This year I decided to do a second turkey camp in Southern Oregon to get some more turkey meat in the freezer, to get a few more Rios and to check out the Rogue Valley. I had kind of wanted to do the West Coast Turkey Tour and fit in California but didn’t pull it off this year, maybe next year I’ll go for all three. I had debated on wether or not to tow the trailer or tent camp but decided the trailer would be way more comfy so did the long tow down on Monday and set up camp in Gold Hill, very close to some of the turkey spots we were going to hit.
As in all turkey hunting morning comes way too soon and I was up at 3 grabbing coffee and some breakfast to meet up at 4 am to head out hunting. We drove out of town into the mountains and finally pulled up to a ranch a little before daybreak. We hiked in and set up at the edge of a small meadow where we hoped birds would come in to strut. Soon we were surrounded by gobbling and the hope that this hunt would not last too long. Like all plans with turkey hunting this one did not work out as planned. Once the birds left the roost they mostly got quiet or the ones that we heard gobbling were on the neighbor’s property just down from the meadow and they would not come up. Several hours after fly down and calling we decided to make a move and try to get closer to the edge of the meadow in hopes a bird would at least come off the neighbor’s property. Then, of course, we noticed that a hen and Tom had gotten in back of us. Rich noticed the Tom at 40 yards but I couldn’t see it due to a branch so never had a shot. We tried a bit to see if we could get them to come out of the thick woods but they had made us and wanted nothing to do with that.
We hunted around the property and at one point found a hen that was within range a few times but she had no Tom with her and we didn’t see another gobbler until we got on the road and then saw several in properties we couldn’t hunt. We hit a few other spots. In one a gobbler was just going nuts to the calls but wouldn’t go down the hill to get to them. Another Tom had gobbled to our left and we went to try and locate him but he shut up. Driving out I saw a red head at the edge of the woods so we stopped and I got out to see if I could get the Tom. He had moved from where I saw him so I was slowly going down the path when I saw a turkey vulture take flight, I’d see the vulture’s red head and not a gobblers. We tried going over to the ridge where the recalcitrant Tom was hanging out and, of course, we couldn’t get him to talk at all when we were in his territory.
One last spot to hit mid-day and it was the smallest turkey spot I’ve ever been on. It was a 1.5 acre lot next to some gated estates and other homes. We located a Tom at the upper part of the property and he was in a gated estate so we went to the lower end and set up at the only spot where I could get a safe shot assuming the turkey walked right where we wanted him to. This was also a standing spot, because we needed to be shooting down and so I was leaning on a tree. We were both sort of amazed as the gobblers responded to calls and soon we saw one walking down the paved drive of the estate. He went through the gate and crossed the road followed by a second Tom. A few minutes later he was in our yard but on the far side of this small meadow so we waited to see if he would come through the gap in the brush and into our spot. Sure enough, a head appeared over the grass and he was coming right at us. I shot, he flopped and ran a bit then fell over flapping. First time I’ve shot a turkey standing up for sure. We gave him a few minutes then went in and grabbed the two year old Rio.
We decided to go hit an area in Canyonville on Wednesday which meant an hour drive just to meet up to head to the property but I got 5 hours of sleep so wasn’t feeling too bad. We had a pretty short walk and set up against a fence under an overhanging tree with berry brambles. As daylight began and gobbling stated the birds were below instead of above us so Rich had us switch places in case a bird decided to come in through the gate next to us which was almost too close of a shot. Turkeys kept gobbling and after fly down we heard hens and could see a few hens running around in the driveway in back of us. Finally a red head appeared just out of the gate, it was all I could see outside of grass so I took the shot. The bird flapped and rolled down the driveway and we could hear it in back and below us but when we went to get it the bird was gone. We tracked it through some grass and finally found it piled up at the corner of a fence under a berry bramble. A small Jake but this late in the season with tough hunting a Jake will do and the hunt was done at 6:30 am.
After grabbing a Starbucks on the way back to camp I got the turkeys processed and vacuum bagged then headed off to check out Medford and other neighboring towns then went to fish the Holy Water stretch of the Rogue just below the Lost Lake Dam. Tough fishing but I did see one fish caught among the dozen or so fly fishers up there. I talked to an old guy when I was putting gear away, he’d been fishing it for 40 years and said it has just gotten worse and harder each year and swore that you needed #20 or #22 to even stand a chance. All I know is that they didn’t want a stonefly nymph or a Pheasant Tail. I saw a few trout in the water, saw a few rises but it would have been nice to be there for a real hatch. At one spot I was working there were swallows all over the surface but not a single trout rising, very maddening but par for the course this year for me.
All in all, a great turkey season this year. I got 5 birds total – two Jakes, one 2 year old Rio and two 3 year old Merriam’s. Also my third camping trip of the year so far, two turkey trips and the trout trip to Issak’s Ranch back in early April. This was the farthest I’ve towed the trailer and I think I found my limit for a day so if I do try to do the West Coast Turkey tour I may have to split Oregon into two hunts both on my way and back from California.