Flegler points to two of his larger areas as being best bets for a longbeard this spring.

"The Maple River and Gratiot-Saginaw State Game areas both have good bird habitat and numbers," Flegler said. "On both of them there is good road access on parts of the areas, and on other sections you can walk for a couple of miles without seeing a road. There's plenty of room for hunters to spread out."

The Maple River SGA is located in Clinton, Gratiot and Ionia counties. The main unit borders the Maple Rapids area, and the east unit is accessible from U.S. Highway 27.

The scattered chunks of the Gratiot-Saginaw SGA are accessible from Meridian and Woodbridge roads. The area is located on the Gratiot-Saginaw county line.

Being in a populated area, Flegler urges caution during the spring hunt.

"I haven't heard of any spring hunting accidents in my area over the last several years, but it can happen," he said. "I'd be hesitant about using a decoy on public lands around here because between the calling and the decoy, someone could mistake the decoy for being real and someone getting hurt."

"Southwestern Michigan has high turkey populations, and turkey hunters here enjoy success rates that compare very favorably as you review success rates from across the state. The outlook for 2007 is good."

But the calling is needed, according to Flegler, to bring in the love-struck toms.

Contact the South-Central Wildlife Management Unit at (517) 641-4903 for more information.

SOUTHEAST MICHIGAN
"I have two public areas that are fairly good for turkeys," said DNR southeast Michigan biologist Tim Payne. "They are the Port Huron State Game Area outside of Port Huron and the Lapeer State Game Area outside of Lapeer. These are my best areas for wild turkeys."

That doesn't mean there aren't more opportunities in the region.