Photo by Kenny Bahr

Ohio’s wild turkey populations are looking good, according to Ohio Division of Wildlife biologists.

Turkeys are now found throughout the Buckeye State. And in some counties, hundreds of birds are tagged every spring season.

Wild turkeys were nearly gone before the ODOW’s reintroduction of birds in the 1950s. Statewide, the first spring turkey season was opened in 1966. This will be only the eighth spring that the early season has been open in all 88 counties.

Big toms are wary by nature, and older birds with a couple of seasons behind them know how to keep out of harm’s way. But good calling and creative tactics can make the difference.

One of the most important aspects of a successful hunt is being in the right place at the right time. Here’s a look at a few of Ohio’s public hunting areas where expectations are running high and the chance of bagging a spring gobbler are better than good:

CENTRAL OHIO
“Central Ohio isn’t in the heart of turkey country,” said Dan Huss, an ODOW wildlife biologist. “Most of the wooded areas in this part of Ohio are smaller and linear, so there are fewer birds. But if you know an area well, you can kill a turkey.”

Huss explained that turkey populations in the heartland are well established and are continuing to spread into other areas to fill in the available habitat.

“They’re extremely adaptable,” said Huss. “We’re seeing turkeys closer to the urban areas and closer to people than we’ve ever seen before. We’re actually finding turkeys in 20-acre woodlots, as long as the woodlots aren’t surrounded by a sea of corn.”

One reason why turkeys have adapted so well to central Ohio is that they’re happy to indulge in wheat, oats, soybeans and corn -- all standard crops on the farms throughout the area. These birds will also eat sorghum, oats, clover and rye when available.

“River corridors with trees connecting the woodlots along a creek or river are places that turkeys can move from one place to another without any problem,” said Huss. “We used to think that turkeys needed at least a 5,000-acre block of forest to do well, but we’ve found that they don’t. They still need a lot of room. But the woods can be in smaller tracts, as long as the tracts are close enough for the turkeys to move around in.

“The public lands in central Ohio do support a good number of turkeys, but the densities of bird populations aren’t high,” Huss continued. “There are places to try if you want to hunt close to home. But you have to get used to hunting flat land, rather than in the hills. Where you would normally call a turkey up a ridge and there’s a ridgeline to break the turkey’s view, in a flat forest there’s a better chance of the tom seeing you.”

The 1,323-acre Kokosing Lake Wildlife Area in Knox County is about 60 percent wooded. The surrounding private lands also hold turkeys that move through the public hunting lands.

Kokosing Lake WA may be reached off state Route 13 northwest of Mt. Vernon on township Road 371 in Knox County.

Deer Creek Wildlife Area sprawls across 4,085 acres in Pickaway, Madison and Fayette counties. The mature woods, open grasses and brushy cover hold turkeys, said Huss. Row crops are maintained to draw in the wildlife. The Deer Creek WA is 35 miles southwest of Columbus on state Route 207.

For additional information, contact the Ohio Division of Wildlife’s District One office at (614) 644-3925.