Here’s a secret. Calhoun County is one of the best counties in the state to go turkey hunting. Calhoun has little pressure from out-of-county hunters. We have plenty of birds and good land for hunting.

Spring turkey season starts on Apr. 27 and runs until May 23. Turkey hunters need to be out of the field by 1 p.m. each day. The season limit is two gobblers. Any size beard is legal. A young gobbler is called a jake and his beard may be a few inches long. Your dominant gobblers will have beards of over 10 inches.

Most people “call” turkeys. Their are mouth, slate, box, and other friction calls. Another fruitful method is setting up on an old tom’s strut zone. These are places where a gobbler likes to strut his stuff, hoping to catch the attention of a young hen. Open flats adjacent to fields are often strut zones.

Be careful this turkey season. It is a good idea to have a piece of blaze orange on while walking in the woods. I usually have a cap that I can completely hide once I set up on a bird. Always identify your target. Remember, no turkey is worth your own life.

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As a side note, the big bass are biting. Below is a picture of a nice smallmouth from the Greenbrier River. It was released to swim another day.

Editor’s Note: Cory is the son of Ronzel and Karen Boothe of Russett. He is a 1996 graduate of Calhoun County High School and is a teacher at Meadow Bridge Elementary, Fayette County. He resides near Summersville.)