We are excited here at Riverview Plantation to be preparing for our inaugural 2020 turkey season. Since 1957, we have never offered turkey hunting as an option for the Riverview experience. Recently, we have been working hard to extend a selection of hunting and outdoor experiences to our clients, with turkey hunting being a main focus, and more to come. Also, we are currently working to stock our pro shop with all of your turkey hunting needs. As you continue to read, you will learn about our efforts to make this turkey hunt available, and our plans for it to be a once in a lifetime turkey hunting experience.

At Riverview Plantation, we have monitored our Eastern turkey population for years, and for years we haven’t had the population that could sustain substantial hunting pressure. In an effort to increase our turkey numbers (with an emphasis on the male population), we intensified our predator control program. We implemented new tactics such as predator calling, hunting predators at night with the use of thermal scopes, all the while increasing our trapping efforts. Guess what? It worked! Even with the destruction Hurricane Michael caused, our turkey population has thrived and expanded almost exponentially. Hurricane Michael left debris scattered all over our plantation. This debris was used by young turkeys and quail to evade both terrestrial and avian predators. The hurricane also caused us to lose 35% of our timber. But the loss of timber caused the loss of canopy and added 35% more sunlight, which in turn promoted the growth of native grasses and a massive increase in nesting habitat. All of these factors combined to help stimulate the growth in our Eastern turkey population and provided us with a population density we believe can offer a high hunter success rate for a limited number of hunters.

Our quail season will end March 15th and turkey season kicks off March 21st. On March 16th, we plan on having a prescribed burn on all of our river courses. Burning these courses off will help to remove ground litter and expose acorns dropped from the variety of oak trees that thrive along the beautiful Flint River. These same oak trees provide an abundant roosting habitat for our turkey population, safe from predators. You can plan on hunting some of the most beautiful turkey habitat Southwest Georgia has to offer. Some of the land you will hunt at Riverview has never been turkey hunted and should provide you with ample opportunity to bag a trophy Eastern turkey.

When it rains, turkeys do not hide, they tend to gravitate to open fields. Do not worry if rain is forecasted for your turkey hunt dates. As do the turkeys, we do not plan on hiding during rainy weather either. We will mow some open areas and strategically place some ground blinds for wet weather hunting.  All of our guides are experienced turkey hunters and all of them speak fluent turkey. Your guides will have scouted and made every effort to have a gobbler roosted prior to your arrival. During your hunt, your guide will do everything within their power to give you a chance at a mature gobbler. Just remember, these are wild Eastern turkeys, and Mother Nature has a way of making things easy one day and impossible the next!