MONROE COUNTY
Monroe County, which is located in southern West Virginia on the Virginia border, is one area traditionally open to fall turkey hunting. Although Monroe was the top harvest county in 2004, its total declined from the 203 birds brought to check stations in 2002 and the 184 in 2003. The harvests in 2000 and 2001 were 128 and 174, respectively.

On a personal basis, I have seen far fewer flocks in Monroe County during the past few summers, and the same has held true during the bow and fall turkey seasons. Normally, all one has to do to espy flocks in the summer and fall is to drive the back roads that meander through this county's valleys. Monroe is a very rural county with the small town of Union being its county seat and population center. But just outside of Union on state routes 219 and 3, the latter running toward Gap Mills, lie many farms and cattle-rearing operations. It is on those rural properties where there have been fewer turkey flocks in recent years.

Nevertheless, Monroe still hosts a fair turkey population, as witnessed by its first-place finish. The best strategy to hunt Monroe involves cruising the back roads mentioned earlier, as well as those that branch out from such communities as Sweet Springs, Hillsdale, Sinks Grove and Greenville. Then stop at the farmhouses or visit farmers working their fields and ask what can be done in order for a sportsman to gain permission to hunt a particular piece of property.

Twice last year I did just that and on both occasions gained permission to hunt farms. Both of those farms back up to the Potts Creek WMA (18,526 acres) of the Jefferson National Forest. Ideally, such farms are the best ones to hunt, because if I can't locate birds on private land, I can then journey to the public land and continue my search.

Last year, I shot a Marshall County bird on the first day of the fall turkey season, thus filling my one turkey tag for the year -- so I did not go fall turkey hunting in the Potts Creek WMA last autumn. But two springs ago, I killed two nice gobblers in the Potts Creek WMA, an obvious reason why it remains one of my favorite places to go afield. This unit of the Jefferson National Forest is very mountainous with elevations up to 3,600 feet. Oak-hickory-pine forests blanket the WMA and numerous tributaries of the namesake Potts Creek course down the mountainsides.

GREENBRIER COUNTY
Greenbrier County, like Monroe in southern West Virginia, is part of District IV, and claimed second place last year. The 138 birds checked in last October and November were a precipitous plunge from the 308 and 245 tallied in 2002 and 2003, respectively. The autumn of 2000 produced 146 turkeys tagged, with 304 the total in 2001. Like Monroe, Greenbrier County still contains a decent size turkey flock, but the numbers, as indicated by the harvest figures, are down.

The topography in Greenbrier is very similar to that already described in Monroe, except that the former county is larger in size, has a larger county seat (Lewisburg), and has more small towns, such as White Sulfur Springs, Alderson, Ronceverte, Rupert and Caldwell among others. And like in Monroe, a good game plan is to seek out the farms that lie outside of these communities.

For example, several years ago, two friends and I hunted a farm outside of Sam Black Church. We were able to find and scatter a flock with the help of a turkey dog. Later, we managed to call in several birds and I was fortunate enough to tag one. The farms off the exit ramps from Interstate 64 and along such highways as SRs 219, 60, 12, 63 and 92 are good places to start to look for permission.