A "quality hunt" in Eakes' book is sitting down to a gobbling turkey, whether you pull the trigger or not Many of the WMAs close roads to vehicle access during the turkey season. A long walk behind the gates can help get you in the proximity of undisturbed gobbling birds.

There are an estimated 67,000 turkey hunters in Alabama, a far fewer number than the 235,000 or so who hunt deer. The annual turkey harvest in the Cotton State is usually between 60,000 and 62,000 birds.

According to Eakes, there are good WMAs for turkeys in every corner of the state. Statewide, the better producers include Covington and Blue Spring in the south; Choccolocco, Black Warrior and Sam R. Murphy in the north; and Hollins and Oakmulgee in the central part of the state.

Here's a better look by region at what you can expect this season.

NORTH
In northeastern Alabama, Choccolocco WMA has long been considered the region's premier public tract. It's still the top pick for district biologist Keith McCutcheon.

"Choccolocco is good, but the whole district is full of turkeys right now," he added. "It's as good as it has ever been. Even some of our Tennessee Valley counties that haven't traditionally had a lot of birds have them now."

There is quite a bit of pressure on the WMAs, especially Choccolocco, so expect company if you go.

A lot of pine-thinning and prescribed burning has been going on at Choccolocco and that work is helping to improve the habitat even more for turkeys.

This district's "sleeper" area for turkeys is the Little River WMA in DeKalb County. It has huntable numbers of turkeys and doesn't get near the pressure that Choccolocco or Skyline do.

In the northwest corner of the state where Eakes is the district biologist, Black Warrior is the premier public hunting area. It's a rugged area and you've got to be willing to expend some boot leather to access it.

But there are other good areas elsewhere in this corner of the state, too. Lauderdale WMA is one that is coming on strong. The season had traditionally lasted for just a week or so on this WMA, but runs for the full month of April this year.

CENTRAL
The central part of the state includes the fabled Black Belt with its fertile soil, and in this part of Bama it's hard to find an area that doesn't have turkeys.

"All the counties in this part of the state are pretty good," biologist Rick Claybrook said.

His favorites for private-land hunting are Macon, south Montgomery and Lowndes counties. But his picks for public-land hunting are another story.

He said the WMAs in the hillier terrain tend to be a little better for turkeys.

"Hollins is a good one," he offered. "So is Coosa. Coosa is mostly made up of pine plantations, but the turkeys are in there."

Oakmulgee, as Eakes pointed out earlier, is another good bet in central Alabama. It has a good road network and a good mix of pines and hardwoods.

SOUTH
In the far southern end of the state, sister WMAs Blue Spring and Covington consistently rank at the top in the state in terms of the number of turkeys harvested.

The areas are part of the Conecuh National Forest. Blue Springs covers about 23,000 acres, while Covington spans about 20,000 acres.

The areas are intensively managed for timber production and a good strategy is to hunt near pine stands that have recently been thinned. Thinning opens up the canopy, allowing sunlight to get to the ground and produce turkey food and cover. It also opens up the visibility in the woods, creating prime strutting grounds for gobblers.

Another good bet in this part of the state is Barbour WMA, although it doesn't produce quite the number of turkeys that either Covington or Blue Spring does.