New to turkey not to birds

[Iveexcaped3]

Hey guys new to the forum been in the state for about 5 years and want to give turkey season a shot. I know most everyone is going to say go to NE but I don’t have the time or budget to stay out there for a week or so (plus I don’t mind a harder hunt). I’m wondering if there’s someone planning on hunting the ellensburg area that I could tag along with or get some scouting tips from. I’m in the Yakima area

[kevinlisa06]

Best advice to you if you’re dead set on hunting that area is to get out in the woods as soon as the snow starts melting get in the woods and start scouting. Central Wa birds take a while to figure out since there is several thousand less birds.
I will tell you this, the NE corner is the best area in the state.
Good luck to ya!


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[Iveexcaped3]

Best advice to you if you’re dead set on hunting that area is to get out in the woods as soon as the snow starts melting get in the woods and start scouting. Central Wa birds take a while to figure out since there is several thousand less birds.
I will tell you this, the NE corner is the best area in the state.
Good luck to ya!

Thank you Kevin, I know NE is best option however just returned from an expensive business trip and ate the funds for my trip I wanted to do.
Plus if I go where there’s thousands of birds then I won’t as much about their needs and habitats 
If your familiar with the areas have you noticed if they talk throughout the day in the off season?

[Bofire]

Blewett Pass area, scout a lot, be ready for a crowd, walk more then everybody else.
Carl

[kevinlisa06]

Toms and Hens talk all year, have heard quite a few Toms gobble during deer and elk season and the Hens chatter all year as well.
I only hunt Central Wa now it’s a lot of fun. Once you finds birds stay on them until season starts.


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[Iveexcaped3]

I think I'll have to spend more time in the woods up there in the off season. I'll give it a shot this year but probably wont have any success. Never been turkey hunting so i have no idea what I'm doing besides watching videos and reading online info. No clue what to look for or where to start scouting. Plan is to basically throw a dart at the map and see if 1) its public 2) see if there is turkeys and hope my pot call works for them.

[Big game archer]

I think I'll have to spend more time in the woods up there in the off season. I'll give it a shot this year but probably wont have any success. Never been turkey hunting so i have no idea what I'm doing besides watching videos and reading online info. No clue what to look for or where to start scouting. Plan is to basically throw a dart at the map and see if 1) its public 2) see if there is turkeys and hope my pot call works for them.

It really does just take time, as with any type of hunting. I hunt some areas in Idaho and Washington that don't have the biggest populations of turkeys, similar to central wa. My advice is to just stay patient and really keep your eye out for any sign (even old sign) and then focus on those areas. Turkeys can be extremely quiet and wary birds, especially on public land. I've had experiences where I've spent an entire day in an area with good sign and not heard a peep, only to come back a few days later and have toms gobbling everywhere. Learning how to call and setup on birds to increase the chances of them coming in is just something you're going to learn through experience. It gets addicting once you get a big ole tom gobbling in your face at 10 feet! Good luck.

[kevinlisa06]

Best advice to you if you’re dead set on hunting that area is to get out in the woods as soon as the snow starts melting get in the woods and start scouting. Central Wa birds take a while to figure out since there is several thousand less birds.
I will tell you this, the NE corner is the best area in the state.
Good luck to ya!

Thank you Kevin, I know NE is best option however just returned from an expensive business trip and ate the funds for my trip I wanted to do.
Plus if I go where there’s thousands of birds then I won’t as much about their needs and habitats 
If your familiar with the areas have you noticed if they talk throughout the day in the off season?

The wife and I hunted an area in Central Washington for 2 days never heard a peep. Day number 3 rolled around and the woods were full of Gobblers. We had 2 birds on the ground by 6:00am and back to the truck by 7:00am.
Look for scratching on the ground, look for poop as well.
Where bouts are you located?


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[Karl Blanchard]

If you are driving to eburg from yakima you are driving past birds to find birds.  Downfall to central washington is that turkeys are not evenly distributed.  There are pockets that hold birds and it can be a long ways between pockets.  Once you find one though, it is a spot that will continue to hold birds annually as long as you dont shoot it out.  I dont hunt yak birds because I want to see their populations increase and me shooting them won't help that.  Goldendale is a better option for you in my opinion.

[Iveexcaped3]

If you are driving to eburg from yakima you are driving past birds to find birds.  Downfall to central washington is that turkeys are not evenly distributed.  There are pockets that hold birds and it can be a long ways between pockets.  Once you find one though, it is a spot that will continue to hold birds annually as long as you dont shoot it out.  I dont hunt yak birds because I want to see their populations increase and me shooting them won't help that.  Goldendale is a better option for you in my opinion.

True but if I drive to NE I'm still driving past birds to find birds. From reading on here and other places I know there's birds in the 340's GMU's but have 0 intention on hunting them in hopes the population can grow, migrate, and get into the 350-360 GMU's. If (big if) we could only get birds to come through the rez from Goldendale I think it could overall improve hunting in the central area. I'm a solo hunter (don't know anyone here) so personally I doubt I'll thin out a flock IF I even find them. Thank you for the advice though I'll keep it in mind if E-berg doesn't pan out.

The wife and I hunted an area in Central Washington for 2 days never heard a peep. Day number 3 rolled around and the woods were full of Gobblers. We had 2 birds on the ground by 6:00am and back to the truck by 7:00am.
Look for scratching on the ground, look for poop as well.
Where bouts are you located?

Im in Yakima West valley area.

[Karl Blanchard]

Oh give em hell man.  I dont begrudge anyone for hunting birds close to home.  It's my own personal self imposed rule.  I'd still recommend gdale.  5x the birds, endless room to roam, and good odds you can be there in less drive time than it takes to bounce your way up into the colockum, ahtanum,wenas, or observatory.  I can hop in the wife's car and be walking in less than an hour and a half and it's all coffee sipping highway miles.  To get anywhere around here you will still be 1-3hrs of brain bashing rocky roads.