Question For NZ State Land In Indian Lake

[DirtTime]

We took a trip up to Camp Driftwood on Indian Lake last Spring. On the way home we saw a ton of wild turkey traveling South on RT30, around the Lewey Lake area. We are toying with the idea of me getting a Spring turkey hunting trip up there. Depends on how much it costs to remodel our bathroom. The actual name of the land is Jessup River Wild Forest. Have any of you hunted the area for turkey? I am not asking for your honey hole, and I am not asking for specific areas of the land. Just curios if it's super thick in there. Aerial views from the web and even a topo won't tell me that.

Any replies would be appreciated.

 

[wolc123]

I hunted deer out of Galusha's camp on Lewey lake quite a few years ago.  I think they still rent cabins.  There was a small pasture directly across rt 30 from the camp.  On the South end of Lewey there was a big grassy swamp area.  Most of the rest of the area was pretty thick.  Turkeys were few and far between back then, but I did have my first run-in with an Adirondack buck a stones throw from that little pasture.  All of my Adirondack hunting lately has been on the NW edge of the park where the turkey population has been very good.  Now, with a second consecutive "non-winter", it should be spectacular this spring.

  

Edited January 25, 2017 by wolc123

[Buckmaster7600]

That is where my camp is. Turkeys are coming back but still very sparse. If I was planning a trip up there it would be for deer not turkeys because I think there are more deer than turkeys and that's not saying much.

As far as the land goes until you get onto state land it's all been logged so it's thick but early May isn't bad because leaves aren't bad yet. I have hunted turkeys up there a few different times and killed a decent gobbler and that's the only bird I have ever heard and he was along ways from me when I heard him the first time. After a long hike I heard him again and he was still along ways away he was working away from me. I killed that bird over 3 miles from where I was when I heard him the first time.

It's a blast hunting up there because its beautiful country and if you can find a bird they are easy to kill as there is virtually no hunting pressure on them.


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[SuperMag]

I've turkey hunted in that general area a little bit. Lately the turkey population up there has been great from what I've seen. There are some thick spots but a lot of it is very accessible and with a little bit of time and work put in, I don't think you'd have any problem bagging a nice bird.


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[DirtTime]

26 minutes ago, Buckmaster7600 said:

That is where my camp is. Turkeys are coming back but still very sparse. If I was planning a trip up there it would be for deer not turkeys because I think there are more deer than turkeys and that's not saying much.

As far as the land goes until you get onto state land it's all been logged so it's thick but early May isn't bad because leaves aren't bad yet. I have hunted turkeys up there a few different times and killed a decent gobbler and that's the only bird I have ever heard and he was along ways from me when I heard him the first time. After a long hike I heard him again and he was still along ways away he was working away from me. I killed that bird over 3 miles from where I was when I heard him the first time.

It's a blast hunting up there because its beautiful country and if you can find a bird they are easy to kill as there is virtually no hunting pressure on them.


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On the way home we saw at least 50 birds, hens with poults. I think I sad this in a different thread. They just sauntered across the road, not a care in the world. Some moron pulled past us i a hurry and and withing 2 miles they were at a dead stop waiting for different flock to cross the same road. They are up there, but, no way for me to scout everyday on land that's almost 3 hours away. It will be a new hunt, and in new land, so no matter what I will enjoy it. 

23 minutes ago, SuperMag said:

I've turkey hunted in that general area a little bit. Lately the turkey population up there has been great from what I've seen. There are some thick spots but a lot of it is very accessible and with a little bit of time and work put in, I don't think you'd have any problem bagging a nice bird.


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As long as my calling is on par, I agree.

 

 

Thanks for the feedback Buckmaster and SuperMag. Much appreciated.

[Buckmaster7600]

As long as my calling is on par, I agree.

 

 

Thanks for the feedback Buckmaster and SuperMag. Much appreciated.

Oh they're there for sure! It's the finding them that's tough, its big country. I spent a little over 40days at my camp this past deer season and saw 1 turkey and that was from the road.

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[Padre86]

On 1/24/2017 at 10:17 PM, Buckmaster7600 said:

That is where my camp is. Turkeys are coming back but still very sparse. If I was planning a trip up there it would be for deer not turkeys because I think there are more deer than turkeys and that's not saying much.
 

That's definitely not saying much.  Deer are sparse up there, turkey probably more so.  Though the funny, and somewhat deceiving, thing about Turkey in the Adirondacks is that I'll see them a lot more than I see deer.  They tend to congregate in the open grassy areas you drive by along the main Routes (28, 30).  The problem is those lands are often unhuntable (not a word I realize) for a number of reasons: privately-owned; too close to occupied dwellings; conditions for a good, safe shot might not always exist.

 

So yeah, you can see them up there, sometimes quite frequently.  But actually finding them in a position where you can take a safe and legal shot might be another story all together.  I hunt a bit up int the Blue Ridge Wilderness and Moose River Plains Wild Forest; I've seen Turkey quite a bit while driving the main and side roads and marked their positions on my GPS.  The issue as stated above is that those positions tend to be on private land or too close to occupied dwellings.  I've hiked into nearby state land in an attempt to find and ambush any Turkey paths leading into those "off-limits" areas, but I've come up dry so far with those methods.  Either the Turkey don't stray too far from their preferred pieces of land, or I wasn't in the right place at the right time.  As others have said, I think hunting deer and certain small game offer better bang-for-your-buck up there in the ADK's.  For Turkey, you either need access to a good piece of private land (preferably with some open field) up there, or you're better off hunting Turkey in some nice agricultural land outside of the ADK's.

[DirtTime]

On 1/26/2017 at 0:05 PM, Padre86 said:

That's definitely not saying much.  Deer are sparse up there, turkey probably more so.  Though the funny, and somewhat deceiving, thing about Turkey in the Adirondacks is that I'll see them a lot more than I see deer.  They tend to congregate in the open grassy areas you drive by along the main Routes (28, 30).  The problem is those lands are often unhuntable (not a word I realize) for a number of reasons: privately-owned; too close to occupied dwellings; conditions for a good, safe shot might not always exist.

 

So yeah, you can see them up there, sometimes quite frequently.  But actually finding them in a position where you can take a safe and legal shot might be another story all together.  I hunt a bit up int the Blue Ridge Wilderness and Moose River Plains Wild Forest; I've seen Turkey quite a bit while driving the main and side roads and marked their positions on my GPS.  The issue as stated above is that those positions tend to be on private land or too close to occupied dwellings.  I've hiked into nearby state land in an attempt to find and ambush any Turkey paths leading into those "off-limits" areas, but I've come up dry so far with those methods.  Either the Turkey don't stray too far from their preferred pieces of land, or I wasn't in the right place at the right time.  As others have said, I think hunting deer and certain small game offer better bang-for-your-buck up there in the ADK's.  For Turkey, you either need access to a good piece of private land (preferably with some open field) up there, or you're better off hunting Turkey in some nice agricultural land outside of the ADK's.

The area we saw the birds was as I said, the Jessup Wild Forest area and West Canada Lake Forest area. Awesome country! If we can afford it, I sure as hell won't pass it up! I will never get to hunt out of state, so this type of DIY hunt is just fine with me. 

[Padre86]

1 hour ago, ....rob said:

The area we saw the birds was as I said, the Jessup Wild Forest area and West Canada Lake Forest area. Awesome country! If we can afford it, I sure as hell won't pass it up! I will never get to hunt out of state, so this type of DIY hunt is just fine with me. 

Well if you can get a bead on one, more power to you.  I've seen a few as I travel through the ADK's, and it's been a bit harder than what I expected to actually find and take a Turkey up there, at least in my experience.  I think adding a Turkey call will greatly help in your hunt.

[NFA-ADK]

Good luck Rob.  I have seen very few turnkey in the ADK woods, one spot is on this ridge by site 40 in Moose River if anyone want to give it a shot it is a good spot with elevated position.  From site 40 head due south (slightly west) and follow the west ridge to the end.  Closest to open fields you will find without being in a swamp!  Good spot for a stand as we have seen bucks walk the ridge.  The deer tend to funnel out of the river/swampy area into this location, turkey where feeding in the valley floor.  If you walk the ledge be careful it is a bit narrow and steep.  Site 41 is easer to get to the spot.  Location is just west of the #4 in the elevation of 430 shown in the valley.