Did anyone score in Lincoln this spring?

[elkman54]

Just curious if anyone had any luck this spring in Lincoln

[Michelle_Nelson]

I live pretty close to Lincoln and I didn't hear of any Bears being killed.

[elkman54]

Does not surprise me as areas were relatively small and a lot of restrictions on hunt times.

[Michelle_Nelson]

Yes there was.  Not sure i am going to put in for that area next year.  Wish they would bring Capitol Forest back.

[bobcat]

I almost applied for Lincoln this year but instead applied only for a point. Next year I think I'll do the same. I've got enough points now I think I'm going to save them for an eastside spring bear hunt.

[Michelle_Nelson]

Those were my thoughts.

[elkman54]

There are animals in the unit, just to many restrictions to properly spend the time to find them.

[elkman54]

What would success rates be approximately if say they took 2 or 3 units (501, 672 & 673) and called it WS Spring Bear Area 6 for example. Kept the same number of permits say as they had for 501 this year, same road restrictions, same seasons, etc. etc.

[bobcat]

They need to have spring bear hunts in all those units you mentioned, and more. And rather than only having a portion of the GMU open, have the entire thing open. There is no reason the DNR land within the Lincoln unit couldn't have been part of the hunt. And I see no reason why they don't have permits for spring bear in just about every GMU in the state, where there are good numbers of bears. Even if they only allocate 5 permits for a unit, give out some. The WDFW is all about making money, so why don't they do this? I don't get it  Think of all the special permit applications they could sell at $6.00 a pop.

WDFW.... HELLO!?  Are you listening?

[elkman54]

I know the state is broke up into BMU's. If they again broke them into Spring Bear Areas (as in my hypothetical example) could and would the success rates be kept at the 12 - 15% rate that they are targeting? If so I think it could be a win - win situation for all.
    1. Larger areas = more hunter apps = more $$$
    2. Hunters will not have the high of drawing permit to then learning that they can only hunt after 3pm, access fees increased           from $25 to $100, etc. etc. (They will have more than 1 GMU to hunt in.) No unseen surprises.

The draw back is that these are damage hunts and if 2 or 3 GMU's are open in a Spring Bear Area the damage areas may get overlooked by hunters. (They should not be overlooked - indication of animals in the area - girdling.) But if they are then this prvides opportunities for houndsmen.

[grundy53]

Or just have a spring hunt  for a couple of weeks like back when they used to open the damage units in July

[STIKNSTRINGBOW]

I hunted hard, and should have connected.
Had one come in behind me close enough to scare the hell out of both of us.
pictures on my trail camera showed me I should have spent a little more time, and it would have happened.
Funny thing, on the last day, as I drove out I saw fresh peels alongside of 615 that were not there when I drove past a couple hours earlier.
It was just a matter of not being in the right place at the right time.
I will apply for it again next year, and also hunt it this August.
I want a chance at ...

[Skyvalhunter]

I heard about to guys that shot a couple big bruisers there.