Your ultimate hunting resource. Because it’s an open meadow with nowhere to hide, our goal is to force them across the road, where Marco thinks we can catch up to them in the truck and surprise them from behind. For some people, it’s great. When should kids go back to in-person school? “We don’t overhunt them,” he says. And now, we wait. «eZ‹5~_™à!9ıM€B¾æ$$ŒÜB^ I>|#+qK”†)dQ¦1äm0ùrè¬ì*à] ›Z)w˜æ‚Ç. you might consider calling the dfg office in that area and see if they can help you out. On Figueroa Mountain he might check on 20 to 30 hunters in a day. The entire flock, about 30 in all, makes a mad dash for the hills, gliding impressively off the ridge and out of sight. Marco thinks he may have hit one with a glancing blow. Most turkey hunters would sooner take a swift kick in the nuts than give up their turkey spot. Southern California Inshore & Islands Fish Reports. There’s remarkably little blood. awn peeks its way through the thick fog, illuminating the oak tree-laden hills bordering the Santa Ynez River and the communities of deer, wild boar, and quail that call it home. The local ranches are loaded with the birds, but there are few public areas to hunt. Even so, Marco says the bird will be plenty enough to feed his family at the Thanksgiving table. Los Padres National Forest offers visitors and campers endless hiking trails, OHV routes and off-road trails, mountain biking paths, and high altitude campgrounds. Staff Writer Jeremy Thomas can be contacted at jthomas@santamariasun.com. There’s a chaotic flurry of feathers and panicked squawking. As wild turkeys aren’t indigenous to California, a state with strict regulations on introducing non-native species into the environment, finding one to hunt on public land can be an exercise in futility. “But it wouldn’t have been as fun.”. Suddenly, the sharp report of the shotgun breaks the calm. “You get that adrenaline rush and you start shaking.”. may be we where doing something wrong. Hunt the western section of the national forest. reviews, fishing videos, fishing recipes, “You own the property, but you don’t own the wildlife that’s on the property,” Solis said. He tramps through a washed-out gully and determinedly eyes the group. According to California Department of Fish and Game lieutenant Jim Solis, who supervises wildlife in Santa Barbara County, turkeys are hunted in two seasons each year, and each requires a different approach. “OK, I’m done playing with them,” he says confidently. Bill Decker, a volunteer ranger at the Santa Lucia Ranger District in Santa Maria, has been an outdoorsman in the area for nearly 40 years. Girard Ridge is another good … Not to worry though, he says. Hunters are allowed by law to bag one bird of each sex, but because the animals aren’t breeding, they don’t respond to calls. He drives the country back roads weekly and regularly spots flocks east of the city in Rattlesnake Canyon, which is currently closed to road traffic. “That’s where sportsmen really get hooked on turkey hunting. ok guys i saw this post and i thought i should say i was down in los padres this past weekend and boy was i dispointed, my buddie and i didnt see one turkey or pig. Countless others live on private property. anybody know of any good spots for turkey this spring season in the los padres national forest around santa barbara/lockwood valley area? thanks... A few years ago, I was up there looking for hogs and I saw some in a campground south of lake Cachuma. TURKEY HUNTING Prime Public Hunting Areas: Shasta County is the number one producer of wild turkey in the state. Good luck. “I just winged him,” Marco says. While uncommon in fall, turkey hunting is quite popular in the county in spring, Solis said. Dawn peeks its way through the thick fog, illuminating the oak tree-laden hills bordering the Santa Ynez River and the communities of deer, wild boar, and quail that call it home. Hunting and Shooting Los Padres National Forest X The California Department of Fish & Game has primary responsibility for the management of wildlife in the State of California. “Sometimes they’ll have a hunting operation where they’ll charge to hunt turkeys on private land. This is it. Decker’s weapon of choice is a shotgun. “It’s not like target shooting. As far as weapons go, hunters can use shotguns with up to a No. Unfortunately, the ground cover is poor and Marco is unable to sneak up on them; they spook and take off for their roosts in the tall trees. “We tend to manage them. Copyright © Santa Maria Sun. He walks ahead and motions for us to stay put. In 2005, the Los Padres National Forest was formally closed to target shooting due to “increasing numbers of national forest users, concerns for public health and safety, resource damage to areas where the activity has been concentrated, and the documentation of numerous wildland fires that have been caused by recreational target shooting.” The closure does […] Marco says shooting them from this point wouldn’t be much of a challenge, so he instead drives us deep into the grassy brown hills, passing by several large groups of the wild birds. but I live only about a hour away from Los Padres NF. In anticipation of this reporter’s hunting trip, calls around to various local hunting supply stores proved fruitless, until a tip from a Buellton area shop led me to Marco’s ranch. bass fishing, and deer hunting, Subscribe here to get the latest updates news on all things fishing right to your inbox. Here's a link with online NF maps. At times, Solis said, hunters will even use decoys, setting them up in an open meadow and calling for the males. The agency has had better luck recently with the Rio Grande subspecies and transplants conducted in the Los Padres National Forest’s Santa Lucia Ranger District, which stretches from Highway 58 north to Figueroa Mountain. There’s still one more large group he knows of back near the entrance of the ranch, where about 25 birds are gathered under an oak tree, presumably feeding on acorns. ó±x…»»ÅËòë “They tend to use the same path over and over,” he says. As food, he says, wild turkeys are leaner than their domestic cousins, with more dark meat and smaller breasts. For such a staid looking bird, turkeys are actually quite intelligent, have excellent vision, and, contrary to the layman’s perception, they do fly, jumping not so gracefully from the ground to roost in trees and sometimes gliding. To lure toms, hunters use traditional box and slate calls that imitate a hen available for breeding. First, you have to take a hunting safety class, usually free of charge, but only offered a few times each year. A turkey hunter himself, Decker said the birds tend to gravitate toward private property, where they’re more likely to be protected from predators and the harsh conditions of the forest. “We don’t overhunt them,” he says. These days, Solis said, most turkey hunters learn calls from videos on the Internet, and many pride themselves on their ability to mimic the hens. The goal, he says, is to aim for the heart. San Luis Obispo County was one of the places in California where wild turkeys were first planted. During the fall season, visitors will pay him $250 for the opportunity to bag their own turkeys. We never find the arrow. It has a lot of good hunting on BLM and National Forest lands. Marco cuts down the middle of the chest to open the cavity, and yours truly gets the honor of scooping the entrails out the bottom. “In the morning they go one way, and in the afternoon they’ll turn around and go back to their roosting trees. “It would’ve been a lot easier to just go get a Butterball,” he says, as we walk back to the truck. The fall hunting season is short, running from Nov. 12 to 27. The agency has had better luck recently with the Rio Grande subspecies and transplants conducted in the Los Padres National Forest’s Santa Lucia Ranger District, which stretches from Highway 58 north to Figueroa Mountain. You must log in or register to reply here. “We tend to manage them. By virtue of his daily chores and patterns, Marco knows exactly where to find the biggest flocks. JavaScript is disabled. Weekly Poll Then of course, there’s the hardware and the gear. or out of state. The toms, as they’re called, are distinguished by their beards. Marco says shooting them from this point wouldn’t be much of a challenge, so he instead drives us deep into the grassy brown hills, passing by several large groups of the wild birds. On the second shot, there’s an audible thunk, but the birds sprint away, leaving only feathers behind. The California Department of Fish and Game first transplanted the birds locally beginning in the 1940s, but due to the stock used and the small numbers transplanted at the time, the turkeys failed to thrive.

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