Any CleElum teanaway reports?

[phishisgroovin]

havent seen any that i can think of, was wondering if anyone here pulled off a harverst out of teanaway or the CleElum area yet?

[bobcat]

My cousin killed one there last weekend. But he grew up there and knows the area well. He said birds were hard to find and a lot fewer than there have been the last couple of years. He did know of 5 or 6 others that had been killed.

[phishisgroovin]

i have a friend that is really interested in heading over in the early part of next week, but i am wondering if waiting a little longer until the weather gets a tiny bit better and some of the snow melts off.
Or, i am also waiting for my other friend to want to head over to his property down low in teanaway.

I seen a ton of turkey in a few areas during Deer season, do they usually stick to the same area forever or do they move areas alot?

if the same area i have a few spots i would like to go set a blind up in and sit there.

[phishisgroovin]

just realized memorial weekend comes a t the end of Turkey season, so i will most likely wait to hunt till then when the weather is a bit better and the season nears the end.

Memorial day weekend in the eastern washington mountains is a yearly ritual for the family.
if i spend what money i have on a trip over now i wont be able to go to that and coyote hunt too.

now i really need to finish my .223 mauser.

[rosscrazyelk]

I would not wait that long.. I have been over there three times now. So many close encounters .  Just have not been able to close the deal yet

[Forester]

I got my bird out of the valley there. Hunted the snow line, was only hearing a few birds gobble on the roost when they flew down they shut up, made it hard to sit and freeze in one spot not hearing anything after six.

[mallard79]

My bro and his friend double up on birds when they had 3 gobblers come in last sunday. Said they worked several other birds but once they hit the ground they got quiet. My uncle and i are heading back over with my son for 3 days starting friday. I will let you know how it goes....

[D-Rock425]

A friend of mine shoot one opening day on the other side of I-90 in 336.

[littlemac]

Saw birds all winter but haven't seen them lately, heading out in the next week to check 'em out

[Heartsblood]

I have a few pictures just like that from last fall when I went grouse hunting in the 335. I'm still learning about my new camera - the picture sizes are a whopping 5.7 mb! I'll try to shrink 'em.

I went out this past friday and saturday in the teanaway. Birds are around. I know it. I didn't see any, but I saw plenty of sign and heard gobbling on friday morning. I had a haunting close encounter - I don't know actually how close it was because I only found out about it later when I tracked back to where I had been sitting and doing a sparse amount of calling that morning.

So here's my report of that morning:

Arrived in good time to a spot that I had scouted and looked promising a coupla mile in. Heard some gobbling up a little higher than where I had planned to be, but potentially not too far to call to. Snow was patchy and I felt sorta landlocked as I didn't want to "crunch, crunch, crunch," across a larger patch that would brought me closer to the gobbling. I set up just on the downside placeing a hen decoy in a small patch of snow in between 12 to 15 foot ponderosas and like I said, I called periodically. Sounded like the bird was on the roost and not all that interested. Then he went silent. I couldn't identify the bird that started shrieking at about 7am-ish, but it got a shock gobble from my tom and also what sounded like a jake a short ways below me. That was all I heard. Everything went quiet.

Nearer to 8am, I was too cold to sit anymore - I'd been sitting since at least 530 - and the sun shining up the mountain was taunting me - I packed up and headed up hill to get some sun and to see what I could see. My plan was to get warm, and maybe find a back way across that snow that would put me closer to where I suspected the tom had been roosted, which I ended up doing nearer to 930 am.

I ended up bushwhacking  a bit, and making more noise than I'd have liked, closer than I'd have like to the area I was trying to access. But once I got thru, I discovered several roosting trees and lots of sign. The ground, which had been frozen on the walk in earlier had begun to thaw and leak. It was slighly muddy. Then I saw the tracks. I followed. They led thru this bench and back down towards the snow patches I had not wanted to cross in the dark earlier. They were leading me towards where I wanted to be. Then the went up onto the snow - fresh tracks: at least one hen and some monster turkey tracks! I tested my boot print on the snow next to the gobblers print. It left a similar amount of moist dirt/mud in the snow. "Crap! How long ago?"

I continued to follow across the snow. The tracks didn't look "panicked" - they didn't appear to be in a hurry as they weren't following each other but more criss crossing and doing lazy eights. But generally heading in the same directions. I was getting really close to the area I had been sitting. "Wait a fricken minute! This is the area I had been sitting!" As a matter of fact a couple of these tracks walked directly across the litte twelve foot patch of snow my deke had been on a mere few hours ago...

So. Were they just cruising thru coincidentally? Or had I pushed them down thru that area by approaching the back way? Or - and this is the one that really haunts me - Had I just lost patience a bit before they got around to checking out the "hen" that was where I had been sitting? Either way, I sat near there the next morning and heard nary a peep. Anywhere. From any direction. Nothing. I sure hope I didn't bump them. I'd like to think not. But, it happens - especially in an area that see plenty of hunters (public land).

They are there. And I learned last year that even tho ya don't hear or see 'em, persistence paid off. After all, you spend more time not seeing turkeys, not hearing them, and not shooting at them, then you do taking them.

Anyweys, there's my report. Don't give up. I know I won't.

[Heartsblood]

Here's one from my truck:

[Heartsblood]

 ...and a coupla more. I think I got the hang of this here thang:

[blacktailcrzy]

i am heading up that way this weekend dose anyone know the snow level ?

[littlemac]

i am heading up that way this weekend dose anyone know the snow level ?

depends on how high you're going, mostly gone totally except heavy shade areas to around 2700 feet around Cle Elum

[blacktailcrzy]

ok cool thanks thats good news. and i was also wondering if any one thinks there will be less of a crowd due to opening day trout/ shed hunting / and Puget sound ling this weekend?