Stalking Rio Grande Turkeys with Parrey Cremeans
John E. Phillips 06.06.13
Parrey Cremeans guides for elk, mule deer, blacktail deer, and other species in California, Mexico, and other areas with Just For Hunting, a full-service outfitter (visit www.justforhunting.com, or call 650-888-0808). If you plan to hunt in the far West, make your reservations now to hunt with this Mossy Oak Pro. If you can’t get in for this year’s hunting season, go ahead, and book for next year.
Hunting Rio Grande turkeys in northern California is different from hunting them in Texas or Oklahoma. Hunting Rio Grande turkeys out here in California is more difficult than Eastern hunters think, mainly because you have to scout so much more to take them. Our gobblers stay henned-up throughout much of the turkey season and move in large flocks. To find a stand where you have a chance to harvest a gobbler, you have to scout and learn where they go after they leave their roost trees.
The real trick to taking these gobblers is to call on the days when they’re willing to leave all their girlfriends in the flock and come check you out. Turkey hunting in California is becoming very popular, so you probably won’t find a secret spot that someone else hasn’t found to call in a longbeard. One of the problems with hunting turkeys out here is that since Rio Grande turkeys like to gobble, anyone who wants to find a Rio usually can.
When I’m hunting turkeys, I like to wear Mossy Oak Obsession camouflage, because it has so much green in it. We hunt turkeys in the same terrain where we hunt blacktail deer, primarily low-oak savannas but also around some agriculture. We usually set up in open country to call turkeys, and if we have bowhunters, we’ll usually hunt from blinds. We also use decoys. I feel like the most effective decoys are the real-life stuffers (real mounted turkeys).
I also use some Zink decoys. Another thing that’s different about hunting turkeys in California is that you’ll need to wear hiking boots. We’ll hunt turkeys on 5,000 acres up to 10,000 acres. This is one of the reasons I like the Zink decoys, because I can deflate them, carry them in a bag and blow them up quickly when I want to take a stand. If you’ve never hunted turkeys in the far West, I suggest you give it a try. We have different terrains and types of turkeys than in the East. A true turkey hunter likes to hear turkeys gobble and talk back to them, and out here you’ll have plenty of opportunities to do that.
In our next article, Cremeans goes for the elk trifecta in California: Roosevelt, Tule, and Rocky Mountain.
John, the 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the year and the 2007 Legendary Communicator chosen for induction into the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame, is a freelance writer (over 6,000 magazine articles for about 100 magazines and several thousand newspaper columns published), magazine editor, photographer for print media as well as industry catalogues (over 25,000 photos published), lecturer, outdoor consultant, marketing consultant, book author and daily internet content provider with an overview of the outdoors.
Phillips has been a contributor to many national magazines, has been affiliated with 27 radio stations across Alabama serving as their outdoor editor and wrote for a weekly syndicated column, "Alabama Outdoors," for 38-Alabama newspapers for more than 13 years. Phillips was Outdoor Editor for the "Birmingham Post-Herald" for 24 years. Phillips was also the executive editor for "Great Days Outdoors" magazine for 3 years.
The author of almost 30 books on the outdoors, Phillips is a founding member of the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) and an active member of the Southeastern Outdoors Press Association (SEOPA). Phillips also is the owner of Night Hawk Publications, a marketing and publishing firm, and president of Creative Concepts, an outdoor consulting group.
Phillips conducts seminars across the nation at colleges in freelance writing, photography and outdoor education besides teaching courses in how to sell what you write to writers' groups. Phillips received his photography training as a still-lab photo specialist for six years in the Air Force. He was the chief photographer for Mannequins, Inc., a Birmingham modeling agency, for 11 years.
While serving as 2nd Vice President of the Alabama Wildlife Federation, Phillips was in charge of all press releases for the organization as well as serving as Chairman of Alabama's Big Buck Contest, which he founded more than 30 years ago. He also was president of the Alabama Sportsman's Association for three years.
Phillips is the recipient of a Certificate of Merit from the Governor of Alabama and the Department of Conservation for his work in the outdoor field. Phillips is vitally interested in the outdoors and travels the nation collecting personalities, stories and how-to information for his articles and features.
EDUCATION: B.S. degree from the University of West Alabama with a physical education major and a history minor.
EXPERIENCE: 10 years parttime and fulltime physical director for YMCAs and 34 years as a freelance writer, photographer, editor, book author, lecturer and daily-content provider for websites. Currently, Phillips is a field editor for Game and Fish Publications; serves on the editorial board of Grandview Media; is a regular contributor to 12 internet magazines and a daily content provider for 8 websites.
WRITING AWARDS: Runnerup - Best Outdoor Magazine Feature - 1981 - SEOPA; Certificate of Merit - Awarded by Alabama's Governor for writings on conservation; Most Outstanding Sports Writer in Southeast - 1983 & 1984; Best Outdoor Feature in Alabama, 1987 - Alabama Sportswriters' Association 3rd Place; Best Book of the Year - 1989 - SEOPA; 2007 - inducted into the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Communicator; 2008 - received award naming him 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the Year from the Crossbow Manufacturers' Association; 2009 - GAMMA Honorable Mention for Consumer/Paid Best Essay for July/August 2008 in "Southern Sporting Journal."
