Most white oaks have had two years to build up reserves and should be in good shape to produce a bumper crop. Red oaks, on the other hand, are a little different. Their acorns are actually formed the year before they mature. The tiny, immature acorns from last spring would be the ones that normally would mature this summer and drop this fall. The problem is those immature acorns developed during the drought of last summer. Many red oaks aborted those acorns last summer and will not produce this year. But that may not be important if we indeed have a bumper crop of white oak acorns and hickory nuts.

The situation with hickory nuts is also looking very good. Conditions were excellent during the flowering time and there was adequate soil moisture during the time when these oil-rich, nutritious nuts mature.

Of course, there is a downside to abundant hard mast. Specifically, when there is food everywhere, it is more difficult to pin a bear down to an exact location for still-hunting. When there is plenty of food everywhere a bear goes, he is more likely to feed in one place for a few days, and then move on to another.

On a practical level, that means the key for still-hunters this year is going to be to stay on top of your scouting. In other words, make sure the sign is still hot right before opening day. The other problem with abundant mast is that bears may not feed as much during daylight hours. They tend to get sufficient calories during their nocturnal ramblings and just lie up in a thicket during the day. The remedy for this is persistence. Be there at first light and stay late, both morning and evening. It may take more than one sit to score this year. For dog hunters, the acorn situation is not nearly as critical. If there are plenty of bears and plenty of acorns, the dogs will sort it out.

That brings up the question of whether we will have "plenty of bears" to hunt this year. Well, based on the number of sightings and reports of nuisance bears this spring, it looks like we are going to be covered up with bears this season. And there appears to be quite a number of young bears out there. Overall, this year's bear season has all the earmarks of being a year to remember. Time will tell.

Here are two tips for planning your hunt. First, decide early on which area you want to hunt. Look for areas near water with a stand of mature white oaks. The rule I have used for more than 20 years is this -- if you find white oak acorns in the mountains and no sign that a bear is using them, you are in the wrong place. Go somewhere else.

Next, don't be duped by an abundance of old bear sign. If you do not find bear scat that is soft and yellow or light brown, what you've found is not a place to hunt, but rather a place where the bears used to be. Keep scouting until you find rock-solid evidence that a bear is feeding in there on a daily basis.