Falling within Breckenridge County is the 6,000-acre Yellowbank WMA, located in the northern portion of the county along SR 259. It consists of Ohio River bottomlands, upland-forested hills and ridges, as well as the Yellowbank Creek drainage.

Hunters on Yellowbank WMA were able to harvest 35 birds last spring. While that may not sound like a big number, it is slightly more birds harvested per acre than Peabody WMA.

Primitive camping is available on designated sites. Hunters should expect moderate to heavy hunting pressure, depending on what part of the season and which days of the week they choose to hunt. For more information on hunting turkeys in Yellowbank WMA, contact the area office at (270) 547-6856.

OWEN COUNTY
The Bluegrass Region's only contribution to the state's top 10 list is Owen County, located in north-central Kentucky, just north of the state capital of Frankfort. Over the last several years, Owen County has gained a reputation as a great place to harvest both deer and turkeys. Spring turkey hunters managed to harvest 539 birds there last season -- an 8-percent increase over the 501 birds harvested in 2005, and a 13-percent increase over the 2004 total of 475 birds.

Public-land hunters have a few options in Owen County, including John A. Kleber WMA at 2,605 acres; Dr. James C. Rich WMA at 1,567 acres; and Kentucky River WMA at 2,620 acres. Both Kleber and Rich WMAs consist of steep hillsides, ridgetops and floodplains with a combination of woods, brush, and grasslands. In 2006, hunters were able to harvest 24 birds and 11 birds, respectively, on these two areas.

Its river floodplain land and associated uplands, old fields and oak-hickory forest distinguish the Kentucky River WMA. Nineteen birds were harvested on the WMA during the spring 2006 season. Again, while these numbers seem low, they are on par with most other WMAs when you consider their smaller sizes.

For more information on any of these three WMAs, contact the local area office at (502) 535-6335.

CRITTENDEN COUNTY
The only county in the Purchase Region to make the top 10 list was Crittenden County, with a harvest of 511 birds. Harvest numbers in the county have been fairly stable for the last four years, with the 2006 spring turkey season seeing just a 1-percent decrease from the 517 birds taken in 2005 and a 1-percent increase from the 505 birds taken in 2004. Like Pendleton and Butler counties, Crittenden lacks any public hunting areas, forcing hunters to find private land to fill their turkey tags.

HARDIN COUNTY
Another county that has been a consistent producer of turkeys is Hardin County in the Green River Region. Located just 30 miles south of Louisville, the county contains a diversity of habitat and landscape features. From the forested knobs in the northern part of the county to the more agricultural areas in the west, the area contains all the necessary ingredients to grow lots of big gobblers. In fact, hunters were able to harvest over 500 birds in Hardin County last season, up 13 percent from 2005's harvest of 445 birds and 2 percent higher than the 492 birds harvested there in 2004.