For example, Doug Roth of Camp 5 Outfitters in Paso Robles believes that last year’s production was off a bit from the previous two years’.

“A dry spring is one thing,” Roth said. “But a drought all winter and spring, like we had, is another.”

They had very little rainfall, he said, and that caused the turkey hatch to be off by about a third.

“Production was better in San Luis Obispo County -- where we hunt turkeys the most -- than it was in Monterey County, where we also hunt them occasionally,” he said.

All the jakes that survived in 2006 will be adults this year. And a lot of the big toms from 2005 will still be around, Roth said. “I expect a good spring season this year and plenty of big toms for our hunters.”

For information on Camp 5 Outfitters, call (805) 238-3634.

Meanwhile, longtime guide Eldon Bergman, who also hunts in San Luis Obispo County, agrees that the hatch was slightly off. But he too expects a productive spring season this year.

“Nearly all my clients connected with big toms last spring,” he said.

“And I expect more of the same this time around. We might have to work a little harder, but there’s no shortage of gobblers where I hunt.” Weather conditions, he said, are what will make the difference in the end. Contact him at (805) 238-5504.

Moving north a bit, outdoor writer Terry Knight of Lakeport, in Lake County, had nothing but good things to say about the prospects in his area. In fact, he thinks production was exceptional throughout the region.

Knight has been hunting wild turkeys for a long time, and he observes them all year long. When he talks, I listen.

“This area may be unique, but because of our location, I think a little less spring rainfall around here is actually good for the turkeys,” Knight said. “Last year, I saw lots of hens with six or eight half-grown poults, and that’s even better than usual. “I think the turkeys are expanding all the time, even on public ground,” he said. “I’ve hunted them successfully on the Mendocino National Forest, and folks I’ve talked to say that there are lots of birds on the Knoxville Wildlife Area in Napa County.”

He said the Cache Creek Natural Area in Lake and Colusa counties, a mixture of state and federal land overseen by the DFG and the BLM, produces turkeys every year.

“The only catch is that you’ve got to walk in to get to the birds,” Knight said.

For Cache Creek area info, go to blm.gov/ca/ukiah/cachecreek.html

You can also call the BLM office in Ukiah at (707) 468-4000, or the DFG at (707) 944-5500. To get a handle on the Knoxville Wildlife Area, contact the DFG at the number above. For information on other areas with turkeys, such as the Spenceville Wildlife Area in Yuba and Nevada counties, the Daugherty Hill Wildlife Area in Yuba County and the Oroville Wildlife Area, contact the DFG at (916) 358-2839.