Last May, I joined Charleston's Chris Walls and his dad, Morris of Shady Springs, for a spring gobbler outing in McDowell County. It would be nice to report scintillating action, as well as one or more of us tagging a gobbler. But the truth is that we endured a wintry rain, a gloomy morning with the temperature in the 40s, and no sight or sounds of turkeys of either sex. There's nothing like making a three-hour drive to sit on a cold, fog-enveloped mountaintop and having yourself becoming progressively wetter and wetter, colder and colder.

Last issue, this magazine covered turkey trends in the Mountain State and explored the reasons why the harvest declined 4 percent from the 2008 tally of 9,929 to 9,485, at least partly because of weather like Walls and I endured. For this issue, we'll take a regional look at where to go this spring.

SOUTHERN WEST VIRGINIA
West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (DNR) biologist Larry Berry keeps tabs on turkeys in District IV. Berry says that district-wide brood counts for 2009 will probably be down, meaning a lack of jakes in the spring woods this year -- the reason, of course, was the wet, cold weather. However, staff reported seeing several broods in Summers County.

The good news is that brood reports were about average or slightly above in 2008, which should mean more 2-year-old toms in the woods this spring. Also, the biologist reports that because of the depressed 2009 kill, more males from the 2007 hatch, which are now true 3-year-old longbeards and trophies besides, should have survived and be roaming southern West Virginia come late April and opening day. Additionally, he is not aware of any winterkill in his region. In short, Larry expects some good hunting will be possible this April and May.

"There may be a slow increase in the turkey population in District IV," continues Berry. "Mercer and Summers counties are doing well on a kill per square mile basis. This density measurement is a better indicator of how productive a region can be. Monroe County has a good turkey population. However, either the people there do not hunt as much in the spring or land is posted to the point that people cannot get access to hunt."

Regarding public land options, Berry maintains that the Bluestone WMA "is always a good choice particularly after the first week or two. The Potts Creek WMA of the Jefferson is also a good choice."

CENTRAL WEST VIRGINIA
Now-retired District III biologist Ray Knotts says that the 2007 and 2008 hatches in District III were only average and that 2006 was below average, and as expected, the 2009 hatch was poor. Winter mortality was not significant and as Knotts notes "some small amount of mortality during the winter would be expected." So, central West Virginians can expect some tough hunting and an average harvest this spring.

"Generally, turkey populations are staying the same with somewhat minor annual fluctuations the last a few years," continues Knotts. "In District III, the individual counties that are performing well are Upshur and Lewis. And, yes, the actual turkey kill per square mile of turkey habitat is a much better indicator of hunter success in individual counties because it levels the playing field on a per unit area basis. For instance, Braxton and Upshur counties had nearly identical spring harvests in 2008, but Braxton County has 499 square miles of turkey range, and Upshur County has only 340 square miles of turkey habitat; therefore, the turkey kill per square mile is much higher in Upshur County."

Concerning public hunting, the biologist recommends the Stonecoal Lake, Stonewall Jackson Lake and Burnsville Lake WMAs.