Newbie Looking for Some Advice on Back/bikepack Spring Turkey Hunt in NE WA

[AK2WA]

Hey folks,

As the title says, I am looking for some direction and help setting up my first turkey hunt in NE WA. I'm used to backpacking in or bikepacking and was hoping to do either for this hunt.

A little about me, I am from Alaska and moved down to the Seattle area a little over a year ago to finish some school at UW. I have hunted for caribou, goat, bear, and a little waterfowl all back in AK, but I am hoping to try some turkey hunting before I move this summer for a new job elsewhere.

In return for any help I have some knowledge about hunting those species in Alaska, hunting/getting around in Alaska, and know a few spots to try for those species in road accessible areas around southcentral AK. I’m no fishing guide but if you’re headed up to southcentral Alaska for tourism or fishing I can help answer questions and provide some advice on fishing spots, tackle, places to go, even restaurants worth your time.

I have been looking through prior threads along with forest service websites and I’m having a hard time figuring out where I should spend my time looking for turkeys. I found a few lakes/water sources in Colville NF that I can get to, some near Granite Peak area. Another spot near Copper Butte as well. Not looking for honey holes by any means, but if anyone can help steer me towards some areas that I would have a decent chance at a turkey, or can tell me where I should definitely not go, I would greatly appreciate it. I may be able to make the opener but if not can take time off late April to late May, not sure if that affects where I should spend my time.

In a perfect world I would spend some money to learn from a guide or pick up one of BearPaw’s maps, unfortunately I’m on a student saddled with a lot of debt budget. By the time season rolls around I will have saved up for a box call (likely Primos Wet Box Call), hen and jake decoys (Primos vs Strut-lite), an out of state hunting license, and gas money. I have an Remington 870 12 ga and a bow, both of which I feel comfortable with, haven’t picked my poison yet in that regard.

Thank you all in advance for any tips or advice you're willing to share.

[JeffRaines]

I've only connected with one - and seen tons.

They are literally all over up there. Don't let the drive in get you too excited - on private you will see them in almost every field(it seems like) but once you hit public land its typical hunting. I think theres a lot of them that don't ever leave the fields. With that said, if you can find some public that borders some of those fields it can pay off. I know of one place that I always see turkeys in the guys yard and across the street is public... I've seen a TON of turkey up there but never been in the right spot at the right time(or nothing legal). Last year we were driving up and there were 8 or 9 hens running along with us in the road. Talk about frustrating.

Depending on when you go, you may or may not be able to get into some areas. Two years ago I could go almost all the way to a place I like to hunt on the opener - last year I couldn't even get 100 yards up the road due to deep snow.

I wish I could give you more advice, but honestly it would be the blind leading the blind. There are people on here that will chime in eventually that are much better turkey hunters than I'll ever be.

Good luck!

[tmike]

I have an idea for you. Check your PM

[Russ McDonald]

If you around for the Puyallup Sportsman's Showi am putting on some seminars on turkey hunting.  Also keep your eye on the WDFW website for clinics for turkey hunting.  I am doing one in n March 30th at the Black Diamond Gun Club and one at Sportmans Wharehouse Federal Way March 16th.  I will also be at the Cabelas in Lacey noon to 4pm Saturday.  No clinic but stop by we can talk.

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[AK2WA]

If you around for the Puyallup Sportsman's Showi am putting on some seminars on turkey hunting.  Also keep your eye on the WDFW website for clinics for turkey hunting.  I am doing one in n March 30th at the Black Diamond Gun Club and one at Sportmans Wharehouse Federal Way March 16th.  I will also be at the Cabelas in Lacey noon to 4pm Saturday.  No clinic but stop by we can talk.

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Russ, I found the schedule for your seminars at the sportsman's show, I was planning to head down anyway, I'll do my best to make it for a seminar. Looks like nothing on the calendar on WDWF website but I will keep checking on it. Thank you for the resources.

I've only connected with one - and seen tons.

They are literally all over up there. Don't let the drive in get you too excited - on private you will see them in almost every field(it seems like) but once you hit public land its typical hunting. I think theres a lot of them that don't ever leave the fields. With that said, if you can find some public that borders some of those fields it can pay off. I know of one place that I always see turkeys in the guys yard and across the street is public... I've seen a TON of turkey up there but never been in the right spot at the right time(or nothing legal). Last year we were driving up and there were 8 or 9 hens running along with us in the road. Talk about frustrating.

Depending on when you go, you may or may not be able to get into some areas. Two years ago I could go almost all the way to a place I like to hunt on the opener - last year I couldn't even get 100 yards up the road due to deep snow.

I wish I could give you more advice, but honestly it would be the blind leading the blind. There are people on here that will chime in eventually that are much better turkey hunters than I'll ever be.

Good luck!

Yikes, sounds frustrating, but I guess that's public land hunting. I'm thinking I will be flexible enough to be able to hunt when the snow is less of an issue, guess we'll see how the rest of winter goes. Cheers.

[MerriamMagician]

Most of the birds won't be located deep in the woods or up high yet in April so biking in or backpacking a long ways would most likely put you past them in all likelihood. As it warms up and the snowline recedes the birds will start moving higher and further into the woods. Mid May is a better time to find them deeper in the woods for your preferred style. Otherwise plan on hunting public ground close to private land.

[Sneaky]

my advice - buy a quality turkey call. skip the primos stuff. listen to some sound files and pick what you want.

https://www.johnsinclaircustomcalls.com/

[MtnMuley]

my advice - buy a quality turkey call. skip the primos stuff. listen to some sound files and pick what you want.

https://www.johnsinclaircustomcalls.com/

 

Also, a simple diaphragm and practice will call in nearly any bird you can find.  If you're serious about getting off the roads and backpacking in a couple miles to set up a small remote camp and get into turkeys, I have several spots for you to check out that will produce.  Send a PM if you're interested.

[AK2WA]

my advice - buy a quality turkey call. skip the primos stuff. listen to some sound files and pick what you want.

https://www.johnsinclaircustomcalls.com/

 

Also, a simple diaphragm and practice will call in nearly any bird you can find.  If you're serious about getting off the roads and backpacking in a couple miles to set up a small remote camp and get into turkeys, I have several spots for you to check out that will produce.  Send a PM if you're interested.

Based on budget constraints I may have to settle for the Primos stuff for now. I picked up a diaphragm call and have been practicing, hoping to pair that with a box or slate call and practice with those.

And thank you for the offer, sending you a PM.

Most of the birds won't be located deep in the woods or up high yet in April so biking in or backpacking a long ways would most likely put you past them in all likelihood. As it warms up and the snowline recedes the birds will start moving higher and further into the woods. Mid May is a better time to find them deeper in the woods for your preferred style. Otherwise plan on hunting public ground close to private land.

Great information to know thank you, may need to tweak my plans knowing this. Doubt I will be successful first time out so perhaps going farther back mid may will yield results.

[kevinlisa06]

Turkey Hunting in Wa state is a lot of fun. I would find a spot to camp that’s not where you plan on hunting. You do not need decoys to kill a bird, I have yet to do it and I am successful. For calls I would at least buy a Box call and a Pot call. Your shotgun needs to be patterned, I recommend using a Turkey choke and Turkey loads in 4, 5 or 6 shot. If interested in a spot in the NE corner shoot me a message and can help ya out. Hope this helps.


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[Limhangerslayer]

My suggestion is to look into the popular hunted areas and then hunt the fringe with less birds and hunters

[elkchaser54]

Hit me up man, im in King county and would love to venture that way with ya this spring.

[CAMPMEAT]

I lived in Curlew for 17 years. Bicycle into the area between Tonasket Creek Rd and Long Alec Rd. You can bicycle and camp in there without seeing a soul. It's a big area, buy a cougar tag if possible. We used to go back there on our ATVs. Just make sure your camp is cattle proof.


Forgot to say, this is all gated off, so you will have NO vehicles except maybe a local on a quad, unless looking for cattle.

[Big game archer]

My suggestion is to look into the popular hunted areas and then hunt the fringe with less birds and hunters

  Seriously, my most productive areas for calling toms are places where I only find a little bit of sign.

[AK2WA]

Turkey Hunting in Wa state is a lot of fun. I would find a spot to camp that’s not where you plan on hunting. You do not need decoys to kill a bird, I have yet to do it and I am successful. For calls I would at least buy a Box call and a Pot call. Your shotgun needs to be patterned, I recommend using a Turkey choke and Turkey loads in 4, 5 or 6 shot. If interested in a spot in the NE corner shoot me a message and can help ya out. Hope this helps.


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I've got the choke and the ammo, going to pattern in the next few weeks here. Pot call is coming in tomorrow so should have plenty of time to practice. I'll hold off on the decoy then, I've had a few others say the same as you. Sent you a PM.

Hit me up man, im in King county and would love to venture that way with ya this spring.

I'll shoot you a message a little closer to season so we can coordinate!

I lived in Curlew for 17 years. Bicycle into the area between Tonasket Creek Rd and Long Alec Rd. You can bicycle and camp in there without seeing a soul. It's a big area, buy a cougar tag if possible. We used to go back there on our ATVs. Just make sure your camp is cattle proof.


Forgot to say, this is all gated off, so you will have NO vehicles except maybe a local on a quad, unless looking for cattle.

Found that area on the map, good amount of public land looks like, found some possible areas to go. Thanks for the tip I appreciate it.

My suggestion is to look into the popular hunted areas and then hunt the fringe with less birds and hunters

  Seriously, my most productive areas for calling toms are places where I only find a little bit of sign.

Good to know, I'm all game for getting away from pressured areas and hunting the fringes.

[CAMPMEAT]

You can also go to the very end of Long Alec and stay right at the end where the old Lemcke Mill was and go about 20 miles up the road to the top of Boulder Pass. There is a gate there, it might be locked, might not be. You can lift your bike over the gate. Some spur roads too. All of this land is timberland too.

[AK2WA]

Well I was able to make it out for this trip last week. Went out solo on Monday and stayed in the NE until Wednesday night. I was able to put together a trip that included some backpacking and biking.

Monday I drove from the west side and got to where I would start hiking in that afternoon. I was able to cover a couple miles before dark, looking for a good place to camp and listening/looking for birds. I was able to locate a roosted bird that night and I camped downhill several hundred yards. Boiled some water, ate some food, and got up bright and early. I set up my hen decoy in a small opening about 100 yards downhill from where I thought he was roosting. 45 minutes later he started gobbling. I let him do this for 30 minutes or so then let out three yelps on my slate call. He gobbled back immediately and continued to do so every several minutes. His gobbles started to change in location just slightly so I figured he must have flown down. Telling myself not to over call like I heard new hunters do, I waited another 10 minutes or so and again yelped a few times. He replied, and did so again several minutes later, but he was obviously moving away from me, up the hill. My call another 10 minutes later was met without reply. I waited hoping he'd come back for another hour or so. I decided to go chase some gobbles and scout some more. I found a few gobbles to chase that morning but couldn't get much of a reply if any. From mid day on I spent hiking some miles around looking for other areas to try. I eventually moved camp that evening to be closer to some water and some other birds I'd heard.

The following morning I set up near a private/public boundry where I had seen several toms and hens. That morning was a symphony of gobbles, from three different directions, all within 200 yards or so. I set up in a small clearing in the woods, which in hindsight I don't think my decoy was visible enough. I got replies from multiple directions to my soft yelping after they had flown down. Again trying to practice restraint in calling, I waited, hoping one of the 5+ different gobbles would come my way. Unfortunately, they all slowly moved away from me, mostly into private land where they'd been. I went chasing gobbles again, but wasn't successful. Both the day before and this day had been quite hot and apart from some coyotes running around in a field, I didn't see much moving around. The coyotes got to about a 100 yards, and I tried calling them closer with my diaphragm call, but they went back to chasing varmints. I snuck in to about 50 yards on them before they busted me.

I decided to pack up and hike out to try a different chunk of public land not too far of a drive away. Chased a gobble or two on the hike out, to no avail. A short drive later I was biking up a non motorized vehicle trail on national forest land and found a trail that brought me close to a farm and public land interface. The afternoon was hot, dry, quiet, but it was going to be a last chance to find a bird before I had to return to the west side. Biking a long, maybe 80 yards away, I watch a bird slowly meander into the woods at the top of a ridge, that dipped down on the far side. I couldn't tell gender from my quick glance. I snuck in 20 or so yards from where the bird ducked in and called once or twice, no reply. At that point, having seen other hunters around and lacking confidence in my ability to lure a bird to me, I decided I would try and loop around and cut off the turkey. I still hunted my way through the woods for 45 minutes or so, never to see the bird again. I continued biking around and bumped into an old hunter who shared my lack of success over the last several days. I figured if someone had been turkey hunting in NE WA for the last 30 years without success, my chances weren't great. I enjoyed my ride downhill to my vehicle, packed up, and drove into the night back home.

Having had time to reflect, some thoughts:
 
-I think that second morning I should have tried to position my decoys in a more visible spot and also hung around another hour or two. I felt confident in my ability to make several different sounds with my calls, however, knowing when to say what was something I wasn't comfortable with. 

-Definitely will try and go with an experienced hunter or guide down the line, if only to pick their brain and learn, because the whole experience was quite humbling.

-Being on your own hunting solo in an area you don't know hunting a new species got lonely at times, I have a lot of respect for solo hunters.

-Bringing gear in to hunt turkey and to have a camp for yourself is a lot of gear, more than I brought on multi day mountain goat hunts in Alaska. I over packed not knowing the area I was going well, but camping by the car and waking up a little earlier to bike or hike in is worth it in the end I think.

Lastly, I wouldn't have had the confidence to take this trip without the help of many of you on here who took time to message me, text me, or like Russ and the NWTF to speak to me in person at their events. I have lots to learn and look forward to springs to come.

[Machias]

Nice job, way to get after them!  Great write up!  Good luck on your next hunt!!

[avidnwoutdoorsman]

I was able to locate a roosted bird that night and I camped downhill several hundred yards. Boiled some water, ate some food, and got up bright and early. I set up my hen decoy in a small opening about 100 yards downhill from where I thought he was roosting. 45 minutes later he started gobbling. I let him do this for 30 minutes or so then let out three yelps on my slate call. He gobbled back immediately and continued to do so every several minutes. His gobbles started to change in location just slightly so I figured he must have flown down. Telling myself not to over call like I heard new hunters do, I waited another 10 minutes or so and again yelped a few times. He replied, and did so again several minutes later, but he was obviously moving away from me, up the hill.

Great story, sounds like you had some fun. Another note for your lessons learned. Birds will walk up a hillside to a clear area (maybe a bench) and then fly almost horizontal into their roost. Best place to set up in the morning is uphill of the roost. 

[kevinlisa06]

Sounds like a successful first hunt to me! Keep at it you will connect very soon from what I have read.


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[AK2WA]

Great story, sounds like you had some fun. Another note for your lessons learned. Birds will walk up a hillside to a clear area (maybe a bench) and then fly almost horizontal into their roost. Best place to set up in the morning is uphill of the roost. 

Good to know, I think that may have helped both mornings, but definitely that first one. Won't make that mistake again!

[TheStovePipeKid]

-Being on your own hunting solo in an area you don't know hunting a new species got lonely at times, I have a lot of respect for solo hunters.

My hunting companion is my father. I've run him through the ringer on a few hunts and he's not getting any younger. I've hunted solo in the fall many years. This was my first solo spring hunt. I do get lonely lately not having someone to share the experience of the day with. I gave myself up to much meditation and reflection while waiting on turkey and enjoyed the experience. I spent most days pre dawn to sundown out in the field in my hunting chair taking in nature. As a post hunt tip I would recommend taking a full week next time if you are able. Feeling rushed can weigh on your thoughts and ruin the quiet moments you'll have in the forest. It also gives you more time to figure turkey out and thump one.