How-To Hunt Stubborn Spring Gobblers
February 26, 2009
By: Michael Collins
Thunderous gobbles from the end of the field ring out as that old tom struts your way. Your heart is pounding out of your chest while beads of sweat trickle down your nose. His large fan appears over the ridge and the sun is gleaming off of his glistening brown feathers. Using your diaphragm call, you softly yelp to try and coax the long beard with in shooting range. The gobbler’s red, white and blue head peers over the hill in your direction, but he doesn’t see the hen that he thinks he heard. He struts back and forth for a moment and then moves off in the other direction.
Every hunter has had to tell a story about “the one that got away” at some point in time during their time in the turkey woods. Opening day of turkey season is April 18 in Kentucky this year. Hunters should begin to prepare for the upcoming season by doing some pre-season scouting on the land that they hunt. Finding and locating the areas that the turkeys are using can be a key element for success. When the season begins and birds are located, the hunter must create a plan. Decoys and calling are essential when hunting stubborn gobblers. Combining the decoys and calling with a good setup can increase the odds of bagging that long beard. Patience is the last key element that every hunter has struggled with more times than not. Following the four steps on how- to hunt gobblers could increase the chances of tagging a bird this season.
Pre-Season Scouting
Hunters should prepare for the upcoming turkey season through pre-season scouting. During the month of February the turkeys are flocked up, according to Mossy Oak Pro Staff member Bill Epeards, who has been hunting turkeys across the United States since 1970. By the end of March the birds will start to break up during a time called the transition period. Use any opportunities to hike the land that you hunt on to find where the turkeys are feeding or where they might be spending a lot of time. Look for areas where there may be acorns on the ground. Turkeys will scratch at the leaves to find acorns to eat. If there are winter wheat food plots or corn fields on the property, scavenge the area for turkey feathers or tracks. Look for turkey droppings in these areas to help you determine how much time the turkeys are spending there. Turkeys like to roost in bigger trees on ridge tops or close to these feeding areas. Pay attention to the ground when you stroll up on some big trees. You might find turkey droppings and feathers under the tree. Collecting this information before the season begins can help you decide where you need to set up on opening day.
“The transition period is the reason that scouting is very important because all of the gobblers will be in one spot,” Epeards said. “To know when the turkeys bust up from the flock, you’ll know where those gobblers are.”
Talking to Turkeys
An essential ingredient for any hunter to bring home a gobbler is the art of calling. Calls give hunters the opportunity to talk and interact with stubborn toms. You don’t have to be a world champion turkey caller to harvest a turkey, according to Epeards, host for “In the Timber Whitetail Reality Series.” The types of calls that are efficient are box calls, slate calls and diaphragm calls. The box calls are very effective for long range use. You may use this call to entice a bird that may be several hundred yards away. The box call is also an efficient tool to use to make a quiet bird gobble so that you may locate his position. Slate calls are extremely articulate and can be used for long range and close range calling. Moving the friction stick slowly in a circular motion will allow you to produce the yelping noise that a hen would make. Diaphragm calls are extremely valuable for hunters to carry in their pockets. These calls can allow you to call hands free in a situation where the gobbler is strutting close enough to get a shot. Hunters have found that using these calls can be fun and successful when you’re talking to turkeys.
“I like to use a Lynch Call which is a one sided box call and the Quaker Boy Easy Yelper,” said Diane Cook, who has been hunting turkeys in Kentucky for nine years. “I do use a slate call, but those are the calls that have most effective for me.”
Decoys
Calling won’t always work on a stubborn gobbler if he comes to you and doesn’t see the bird that called to him. Decoys are vital for situations like this because they can help entice the gobbler to come into range, according to Cook. Using a jake decoy a few yards behind a hen decoy will make it appear that the jake is moving in to breed the hen. A gobbler that comes into the area will want to confront the decoy to defend his turf. A long beard tom will come to a jake 99 percent of the time, according to Epeards. Finding a field that turkeys frequently visit is the ideal set up for decoy placement. The old tom won’t be able to resist the conflict. However, hunters must take safety precautions when using a jake decoy or a strutting tom decoy. Other hunters that may be in the area could mistake your decoys for real birds which can be dangerous. It is important to put your safety and the safety of others first.
“I like to use the jake and the hen combination because the gobbler will see the jake and come in to run him off,” said Doug Clayton a turkey hunter from Crittenden, Ky. “I have seen this work many times throughout the six years that I have been hunting turkeys.”
Patience is a Virtue
Patience is the fourth and final element that could help hunters bag a stubborn gobbler this spring. A hunter’s patience is extremely important in times when action might be slow or when turkeys aren’t gobbling in the area. Pressuring the birds by walking around and not sitting and letting your hunting techniques take over, can spook the birds, making them near impossible to hunt, according to Epeards. Hunters must remember that you have a chance as long as you’re out there. If you are hunting an area that turkeys use, but there is no activity, stay patient because the turkeys will not abandon that spot.
“If you start pressuring these birds, trying to hunt a turkey that won’t gobble can make for a very, very long day,” Epeards said. “When you’re busting bird’s that means you’re spooking them and believe me, they’ll shut down in a heartbeat.”
Pre-season scouting, calling, decoys and patience are all helpful tips that can increase your chances of bagging a gobbler this spring. A total of 26,813 turkeys were harvested in Kentucky for the 2008 spring season, according to the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources Turkey Harvest Results. The 2009 spring turkey season is expected to exceed the total number of harvests from 2008, according to the February Edition of Kentucky Fish and Game Magazine. Follow these tips and tactics to help put you in position to tag a stubborn long beard. Good luck this season!
Skeet Reese wins BassMaster Classic- Statesman.Com
February 23, 2009
By Mike Leggett
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Monday, February 23, 2009
SHREVEPORT, La. — Call it the “Diversity Open.”
The BassMaster Classic — a tournament once dominated by southern good old boys — morphed into a two-man race between anglers from New Jersey and California on Sunday. The 25 anglers who qualified for the final day’s fishing represented 17 different states, something of a record for BASS events.
The West Coast eventually claimed victory on the Red River as Californian Skeet Reese bumped Mike Iaconelli from the leader’s chair at 6 p.m. Sunday to win fishing’s number one tournament and a $500,000 first-place prize.
Iaconelli, the 2003 Classic champion and a New Jersey native, slammed a limit of 5 big bass to weigh in 20 pounds, 3 ounces, for a total of 54 pounds, 2 ounces.
But Reese, who was second after day two, stayed with Iaconelli all day and walked to the scale with five fish weighing 16 pounds, 12 ounces. His 54-13 total beat Iaconelli by 11 ounces.
Reese, who lost the 2007 Classic by just 6 ounces, gained a measure of redemption on the Red River.
“Everything just fell into place,” said an emotional Reese. “I went back to my best hole today and I never left my little 200-yard stretch of water.” He said he fished a spinner bait and plastic, imitation crawfish, to reach the top spot.
Twenty-five anglers battled cold and high pressure on the final day and early catches were rare. But as the sun rose higher and began to heat the shallow, stump-filled flats where anglers were finding fish, the largemouths began to bite. Unofficial standings had multiple anglers on top during the day and things didn’t settle out until the top six anglers walked on the stage for the final weigh-down Click Link Below For Full Story!
via Skeet Reese wins BassMaster Classic.
Kim Bain-Moore has a great fish-out-of-water story – Los Angeles Times
February 20, 2009
She is making history as the first woman to compete in the Bassmaster Classic, but many of the male anglers she is fishing against aren’t happy about it.
By Steve Waters
February 20, 2009
Reporting from Shreveport, La. — Kim Bain-Moore is making history as the first woman to compete in the Bassmaster Classic, but many of the 50 male anglers she is fishing against aren’t happy about it.
They insist they have nothing personal against the 28-year-old Australian native; they just don’t think she deserves a shot at the $500,000 first prize and the endorsements that come with a Classic victory.
The Classic, today through Sunday on the Red River, has the top 37 anglers from the Bassmaster Elite Series, an 11-tournament circuit, plus qualifiers from other events.
Bain-Moore, who lives in Pelham, Ala., 30 miles south of Birmingham, qualified as the 2008 angler of the year from the five-tournament Women’s Bassmaster Tour. That policy was instituted last year by BASS, which is owned by ESPN. The cable network is televising the event. Click Link Below for full story.
via Kim Bain-Moore has a great fish-out-of-water story – Los Angeles Times.
Bear hunting law passes the Oklahoma Senate | NewsOK.com
February 20, 2009
BY JULIE BISBEE – Capitol Bureau
Published: February 18, 2009
A bill that would allow hunting of black bears passed the Senate on Wednesday.
Senate Bill 450, filed by Sen. Kenneth Corn, D-Poteau, would allow hunters to get a permit to hunt black bears.
Corn said the Department of Wildlife requested a bill as a way to manage the growing black bear population in southeastern Oklahoma. A study of the population done by researchers at Oklahoma State University said there are about 700 to 800 bears in the area. The population is growing by about 12 percent each year.
The Department of Wildlife would set the requirements and seasons for bear hunting. Corn said the department has proposed limiting the number of bears killed each year to 20. Click Link Below for Full Story!
via Bear hunting law passes the Oklahoma Senate | NewsOK.com.
Outdoor Journal: Sportsmen should pull together on crossbow proposal
February 20, 2009
By Ed Noonan
Once again, allowing crossbow hunting in New York state is being proposed to our legislature.
The bill, number A924, is being introduced in the Assembly by Francine DelMonte (D-Lewiston). It was read once and referred to the Committee of Environmental Conservation.
For the state’s sportsmen, this is not a new proposal, and is always a controversial one.
For instance, the New York Bowhunters Association, on its Web site, states its opposition to the use of any weapon other than bows drawn, held and released by hand, in any archery season or archery-only area. Additionally, it opposes the creation of any new hunting or fishing season or the extension of any existing season which will decrease the length of the archery-only season or displace the season into less favorable dates.
In a time when hunting/shooting sports are under attack from all directions, the one thing our hunting fraternity does not need is this type of self-centered attitude that ultimately pits hunters against hunters. The only benefit of the infighting it has created is aiding the anti-hunting groups who oppose our sport. Shouldn’t this be the time when we all unite in an effort to insure that the hunting/shooting traditions that we enjoy and are entitled to are promoted and carried on for future generations? Click Link Below for Full Story!
via Outdoor Journal: Sportsmen should pull together on crossbow proposal.
Fishing with Dan
February 20, 2009
BY JOHN BERRY
Almost three decades ago, my brother, Dan, taught me how to fly fish. We have fished together ever since then. Over fifteen years ago, we started our business, Berry Brothers Guide Service. While we started as a guide service, our initial concentration was in teaching fly fishing and fly casting. Dan was the first Federation of Fly Fishers Certified Casting Instructor in Tennessee. Over the years, we literally taught thousands of people to fly fish and cast a fly rod.
Over time, I grew to prefer the guiding portion of the business. Almost nine years ago, I moved to Cotter to do just that. Dan stayed in Memphis and concentrated on teaching casting and developing his commercial photography business. While we occasionally get together for special projects, we just do not have many opportunities to fish together like before.
This past year has been the worst ever. The high water did not appeal to Dan. He prefers wading in gentle water, light tackle, long casts and tiny flies. Fishing from a boat with eight generators running at maximum capacity and heaving heavily weighted flies with serious meat sticks is just not his cup of tea. Oh, we went out a couple of times and he caught some decent fish but it was just not his thing. I, on the other hand, have come to embrace high water. It is not the genteel essence of fly fishing like in the fly fishing magazines. It is, for me, a viable fishing strategy that allows me to fish challenging conditions and produce trout.
Now that we have had some reliable low water, I have been calling Dan and trying to lure him here to fish with me. I told him tales of large fish on low water. In a final act of desperation, I reminded Dan that we could begin the day with a hearty breakfast at The Sands. There is nothing that flips his switch like a two or three of the Sand’s homemade biscuits swathed in sausage gravy. He finally agreed and asked a friend, Gary Powell to accompany him. He made it up on Saturday afternoon and they headed directly to the Norfork.
Dan and Gary waded up into the Catch and Release section. Dan migrated over to his favorite spot, the ring of rocks. This spot is a glass smooth pool with a gentle current running across it. There are always a fish rising there. The key to success here is a seventy foot cast and size twenty four or smaller flies. He rigged his rod with a long 6X tippet and his signature fly, Dan’s turkey tail emerger. He expertly cast to some large rising fish. Though his casts were perfect, he was unable to set the hook on most of the takes. Dan managed to land a few but he felt like he was off his game. Gary fared no better and only landed a couple.
I called Dan early the next day and we agreed to meet for breakfast and then fish at the Narrows. I arrived at the Sands first and drank a cup of coffee while waiting. When they arrived, we ordered breakfast. Tragedy struck. They were out of sausage gravy! Gary and I were OK. We ordered something else. Dan was inconsolable. After studying the menu, he finally ordered oatmeal and toast. When it arrived, he picked at it but did not eat. It was not his beloved biscuits with sausage gravy.
We left the restaurant. I stopped by the house to pick up my yellow lab, Ellie. Dan stopped by a gas station to get some peanut butter and crackers. We met at the pull out and walked through the cane break to the river. There were a few anglers there that had motored up in their boat but there was plenty of water to fish. We spread out and vainly tried several flies. We caught a few trout but it wasn’t happening. In desperation, I suggested a move to Wildcat Shoals a few miles down stream.
We parked at a friend’s house and walked through his yard to the river. There was no one there. We could see over a mile of river before us. It was on the bottom. With a sunny windless sky, the conditions were perfect. Dan hadn’t fished there in a while so I pointed out the most productive water for Gary and him to fish. I went upstream to fish some water where a client had done well a couple of weeks before.
Gary wanted to observe Dan’s technique so he located near him and just watched. Dan rigged his rod with a long 6X tippet and a partridge and orange soft hackle. On the second cast he landed a fat nineteen and one half inch rainbow. Two casts later he landed an eighteen inch rainbow that was fatter and fought better than the first fish. He was getting his mojo back. His reflexes were sharpening and he was definitely enjoying himself.
Gary got the idea. He rigged his rod with a long 6X tippet and a Dan’s turkey tail emerger. He located down stream from Dan and began picking up fish immediately.
The spot I was fishing was not producing much. I landed a couple of small fish but nothing like Dan’s. I stopped what I was doing and waded to a spot upstream from Dan. I rigged a partridge and orange soft hackle on a long tippet and began working the water before me. I picked up a few fish but I quickly realized that fishing behind Dan was not a great career decision. He was vacuuming the good fish from the water and leaving me a few runts. I moved far downstream below Gary to find some productive water.
By now, it was time for Dan and Gary to head back to Memphis. Dan’s success in the afternoon had renewed him, Gary had learned a new technique and I had been able to fish with my brother. The only thing that would have made the day better was some sausage gravy and biscuits.
(870) 435-2169
berrybrothers@infodash.com
www.berrybrothersguides.com
WKRN |Thousands expected at wild turkey convention
February 20, 2009
Thousands of wild turkey hunters are expected this weekend at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel and Convention Center for the National Wild Turkey Federation’s annual convention.
Organizers expect more than 40,000 to attend, and Nashville is hoping to make millions from their visit.
“It’s really exciting,” said Brian Dowler with the NWTF. “Everything we have done so far leading up to where we kick off this evening has looked really good. Everybody has got a lot of excitement. We’re hearing form folks in town they can’t wait to get here.”
The convention draws hunters from all 50 states.
In 2007, the last time the convention was in Nashville, the event brought over $4 million to the Nashville economy.
“45,000 people stay in hotels, they come in and eat lunch on their way through so it’s not just here on site at Opryland and it’s not just our money, it is the entire economy that benefits,” said Dowler.
Kim Keelor with Gaylord Opryland said, “[It] has a huge economic impact for all of us in the hospitality industry, the entertainment industry in Nashville and it is a very visible one because the National Wild Turkey Federation has shows on the outdoor channel, they are very visible in the media, it’s a good thing for Nashville.”
The event is not all about hunting turkeys.
It is touted as a family event with something for everyone; why organizers say it draws such a large crowd.
The National Wild Turkey Federation said it is committed to Nashville and plans on coming back for at least the next five years.
Convention tickets are still on sale. Tickets cost $10 a day or $25 for a three-day pass. Admission for kids 12 and under is free.
via WKRN, Nashville, Tennessee News, Weather, and Sports |Thousands expected at wild turkey convention.
Cabin Fever
February 11, 2009
By KentuckyHunter
I am experiencing a serious case of cabin fever that I think I might not overcome. I guess I could be out squirrel hunting, but the weather has been horrible up until this week. I have tried fishing a few times with little luck. On the Kentucky Afield fishing reports the officials always seem to tout fishing below dams this time of year for sauger and walleye. A couple of weeks ago I headed out to Meldahl dam in Bracken County to give it a try. I had never been there before, but I had always heard great things about the fishing there. The Kentucky Afield magazine had done a feature story on it not too long ago. It was a pretty mild day and I left my home in the early hours with just a sweatshirt and light jacket to break the wind. The drive out route 8 was very pleasant. You can see all of the old farms along the Ohio River in various states of decay. When I see an old barn moldering in an old pasture being taken over by saplings it always makes me think of the family that used to live and work there. What happened to them? Did the bank take their farm? Did they bet on tobacco when the price of corn was going high?
I almost drove right past the drive leading back to the parking lot. The parking area looked like it received a lot of traffic, but there was no one parked there this particular morning. I headed down the trail to the river. The lock part of the Meldahl dam is located on the Ohio side of the river. The Kentucky side has no boat traffic then and is fairly calm. The dam has a good deal of water flowing over it this time of year anyway, which makes it pretty much a bank fishery. The bank this morning was slick and covered with ice. The fog rising up from the river had coated every surface in a slippery layer. I tip toed my way down to the edge. The area closest to the bank does not have any water flowing over the dam, so the water is fairly calm in about a 100-yard square. I cast all morning walking up and down the bank at different points. I lost a lot of baits in the rocks, but did not even get a nibble. I fished mostly Mister Twister grubs, but also cast a few Rooster Tail in-line spinners to no avail. A local showed up a few hours in and said the fishing had been very slow. I fished an hour more and decided to call it a day. By that time I had about a half dozen guys all around me. There is very little regard in this type of fishing for personal space. Everybody pretty much fishes right on top of one another. The final insult was the pile of some brown material near my truck that I am surely hoping was of canine origin.
This past week the creek near my house started to rise from all of the melt water. We have just gotten over a big snow and ice event in Kentucky and have had some welcome warmer weather. The creek is pretty small, but as it nears the Ohio River it widens into a small basin between Oak Street and Route 8 in my small town of Ludlow, KY. The basin has very steep, slick banks that are a real hazard to traverse even if there weren’t broken beer bottles, old shopping carts, and other debris to work around. Next to the Oak Street bridge, the creek drops down a small waterfall. Along one side of the waterfall is a hardened concrete flow where trucks must have dumped their extra concrete for years. It reminds me of a lava flow on a Hawaiian island. At the bottom of this flow is a place to stand and cast into the pool at the bottom of the waterfall. I had fished it for the first time last year and caught several nice eating-size sauger, walleye, and even a very confused white bass. When the Ohio River is near flood stage, it backs up the creek into this basin and the fishing gets pretty good. This past week I guess the water wasn’t right. The reason the water was up in the basin was not because of the Ohio being high, but the creek, which must not be as enticing to the fish to move up the creek. I will have to try it again soon. I am always keeping an eye out for this temporary fishery with hopes of another wonderful sauger dinner. This past weekend though, my wife and I could only enjoy the soothing sounds of the rushing water. If you closed your eyes, you could almost pretend you were along some mountain stream instead of just down the street at our ghetto fishing spot.
Outdoors: Time of the year to prepare for turkey | Spartanburg, South Carolina | GoUpstate.com | Spartanburg Herald-Journal
February 11, 2009
By JIM CASADA
For the Herald-Journal
The mixture of unseasonable warmth and bitter cold of recent weeks may have area sportsmen shaking their heads in dismay as they find themselves dreaming of spring one day and caught in the cold clutches of cabin fever the next. On the other hand, the first hints of scarlet on maple buds, japonicas in bloom, daffodils showing foliage, and dogwood buds beginning to swell leave no doubt that ever-returning spring will, once again, come.
As this week’s column suggests, this is a good time of year to begin preparation for the arrival of turkey season two months down the road. The next few weeks are also a fine time to catch a trophy bass. As days lengthen and waters begin to warm, albeit slowly, largemouth shake off the lethargy of winter. Small farm ponds warm first, and later this month and in March is the best of all times to seek lunkers in their waters.
Those days featuring April-like weather are enough to make any dyed-in-the-wool turkey hunter forget what my Grandpa Joe called “the miseries” and begin thinking of the upcoming season. Similarly, lengthening days and gradually warming waters, especially in farm ponds, stir spawning urges in fish and longings to wet a line in anglers.
With those thoughts in mind, let’s look at the turkey-hunting side of this special time of the year. Numerous preparatory steps should be taken by every serious turkey hunter, and they should come weeks in advance of the season. Or at least that’s the case if a turkey hunter wants to be fully prepared for the uneven matching of wits with a lordly gobbler. Much of the vital preparation for spring hunting is, like actual pursuit of the sport, best done in solitude. Click Link Below for Full Story!
Boone and Crockett Club Reacts to Critics of New World Record Elk | Travel & Outdoors | New West Network
February 11, 2009
The Spider Bull was not “pen-raised,” was shot on public land, and at least 55 other hunters had a chance to bag the trophy.
By Bill Schnei
Denny Austan of Ammon, Idaho, and the
Denny Austan of Ammon, Idaho, and the “spider bull.” Photo courtesy of the Boone and Crocket Club.
On January 6, I posted an article about the Boone and Crockett Club officially confirming a new world record elk shot by Denny Austan of Ammon, Idaho in the Fishlake National Forest in Utah. The comment section immediately lit up with heated criticism of the hunter, his outfitter, and of the Club for authorizing what some people thought was an unethical, if not illegal, hunt not in the spirit of the Fair Chase Doctrine.
Last week, I asked the Club to comment on all of this criticism and rumors. I know other outdoor writers who made similar requests, and today, the Club, in an unprecedented action, released its internal document on their investigation of the hunt for the so-called Spider Bull, named for its massive and unusual antler configuration.
“It’s been crazy. People across the country, including many non-hunters, are flooding the B&C headquarters with requests for more information about the new record elk, the habitat that produced it, the hunter’s role in conservation and our system of records keeping,” Tony Schoonen, chief of staff for the Club, said in today’s press release. “It’s an educational moment unlike anything we’ve seen in years,
“This background info was accumulated by Eldon Buckner, chairman of our Records of North American Big Game committee,” Schoonen said. “Eldon led the exhaustive due diligence process that our Club requires for all new World’s Records. We’ve never released this kind of internal document before but I think observers will enjoy a peek behind the scenes.”
Readers will discover, he added, that Buckner confirmed at least 55 other hunters were hunting the area where the record bull was taken, that local law enforcement personnel investigated but found no evidence that the bull was pen-raised or escaped from a pen, nor any evidence of illegal conduct, and that many hunter-based conservation groups contributed to the quality of the area’s habitat Click Link Below for Full Story
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