Updated....Quick teaser includes story....florida turkey season
- Thread starter Dani
- Start date
Dani,
Glad you got a bird.
Just a thought, next time you might try for one with a bit more meat on it. The one in that photo looks to be just skin and bones.
Glad you got a bird.
Just a thought, next time you might try for one with a bit more meat on it. The one in that photo looks to be just skin and bones.
Troy Fields
Well-known member
Congrats on a new year Dani. Well done.
Dani said:
Dani,
No "fat shaming allowed" I'm impressed. [whistle]
Thanks guys......
So, here is the story that goes with the skin and bones hanger.....
Opening weekend opened up wet and stormy. Sunday was forecasted to be the better day so I decided I would work on Saturday and then take Monday off. The "problem" was that that storm as well as the squalls earlier in the week dumped about 4" of rain on my house. I knew that would make for a VERY wet weekend in the woods. I would likely need hip boots but not having them, my regular rubber boots came out.
Sunday I headed to the road I wanted. However, the road I typically turn down was flooded. Not surprisingly but also I wasn't expecting not seeing the end of the water on the road. It is graveled so likely it was okay but I've played that game in the FJ and lost a couple times. It always ended up with a lot of work for me afterwards. I didn't want to do that in the Chevy on the first day of my turkey season. I backed out and headed to another road that I knew would get me where I wanted to go, though I knew it was going to be a bit of a crap shoot with one section. There were a number of puddles/lakes of water on the road that I walked before driving until I came to another one that was graveled and likely safe but not even 1/3 of the way into the water I was getting water in my rubber boots. I executed a 99 point turn and headed to an offshoot road. At that point, we were well into early gobbling time. Not a peep heard.
I decided that I was in a section of "higher ground" and I have seen hens on that road in the past. Where there are hens, there will be gobblers. It was as good a place as any to go for a walk. It was a quiet, gorgeous walk along the road. Plenty of prettiness to admire while I listened to all of the tweety birds sing. And not one single gobble.
And my favorite bringer of turkey season....zephyr lilies
I walked for about an hour or so and not a single gobble or yelp was heard. Ah well. I would head back to the truck and see if I could get to where I originally wanted to go so that I could see what the conditions were like in my swamp.
The driving was easier and no major hazards were encountered. I got parked where I wanted to go into my woods, down a trail that required me to cross a ditch. I learned quite quickly that YUP hip waders at a minimum are a must. But, my boot was full of water already and so I may as well continue across. I got into the woods and what I saw gave me pause. This was one of the drier locations that I ran across.
So, back to the truck I went. Wet boots and socks came off and dry boots and socks were put on. I kept on driving a bit then turned around at the intersection prior to the major flooded section of the road. As I was driving back the way I came, I could see birds waaaay down the road. I got the binoculars out and there were egrets on the road (part of the road is washed out) and it looked like a couple turkeys. I crept forward to the second intersection, stopping to glass from time to time and sure enough....there were turkeys. At least one gobbler was strutting his gorgeous self about in the middle of the road.
I turned and parked just up the road at the intersection, got my pack, gun and then crept out again to see if the turkeys were still there. Yup. And it appeared there were two strutters and several hens.
So then I considered my problem.
I know that I can't just stroll down the road into their midst and expect a turkey to give himself up. How do I get to them? Either side of the road is a ditch that requires at least hip waders and I really don't want to get my feet wet again. Especially when I don't know how deep anything is and I REALLY didn't want to go swimming.
An example of one of the ditches that blocks me from access into the woods without getting wet.
The woods on one side is wet and flooded and I knew I would not be able to walk quietly through there. The woods on the other side is kind of open and the brush would sort of hide me from the turkeys vision. But could I walk silently? It would be a challenge since I was wearing rubber boots a bit too large. Is it open in the woods all of the way down to them? If that section of the road is like the section I just drove, there are sections of open woods, swampy hardwoods, thick brush and then more open woods. I considered that I might not even be able to get through some of the brushy areas without spooking the birds. However, the birds are down the road a ways and there is heavy brush on both sides of the road. Maybe I could get close by hugging the young trees and brush that lines the road and then just see what the birds do.
After much internal debate, that is what I did. I crept down the road, slowly, hugging the trees and blackberries and bushes that line the side of the road. The turkeys seemed to pay me no mind. I got to a section that turned in a bit into the woods so I could travel a little faster but that was as far as I could go. My brush ran out for a good long stretch. I squatted down and looked down the road with my binoculars. Yup, two gobblers and a few hens. But they were still a few hundred yards a way. I could go no further.
I sat down in some young trees so that I was a little covered and just watched them. There was definitely a boss gobbler and a side kick. The side kick hung out for a while but then it seemed like he was kind of meandering my way. I got excited. Then it looked like he was heading back to the wad of hens and strutting gobbler. I got disappointed.
That bird played with me like that multiple times. Eventually he disappeared for a while. The strutting bird was still there and I didn't hear any birds fly off but that doesn't mean much. I didn't want to lean too far out since I didn't want to get busted. Maybe he went down the road the other way? Maybe he is coming to me? Maybe he hopped the ditch and just meandered off into the woods? AARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH WHERE IS HE?!?!?!?
Then I saw a red head coming out of some shadows. He was probably half way between me and the strutting gobbler!!!!!
My heart went from relatively calm to nascar fast in a blink of an eye. I crouched even lower and wiggled myself down the embankment into the ditch a little, trying to do it quietly. I was sitting in water but I was also better hidden. Because of the brush I was hiding behind, I would lose track of him and do the "where is he?!?!? did he go back to the flock?!?!!? is he still coming?!?!?!" thing. Then he would pop back into the sunshine and I could see him and my heart would race all over again.
He kept on coming down the road. Just feeding his way down the road in a nice meandering zig zag line. He got to the point where I figured he would spot me. I was a big lump after all on the side of the road, where lumps like me just aren't. He did spot me but I guess I was still hidden back enough that he wasn't all that concerned or curious. He needed to take a couple more steps forward so that the saplings weren't in my way. Eventually he did.
When I went to collect my big beautiful turkey, I looked down the road and the boss gobbler continued to strut. Clearly he was not concerned about the noise or the creature that came out on the road.
During the entire stalk, there was not a single gobble. Plenty of strutting going on, but not one single gobble.
So, here is the story that goes with the skin and bones hanger.....
Opening weekend opened up wet and stormy. Sunday was forecasted to be the better day so I decided I would work on Saturday and then take Monday off. The "problem" was that that storm as well as the squalls earlier in the week dumped about 4" of rain on my house. I knew that would make for a VERY wet weekend in the woods. I would likely need hip boots but not having them, my regular rubber boots came out.
Sunday I headed to the road I wanted. However, the road I typically turn down was flooded. Not surprisingly but also I wasn't expecting not seeing the end of the water on the road. It is graveled so likely it was okay but I've played that game in the FJ and lost a couple times. It always ended up with a lot of work for me afterwards. I didn't want to do that in the Chevy on the first day of my turkey season. I backed out and headed to another road that I knew would get me where I wanted to go, though I knew it was going to be a bit of a crap shoot with one section. There were a number of puddles/lakes of water on the road that I walked before driving until I came to another one that was graveled and likely safe but not even 1/3 of the way into the water I was getting water in my rubber boots. I executed a 99 point turn and headed to an offshoot road. At that point, we were well into early gobbling time. Not a peep heard.
I decided that I was in a section of "higher ground" and I have seen hens on that road in the past. Where there are hens, there will be gobblers. It was as good a place as any to go for a walk. It was a quiet, gorgeous walk along the road. Plenty of prettiness to admire while I listened to all of the tweety birds sing. And not one single gobble.
And my favorite bringer of turkey season....zephyr lilies
I walked for about an hour or so and not a single gobble or yelp was heard. Ah well. I would head back to the truck and see if I could get to where I originally wanted to go so that I could see what the conditions were like in my swamp.
The driving was easier and no major hazards were encountered. I got parked where I wanted to go into my woods, down a trail that required me to cross a ditch. I learned quite quickly that YUP hip waders at a minimum are a must. But, my boot was full of water already and so I may as well continue across. I got into the woods and what I saw gave me pause. This was one of the drier locations that I ran across.
So, back to the truck I went. Wet boots and socks came off and dry boots and socks were put on. I kept on driving a bit then turned around at the intersection prior to the major flooded section of the road. As I was driving back the way I came, I could see birds waaaay down the road. I got the binoculars out and there were egrets on the road (part of the road is washed out) and it looked like a couple turkeys. I crept forward to the second intersection, stopping to glass from time to time and sure enough....there were turkeys. At least one gobbler was strutting his gorgeous self about in the middle of the road.
I turned and parked just up the road at the intersection, got my pack, gun and then crept out again to see if the turkeys were still there. Yup. And it appeared there were two strutters and several hens.
So then I considered my problem.
I know that I can't just stroll down the road into their midst and expect a turkey to give himself up. How do I get to them? Either side of the road is a ditch that requires at least hip waders and I really don't want to get my feet wet again. Especially when I don't know how deep anything is and I REALLY didn't want to go swimming.
An example of one of the ditches that blocks me from access into the woods without getting wet.
The woods on one side is wet and flooded and I knew I would not be able to walk quietly through there. The woods on the other side is kind of open and the brush would sort of hide me from the turkeys vision. But could I walk silently? It would be a challenge since I was wearing rubber boots a bit too large. Is it open in the woods all of the way down to them? If that section of the road is like the section I just drove, there are sections of open woods, swampy hardwoods, thick brush and then more open woods. I considered that I might not even be able to get through some of the brushy areas without spooking the birds. However, the birds are down the road a ways and there is heavy brush on both sides of the road. Maybe I could get close by hugging the young trees and brush that lines the road and then just see what the birds do.
After much internal debate, that is what I did. I crept down the road, slowly, hugging the trees and blackberries and bushes that line the side of the road. The turkeys seemed to pay me no mind. I got to a section that turned in a bit into the woods so I could travel a little faster but that was as far as I could go. My brush ran out for a good long stretch. I squatted down and looked down the road with my binoculars. Yup, two gobblers and a few hens. But they were still a few hundred yards a way. I could go no further.
I sat down in some young trees so that I was a little covered and just watched them. There was definitely a boss gobbler and a side kick. The side kick hung out for a while but then it seemed like he was kind of meandering my way. I got excited. Then it looked like he was heading back to the wad of hens and strutting gobbler. I got disappointed.
That bird played with me like that multiple times. Eventually he disappeared for a while. The strutting bird was still there and I didn't hear any birds fly off but that doesn't mean much. I didn't want to lean too far out since I didn't want to get busted. Maybe he went down the road the other way? Maybe he is coming to me? Maybe he hopped the ditch and just meandered off into the woods? AARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH WHERE IS HE?!?!?!?
Then I saw a red head coming out of some shadows. He was probably half way between me and the strutting gobbler!!!!!
My heart went from relatively calm to nascar fast in a blink of an eye. I crouched even lower and wiggled myself down the embankment into the ditch a little, trying to do it quietly. I was sitting in water but I was also better hidden. Because of the brush I was hiding behind, I would lose track of him and do the "where is he?!?!? did he go back to the flock?!?!!? is he still coming?!?!?!" thing. Then he would pop back into the sunshine and I could see him and my heart would race all over again.
He kept on coming down the road. Just feeding his way down the road in a nice meandering zig zag line. He got to the point where I figured he would spot me. I was a big lump after all on the side of the road, where lumps like me just aren't. He did spot me but I guess I was still hidden back enough that he wasn't all that concerned or curious. He needed to take a couple more steps forward so that the saplings weren't in my way. Eventually he did.
When I went to collect my big beautiful turkey, I looked down the road and the boss gobbler continued to strut. Clearly he was not concerned about the noise or the creature that came out on the road.
During the entire stalk, there was not a single gobble. Plenty of strutting going on, but not one single gobble.
Dani,
Nice photo, thanks for taking us along on your hunt.
Nice photo, thanks for taking us along on your hunt.
great story. awesome hunt. beautiful bird.
thanks for sharing!
thanks for sharing!
Todd Duncan Tennyson
Well-known member
Dani,
Such great stories. Love all of the photos too. Looks like different country down there than I've ever been in.
A stretch back, I had a buddy that knew the drill for turkeys out here. I'd never been after them before, because we just didn't have any where I lived and grew up.
They were introduced out here in Western Oregon in the mid 1980's and have really taken off, to the point that they are commonplace around many towns and even in the cities... I ran into a flock of 20 of them right in downtown medford.
My buddy knew the drill near the columbia river gorge... I think we went out there in march... mid march.. I remember we were really cold when we got started before dawn. We hiked from near the railroad tracks by the river clear up to the breaks of the hills over it. So we warmed up pretty quick.
The area where we were was scrub oak and firs and lots of meadows. Lots of poison oak and a fair number of ticks too.
I had my 12 ga loaded with 3inch tungsten bbs.. Man did they kick.
We worked a ridge and settled in to an area that they liked to feed in in the morning sun. We could hear them calling and so we settled in to a shady spot up against a giant old oak and held still. He called several times and then we could see a single tom about 100 yards out that seemed to be in a hurry to meet us.
My friend called once more when the bird was about 75 yards out and then stopped... the tom came in at a steady trot eager to investigate.
I rolled it with a single blast and remember it was a pretty big bird to carry out of there.
My friend had an easy shot at a jake that flushed about 15 feet from us after he called it into a berry patch. It took off and my friend shot 3 times and missed!
Out here we have a spring gobbler season and a fall season when you can get a bird of either sex (unless the regs have changed)
I never really got into it that much, because I prefer to hunt over a dog. It is just more fun.
Here's the proof! the only Turkey this turkey ever got.
Such great stories. Love all of the photos too. Looks like different country down there than I've ever been in.
A stretch back, I had a buddy that knew the drill for turkeys out here. I'd never been after them before, because we just didn't have any where I lived and grew up.
They were introduced out here in Western Oregon in the mid 1980's and have really taken off, to the point that they are commonplace around many towns and even in the cities... I ran into a flock of 20 of them right in downtown medford.
My buddy knew the drill near the columbia river gorge... I think we went out there in march... mid march.. I remember we were really cold when we got started before dawn. We hiked from near the railroad tracks by the river clear up to the breaks of the hills over it. So we warmed up pretty quick.
The area where we were was scrub oak and firs and lots of meadows. Lots of poison oak and a fair number of ticks too.
I had my 12 ga loaded with 3inch tungsten bbs.. Man did they kick.
We worked a ridge and settled in to an area that they liked to feed in in the morning sun. We could hear them calling and so we settled in to a shady spot up against a giant old oak and held still. He called several times and then we could see a single tom about 100 yards out that seemed to be in a hurry to meet us.
My friend called once more when the bird was about 75 yards out and then stopped... the tom came in at a steady trot eager to investigate.
I rolled it with a single blast and remember it was a pretty big bird to carry out of there.
My friend had an easy shot at a jake that flushed about 15 feet from us after he called it into a berry patch. It took off and my friend shot 3 times and missed!
Out here we have a spring gobbler season and a fall season when you can get a bird of either sex (unless the regs have changed)
I never really got into it that much, because I prefer to hunt over a dog. It is just more fun.
Here's the proof! the only Turkey this turkey ever got.
Last edited:
Steve Sanford
Well-known member
Good morning, Dani~
Congratulations! We open May 1. I heard gobbling last week - and watched about 8 birds - with 2 nice Toms - feeding in one of our fields yesterday.
All the best,
SJS
Congratulations! We open May 1. I heard gobbling last week - and watched about 8 birds - with 2 nice Toms - feeding in one of our fields yesterday.
All the best,
SJS
Al Hansen
Well-known member
Thank you, Dani, for this gorgeous set of pictures. First of all, congratulations are in order for bagging that beautiful turkey. Secondly, your skills with that camera seem to know no end. Well done. It always amazes me what water can do since I live in an area of the southwestern high desert region. Speaking of water, a week ago we were positioned in a perfect spot when one of the polar vortexes passed by us. We got almost an inch of rain. One of the local tv stations out of ABQ said that our last rain was in September, last year.
Al
Al