Best time of day to see wildlife on a float trip?

[yyoo]

We're doing a 2-hour scenic float trip in Cooper Landing in mid July with Alaska Wildland Adventures. The offered times are 9:30a, 1:00p, and 5:00p. 5:00p works best for us, but I've been reading elsewhere that early in the day is best for viewing wildlife. So, is 5:00p too late in the day...to see bears at the riverside in particular? Would 1:00p be appreciably better? Unfortunately, 9:30a is out for us.

[eh2zed]

Generally speaking the earlier the better.

[mytime53]

Don't worry about it. 9:30 isn't early enough to make a difference. 1 is probably the worst time. Late day is good, too, and although 5 isn't really late enough to be good, if wildlife is what you want, it just might be your best bet of the three. At least it's just as good as the other two times.