Spring is here, and that means turkey hunting

By Bill Bartusek

Almost as quickly as you can blink an eye, the weather has changed. Despite deep snow in the south, the grass is greening up. The sun's warm rays are quickly heating the air into the 60-degree range.

Just as quickly, we find ourselves in the start of the spring turkey hunt. After all, it is the middle of April, and the turkey mating season is at hand. I would imagine turkey hunters will find the gobblers really heating up as the weather warms.

Turkey numbers are in great shape despite a very long winter season. They went into the winter with good numbers and have come through the winter well. Our snows came early in the season, and they held off until later in March.

The turkeys were able to find plenty of food during most of the winter. Hunters will find the birds in small groups. There the toms will strut their stuff, trying to romance the smaller hens.

If the weatherman is right, hunters should expect great results along with great weather. We'll have to wait and see how the season unfolds.

I also find myself just a few weeks away from the walleye opener. Even though the lakes are still ice covered, it's time to get the boat out of winter storage. This may be one of those years where the first outing on the lake is the opener. We'll have to get the boat ready without getting out on the water.

The opener will also be an early one. Walleye will probably be in pre-spawn mode. That's not so bad. It will put walleyes in pretty shallow water and keep them grouped up quite a bit.

I'm sure your presentation will need to be very slow for sure.

Not all wildlife comes through the winter well. As I drove around some of the lakes, I saw quite a few dead fish. The long ice season starved the fish's oxygen levels, and many didn't make it.

Rebuilding the fish populations in these lakes will be a big job. I'm sure our local sports organizations will be involved in this process.