BY JIM NIEMIEC
PASO ROBLES – Despite a lack of substantial rain for the southern part of the state (to date) the outlook for turkey hunting is good. Last year produced very good turkey hunting with lots of adult toms being harvested along the Central Coast, down into San Diego County and up along the western slopes of the High Sierra.
Western Outdoor News checked in with master guide Clayton Grant, owner/outfitter of Bitterwater Outfitters, 805- 610-4521, hunt@bitterwateroutfitters.com, based out of Shandon, located inland of the central coast.
“It is looking like this spring will offer up very good turkey hunting all along the central coast. The carry over of adult toms from the last couple of years has been strong and this spring should see a lot of 2- and 3-year-old toms harvested. There were lots of jakes mixed in with flocks of hens and jennies last year, and these young toms should be pretty easy to pattern and set up on in ground blinds among the ancient oaks of this region,” stated Grant.
Grant went on to add, “Conditions afield are prime after that timely rain that arrived in February. Most all stock ponds are nearly full, stream, creeks and seeps have plenty of water and wheat fields are really greening up. Our hog hunting guides report seeing large flocks of mixed birds on many ranches and there are at least a couple of cattle spreads that are showing groups of satellite toms off by themselves. The largest flock of turkey that I have personally spotted, while out on an afternoon hog hunt, was a group of some 60 mixed birds feeding around an oak grove that was just starting to sprout green leaves.”
WON asked Grant what about the odds of booking a combo turkey/wild hog hunt this spring. “I would think this would be a good spring to hunt both critters. The cover will be good for turkey hunts in the morning and up until shoot time ends a 5:00 PM. It should allow enough time to hunt a hog before dark, when days a longer. Bitterwater Outfitters has been successful in guiding clients booking two-day hunts for a variety of game.”
This WON senior hunting writer is often asked by novice turkey hunters, who will be heading out on their first spring turkey hunt, as what are the prospects for shooting a gobbler in this state. My answer would be…Book a guided turkey hunt. The odds of a new hunter, who opts to hunt public lands for their quest for a gobbler, are facing extreme odds at harvesting a tom, while spending a lot of time driving miles scouting, paying for gas, food and often lodging, with prospects of getting a shot at a gobbler being less than 10%. Hunters who opt to book a guide will most likely see 100% success and enjoy a very good hunting experience. Many outfitters offer deluxe hunting packages that can include lodging and meals. Booking a guided hunt also means that a hunter will be hunting on a private ranch or farm land, which greatly enhances the odds of killing a mature long-beard.
This turkey hunter is currently on my second quest to harvest another Grand Slam on North American turkeys. Having already killed a big Merriam’s gobbler on the Tejon Ranch and a huge Gould’s tom while on a hunt this past spring with Erwin’s Outdoor down in Sonora, Mexico. This spring well find me hunting my Rio Grande with Grant. The last two gobblers will be the Eastern and Osceola of Florida, both of which will not only be difficult to hunt, but also expensive birds due to travel distances required to hunt these two species and the cost of booking a guided hunt with a local outfitter. This turkey hunter will likely opt out of heading down into the jungles of Yucatan to hunt the beautiful Oscillated turkey that would complete a World Slam.
The choice of shotgun and shotshell ammo when on a turkey hunt offers a very large selection to choose from. While this hunting writer has shot a gobbler with a 20-gauge shotgun and #6 shot in the past, my choice for this spring turkey hunt will be to shoulder my 12 gauge Benelli M2 auto-loader, fitted with a full-choke and loaded up with Federal Tungsten ammo.
One important turkey hunting product that deserves attention are turkey decoys. Just about every hunter or guide has their own ideas of choice of decoys. Some turkey hunters will always opt for a sitting hen and strutting tom set up, others will just place a tom or jake decoy out on an open field, while other might put out a mix of three decoys. There are a lot of decoy manufactures that produce great looking decoys. This hunter has hunted over all kinds of decoy spreads for the past half-century and my best advice, based on years of successful turkey hunting, is to set out a feeding hen and lone gobbler. A laying hen can also be used and the gobbler should have adaptation for a real turkey fan.
One of the newest techniques being used today by turkey hunters, especially with call shy or hung-up gobblers, is to stalk and sneak up on a tom using a lightweight fanned out turkey decoy. This style of hunt traditionally requires a long crawl to get within shotgun range and this hunt is not easily accomplished. On a spring gobbler hunt in tall grass with Camp 5 Outfitters, this shooter was able to sneak up on a pair of toms to within 20 feet of the birds, only to find out they were both jakes. Passed on a shot, but later crawled in high grass to shoot a 11-inch bearded gobbler.
