Last weekend's wild turkey hunting season opener was hampered by stormy conditions, but a surprising number of hardy hunters went out in spite of the weather.

"More people than I expected were out battling the storm on opening weekend", reported Dave Ebright at Chico Sportsmans Den. "There was not a ton of success, but some people did get birds. There is a lot more activity now, so the next week should be better."

Veteran local hunter Scott Huber was among those who ventured out on opening weekend, and braved the downpour to guide two hunters on the Big Chico Creek Ecological Reserve. "We spent an hour slogging through hunt area B, the then set up a pair of decoys and started calling", related Huber.

"Within about 10 minutes, we had a flock of five birds and come directly to the decoys that were about 25 yards from the hunters. The flock included four jakes and a bearded hen, which milled around the decoys, but were spooked by movement from the first-time hunters. Another three hours in the deluge was unproductive."

Tuesday's improved weather also improved success at a different location, continued Huber. "With fellow gobbler chaser Mark Reaman, a flock of 18 birds flew down near us, and he had bagged a tom by 6:55 AM. I worked my way up a series of hillside glades, and talked turkey to a nearby tom. After over 10 minutes of this back-and-forth, I was able to harvest a heavy bird that weighed over 20 pounds."