Assistant area manager Steve Mund points out that there are numerous turkeys on the area. According to the FWA's harvest records, eight birds were taken in 2007 and 15 in 2006.

Most hunters will just walk in and start calling, Mund said. There are some rugged areas where this works well and some fields where hunters can set up to intercept a gobbler in the morning.

Checking in before the hunt is required. The FWA can be accessed 10 miles east of Madison on state Route 56. A daily permit is required from the self check-in station at parking lot 3.

According to Grauel, the Crosley FWA in Jennings County also provides outstanding turkey hunting opportunities. Crosley covers 4,228 acres of rolling hills and ponds and offers seven river miles of the Muskatuck River.

For more information, contact District 11 at (812) 352-8486 or the Crosley FWA at (812) 346-5596.

DISTRICT 13
"As for public-land turkey hunting, the Harrison-Crawford State Forest would probably be the best in my area," biologist Mark Bennett said.

The Harrison-Crawford SF is the place to go for gobblers in this region. Combining the state forest with nearby Wyandotte Woods SRA furnishes hunters with 24,000 acres of prime river bottom, forest edges and timber.

"We have a system of permanent wildlife openings and water holes and the Division of Fish and Wildlife does periodic maintenance on them to make sure they're usable by young turkeys," said Dwayne Sieg, the property manager of Harrison-Crawford State Forest.

Judging by the numbers of turkeys spotted along the highway and in other areas on the forest, the birds are fairly well spread out and the numbers are good, according to Sieg. Newcomers might want to find a spot where there's access from SRs 62 or 462 or from Interstate 64. From the beginning of SR 462, SR 62 runs through the Blue River Valley with the state forest lying on both sides of the river and the highway, almost to the Ohio River. This frontage provides hunters a wide range of opportunities to get into the woods without walking far.

The Cold Friday region is the largest section of the forest and allows hunters who want to access the more remote areas an opportunity to do so. Fox Hollow is smaller but a likewise remote section.