Cast and Blast

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Lkyboots

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Apr 5, 2017
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Some of my favorite memories was Turkey hunting in the morning and fly fishing in the afternoon. Seems that a lot of places where there are Trout streams are areas that are also good places to Turkey hunt.

One of my favorite cast and blast place is along Salmon Creek in Forest County. Plenty of Turkeys and Trout. Another favorite place is Randolph County West Virginia, great Turkey hunting and plenty of Trout streams.

I always wanted to kill a 20# bird and catch a 20" Brownie on the same day. Killed a lot of big birds and caught a lot of big browns but never on the same day.

How about you fellas, anyone combine Turkey and Trout adventures.
 
Neat topic. I often hear them gobbling and have even seen them along stream while fishing. I'm usually so charged up about fishing that I don't do both. I did have a day where I got a huge 24" stocked brown and then got a gobbler next day. Have a memorable day when my son and I got gobblers in two separate locations same morning. It is just the most beautiful time of the year to be outdoors that's for sure. I always think May on a PA trout stream or woods is like heaven.
 
I do this every year. I take off the first week of spring turkey in PA and head to my camp. Stop somewhere on Friday night before opening day to fish and leave in time to get to a good listening spot at dark. Hunt the next morning. Continue pattern until the next Sunday. 10 fishing days and 7 hunting days.

Coincidently my camp is about 7 miles from Salmon creek. Mostly stocked streams in the area but enough small wild trout streams to offer that if you are so inclined. Unfortunately the turkey population is down and you don’t get on a bird every day like you did from 1995 to 2015.

I’ve never done the 20lb bird and 20” brown but about 3 years ago I shot a bird at daybreak. Dressed it at camp, plucked some feathers and tied 3-4 streamers. Caught 23 trout on those streamers that overcast day.

Also about 10 years ago did a fall cast and blast on the Pere Marquette in October. My father and I hunted Grouse near Baldwin in mornings and fished the PM in the afternoon. The salmon run was late that year so we got to fish for kings and browns. Went to Little Manistee one night and caught what appeared to be wild rainbows on dries (all were 4-8 inches).
 
I am not a turkey hunter but I am a duck hunter. I love shooting some ducks in the morning and catching some fish after the duck shoot is over. Yeah, great times.
 
Flushed a woodcock while fishing a brookie stream yesterday. Spooked basically underfoot and scared the be-jesus out of me.
 
Do it every year. Turkey hunt until noon and then fly fish the afternoon.
Some times I even take a nap between both pursuits. It's my favorite time of the year I guess that's why I was born in May.
 
Lkyboots wrote:
One of my favorite cast and blast place is along Salmon Creek in Forest County. Plenty of Turkeys and Trout.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip! See ya in the woods!

 
Prospector wrote:

Coincidently my camp is about 7 miles from Salmon creek. Mostly stocked streams in the area but enough small wild trout streams to offer that if you are so inclined. Unfortunately the turkey population is down and you don’t get on a bird every day like you did from 1995 to 2015.
Click to expand...

See what Prospector did there??? Lol.
 
The turkey population is in decline in most states. It’s a mystery.

https://www.popsci.com/wild-turkey-decline/

https://www.fieldandstream.com/special-report-why-are-wild-turkey-numbers-declining-in-eastern-us/
 
I'll be at my camp in forest county on May 1st for turkey. I enjoy this time of year. The birds aren't their like they used to be.

My camp is give or take 12 miles from salmon creek so I usually visit once a year.
 
I need to make a better point to do this more often, with a young family it is challenging. I did get one full weekend last year of an unsuccessful turkey hunt, a saturday afternoon and then most of a sunday on class a mountain streams.

The year I graduated from college we had a week break between finals and graduation that happened to coincide with the opening week of turkey season. Instead of partying on campus a group of friends stayed at a cabin and turkey hunted each morning and trout fished most afternoons after a nap. I killed my first public land gobbler that week and we ate like kings as well. One of the best weeks of my life that I can recall.
 
When my uncle had a camp in New Lancaster Valley I would do as often mentioned above, including the afternoon nap.

Now I'm lucky to get a couple weekend days of hunting in.

What do y'all think of the youth hunt the weekend before the regular opener?

I think some gobbler that you have scouted out may get spooked off a week early.
 
I've been lucky enough to take a few kids out for the youth hunt. Most of them either killed a bird or had some close encounters. Best time I ever had hunting.
 
1. Youth day a good day, in most cases when the kids are not too young to really hunt.

2. Cast and blast is great; hunt in the mornings, and fish in the afternoons, evenings. However, if you are as bad a gobbler hunter as I am and are as old as I am, when the big evening hatches get going, you might not be able to burn the candle at both ends and survive. Last year's gobbler hunt did not go well for me. When the big sulphur hatches and spinner falls got going, I had to choose betw. hunting and fly-fishing. The fishing easily won out, and I had a lot more success with the trout than I had had with the gobblers.

3. With declining turkey populations in many places, I am opposed to the stamp to kill a second gobbler in the spring. I am also no fan of baits (aka food plots), blinds, and decoys, which take away the tom's main defense: his eyesight -- and makes for an uneven contest.

4. Anyhow, at 71, I have gotten too old to do the cast and blast every day for a month. I guess I need to become a better hunter.
 
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