That sounds interesting. I may take you up on that. I'm sure that I could learn a lot and I'm always interested in learning new techniques from new sources.
Hugh

Hugh,
Bear hunters huh? This is off topic I guess but what does it cost for a bear hunt?Iv always wanted to go on one.

Hillhopper

Hill,
The regular hunting/fishing license is $28.00 and a Big Game Stamp is $28.00. That is the total cost. I pass right through them every time I'm out planting. You do have to have a hunters orange vest and cap. Bass Pro has a set that only cost about $9.00 if you need that. The season will end on the 23rd. of December. I have my Yellow Lab that always goes with me. I don't mind him chasing them, but I don't want him fighting one. I leave that part to the Blue Ticks and Red Bones. It makes planting ginseng very interesting.
Hugh

I just assumed there was a special stamp for bear. That's cheaper than I thought. Naturally I don't know anyone up there to do that with but could you recommend someone.

Thanks
Hillhopper

Hill,
I'm going to speak on the serious side for a minute since some of what I've been saying is \"for a little bit of fun.\" I'm sure that getting off on Bear Hunting sounds like it could be \"Off Topic' to some when the discussion has been about ginseng in this thread.
Actually the bear hunting thoughts go hand in hand with ginseng in East Tn. Both items have been long time hunting traditions here in Tennessee and a source of food and money. Right now today, the selling of bear parts is almost identical to selling ginseng because both things are shipped to the Orient and they are both sold as aphrodisiacs to the Aisan population. Bear Gall Bladders and other internal parts bring as much as $5000.00 each on those lucrative markets. If you have grown up in this enviornment as I did you can bareley distinguish one from the other.
Now back to your question about the cost of a guided trip for bear hunting. I looked at a couple of websites and the cost for a guide ranged from $275.00 - $500.00 per day. I won't link any sites. What I was actually talking about from my perspective was to just invite you up for a day and plant some seng and show you some of the bear hunting that is going on. I stop and talk to some of the guys from time to time because they are parked along the road where I drive to get to my spots. They usually have some dogs running off in the distance and they listen from up on the mountain until they \"tree or bay\" the bear. The dogs may run for 2 days before this happens. It is usually a long rough walk to get to them and I go on about my business at some point. Any way, if you decide to get out one day, let me know.
Hugh