Florida Spring Gobbler Season Report - #2 First Week

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Monday day #3.

I ended up camping Sunday night to hunt monday morning. I figured I could get on the pasture bird so that was the plan for the hunt. I waited at the 4way on the hill at the sink hole block for gobble time. gobble time cam eand went, nothing! Finally, a full 20 min. after he should have gobbled I heard him and was able to course the direction. That would be the only gobble I heard from him that morning. I moved that way a 100 plus yds and set up and did some calling but he would not respond.

Wanting something a little hotter I decided to leave and try to prospect another turkey to fool with. I stopped at the corner of the pasture and got a bird to gobble to the south down the fence line a couple times. I went that way and it all fell apart. I flushed a bird in the open woods. Don't know what it was but never heard the tom again. I headed to work from there.
Tuesday day #4,

I scouted Monday night and found some good strut sign left by my backup bird at the powerline. The next morning the only bird I heard gobbled across, deep in the block to the west. I have never been in that block so I decided to strike out and go to him.  Later, Steve told me "If I had been there I would have advised against trying to cross that block!" Now you tell me! It was miserable thick pine flatwoods and cypress ponds and I thought I would never get there. It turned out that the gobbler was roosted all the way across the next road in a duck pond!. I set up on him  from the road as he was only 75 yds off it and i figured he must have flown up from there and I had a good chance he would pitch back down to it. Wrong again! He gobbled a couple times after I  got set up then shutup and I never heard or saw him again. I have no idea how he got out of there. I did hear a bird on the ground about a half hour later but he never materilised and I did not know which direction the gobble came from. I suspected SSW but that was just my best guess. I moved that way but it was getting late and I headed for work.

Wednesday day #5

I scouted tues. pm in the dark and found some hot strut sign on the creek road. I cold camped that night and the next morning I went to that spot.  The bird gobbled one time on roost early. I parked the truck and tried to go to him but he did not gobble again. I had to set up off a tee in the road not knowing how far he was. After a half hour or so, I finally heard him gobble on the ground. He was at the absolute maximum end of my hearing range and I was not 100% sure it was him. I heard him quite a few times before I decided to go north and see if I could get on him. After about a hundred and a quarter he gobbled at a real crow and I had him marked. I moved ahead some more and called at him and he answered.  Just ahead was a place open enough to maybe film but I was really pushing the envelope. I moved the 30yds to that spot with my finger crossed and gritted teeth. I got set up quick and waited for a minute to call.

I never heard him again! Busted! That was my only real opportunity at a killable bird so far this season I my high pressure style cost me that one.

I did not scout this afternoon as I knew I was not going to hunt in the morning.


Thursday day #6, no hunting, windy I did scout pm for friday


Friday day #7, I decided to give the bird a try back on the creek road by the little burn. I heard a gobble way north pretty much out of hearing and to far to try to go to. Only heard it once or twice and was not 100% sure on the direction. I cranked the atv and took off prospecting.

I ended up over at the duck pond and as I got to the S.E. corner Something made me stop. I can't get it out of my head how the bird I hunted here on Tuesday here. I wanted to see what was out there in that old pond. I found an old trail to get thru the thick edge that rings the perimeter of the open pond. when I broke thru I could hardly believe my eyes and I knew instantly why the bird did not fly into the road that morning.....the pond was dry and looked like a new rye grass field with islands of high grass and tusocks dotted here and there....a turkey paradise!!! I'd guess 12-15 acres in size. As a matter of fact the next thing I saw was a long beard walking out fron behind a tusock to my left. He picked me out standing there and went back. As soon as he was out of sight I scrambled back to grab my gear and the hunt was on!

I slipped from tusock to tusock until I was as close as I was getting. There ended up being (2) jakes, the long beard and (4) hens there. They fed back and fourth against one side of the pond and only the jakes ever came into range. The jakes were the only birds to answer me except for about (3) gobbles I was able to drag out of the old gobbler. He strutted and chased jakes and put on a show for a full hour and then the flock lined out and headed S.W. to get up on the hill and out of the sun. It was fustrating not being able to pull them over to me but it was a great show and I was amazed that I was able to make about 5 moves on them without getting caught!

I found a gator still living in the dry pond in a cave he had excavated. I was able to track his sign from one cave to another and took a few pictures for everyone to see. I doubt to many people get to see a gator cave, slide, etc.

I expect to have some good turkey hunts on this dry pond! Here's some pictures, What a turkey magnet!

Friday afternoon I tried to roost here on the pond and actually got there in time to hunt but I did not here a gobble.

Gobbler's turd!

It's not over by a long shot!

Good Luck,
Larry S.

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Florida Spring Gobbler Season Report - #1 Opening Weekend

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If you are reading a blog about turkey hunting I probably don't need to tell you that the season just opened here in Florida on Saturday, March 19.

Man, it's been a tough start for me! I've just been dealt some tough hands.

For starters, I opted to hunt the pole bridge bird. Actually, there were three of them and I roosted them Thursday afternoon in a creek bottom where they had flown up from a road that crosses the strand. I was standing at a tee in the road deciphering a tangle of turkey track sign and strut sign when when one of them fired off a gobble. Holly cow! what a stroke of luck I thought. Little did I know the whipping I was about to receive over the next three days.

I slipped down the road and proceeded to fire them up. I even went back to the truck, grabbed my phone and called my buddy Capt Rick......"listen to this Ricky!"  I owled and one bird gobbled but it was late and I had worn them out it was over for the night.

I had located 6 or 7 gobblers that night including another strutter near a power line that had really cut the road up. This and the pole bridge bird would be my main focus and everything was falling into place like I planned it that way.

 

 

 

Friday afternoon, the day before the opener; I knocked off work early to load all my gear and atv. Next was stops for fuel and provisions for a weekend in turkey camp.

After unloading at camp it was off to put the pole bridge bird to bed. I tracked the road and moved down the road towards the expected roost after fly up. I owled, nothing, owled again, nothing. nada.

Desperate, I pulled out my "Double D" call and cackled, my secrete weapon.....nothing. They weren't there! I can't remember an open eve that I did not have a gobbler put to bed for the mornings hunt.

I have to admit I had an unease feeling about the prospects for the morning. Something just did not seem right about those birds not being there.

The next morning dawned perfect, clear, cool and low humidity. I was hoping the birds were there but just did not gobble. I set up on the side of the road and waited for gobble time.

Well before gobble time I heard a bird gobble to the NW.  almost out of hearing. Just them I realized I had left my bino's at the atv. I had just enough time to get there and back. When I got to the atv I decided to owl. A bird responded straight down the road to the south! I owled again and he gobbled again. Well, I guess I'll run back to my setup and grab all the gear I had left there. Little did I know the birds were nearly a half a mile down the road the other direction. When I finally got down there I realized there were two gobblers roosted together and one to the south. There was a hen or two clucking on the limp, roosted to the west out over a jungle in some sparse bays. A jake was involved also and would squawk out a yelp right behind the gobbles.

By the time I developed a plan the gobblers were on the ground. The bad thing was they either flew to or ran as fast as they could to get into a pasture adjoining the woods. The pasture is out of bounds for me so all I could do was watch while the two gobblers strutted around and bred a few hens.

That night I came back hoping to catch them roosting in the creek again. I set up along the road and waited. About fly up I heard a bird take wing and beat its way thru the tree tops but I could not course it. A minute later I heard another but this time I saw this one. they were about 100 yds down the road and right over the creek.

About this time I start hearing an atv approaching. It rolls right by and down the road towards the roosted birds and kills the engine when he gets to the creek. Damn the luck! I couldn't believe it. I got up and started walking out and here comes the atv with his two dogs in tow. He apologizes for messing me up and we parted ways but before he leaves he related that he saw several jakes and hens here in the road the afternoon before but the big gobbler was not with them. Now I know why they were not there.

Scouting on the atv by the full moons light!

Actually, after talking to my hunting buddy Steve, I think this was done intentionally.

Saturday, day #2; after all the commotion down at the bridge spot I decided to go to my fall back bird near the power line. I got there and hour before daylight to assure my spot. Scouting the day before revealed someone had walked down the road and had been in the area. Also, the gobbler had left his sign there also. No strut sign just jumbo gobbler tracks.

Big Gobbler track!

I was sitting there in the dark thinking about getting out of the truck to owl when I see a form walk down the side of the truck! Great! Apparent this guy had built a blind down the road and to make  a long story short I gave him the spot and headed back to the bridge.

It was gobble time when I got around there and I planned to try to strike a bird from the truck, stopping every couple hundred yards down the road. The second time I stopped a bird gobbled on the hill beside the truck and a hen started clucking in a bay off in the creek bottom.

I nosed the truck off the road, grabbed my gear and headed off towards the gobbling tom. I ended up in a real open section of high hill with a mix of sand pines, yellow pine and various oaks with little understory. I moved as close as I could and set up but the bird was already on the ground. H was responding pretty good but moving away. I had no choice but to try to move on him.

I moved a hundred and a quarter or so and set up again. I called and he gobbled but I not gained a foot. I made a little cut at him and he gobbled again. Just then a hen that was with him started cutting back at me and he gobbled again. I decided I had to try to gain some ground. He had hens and was getting no closer. I made my move......he never gobbled again. I expect I was seen. If your going to practice an aggressive hunting style you have to be prepared for this kind of thing. We'll meet again another day!

This is the first time I have not taken a gobbler on the opening weekend that I can remember. Unbelievable! I hope this is not the start of a trend.

More gobbler strut sign!

                                                   Hen dusting in a sandy road bed!

                                              More hen dusting in a clay spot in the road!

                                           Turkey feeding scratch sign in a dried up mud hole!

Gobbler tracks in the mud!

Best of hunt!
Larry S.

Primos Diaphragm Sonic Dome Turkey Call Review

Another Spring Gobbler season is upon us and its time to be tuning up your calling and getting all your gear right and tight.

In my opinion, the mouth diaphragm call is the best turkey call ever invented for turkey hunting. Any call that a turkey makes can be duplicated on this type call including a kee kee.

Most of my Diaphragm mouth calls are in need of replacement so did some poking around and picked up some news calls to try.

One of the better calls I found was the new Primos "Sonic Dome Series", double reed, no cut. Right out of the box it fit my pallet better than any other call I have tried to date. In fact it fit so well i used it as a pattern to trim my other call to.

My personal preference in a mouth call is a twin reed with no cuts. I find the cuts make it difficuly to purr on which is a finishing call I rely heavily on. Also, more than two reeds or cuts are almost impossible for me to gobble on.

This call can make both raspy and clear calls and a range of soft and loud calls. Cuts are also nice and sharp.

My method of gobbling on a mouth call does not work with the dome style call but then again, I do not incorporate that call to much.

If your looking for a new call give this one a try, it a winner!

Best of Hunting,
Larry Stephens