Free: Contests & Raffles.
I live on the Cle Elum ridge and know the Cle Elum and Teanaway valley as good as anybody and better than most. Living and working in Cle Elum gives me plenty of contacts. I have a small property on the ridge and have around a hundred birds on my lot most winters. This year I had the fewest mature Toms of any winter yet. We generally have 15-20 longbeards, the most was 51 and before this year the least was 8. This year I had 4. I've been scouting both sides of the Cle Elum valley along with the Teanaway and Hidden Valley. What I'm seeing on my place is consistent with the rest of my hunting areas. The mature birds are few and far between. We have a healthy crop of jakes and with two more years of good nesting, we might have something. As for this year, I would plan on burning a lot of boot leather and spending tons of time to get a mature bird.
Was tough on the youth hunt, saw and heard nothing. Usually pretty decent this time of year. Liberty seems to have been tough the past few years. Been able for most part to find birds in both areas. I too am curious what the Wolf will do, never seen much study on wolf predating Turkeys but if they predate everything else to where other Predators like Bobcat, cougar have to turn to turkeys more than usual? Those birds do seem to migrate quite a bit, though. Couldn't tell if the already moved higher than normal for this time of year or not.
Many years ago I monitored radioed hens in northern New England. Almost no coyote mortality - EXCEPT - 75% of our nesting hen mortality was by coyotes. I've hunted toms in burned areas in the WY/SD/NE Black Hills, they like the burns very well in the spring.
Not to thread jack but what is the snow like up around liberty? We have 10 acres up there and I would like to get in there soon but not sure what the snow depths are looking like. I don't hunt turkeys but if I find some birds on there I might be able to get talked into letting a guy in to take one or two. They usually come through our place every spring.
These last two posts have me thinkin now.A) Up until 2 years ago, the Roslyn side of Teannaway had LOTS of animals in it. In some places, harder to get at because of terrain and such, but still thick with Deer and Elk. However, the last two years in the Roslyn area, have been an economical drain on my Hunting dollars. Both years, Wolf tracks everywhere I go throughout the unit, from Pac Crest, to foothills to the West of US97.B) Foothills East of US97 all the way to the Colockum have been scorched here and there, however in that same week of scouting each year, I have seen tons of grouse on the East side of 97 and alot more hooved animal prints/sign. If Turkeys dig regreen areas within old fire areas, I would think that any birds to be found in the area, would be Liberty or East to the Columbia...I am starting to think that the hills above Roslyn is just becoming Wolf Central, cuz I literally have not even seen anything edible up there in years now...
Man that's crazy. Nothing like a Bear that close... Something I love and focus on yearly is Bear Hunting, but never in those areas because I haven't seen any Bearover there in YEARS... so it's good to hear you seen one. Although when I did see Bears in those areas they were pretty gnarly Boars...
