KitsapCaller

Your area (Republic, Tonasket, Methow, and Sinlahekin) just received some favorable press from Washington Hunting & Fishing News about the turkeys in those areas. You' re about to receive an onslaught of turkey hunters this season due to the favorable press. Just thought you ' otta know.

invector10ga

all the turkeys on private land in the sinlahekin.. so it is a waste to go there.. i went there last year and hunted 10 days and did not see one turkey.. but i see them all the time around the lakes in october..

kirkl

That damn fishing and hunting news needs to keep there mouths shut, people do there homework on finding game and those jerks go and blab it all over the place then every tom dick and harry is hunting there cause they read it in the magazine, i emailed them and chewed them out, they didnt reply back to me. Just like over here in yakima, theres not alot of birds but there there if you know where to look then they go and paste where there seeing all the birds and info from the game warden then theres 1000 people there hunting cause of the info in the fishing and hunting news.

slee

Amen!!!! The same thing happened to me last year. Hunters in my spot was up probably 3X normal after it was blabbed in their magazine. People should get off their butts and do the homework. The year before, every spot that I found was listed in their magazine. I guess I do good recon work, but I did the map studying and phone calling for nothing. They gave it out for free.[:@]

invector10ga

those people for fishing and hunting news they need to keep there mouth shut and quit acting like yellow journalists.. they need to get off the couch and do the homework instead of going by word of mouth.. i agreee with kirkl

WANWTF

I guess I' m the only one who doesn' t mind the information. In fact, I do what I can to get information on where, how, and why to hunting. Knowing where the birds are is just a small portion of the hunt. Gettin' em' to come in for the shot is %99 of the game.

slee

WANWTF, I agree that it is good to help others out with tidbits of info on spots. You and I' ve had several conversations about the " where" part of the equation. I' ll tell anybody anything I know about an area, except where the birds are. My problem is the weekend warrior who doesn' t do any sort of searching for info. No map research, no phone calls to local WDFW officers, no contact with other area hunters, etc., etc. They show up to a spot that is listed in the magazine on opening morning, and educate every bird in the area to bad hunting practices. They don' t spend any time walking the area finding sign, trying to locate feeding areas, roosts, etc. In the end, they make it harder for everybody. I' ve spent the past 2 Sundays looking at turkey spots in the rain, hiking through 5 foot ferns to get to spots that looked promising. I spend hours looking at aerial photos and topo maps. I call anybody and everybody I can think of for leads, then I GO OUT and investigate what I' ve been told. When opening morning rolls around, I try to have a clue where the birds will be, where they are going, and where I need to set up to intercept. That hasn' t worked out so far, but that' s the plan. For the most part, people out here aren' t serious about it, and those who are have to work around them and their ineptness. I realize not everybody has the bug as bad as me, but there are some lazy hunters out there that make my season more difficult and I don' t like it. I hate that the magazines make it easier on them. Notice I said " easier" , not " easy" . You do still have to call ' em inside 35 yards and get a shot off. I' ll get off my soap box now.[>:]

kirkl

One thing also that would clear this up a little is if they would quit giving out a turkey tag with the small game license, those are the people that just cause they have the tag theyll go hunt the area they just read about in the fishing and hunting news. They need to make people buy it individually.

slee

You know Kirkl, I felt the same way you do about that until WANWTF brought up some interesting points. Those idiots that you and I get so irritated at would be out there whether the tag was included or not. They were there when the tag was extra, and they are still around when it is included. This state is blessed with an abundance of lazy idiots who like to go into the woods with guns or bows. Notice I didn' t say they go hunting. It is the same with deer or elk. You have idiots who go out knowing little to nothing about what they are hunting, just that they can kill one with a particular tag. I have NEVER seen as much road hunting as I have here in WA, and I have never seen guys in pickups with bows road hunting. It is a discrace, and I' m sure some of these same guys are out chasing turkeys too. Little to nothing can be done to keep idiot out of the woods. I don' t know if it' s that turkey hunting is so new that there are few mentors out there to show the rookies the ropes or what, but I don' t see it getting any better.

I' ll give you an example of the biggest idiot I' ve encountered while turkey hunting here in WA. A guy hears me calling from down the road. He comes walking across an old pit on the opposite side from where I have my lone hen decoy put out. This idiot is actually trying to walk across the edge of the small field, in the wide open, to stalk my hen. I yelled at him, and what does he do. Backs out of the field, goes up the road maybe 200 yards, and starts calling again. I wouldn' t even call it turkey calling. It sounded like a predator call, like something was dying a horrible death. In between his calls he would talk to his buddy on his walkie-talkie. I could hear his conversation, so you know any turkey in the area could too. My buddy from MS was hunting up the road about 1/4 mile, and could hear him so he came out. Needless to say this guy was referred to as Dumbass for the rest of the weekend by us Mississippi boys. The woods are full of these morons who don' t have a clue, and don' t want one, of how to hunt turkeys. This guy told us about an encounter he had opening weekend with a tom on the shoulder of the road, but he couldn' t get his gun out fast enough. It' s terrible. And the magazine people are helping these idiots ruin our hunt. Somebody hide this soapbox![>:]

Phish-On!

Its pretty much the same situation down in Oregon. The Oregon version tells the same sort of stories and unless you get there the night before - on opening day there isn' t a place to park near " the spot" . A real pain in the butt. I might be a beginner, but I did my homework. In the one place I hiked in to, there was a spur road right next to it that wasn' t on my map. I smelled cigarette smoke and heard at least 2 guys talking to each other as I was working my way toward a clearing. I backed out of there and got the hell out of the area! Talk about discouraging!

This year I have a different area planned - sure hope there isn' t mention of it in a magazine article!