A young man, probably in his 20’s by now, obviously happy to have bagged his first gobbler. Do you know who this young man is? (Photo by Tom Cross)

By Tom Cross

Finally, grab your fishing pole and scuff up the slate on that turkey call because the day is upon us when all can get into the woods and onto the water.
Ohio’s youth turkey season opens Saturday, April 17 and 18. The following weekend Ohio’s general turkey season opens Saturday, April 24 through May 23. Almost a month of turkey hunting lies ahead. If you live in the northeast corner of the state, turkey season opens a week later.
One detail I always like to recall is that Ohio’s first modern day turkey season was held in 1966 in nine counties in southeast Ohio, Adams County being one of them. That year 12 gobblers were checked. The season was two weeks long and you had to get drawn. Drawing for turkey permits continued for several years, and it was a split season. If memory serves me correctly, 1,000 applicants were drawn for the first two weeks, and 1,000 drawn for the second two week season. It wasn’t until 1984 that 1,000 birds were checked. In 2000 the season was finally opened statewide and turkey hunters checked 20,000 gobblers that season. Not bad considering wild turkeys were gone from Ohio by the mid-1900’s.
The wild turkey population in Ohio saw unprecedented growth during the 1980’s. In the hills of eastern Adams County, hearing 20 gobblers a morning was not uncommon. Their range expanded greatly during the early 1990’s and I can vividly remember seeing my first turkey gobbler around the farm sometime in the early 80’s. Turkey hunting also caught on during the 80’s becoming immensely popular. Back in the “old days” you couldn’t purchase a turkey call locally, you had to mail order a call from Penn Woods, Lynch, or Roger Latham.
Thinking back to my teen years and early 20’s I used to turkey hunt in Zaleski State Forest and the Waterloo Wildlife Area in Vinton and Athens County. I drove a 1962 red Ford Falcon station wagon which I also slept in. My first turkey gun was a borrowed a 12 gauge O/U Beretta Silver Snipe from Mr. Cook who lived at the end of our road. Years later he offered to sell me the gun for $200 which I did not have. My first turkey call was a borrowed box call on loan from an African American barber I got to know who had a barber shop in Chillicothe near the Mead Paper plant. I did get some looks when I visited the barber shop to return the call.
My first turkey call was a Roger Latham box call given to me by Clermont County Judge Chris Rosenhoffer probably in the mid-1970’s. I still have it. Judge Rosenhoffer passed away in 1999. During those early years I was writing outdoor columns for The Clermont Sun newspaper, I got to meet a lot of people and a lot of people got to know me.
My first brush with fame came on Turner Ridge in Zaleski State Forest during the early 70’s when I ran into Bill Gressard, who was an outdoor columnist for the Record Courier in Kent, Ohio, and Dick Kotis, who was president of the Fred Arbogast Bait Company in Akron. We were chatting that late morning after hunting when a turkey gobbled that sounded like he was just below the hill from us. We all surprisingly looked at each other like “Whose going after the bird?”. I said to Bill and Mr. Kotis, “Go ahead I’ll wait here in case he crosses the road”, and down over the hill they went. They never got the gobbler and he never crossed the road either. Bill died in 2001, as far as I know Dick Kotis is still around and I had the pleasure of fishing with him about 10 years ago.
I can remember my first gobbler like it was yesterday. It was on top of a mountain between Cedar Mills and Wamsley where at one time I ran in to former Cincinnati Bengals players Tommy Casanova and Dave Rimington. I think I heard 20 gobblers that particular morning and watched two gobblers fight. I called a big tom in that got close enough to shoot with my Grandpa’s 12 gauge Stevens double barrel. The bird weighed 20 pounds and had a 10-inch beard. Years later I finally ended up with a good turkey gun I could call my own when Kevin and Keith Willett had the gun shop in West Union and I purchased a SKB 12 gauge side by side from them. The finish was so shiny on the stock and barrel that I had the Willetts glass bead the barrel and re-blue it and refinish the stock with a dull hand rubbed oil finish. I still have the gun and it has killed a lot of turkeys since then.
The last two seasons I have been able to purchase a senior license at a reduced cost of $12.. When I turned 66, I purchased lifetime hunting and fishing licenses. I figured I’d bought enough deer and turkey tags since the late 60’s that I was entitled to a discount. I’ll be back in the woods for the season opener as I have been for the last 50 plus years.
Let don’t forget about the fishing. Not only is turkey season in but the white bass will start running in Ohio Brush Creek in late April. The peak of the run usually coincides with the opening of turkey season. The best fishing for white bass is south of the State Rte. 125 Bridge along the stretch of creek that borders Waggoner Riffle Road. You can’t go wrong with a white Mepps or a small silver crank bait to catch white bass on the run.
Can anyone identify the boy in the photo below? I took the picture on April 17, 2010, at 9 a.m. at our house. The pear tree in the background is much bigger now. The boy with the gobbler is probably in his 20’s by now. The father and his son must have stopped by our place, proud of the fact his boy bagged his first gobbler during the youth season and wanted to show off his bird and a nice gobbler it is.