Jeff and Dustin hunted Saturday morning in a ground blind on the edge of a historically productive field. As usual, the gobblers were sounding off at day break almost surrounding them. They were pretty optimistic that in a matter of a few hours, a bird or two would be on the ground. We had called in a mature tom on almost every outing this year so far, so it was easy to feel confident. However, they hunted until noon without success. They saw a few birds but nothing to shoot at.
I met up with Dustin in the afternoon and we hit it again. We called in a jake but no toms. We moved to a couple other spots with out success. Then we checked a small field that always seems to produce for me. However, we arrived too late and birds were already in the field. We tried to circle and get ahead of them but they went in a different direction which was not their typical pattern. Oh well, we knew where they roosted so we could get on them the next morning.
The next morning Jeff and Dustin went back to where they started the previous day. Most of the toms seemed to be on the neighbors property. I almost took my Dad to a spot that was three fields over from them but elected to try the field that Dustin and I were in the previous night as we put the birds to bed. As luck would have it, the birds flew out of their roost to a field in the opposite direction. Dad and I struck out by not seeing one turkey. Jeff and Dustin said that there were a few toms in the field that I almost chose to hunt that morning which was three fields over from them. Sometimes the birds just get lucky.
We took a break during the mid-day and headed back out in the early afternoon. We split up again and chose to set up our ground blinds on two productive fields that were being visited almost every evening just prior to dark. We had seen the birds in these two fields the night before, feeding before they headed up to roost. Once again we were disappointed as only hens showed up. Dustin and Jeff could see numerous birds and toms in an adjoining field which was one of the areas Dustin and I hunted the previous night. It was like the birds new where we were going to be. Dustin and Jeff attempted to make a stalk on the birds in the field but they had to walk almost a half mile to circle around the field. By the time they arrived, the turkeys were gone.
Jeff and I really wanted to get Dustin and my Dad a bird over the weekend. We had talked up our successful season from the previous two weeks. It was important for me to get my Dad a bird because he has never shot one before. He hasn't shown a strong interest in turkey hunting but I know that may change once he shoots one. I was frustrated but I also knew what was hurting our hunting.
The first two weeks were successful for us because the hens weren't being bread yet and the toms were still establishing their dominance. However, this week we were seeing a lot of lone hens and no toms. After day break, nothing seemed to be responding to our calls with the exception of an occasional jake. I am confident that the hens are now on their nests and laying eggs. Just like the lock down period of deer hunting when the mature bucks have have found their does to bread. Nothing is moving and it feels like the woods are empty.
Well, we are going to give the birds a couple of weeks to finish their breading cycle and then the toms should be on the move again and responding to our calling. I know a couple of good turkey hunters who don't start hunting hard until the last week of April for this reason. Hopefully things will pick up again later. So, in the meantime, I am going to concentrate on finishing our food plot plantings and spend some time with the family.
I ran into a co-worker (Dustin M.) today who advised me that he recently purchased a Killer B decoy by Primos. He said that he shot two mature toms with his bow while using the decoy. I am telling you that this thing really works and you need to get one. Good luck chasing the thunder chickens and let me know how your doing.
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