Turkey hunters are having to search a little longer to find longbeards, while perch and walleye fishing in Leelanau County have warmed with the weather.

Art McNeil

State Conservation Officer Mike Borkovich normally sees 100 or so turkeys in a day of patrolling county lands, but Monday spotted only three. Several factors may be at play keeping the population down — coyotes, horned owls and automobiles are common predators — but he doesn't think early spring snows affected mortality.

"Turkey numbers seem to be down slightly from last year," he said. "Hunters are going to have to put more effort into finding them."

Elmwood Township resident Noel Flohe didn't waste any time filling his tag Monday morning, the first day of the late turkey season that will run until May 31.

"We've been a little shy on birds," said Flohe. "I did my own calling, and I didn't hear any gobbling."
Flohe set up in a spot that produced birds in years past, putting out three decoys that attracted the attention of a lone jake. Given the lack of birds in the area, Flohe opted to fill his tag on the spot.

Art McNeil of Lake Leelanau, at a spry 74, had to go walking to find a longbird in the Gills Pier area. "Before the season, I hadn't seen that many. But yesterday I saw seven hens and one gobbler," he said last week.

The gobbler was a dandy with an 11-inch beard that weighed 22 pounds. McNeil found him having fun in a cedar swale late in the afternoon.

"I called and got an answer. I could see him a little bit. He was fanning for a hen, so I snuck up on him. I had three other shots but the hen was in the way. Finally, he moved a bit, and I got an open shot," said McNeil.

He suggests hunting on days with a fine mist, when birds seem to be active.

Walleyes and perch have been the stories on South Lake Leelanau, according to Cedar resident Alex Garvin.

Walleye fishermen did very well right after the season opened April 28 trolling with Rapalas in 4-5 foot depths at the mouth of the Cedar River.

"They were in there after minnows," said Garvin. "You have to go late in the day or at night, and we've been using Rapalas. It's slowed down in the last three days. But last week we did real well."

And the walleyes had some size to them, averaging 18 to 20 inches. Garvin boated one 'eye that went 12 inches.

While perch have been difficult to locate, they have been healthy at 9 to 11 inches with an orange tinge to their bellies that Garvin chalks up to the lake's clear water.

Perch have been easier to locate in Little Glen Lake, according to Bob Smith, owner of the Sportsmen's Shop in Glen Arbor, as schools have been concentrating near the Narrows about one-half mile off shore. Fishermen are suspending minnows and nightcrawlers just off the bottom, where an occasional trout is also hungry.

"They're also catching some rainbows out there," said Smith.

Big Glen Lake, however, has been slow with just a few brown trout reported and lake trout generally unheard from.

Last season by this time charter captains were reporting good catches of salmon in Lake Michigan, Smith said, which was surprisingly early. He blames colder water for keeping both salmon and bait fish off radar screens so far this season.

Water temperatures have been averaging 38 to 40 degrees, Smith said, and may need to rise to 45 degrees or higher before fishing improves.

"Right now it's pretty much a dead sea out there," said Smith.