Permit Areas 225 or 236, Chengwatana State Forest

[TomBow]

Due to complete change of location and employment, I neglected to get in my application for spring turkey in time (yeah, yeah, poor me, huh?). Anyway, thankfully the two week turkey license is available in areas not too far from my new digs in Proctor. Anybody who has any experience or information concerning Chengwatana State Forest, Rock Marsh WMA and/or Permit Areas 225 or 236, please contact me. I'm not trying to horn in on anyone's hunt, but am looking for locations where a fellah might find a turkey. Thanks in advance and best of luck to all!

[Powerstroke]

unfortunatley I don't know anything about those areas, but I wish you good luck with the archery hunt. I will try to arrow my first bird this year too.

[Ray Esboldt]

You can buy a license if you did not apply in time?

Anyway, I asked the DNR about the Chengwatana once and was directed to contact their regional office. I never followed through. However, I know some of the forest is open to hunting, some is not. I'm sure the local warden could fill you in on the dos and don'ts.

[fivebucks]

Ray,

You can buy an archery license for any zone that put out at least 50 licenses. The time period is only for late in the season, the last 2 seasons I believe. The one point I am not sure of is if it is open to everyone or just people that were not drawn, I think open to all though.

[TomBow]

Forgot to mention, the 2 week license is an Archery only license. The DNR started offerring this license last year and it is good for the last two weeks of the total turkey season, yup, in permit areas that have 50 or more permits per time period (A,B,C, thru H).

Thanks for the reply.

[john.wells]

The south end of Chengwatana will be your best bet. There is more upland terrain than the north part. There are a TON of birds up this way and you shouldn't have much of a problem finding a good birdy area. If you get into the North end, there are some nice islands that might hold birds, but there is a lot of swamp up there-better for bear and grouse. Chengwatana has a bunch of land that is pretty much unaccessable, but don't be discouraged. On the plus side, I don't think you will have much competition.

[TomBow]

Thank you for the information, Mr. Wells. The topo matches what you've said. Guess it will be time to do some scouting soon. Best of Luck!

[john.wells]

Your welcome . Chengwatana is where I cut my teeth with hunting. It has a special place in my heart. Good luck!

[TomBow]

I've been down scouting just south of Hwy 70 and have heard more birds on the WI side of the river than on the MN. Anyone having success in Area 225, either near the river or beyond? I've run into a few vehicles on the public land and have stayed out on my scouting trips so I don't booger up someone's hunt. I have only seen a few turkeys in the area. Any tips on good locations? I have the bow license but probably won't get more than a couple days to hunt. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated! Best of Luck to you and yours!

[brittman]

Are they gobbling all morning or just before fly down.

Turkey numbers are down in this area because a few poor hatches. Easy winters, but terribly cold and wet springs.

One thought would be to get away from the river. Drive the farm roads and find turkeys out in the fields. Rain like this and turkeys move to the open.

Suspect a bow hunter may get permission easier than a gun hunter.

[TomBow]

From what I heard last week, the birds seemed to be gobbling on the roost and quieted after fly-down. I have been driving around after sunrise on the last two scouting trips and have spotted birds only in one field and that was two miles west of the river. Beyond that, there have been no birds sighted on miles of country roads all the way to HWY 35. There is alot of good looking habitat but just haven't seen or heard birds. I'll keep at it and hopefully luck will be on my side. Best of luck to all!