Apr 22, 2007 By Rod Schoener 4 min read

What a week! At least the weather has finally around.

Things are really looking up for trout fishermen and spring gobbler hunters.

The youngsters had beautiful weather for their special youth hunt yesterday morning.

Turkeys seem to be in good supply throughout the area.

Last week I mentioned that flocks seemed to vanish from a couple of areas where I always see them.

No sooner did I say that than I began to see gobblers strutting and showing off for hens in spots where I’ve never seen a turkey before. Unfortunately, their activity was mostly near populated areas.

Last Thursday I caught up with Western Greene County Wildlife Conservation Officer Rod Burns, and we talked briefly before he headed out to a local sportsmen’s club meeting.

“There are lots of turkeys. It looks like it’s going to be a pretty good year,” Burns said.

“I’m really surprised by the amount of jakes, and there is a pretty good supply of two-year-old birds.

“Three-year-olds will be scarce, and four-year-olds are scarce, even in good years.”

Burns said he feels that the gobblers and hens have already separated.

“I think the spring seasons will be better than last year. There are definitely more turkeys out there. There has definitely been more reproduction in the last couple of years.

“I know from what birds I saw during our banding program this past winter that there is a pretty good group of jakes and some nice long beards out there.”

As previously mentioned, the youngsters took to the field for the special youth gobbler hunt yesterday, and the rest of the hunting community will get its chance this Saturday.

A big plus this year is the fact that die-hard hunters can finally kill a second gobbler if they secure an extra tag.

A couple of weeks ago, the Game Commission released its pre-season wild turkey field reports.

The report for WMU 2C said, “Good for hunting jakes. Turkeys are on the rise again in this WMU, partially as a result of the shorter, two-week fall season that has been in place since 2004. Spring harvests and summer turkey sightings are still below the state average, but compared to itself, they are nearing average.”

The WMU 2A field report said, “Fair to poor compared to this WMU’s spring harvests and population of 200 and 2001. Summer recruitment is still above the statewide average, just below average for this WMU. However, spring harvest density has been below the state average for the last two years. There are fewer two-year-olds in the 2007 population than last year, but there is an abundant supply of older gobblers.”

Fayette rabbit hunters

Larry Russman is becoming very enthusiastic about the newly organized Fayette County Gundog Beagle Association.

To date, 32 members have signed up.

The word is that if they can get the chapter up and running, with the ideal weather in this area for field trials, the club could be selected to hold one of the Association’s top five hunts and perhaps even the state championship hunt.

Interested gundog hunters are invited to attend the next meeting of the Association at 7 p.m. Tuesday (April 24) at Amend Gun Club.

Fishing Derby

The Fayette County Conservation District will host its annual fishing derby from 9 a.m. until noon on Saturday, May 5 at the Fairchance Community Park.

All children 15-years-of-age and under are encouraged to participate.

There is no cost, and participants will be treated to a picnic following the fishing derby.

Prizes will be awarded to the top young anglers.

Parents are asked to register their youngsters prior to the event.

To register a youngster or obtain more information contact Heather Knupsky at 724-438-4497.

Herald-Standard outdoor editor Rod Schoener can be reached on line at rschoener@heraldstandard.com.