Photo by Noppadol Paothong.

New England's black bears may be found and hunted from Maine's north woods to the Berkshires in Massachusetts. Bears are elusive prey that appear and disappear like ghosts. Most bears are shot at close range in thick cover, with average rifle opportunities under 75 yards and bow shots under 20 yards.

In the Northeast, black bear hunting seasons open as early as August and run into November. While still-hunting and baiting are popular methods where they are allowed, many hunters prefer the fast action and excitement that comes with hunting with hounds. In any case, hunters should keep in mind that a black bear's eyesight is only fair, but his hearing is better and his nose is keen.

Here's where to go to get nose-to-nose with a trophy bruin in Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.

MASSACHUSETTS
It may be surprising to learn that Massachusetts, one of the country's most densely populated states, holds a healthy and growing black bear population.

Jim Cardoza, a MassWildlife bear biologist, said hunters recorded 148 bruins in 2006. In fact, last year was the second-highest black bear harvest ever recorded in the state. In 2003, hunters shot 153 bears.

According to Cardoza, the rule of thumb for locating bears in Massachusetts is to hunt west of the Connecticut River.

"The central part of the state is good," he said, "but the western part is better."

Bear hotspots last year were Berkshire and Franklin counties with 76 and 32 bears taken, respectively. Bear statistics for other counties included Hampden at 17, Hampshire at 18 and 5 for Worcester -- the most central of all the counties cited.

Cardoza specifically recommended Berkshire and Hampden counties. Berkshire is tucked up in the state's northwesternmost corner, bordered on the north by Vermont and to the west by New York. This part of the Berkshires includes wildlife management zones 1, 2 and 3. There is a lot of land in these counties with many public hunting opportunities, including wildlife management areas and state parks.

Cardoza recommends getting off the beaten path and looking for woodland bears by finding stands of oak and beech. Look for signs of bears including tracks, scat piles and claw marks on trees.

Mount Greylock State Reservation in Berkshire County, near the state's northwest corner, offers 12,500 acres. There is, however, a three-quarter-mile restricted zone around the War Memorial Tower.

Mount Greylock is wild and rugged, but very accessible. The Appalachian Trail runs up the spine of Greylock and south toward Connecticut. The low-lying areas contain red oak, beech, birch, ash and maple, while the higher levels are dominated by fir and spruce.

To get there from the south, east or West, take Interstate Route 90 to Route 20 west to Route 7 north.

On Berkshire County's eastern edge is Franklin County.

To the north is the Vermont state border, and to the south is Hampshire County.

In Franklin County, biologist Cardoza recommend asking permission to hunt from one of many dairy farmers in the county. Bears can damage farmers' ripening corn in September, and many farmers are more than happy to allow hunters a chance at a bear.

For woodland bears in Franklin County, try the Kenneth Dubuque Memorial State Forest in the towns of Hawley, Plainfield and Savoy. This 7,882-acre parcel features hardwood and spruce-fir forest. The terrain is steep in some spots but flat in others, with many brooks running through the area.

From the east, take Route 2 to Route 8A south. Parking is available at King Corner Road and on Hallockville Road.

In Hampshire County, try Fox Den WMA. Fox Den is composed of a patchwork of 3,623 acres that is part of the larger Peru State Forest and Middlefield State Forest.

At Fox Den, expect hardwoods -- including beech, maple, birch and white ash -- scattered among the pines and hemlocks that make up most of the forest. Throughout are stream corridors and shaded ravines.

To get there from the east, take Route 143 west. Or from the south, take Route 112 north to Route 143.

Many secondary roads access Fox Den.

Massachusetts' bear season runs from Sept. 4 through 22, and then starts up again from Nov. 5 through 24 during the last part of archery deer season and prior to the firearms deer season.

Because the deer and bear seasons overlap, archery hunters have the unique opportunity to bag both a buck and a bear. Hunters may use a rifle, muzzleloader, bow or handgun during the September and November seasons. Only still-hunting and stand-hunting are allowed.

The bag limit is one bear per season. Bear permit applications are available at MassWildlife district offices or online. For more information, contact the MassWildlife office at (508) 792-7270, or you can log onto www.mass.gov/wildlife.com.

VERMONT
Vermont has one of the densest black bear populations in the country: about one bruin for every three square miles.

Some 323 bears were harvested in 2006, according to Scott Darling, a Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department wildlife biologist, down from the 2005 harvest of 447.

The reduction in hunter success last year can be attributed to the robust beechnut and acorn crops of 2006. With more food on the forest floor, bears did not roam as far and had less contact with hunters. Bears are reclusive creatures, and if food is plentiful, they will stay put.

The key to finding bears in large tracts of land is to find concentrated food sources in or near prime cover. Early in the fall, bears prefer berries, black cherries and standing corn. Later in the season, they'll feed on wild apples, beechnuts and acorns. To stalk bears in a stand of beechnut trees halfway up the side of a mountain is certainly a challenge, but it's also worth the effort.