“A third downside is that the area is only accessible via a dirt road. If it rains it means a very long, muddy walk to get in. That can be good, because there’s a lot less hunting pressure. If it’s dry when you get there in the morning but rain clouds roll in later, you’d better be running for your car -- a short cloudburst could mean a long walk home.”

If you find where the turkeys are feeding during the daytime but can’t get a shot, come back tomorrow at the same time. “You can set your clock by turkeys,” stated guide Buswell. “They’ll be at the same feeding spots every day at the same time. Doing a little scouting can pay off.”

Try to get as close as possible before scattering a flock, cautioned Buswell. If you’re too far away from the flock when you jump it, you’ll find that the birds move off as a group, making your calling fruitless. Getting the birds confused and heading in all different directions is the goal.

Green Hollow can be reached on Cemetery Road north of Plum Creek Road, north of the town of Thurman in Fremont County. Contact the Riverton Wildlife Unit at (712) 374-3133 for further information.

RATHBUN WMA
“Around Rathbun Reservoir there are a lot of birds,” said wildlife biologist Jeff Telleen, and there’s a good harvest every year.”

The steep and rolling bluffs have plenty of timber and grasslands where hunters can spread out. Turkey hunting is best on the upper west end of the reservoir on either the north or south forks.

Telleen noted that as Rathbun is one of the traditional turkey hunting spots in the Hawkeye State, it gets some heavy hunting pressure. Fall tactics that work elsewhere are the best shot at a bird here as well. Walk in and locate a flock with several young birds in it, scatter them hard, so that they split up, and then go to work calling them back together again. The young birds are the most gullible, but hunters will take some older gobblers, too.

The tree small waterfowl refuges that comprise about 10 percent of the total area will be closed from Sept. 10 until the day after duck season; watch for the posted yellow signs. The rest of the public hunting area is open for fall hunting.

Gosselink suggested that you bring your boat along when you hunt Rathbun’s turkeys. Bag a tom in the morning, and then enjoy some great late-season crappie fishing when you’re done.

Rathbun WMA covers 15,970 acres six miles north of Plano on Highway 142 in Appanoose County. When the roads are wet, many of the secondary access roads are poor. Contact the Rathbun WA at (641) 774-4918 for more information.

No sex differentiation applies during the fall hunt; either a tom or a hen may be taken. Only Iowa residents may buy a fall tag. Hunters will take mainly young-of-the-year birds, but an old longbeard can still be found, if you’re selective.

Hunters need to report harvested turkeys using the IDNR’s new Harvest Reporting System.

Contact guide Lynn Buswell at (319) 622-6259 or visit online at www.jagermisteroutfitters.com.

For more information on Iowa’s fall turkey hunting opportunities, or to obtain free downloadable maps of public hunting areas visit the IDNR Web site, www.iowadnr.com. Topographic maps are available from the IDNR’s Publications and Map Sales at (319) 335-1575.

Find more about Iowa fishing and hunting at: IowaGameandFish.com.