"I would advise hunters to try and get away from the crowd here to get on a gobbler," said Bowen. "When scouting, look for the right habitat -- clear cuts, burns and stripped rows -- and walk these areas. I killed a bird on one tract of Kisatchie by previously walking the whole perimeter of the area and finding feathers, dusting sites and tracts. The big gobbler I killed on the tract was located by finding one solitary track at a mudhole."

Please consult the 2009 Spring Louisiana Turkey Hunting Pamphlet before heading out to Fort Polk WMA or Kisatchie NF for permits, rules, schedules and instructions.

ATCHAFALAYA DELTA REGION
The Atchafalaya Delta Region is in south-central Louisiana and encompasses the parishes of Ascension, Assumption, Avoyelles, Cameron, Iberia, Iberville, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lafourche, Orleans, Plaquemines, Pointe Coupee, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St. Landry, St. Martin, St. Mary, Terrebonne, Vermilion and West Baton Rouge. Much of these lands lies within the interior of arguably America's greatest river basin swamp -- the Atchafalaya Basin.

"I think we can expect another good season in the basin in 2009," predicted Tony Vidrine, biologist manager with LDWF's Region VI. At press time, the area's poult counts were not provided. The area is huge and the nesting areas along the levee are thick, with high grass making for difficulties in obtaining valid estimates of poults in the Basin.

The Sherburne Complex consists of Sherburne WMA and the Atchafalaya National Wildlife Refuge, and these lands combine for more than 44,000 acres for youth and adult hunters afield for wild Eastern gobblers.

Last season, some 76 gobblers were taken by 911 hunting efforts in only 13 days afield, or 12 hunting efforts per bagged gobbler.

The spring hunts here consist of seven lottery hunting days (two youth days) and six non-lottery days for participating hunters. Private lands have a longer season in the area.

Hunters will be rewarded by finding turkeys roosting near hardwoods flats, sloughs and the edges of pipeline and power line right-of-ways. Hunters are successful intercepting gobblers from roost sites to feeding locations.

For more information regarding wild turkey hunting in Region VI, contact the LDWF office at (337) 948-0255, or consult the 2009 Louisiana Turkey Regulations Pamphlet.

NORTHWEST REGION
To the northwest lies a vast pine and hardwoods area encompassing the following parishes: Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Caldwell, Claiborne, DeSoto, Jackson, LaSalle, Lincoln, Red River, Union and Webster.

These parishes hold turkeys in good numbers, and a popular public area is Jackson-Bienville WMA located in Jackson and Bienville parishes. Savage touts this area as one of the top areas for taking a public turkey.

Savage's records reveal that 30 gobblers were taken here by 590 hunting efforts, for approximately 20 hunting efforts per bird. These are not bad statistics for hunters looking for gobblers during a season of only 17 days in length.

This WMA is located 12 miles south of Ruston and encompasses 32,185 acres of rolling, pine-blanketed hills and hardwoods scattered in bottomland areas

Strategies here include scouting and finding longbeards roosting near streamside management zones and then working them as they move toward mating, bugging and scratching locations.

For maps or more information regarding Jackson-Bienville WMA, write or call the LDWF, 1401 Talton Street, Minden, LA 71055, (318) 371-3050.

NORTH MISSISSIPPI DELTA REGION
According to Savage, this area was certainly hit hard by the flooding of the Mississippi River into its basin in April 2008. Therefore, Savage considers the private lands in the area to have suffered from low poult hatch and survival chiefly because of the flooded area.