Turkey Hunting

This one is not a joke.

Turkey season opened Saturday, March 29. I looked and looked for public land, checked out satellite images, and found a likely spot. The Cedar Roughs area at the north end of Lake Berryessa is BLM land. Lake Berryessa is to the south of Clearlake about 50 minutes. The most northwest corner of it has a good sized creek through the middle with lots of oaks and some brush.
So Saturday I got up early and drove to this place, parked on the roadside where there was already another vehicle, and started my hunt. I got there a little after sunrise (6:59 am), so I was later than I had planned. I immediately had to cross a creek, thankfully not to deep. Thanks, Dad for the waterproof boots.
I heard a gobble right away but nothing for the next hour. Walked up and down some small slopes, saw one beardless hen, and got to the end of the area. Lots of No Trespassing signs so I knew it was time to turn around. Then I heard a "cluck-cluck-cluck". So I sat and waited for a few minutes and watched as ... a hunter walked out off the private property, stepped over the fence, and proceeded hunting back to the road, turkey-calling loudly every few minutes after that. His calling technique needed some improvement and was probably chasing the toms out of the area.
At that point I headed back to my car. After the hunt I removed three ticks from my skin and clothing. After I got home Ruth found one in the house where I had set down my fanny pack.
So I'm thinking that turkey hunting in the spring, isn't really worth it. You can only shoot one a day, three per season, and you can't shoot anything else but rabbits and squirrels. At least in the fall you could shoot doves (could have shot two +), duck (again, at least two), or quail, which I could hear calling. All that, the long drive, and the ticks just don't add up to a positive experience. Maybe if I'd had a deer tag at the same time and was just hunting deer...