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A box calls is the most popular turkey call, and is a good choice for new turkey hunters. Box calls not only are easy to use, but they can sound very realistic. A box call can create a wide range of yelps, clucks, purrs, fighting purrs, cackles and gobbles. If you can get yelps, clucks and purrs to sound good on a box call, you’ll routinely bring in birds. Parts of a box call Box calls come in two parts – a narrow rectangular box with a paddle attached at one end. Attached with a single screw in the center



March 5, 2025 Baker County Bighorn sheep can be seen in the Burnt River Canyon west of Durkee or along the Snake River Road south of Richland. The best viewing is in the early morning and late in the evening. Take the Snake River Road between Richland and Huntington to see bald and golden eagles along the Snake River. There are deer throughout the valley. Early in the morning and late in the afternoon are good times to view wildlife. A drive through the foothills of the Baker valley and through the Keating valley can turn up good numbers of
In the spring, hunters try to take advantage of a tom’s predicted behavior during breeding season to bag a bird. In the fall, hunters fill their turkey tags by studying food sources and the daily routine of birds. Turkeys follow food sources As fall progresses, food sources for turkeys change. In late summer and early fall, turkeys largely feed on high-protein insects. Grasshoppers are a primary food source throughout Oregon this time of year. Silk worms, caterpillars, spiders and other bugs make up a good part of a turkey ’s fall diet. As fall leads to winter, earthworms and a



Pot calls, often called slate calls, are friction-style calls that are easy to use and produce a range of turkey sounds. Parts of a pot call A pot call consists of three parts: a pot, a calling surface and a striker. The pot holds the slate and acts as a sound chamber. There are holes drilled in the bottom for sound to escape. To keep from covering the holes, hold the pot with the tips of your fingers, keeping it away from the palm of your hand. Pot calls can be made to be all-weather, with the right striker. The


Pheasants, grouse, quail and turkey are all upland game birds that are chicken-like and ground-dwelling. Wild turkeys are the largest upland game bird in Oregon.

Build a wood duck house to encourage nesting. Walk a stream counting steelhead redds. Teach families to fish. Just some of the things ODFW volunteers do to help protect and enhance Oregon's natural resources. Current volunteer opportunities


There's more than one way to pluck a turkey. Whatever method you choose, don’t just grab a handful of feathers and start yanking. This could rip the very thin skin, and once you’ve ripped the skin it’s difficult to finish plucking. In fact, at that point you may need to resort to skinning the bird. Keep the feet attached to while turkey while plucking it. They’ll give something to hold on to as you rotate and move the carcass around for thorough plucking. Dry plucking a bird – simple but time consuming To dry pluck a turkey, hang it up

Turkey hunters using a shotgun face a very small target – the head and neck of a turkey. Combine that with today’s specialized turkey loads shooting very tight patterns, and making a clean kill shot might depend on a steady shooting rest. Turkeys are nervous-looking birds that seem to never stop moving. Because of their monocular vision and eyes set on the side of their skull, turkeys are often moving and bobbing their heads to try to decipher what they’re seeing. Consider a shooting rest If you’ve got your gun in a ready position, and are waiting for a turkey

April 3, 2025 Best bets for weekend fishing Steelhead will be available in the Wallowa and Imnaha Rivers through the rest of the season. Steelhead are still trickling into the Umatilla River with anglers having best success between Rieth and Pendleton. Boats can now launch on Wallowa Lake, and fishing for kokanee and rainbow trout should be good through the spring. Trout stocking Scheduled to be stocked the week of March 24: No stocking scheduled Stocked the week of March 17: Tatone Pond, McNary Channel Ponds, Hat Rock Pond Check out the 2025 stocking schedule. Trout stocking maps Check out
Upon taking an adult salmon, steelhead, legal-size sturgeon or Pacific halibut, the angler must immediately enter the codes for the species caught, ocean port or stream, and the month and day of catch. The information from these tags helps ODFW manage the fisheries and estimate total harvest. Currently nearly 40 percent of anglers use e-tagging. Want to switch from paper to electronic? Login to your account and look under your profile to switch.

April 3, 2025 Best bets for weekend fishing Willow Lake would be a great place to close out spring break with a little trout fishing. The lake is stocked and the boat ramp and day use areas are open. Warmwater fishing should start picking up on Emigrant Reservoir – check out the flooded willows in the draw-down zones for bass. Ice has melted on Howard Prairie, Hyatt Lake and Fish Lake, where early spring fishing for holdover trout can be good. Lost Creek Reservoir was stocked with 20,000 legal trout two weeks ago. The first Chinook have been caught in
The mountain cottontail is intermediate in size and light grayish-brown in color. Its tail is white and ears relatively broad and rounded. It is usually associated with rocky outcrops with nearby dominant vegetation consisting of big sagebrush, bitter-brush, rabbit-brush, western juniper and mountain-mahogany. In Oregon, it occurs throughout the state east of the Cascade Range with a western extension into Josephine County. Photo by ©Keith Kohl, ODFW

