Thoughts and opinions please.

[Thehumboldthunter]

Hello new hunter here looking for someone to pick over my plans. It will be my second spring season and I hunt in Northern California. After bagging a Jake last year I'm itching to get back out there. Turkeys are still pretty new where I hunt only establishing 15-20 years ago. So  they're pretty sparse on the landscape, and i have a very large area i can cover.I hunt mostly coastal mountain river valley slopes where the seem to prefer roosts low on the slopes when I've found them.

Last season my brother and I managed through some beginner luck to find a couple roosting areas that a good number of birds regularly use.It all borders private land, mostly pot farms, which the birds seemed to travel into for breeding. My plan is to set myself low on the slopes and try to cut them off in the morning. We never got this to work last year mostly due to getting in while it was too light out and bumping roosted birds.
Right around now I'm planning on getting some scouting in pre season. I saw birds in the area in December during fall season so I think it will still be a good area for gobblers this spring too. So here's  a thought I've had, I can only really get out scouting 3 or 4 days. Where I hunt is a 2 hour drive and gas is outrageous.  I feel that it would be best to barely scout this area I hunted last year so as not to spook birds. I was thinking maybe one morning just to listen for gobbles then no more.
I think I'll take my other scout days to check out another area about 5 miles away I've seen hens in during the spring/summer but never heard or saw gobblers . I want to canvas that area extensively for fresh tom sign on foot and maybe place a couple cams I have. I think having 2 populations to hunt would be better, but I wonder if it wouldn't be wiser to focus on my spot I know and really hammer our regular roosts and routes used so I can hunt there more effectively. Any thoughts?

[deerhunt1988]

I just watched Murder Mountain and wondered how many turkeys there were in the area. 

[Greg Massey]

One of the best ways to learn about turkey hunting is learning from mistakes. Just say at it and learn as much as you can and you will be successful. Practice with your calls and boot's on the ground. It takes time in the field or woods to understand turkey behavior. As most of us veteran hunters will tell you, we are still learning how to kill these gobblers.

[Dtrkyman]

Stay high use glass and ears to locate birds...would not hurt to check your flick from last year.

Lots of mountain Turkey completely change areas year to year!

I would suggest at least getting on their level or above them to call them, unless scouting has them headed lower.


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[Paulmyr]

The search for gobblers to hunt is a never ending process. When the season comes around I'll keep an eye on spots and birds I've already located but the the process of finding new birds never stops for me until the season is over and most likely not even then..

Edit: I'd like to add. Most days turkey hunting for me usually end with plan C,D and beyond. Those plans usually haven't been formed going into the day.

[WV Flopper]

Stay high use glass... would not hurt to check your flick from last year.

Stay close to the pot farms... Sorry, couldn't help myself.

Stay after them, and good luck.

[Crghss]

Seems a reasonable plan. Find where they roast and stay above them.

[GobbleNut]

Simply put, if you only have a few days to scout, do it as close to the start of your season as you can, and spend as much time listening at first light (and perhaps last light) from the perimeters of the areas you are trying to locate turkeys.  Your most valuable asset in finding turkeys to hunt will be your ears.  If they are there, you will most likely hear them.   

[ChesterCopperpot]

Simply put, if you only have a few days to scout, do it as close to the start of your season as you can, and spend as much time listening at first light (and perhaps last light) from the perimeters of the areas you are trying to locate turkeys.  Your most valuable asset in finding turkeys to hunt will be your ears.  If they are there, you will most likely hear them.   

I agree with this 100%. Unless your primary objective is familiarizing yourself with terrain—in which case, go walk both places extensively—scout as close to go time as possible. There's a whole, whole lot of shifts about to take place and where they are now might not have much to do at all with where they are opening day.


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[Tail Feathers]

THH, your plan is pretty good.  Odds are the birds will be in the same area you found them last year.  Verify that on a scouting trip and the expand your search and try to locate other birds.

[GobbleNut]

expand your search and try to locate other birds.

This is becoming increasingly important year after year as more and more people are taking up spring gobbler hunting.  Anymore, if you are hunting public land, you need to have multiple options on where to hunt.  Odds are, if you only rely on a single, or maybe even a few, places to hunt, you are one day going to have company when you get there...and company in spring gobbler hunting ain't good! 

[Paulmyr]

expand your search and try to locate other birds.

This is becoming increasingly important year after year as more and more people are taking up spring gobbler hunting.  Anymore, if you are hunting public land, you need to have multiple options on where to hunt.  Odds are, if you only rely on a single, or maybe even a few, places to hunt, you are one day going to have company when you get there...and company in spring gobbler hunting ain't good!

Company is not good. There will also be times when your sitting on that ridge top and...........nothing. The day before the trees were shaking from all the gobbling. Today it's quiet. It's like they all left.