GOBBLER NUMBERS DOWN - Lay Says Turkey Crop Good Locally

(04/25/2005)

WVs Department of Natural Resources is not exactly ecstatic over this year's spring gobbler season, predicting a low harvest, or a harvest about like last year, which wasn't exactly the greatest. Calhoun's Brad Lay (left) president of the Little Kanawha Longbeards group, says "I've seen a lot of turkeys around here, and I predict a good season locally." Lay said the turkey crop is affected by poor hatches, predators and weather, among other factors. "I think the turkey population is about the same in Calhoun (and the region)," he said. "Last year's hatch was later," Lay said. Around the state, Curtis Taylor, wildlife chief for the DNR said "There's definitely going to be a lack of two and three-year-old gobblers out there. I look for this year's kill to be lower than last year's." Gobbler season creates a slight stir in Sunny Cal, with a few out-of-staters coming to the woods, but mostly it's the local, dedicated hunters like Lay who will hit the woods. Lay said out-of-staters don't flock to West Virginia because turkey hunting is "hard-work" with the mountainous terrain. State hunters killed a paltry 10,573 gobblers last spring — the lowest total since 1991. The kill in Calhoun was 183, Gilmer was 186 and Roane was 294. WV Turkey harvests have been in a tailspin since 2001, when hunters killed a record 17,875 birds. Lay, whose family members and friends are dedicated hunters, said "I'll be out there this morning." "This snow won't hurt a thing," he concluded.

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