Just got out of the Cranbrook area heard one gobbler west of town tried calling him in and nothing seemed to work. Then we saw two hens by Fort Steele besides that went all the way up to skook, from what I've been hearing the flocks are not as big as they use to be in the Fort Steele area best bet is head south and west in the Creston valley. I'm heading there the weekend of the 12th hopefully on some private land.
Went on to Crown land by Radium, Wasa, Warren, Kimberly. Nothing in those areas, but clearly I must be doing something wrong.
All the best with your hunt.
Last edited by Akski; 04-25-2018 at 08:30 PM.
This thread has been wonderful to read, turkey hunting is a dream of mine and it’s great to read so much first hand experience.
In the Christina Lake area, where does one go to find the Crown land? I'm assuming the majority of the stuff surrounding town is generally private?
We tried out Santa Rosa Rd, and up Fife Rd and other FSRs off Fife. Didn’t see or hear a single bird. The locals we spoke to were helpful but said the typical “they were everywhere in town last week”.
We finally found birds east of Trail, but couldn’t get an bead on the one tom we found on public land. We saw many on private land, but the owner of that particular acreage has apparently charged multiple parties with trespassing in the past year, so we kept well clear.
Is it better to hike up the mountains and look for them? Or do they tend to come down into the valley/farmland this time of year? It's kinda been a mix of rain/sun still.
Fife and Santa Rosa have birds. Lots of birds. As does Stewart Creek. Allthe turkeys that everyone was seeing in large groups, have broken up as the toms have taken the hens into the less obvious places. You will have to walk to find them. Still hunting and calling will work. Caution as they tend to come in quietly and will surprise you and then run away before you can get a shot. You have to get out and walk...and perhaps a lot. Look for track in the sand or mud. Ifg the sun comes out, look for hills and bluffs that they will sun and strut on. They can be anywhere from creek gullies to open timber hillsides. You ahve to get out and walk. I find the most productive way to locate them is call just as it gets dark at night. Did I mention that you have to get out and walk?
"Target archery is seeing how far away you can get and still hit the bull's eye;
Bowhunting is seeing how close you can get and never miss your mark."
"A man's got to know his limitations"