Scouting help

[ohihunter2018]

I live in NE Ohio and have tried hunting turkey on public land in central Ohio that has hardwoods and rolling hills to no avail. I can get several to gobble back just by yelping on a box call but never see them and it seems everything goes quiet after a couple gobbles. I've tried scouting the areas to try and get closer but it seems they don't leave as much sign as deer so it's a struggle to find their area. It also seems everyone and their brother goes out blowing owl and crow calls and yelping from the truck. I've also got flat farmland areas I can hunt but it seems the turkey are far and few between. Sometimes we see them but it's not consistent and it's only 1-3 birds. I'm talking small patches of woods surrounded by fields. Any advice is welcome. I would like to take a few weekend trips to the public state forest and hunt. The forest has a lot of pine and oaks if that matters.

[Bowguy]

I bet they're seeing you. Find them audibly from afar preseason. Watch w binoculars for patterns than opening day go set up. Get multiple locations. When you do go in use no light and super early if you think you'll spook em. Even if you don't go early enough. Remember they don't wake up screaming gobbles. Their head is up often a long time earlier

[ohihunter2018]

Should I stay on top of the hills or in the hollers?

[Bowguy]

You mean to listen or when hunting? Scouting/listening get a high vantage point. You can hear better but don't get near the birds. After you consistently locate them and it's too early now to pin point them long range watching will tell you where they're going

[GobbleNut]

Find them audibly from afar preseason.

This point cannot be overemphasized!  Hunting spring gobblers is as much about using your ears as it is using your eyes.  Knowing when the gobblers in your area start to reliably gobble in the springtime, and then focusing your preseason scouting during that time is critical. Your primary focus should be locating as many gobblers as you can by being out in the areas you are going to hunt at first (and perhaps, last) light listening for gobbles. 

As for those other guys that you see that are apparently using locator calls,...they may or may not know what they are doing, depending on how and when they are going about it.  Locator call use can be a great benefit to you,...if you learn when and how to go about using them.   

[EastKyGobblerSlayer]

I think as stated you should be focused on where there are gobblers in the weeks before season. The field birds that are visible may provide a chance to observe patterns but for the most part in the woods youll have to use your ears. I focus on the general area in pre season, use your phone to place pins on a satellite map where the birds are gobbling from at daybreak. If you notice one bird is reliably in the same place thats where I would start hunting. Turkeys are as different as people with all the frustration and quirks that come with trying to figure them both out. If you can set up inside 100yrds of a location that birds are roosting and sit still you're on the right track. There are no definite answers but youll learn to decipher some. After seasons began it gets alot harder as birds get bumped or killed but dont get frustrated and quit, just being in the woods when other folks start to thin out can be all the luck you need.

[shaman]

Should I stay on top of the hills or in the hollers?

Me?  I'd stay on top.   I spent the first few years on my place starting down in the bottoms every morning and I found myself chasing the birds up the hill.

Finally, one year, I fell on ice before season, and started getting pains in my chest.  It turned out to be a just a rib that was trying to heal, but I made me worry about getting out of the hollers.  I started up on top and filled both my tags in a few days.  Around my place (NE KY) the mornings are cold and damp down in the hollers. The turkeys don't like it any more than you do.

If you're in NE Ohio, it is still bloody cold at the start of season.  If its sunny, the turkeys probably do what they do around me:  find a sunny open hillside well after the sun comes up and go hang out in the sun to warm up.  Be there well ahead of time, and you've got 'em.

[avidnwoutdoorsman]

Should I stay on top of the hills or in the hollers?

Me?  I'd stay on top.   I spent the first few years on my place starting down in the bottoms every morning and I found myself chasing the birds up the hill.

Finally, one year, I fell on ice before season, and started getting pains in my chest.  It turned out to be a just a rib that was trying to heal, but I made me worry about getting out of the hollers.  I started up on top and filled both my tags in a few days.  Around my place (NE KY) the mornings are cold and damp down in the hollers. The turkeys don't like it any more than you do.

If you're in NE Ohio, it is still bloody cold at the start of season.  If its sunny, the turkeys probably do what they do around me:  find a sunny open hillside well after the sun comes up and go hang out in the sun to warm up.  Be there well ahead of time, and you've got 'em.

What he said!

You can hear better when you are on the top and you can make a quicker move to get in front of the bird.

[GobbleNut]

I agree with the idea that you are generally going to be better off staying up high to listen for gobbling and having the ability to move in more easily on any gobbler heard.  The exception to this is if you are hunting in windy conditions such that being up high makes it difficult to hear gobbling well. 

In mountainous country, if the winds are too high, it is sometimes better to drop off into the canyons/bottoms where you can hear better.  If conditions are calm, better to stay high up as a general rule. 

[Tom007]

Should I stay on top of the hills or in the hollers?

I hunt the big woods gobblers in NJ, NY, and PA. The turkeys here roost just off the sides of our ridges. A huge thing I learned years ago, the turkeys will always be on the southern side of all our ridges due to the southern exposure. The first under growth in the spring hits these ridges when the snow melts. Ohio has very similar winters, so it's probably true on your ridges too. Hope this helps...