PASO ROBLES – The spring turkey season opened earlier this month under mostly wet conditions, especially along the Central Coast, across to the slopes of the western High Sierras and all over Northern California. Despite wet conditions afield, turkey hunters enjoyed good success and the over all adult population of gobblers remains in strong huntable numbers.
This WON senior hunting writer, was invited up to hunt a turkey opening week by master guide and outfitter Clayton Grant of Bitterwater Outfitters, hunt@bitterwateroutfitters.com, based out of Shandon. Grant has exclusive hunting leases on over 400,000 acres of prime ranch land along the Central Coast. I was hoping that if the hunt was successful in harvesting a gobbler, time would allow for an evening wild boar hunt.
Clayton suggested that I spend the night in Atascadero and meet him near the rural town of Santa Margarita at 5:00 AM. I opted to spend the night at Vino Inn, atascaderovinoinn.com, which would only be a 15-minute drive to the meeting place.
Bitterwater Outfitters senior guide Mike Renteria, was the first to meet up with me to do paperwork for the hunt. Grant pulled up a few minutes later and we all piled into his RAM 4X4 for the short drive to the ranch. It had rained a little that night and conditions afield were not ideal as the foot-high grass was wet. A shot gobbler can make a mess of its beautiful feathers, as it flops around on wet grass.
, and Bitterwater Outfitters would be a good guide to book a late season turkey hunt with, or better yet <em>WON</em> hunters might think seriously about a combo hunt.</p>
<p>In addition to turkey hunting, Bitterwater Outfitters offers guided hunts on private ranch land for Blacktail trophy deer, Tule elk, exotics, buffalo, Aoudad, varmints, and upland game birds. Hunters can also consider booking overnight stays at a cabin at ranch headquarters.</p>
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