The author displays a trophy gobbler with a 12 1/2-inch beard he took in Calhoun County. Photo by Kenny Darwin.

There are more turkeys and tremendously large toms in Michigan, more than in its entire history and the 2009 spring hunting is expected to be fantastic.

DNR biologists estimate there are more than 200,000 turkeys in Michigan. Thanks to transplanting efforts, there are birds in the Upper Peninsula and in the Lower Peninsula north of a line between Bay City and Muskegon, places where traditionally there were no birds. In the southern third of the Lower Peninsula, the population is booming, thanks to available agricultural food sources, mild winters and fewer predators. In fact, the chances of taking a mature tom sporting a 10-inch beard is tremendous across the Wolverine State, an attribute that has placed it in the top five states in the nation for wild turkey hunting opportunities.

"Last season, Michigan had a success rate of an amazing 43 percent, which is simply remarkable," reports Al Stewart, Michigan DNR upland game bird specialist. "Hunters harvested 42,000 turkeys during the 2008 season, the largest harvest in Michigan history. The kill was up about 13 percent above 2007, and this spring you can expect to see more bragging-size longbeards draped over shoulders of successful hunters.

"Eighty percent of the state is open to turkey hunting and the entire Lower Peninsula has great gobbler opportunities. By spring 2009, we will have 48,000 square miles open to hunting. We have come a long way from the first Michigan turkey hunt in 1969 when 1,000 hunters took a mere 50 birds. Today, Michigan hunters can expect fun-filled wild turkey hunts and chances of taking a big ol' tom is the better than ever in the history of Wolverine State turkey hunting."

Stewart said he was certain there would be an increased number of toms this spring, especially after the outstanding poult hatch of 2008 and dry, warm weather. Hunters and landowners reported seeing plenty of birds this fall and winter in a variety of sizes, with huge, bearded toms mixed in indicating good nesting and excellent survival of old mature toms.

For information regarding wild turkey season and rules, application deadlines and more, call (517) 373-1263 or visit the MDNR Web site at www.michigan. gov/dnr.

"Last year was the best turkey hunting season I've ever seen," exclaimed David Dietrich. "The weather was perfect, warm and dry and the temperatures were ideal. More importantly, the toms went nuts last spring and the breeding season started early in April, built to a fever pitch in late April through May and there were still toms chasing hens into June. Plus, last year there were so many toms that they were strutting their stuff every day."

Dietrich is a central Michigan trophy gobbler chaser who scouts the area in search of toms sporting 11-inch or longer beards. His longest one is an amazing 14 1/2-inch beard from a monster tom that weighed almost 28 pounds, taken near his home in Ingham County, near Williamston.

His tactics are simple -- he scouts from county roads using good binoculars, spots huge gobblers, determines their daily routines and gets permission to hunt on private ground. Each year, he hunts a new location, a secluded hotspot that supports a trophy tom.

"I'm lucky to live and hunt in Michigan where the DNR has done an outstanding job of managing the turkey population," he said. "It is sort of a last hunting frontier where you can have a trophy hunt and easily get hunting permission from local farmers, which is just the opposite of getting deer hunting permission.