HUNTING
‘Exceptionally Good’ Spring Turkey Forecast Washington, Oregon gobbler biologists offer their takes on this season’s prospects. By MD Johnson
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he falls on a Friday this year, April 15 does. What’s that, you say? What’s the significance of April 15? Well, sir and/or madam, I reckon that ranks right up there with asking the relevance of December 25 … or October 31 … or June 23. OK, so that last one’s my birthday, which you probably didn’t know, but 12/25 and 10/31? Yeah, you should know those. This year, spring turkey season opens in both Washington and Oregon on – that’s correct, sir – April 15, as it’s done for more than a few seasons now. So by the time you’re reading this, you should have your preseason scouting complete, shotgun tuned, camouflage readied, vest packed – and emptied – and repacked, decoys cleaned, licenses pocketed, truck maintained, work notified of your impending illness. Hell, when we lived in Iowa, I’d know what tree I was going to sit on come opening morning a month out. Not a general area or grove of trees, but the tree. Yeah, it was that bad. Part of this preparedness equation each year is, thanks to the good people at Northwest Sportsman, a discussion with the local authorities – that is, biologists and folks who genuinely know an awful lot about turkeys and turkey hunting – about what y’all might expect to find once you head afield on the morning of April
Prospects look good for spring turkey hunting across the Northwest. Samantha Gaudette bagged this beautiful gobbler “first thing in the morning” last season. (COAST HUNTING PHOTO CONTEST) nwsportsmanmag.com | APRIL 2022
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