Bounded on the west by Highway 7 north of Hot Springs, on the east by Highway 9 between Paron and Perryville, and on the north by Highway 60 between Perryville and Fourche Junction, Winona consists mostly of a series of west-east ridges that provide the fall turkey hunter a relatively easy way to cover ground without having to do too much climbing. There's a campground at Lake Sylvia in the eastern part of the area, and numerous campsites on creeks and ridgetops throughout the area.

Caney Creek WMA: This 85,000-acre area in the southwestern edge of the Ouachitas is a geological oddity. The roads are mostly in the valleys, and the ridgetops are mostly narrow, jumbled rockpiles with little or no vegetation.

While Caney's turkey flock isn't as dense as what can be found elsewhere in the Ouachitas, hunting pressure is almost nonexistent and finding a flock of turkeys to hunt isn't as hard as you might think. Access is off highways 71 and 375 south of Mena, or off Highway 246 west of Athens. Developed campgrounds are at Bard Springs and Shady Lake on the south and Albert Pike on the east.

Gene Rush/Buffalo River WMA: This state-owned WMA lies in Newton and Searcy counties, between Buffalo River and Richland Creek about 10 miles east of Jasper. At approximately 16,000 acres, Gene Rush WMA is considerably smaller than the areas we've talked about so far, but it has a strong turkey population, because the area has many permanent openings that are maintained primarily for elk but also benefit young turkeys. Much of the terrain is extremely rugged, especially in the north part of the area adjacent the Buffalo National River.

There are no designated campgrounds in the area, but the Carver access on the Buffalo River, just west of the management area boundary, provides camping facilities. The only interior road on the area of any consequence is Carver Road, which leaves Highway 123 north of Mt. Judea.

Sylamore WMA: Lying within the circle comprised by the White River from Allison upstream to Norfork, Highway 341 from Norfork to Big Flat, and Highway 14 from Big Flat to Allison, Sylamore's 150,000 acres of public land are checkerboarded by thousands of acres of private inholdings, particularly along the eastern and northern boundaries. But this interspersed private land is often cleared for pasture, so it provides an element of habitat diversity that's lacking at other large public hunting areas in the Ozarks.

There are designated campgrounds at Barkshed and Gunner Pool, both on Sylamore Creek in the central and south-central parts of the area. There's also a campground at Blanchard Caverns on the south side of the area, but guns are prohibited in the campground. Primitive campsites are plentiful. Sylamore has an extensive road network -- too extensive, really, such that improved ease of access comes at the expense of the quality of the hunting experience; ATV joyriders are a persistent problem in the area, for instance. However, the turkey flock is in good shape.

Mt. Magazine WMA: This big hump of dirt and rock climbing out of the Arkansas River Valley south of Clarksville contains 99,000 acres, most of it open to fall turkey hunting. The terrain is rough, but hunting pressure is usually fairly light for some reason, and the turkey population is in good shape. There is one designated campground, at Cameron Bluff on the north face of the mountain. Camping is allowed elsewhere in the WMA, but good campsites aren't as numerous here as at the other areas above.

Even though the fall turkey season is brief, it still provides us turkey addicts a chance to take the edge off our fever by getting out there and chasing October turkeys. If you're like me, 11 months between turkey seasons is much too long.

So don't wait: Try fall hunting. You're going to like it.