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Oct. 17, 2002
Truman Lake good for hunting turkeys, too
BRENT FRAZEE, The Kansas City Star
WARSAW, Mo. - Most people think of big bass and crappies when Truman Lake is mentioned.
Not Darrell Kinkead. He thinks of big turkeys.
"This area has a lot of timber and a lot of turkeys," said Kinkead, who lives in Warsaw. "I've hunted this area for most of my life, and there are more birds now than when I was a kid.
"When we go out hunting now, we expect to see turkeys."
Kinkead certainly did Monday when Missouri's fall turkey season opened.
As he slipped through the woods on a friend's farm just a half-mile from Truman Lake, he spotted nine turkeys chasing grasshoppers in a field.
He quickly made a rush at the group, frightening the birds to the point that they dispersed in all directions. Then he set out to use a reliable fall hunting tactic. He sat down and prepared to call one of the insecure birds back in by imitating the sounds of one of its fellow birds.
But he didn't get the chance. Before he could issue his first call, he watched an adult gobbler run straight toward the place where he was hiding.
He leveled his shotgun, fired a shot and watched the bird -- an 183/4-pound gobbler -- fall.
"I didn't have to work too hard to get that one in," Kinkead said. "A lot of times, the older birds are harder to call in during the fall. Even when you break up a flock, they're in no hurry to get back together.
"The young ones, they'll come running when you call. They don't like being apart.
"But sometimes you'll find older birds that act like that, too. I was just in the right place at the right time."
For that, Kinkead credited the landowner.
"He did my homework for me," Kinkead said. "He did some scouting and he told me the birds were entering the field at the same time and the same place almost every day."
Such success no longer surprises Kinkead, though. Truman Lake has more than just water, he'll tell you.
The timber that stretches from its banks up the rugged hills holds plenty of turkeys and deer.
It's the type of country that hunters dream about when they think of turkeys -- rugged, thick, remote, almost impenetrable in spots.
But it also offers crop fields, clearings and food plots -- the "edge" areas that turkeys need to feed and raise broods.
And with a huge chunk of public land -- more than 100,000 acres maintained by the Missouri Department of Conservation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers -- it offers plenty of options for hunters.
"Our public hunting is still a pretty well-kept secret," said Lin Kozlowski, a wildlife management biologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation. "We'll get crowds on opening weekend of the deer season, but that's about it.
"For most of the hunting season, people can come out here on a weekday and hardly see another hunter all day long."
The more remote the section, the better the chances of taking game. But Kozlowski said there are flocks of turkeys on all the land the Department of Conservation manages.
Rick Fender of Clinton, Mo., took one of those birds on the opener. Hunting on Corps ground in Benton County, he spotted three gobblers walking through the woods on top of a bluff.
Minutes later, he shot one of those birds -- a 151/2-pound tom.
"This is just a great place to live if you like to hunt turkeys," he said. "I moved here from Iowa four years ago and I can't believe how many birds this area has."
Truman Lake good for hunting turkeys, too
BRENT FRAZEE, The Kansas City Star
WARSAW, Mo. - Most people think of big bass and crappies when Truman Lake is mentioned.
Not Darrell Kinkead. He thinks of big turkeys.
"This area has a lot of timber and a lot of turkeys," said Kinkead, who lives in Warsaw. "I've hunted this area for most of my life, and there are more birds now than when I was a kid.
"When we go out hunting now, we expect to see turkeys."
Kinkead certainly did Monday when Missouri's fall turkey season opened.
As he slipped through the woods on a friend's farm just a half-mile from Truman Lake, he spotted nine turkeys chasing grasshoppers in a field.
He quickly made a rush at the group, frightening the birds to the point that they dispersed in all directions. Then he set out to use a reliable fall hunting tactic. He sat down and prepared to call one of the insecure birds back in by imitating the sounds of one of its fellow birds.
But he didn't get the chance. Before he could issue his first call, he watched an adult gobbler run straight toward the place where he was hiding.
He leveled his shotgun, fired a shot and watched the bird -- an 183/4-pound gobbler -- fall.
"I didn't have to work too hard to get that one in," Kinkead said. "A lot of times, the older birds are harder to call in during the fall. Even when you break up a flock, they're in no hurry to get back together.
"The young ones, they'll come running when you call. They don't like being apart.
"But sometimes you'll find older birds that act like that, too. I was just in the right place at the right time."
For that, Kinkead credited the landowner.
"He did my homework for me," Kinkead said. "He did some scouting and he told me the birds were entering the field at the same time and the same place almost every day."
Such success no longer surprises Kinkead, though. Truman Lake has more than just water, he'll tell you.
The timber that stretches from its banks up the rugged hills holds plenty of turkeys and deer.
It's the type of country that hunters dream about when they think of turkeys -- rugged, thick, remote, almost impenetrable in spots.
But it also offers crop fields, clearings and food plots -- the "edge" areas that turkeys need to feed and raise broods.
And with a huge chunk of public land -- more than 100,000 acres maintained by the Missouri Department of Conservation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers -- it offers plenty of options for hunters.
"Our public hunting is still a pretty well-kept secret," said Lin Kozlowski, a wildlife management biologist for the Missouri Department of Conservation. "We'll get crowds on opening weekend of the deer season, but that's about it.
"For most of the hunting season, people can come out here on a weekday and hardly see another hunter all day long."
The more remote the section, the better the chances of taking game. But Kozlowski said there are flocks of turkeys on all the land the Department of Conservation manages.
Rick Fender of Clinton, Mo., took one of those birds on the opener. Hunting on Corps ground in Benton County, he spotted three gobblers walking through the woods on top of a bluff.
Minutes later, he shot one of those birds -- a 151/2-pound tom.
"This is just a great place to live if you like to hunt turkeys," he said. "I moved here from Iowa four years ago and I can't believe how many birds this area has."
