Turkey season trotting by soon

Well, Ohio's South Zone turkey season begins on April 22 and will drag along until May 21. The Northeast Zone — a five-county area in that extreme corner of the state that apparently identifies as part of Wisconsin — will open and close slightly later, beginning April 29 then crawling its way to May 28. It's a time of great expectation and enthusiasm among the camo-crowd, but I was slow to become any kind of a participant. I was first struck with the idea that hunting turkeys would be an enjoyable pastime when a newly introduced fellow quietly sat down with our small group in poorly-lit bar. He pushed photos of himself posing with a long beard and a bottle of celebratory Wild Turkey bourbon. The story he told was fascinating as it painted a vivid picture of his pre-hunt scouting trips. The morning opener had brought along a lone gobble from a distant hillside, a fast-paced move to get closer and then a slower creep to gain a hidden position. He explained how he used a mouth held diaphragm call to get the bird's attention and then switched to a box call for some clucks, and to a slate for his perfected purrs and cuts. He soon found himself surrounded by strutting gobblers and jakes as he allowed his calls to go silent. He slowly raised the gun into position, waited … waited …and … BANG! — turkey dinner. My college-aged eyes brightened as the hour-long story came to its close while I looked again at the dead turkey's fanned tale and the big smile that highlighted the hunter's face. I never saw the guy again. I don't know if he worked for Mossy Oak, Winchester, the license sales portion of the Division of Wildlife, or some turkey call entrepreneur – but I now know he had the scruples of a drug pusher. My friends staggered to their cars with glazed eyes murmuring "Cabela's" and "Bass Pro" as they drove away to find the nearest ATM. I was one of the lucky ones, I didn't have much spendable cash so my addiction was delayed. Within a few years, I was on the job as a Game Protector and many of those old friends followed similar career choices. We would often cross paths and I was both concerned yet interested that many had fallen prey to those rabid touters of turkey tradition. They each seemed to parrot exactly the same story that I'd heard all those years before with only slightly noticeable adjustments. They all ended with BANG! — turkey dinner, though some added a hatful of morel mushrooms to the recipes which had seemed to become an addendum to the growing number of stories. While it's true it's immoral and illegal to bait wild turkeys, the same doesn't hold true for turkey hunters. Seeing my foot-dragging response, I was soon loaded into a truck for a trip to Dundee, Michigan to explore Cabela's ground blinds, camo clothing, plethora of turkey calls, decoys, books, etc., etc., etc. Then the Division of Wildlife took the low road and stocked wild turkeys in northwest Ohio, literally in my backyard. To put it in fishing lingo, "Bobber down, hook set." I became part of the spring camo crowd. Now I have two different camouflage patterns I use a week or two out of the year and a corked bottle of Wild Turkey waiting for my first photo-opp. Even so, I have declared some self-imposed caveats. I want to harvest my first bird on my own property, preferably with a flintlock. I also want to do it alone, making my own witness-less mistakes. I've had friends ask me to come along with them but I've resisted. For me it's not just about the bird but also about the process. So far, I just haven't been a very good turkey hunter. In fact, my decoy and my calling have attracted one curious fox, a deer that bumped into my leg, a pair of sneaking coyotes, a number of concerned squirrels, and our barn cat. There was one turkey that did walk in from behind and gobbled from about ten feet away. I never heard it coming and it took me a while to get out of the tree I jumped into. There was another that stopped most of a football field away and spent over an hour strutting and putting. I'm not sure, but I think it was deliberately mooning me. So, if you see me after the season expires, don't bother asking me if I got my turkey. If I do, trust me, I'll find you. Instead, just torture me with your own photos and stories but don't forget to bring along that bottle of famed bourbon. At least allow me to celebrate your bird. You can purchase your hunting license and turkey permit as well as subscribing to Wild Ohio Magazine at wildohio.gov, on the HuntFish OH mobile app, or at participating agents statewide. "You don't hunt turkeys because you want to; you hunt turkeys because you have to." — Tom Kelly Along the way The Ohio Division of Wildlife recently auctioned off $51,542 of ginseng and yellow root that was forfeited from illegal possession cases. That total came from 59.7 pounds of ginseng and 3.1 pounds of yellow root from evidence collected following cleared Ohio court processes. The money raised in the auction was added to the state's Wildlife Diversity Fund, which supports projects for species of greatest conservation need such as sandhill cranes, trumpeter swans and lake sturgeon. American ginseng is a slow-growing perennial herb that is found throughout Ohio in small, scattered populations. It is highly valued for its medicinal properties. Ohio has established a ginseng management program to allow for limited collection and to ensure the continued presence of wild ginseng. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and Division of Wildlife guide ginseng harvest and trade regulations in the state. The auction contained roots that were illegally harvested or possessed and were subsequently forfeited by the court of jurisdiction. During the auction, 23 lots of ginseng and one lot of yellow root were sold to licensed ginseng dealers, averaging a price of $861.52 per pound of ginseng sold and $35.16 per pound of yellow root. The roots were from Division of Wildlife criminal cases made across 20 Ohio counties: Adams, Athens, Belmont, Clermont, Coshocton, Fairfield, Guernsey, Highland, Hocking, Knox, Lawrence, Meigs, Morgan, Muskingum, Perry, Pickaway, Pike, Richland, Ross and Washington. In Ohio, ginseng can only be harvested between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31. Harvest is limited to mature ginseng plants (at least three leaves) and regulations stipulate that harvesters are required to plant the seeds of collected plants where they were found. Ginseng diggers must have written permission to collect ginseng on private and public lands, and digging ginseng is prohibited on state-owned lands and national park property. Step outside •The Division of Wildlife's free HuntFish OH mobile app for Android and iOS users is available through the app store. Users can purchase licenses and permits, view wildlife area maps, discover birding resources, camping and boating information, events calendar and more. •Upcoming trout stockings in Northwest Ohio. 4/21/23: Richland County — Malabar Farm Inn Pond** 4/22/23: Ottawa County — East Harbor State Park Pond** 4/22/23: Lucas County — Maumee Bay State Park Nature Center Pond** 4/29/23: Crawford County — Cross Roads Industrial Ponds** 4/29/23: Lucas County — Olander Lake** 4/29/23: Lucas County — Sleepy Hollow Park Pond** 5/6/23: Hancock County — Giertz Lake** ** Indicates a special angler event is planned for the trout release. •Tomorrow: 75-Bird Trap Shoot, practice opens 11:30 a.m., program begins 12:30 p.m. UCOA, 6943 Marion Township Road 243, Findlay. Public welcome. Contact: Sandy Thomas, sandthm@aol.com •Thursday: Trap and Skeet Practice, open to the public. 4 p.m. UCOA, 6943 Marion Township Road 243, Findlay. •April 23: Nostalgia 50-Bird Trap Shoot for Vintage Shotguns. Traps open at 12:30 p.m., program at 1 p.m. Mount Blanchard Gun Club, 21655 Delaware Township 186. Eligible shotguns include Ithaca Model 37; Winchester Models 12, 97, 101, Super X1; Remington Models 10, 11, 17, 31, 32, 3200, 870, 1100; Browning Superposed, A-5, Double-Auto, B-2000; Ithaca, Parker and LC Smith Single Barrel trap guns and any side-by-side shotgun. •April 29: Flag City Toys that Shoot, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Hancock County Fairgrounds Youth Pavilion. Buy, sell, trade air guns, BB guns and cap guns. Absolutely no firearms permitted. Open to the public, $5 admission. Information: email rustywaldman@yahoo.com or visit www.flagcitytoysthatshoot.com •April 29: Guided Kitty Todd Nature Preserve Spring Nature Walk, 10420 Old State Line Rd, Swanton, OH. Hike will begin at 2 p.m. Distance: 1 mile. To register for this hike or to view other hikes and activities visit The Nature Conservancy, www.nature.org. •April 29: The Great Outdoorsman Show, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Hartville Marketplace, 1289 Edison St. NW, Hartville, OH. Buy-Sell-Trade event features specialty vendors, fishing, hunting camping firearms, knives, outdoor gear, ammunition, collectables, and more. Hosted by celebrity guest Richard Karn from Home Improvement and Assembly Required. May 7: Trap Shoot, 1 p.m. Mount Blanchard Gun Club, 21655 Delaware Township Road 186. Abrams is a retired wildlife officer supervisor for the state Division of Wildlife in Findlay. He can be reached at P.O. Box 413, Mount Blanchard, OH 45867-0413 or via email at jimsfieldnotes@aol.com