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David Rearick's 2009 Turkey Journal
"Notes from the Turkey Woods…" Date: Pre-Season Scouting 2009 Bird Activity on the Roost: Good, gobbling well Bird Activity after Fly Down: Good, decent activity in fields with strutting birds and hammering gobblers Weather Conditions: Has been variable, but warming as the season approaches Results/Stats: Lots of birds scouted up, bring on the season! Notes: With an early start in my mind to the major turkey actvity, it is going to be different than last year. While some spots I hold are still loaded, some areas seem to have gone downhill with little to no activity. New properties should help replace the old ones and I am looking forward to the first day.
Date: April 18th, 2009 Bird Activity on the Roost: Fair gobbling on roost Bird Activity after Fly Down: It was over to quick to count Weather Conditions: High 30's early with temperatures rising to 70 by mid day. Sunny Results/Stats: Mat bagged his second bird! 17 lb's, 5 3/4" Beard, 1/4" spurs Notes: Erik had lined up another great hunt for his son Mat, same area as last year. With good scouting by E., had had 2 longbeards all ready to go. After deciding on the spot to set-up a few days prior, we were all set for the next morning. Getting in good an early played a major role in this hunt. In the pre-dawn darkness we ste up three hens and a strutting jake and got settled in the double bull blind. It wans't long until we heard the first gobble, and they were literally almost on top of us. We scanned the trees through the mesh windown and finally located the first bird, a mature hen who woke up to the sounds of her pursues just a few limbs away. We heard 1, maybe 2 birds gobble in behind us, and shortly after legal the first flew down. A hen landed just yards beyond the decoy, and then three jakes abruptly bombed down on us. E. made the decision to have Mat take one, as we chatted and decided since we didn't here the two longbeards, this was a good choice, and Mat layed the smackdown on his second ever spring turkey. High fives, hugs, and handhakes went around the blind, and continued oustide when we saw his bird. Way to go Mat on the shot, and E on the scouting!
Date: April 23rd, 2009 - Two days before go time... Bird Activity on the Roost: Good, multiple birds heard on roost Bird Activity after Fly Down: Strutting, but very little gobbling. 3 gobblers and 4 hens in the pasture Weather Conditions: High 30's early with temperatures rising to 55 by mid day. Partly Sunny Results/Stats: NA Date: April 24th, 2009 - One day and counting... Bird Activity on the Roost: Excellent, 6-8 birds heard on roost Bird Activity after Fly Down: Minimal gobbling, and the woods was quiet. Weather Conditions: High 30's early with temperatures rising to 83 by mid day. Partly Sunny Barrometric Pressure: 1013 and holding Results/Stats: NA Date: April 25th, 2009...Opening Day Bird Activity on the Roost: Very little Bird Activity after Fly Down: Some gobbling, but "other" hunters shut them down quickly Weather Conditions: 60's early rising to 84. Windy and Sun Results/Stats: Empty Date: April 26th, 2009 Bird Activity on the Roost: None Bird Activity after Fly Down: Not much to speak of Weather Conditions: 60's early rising to 84. Partly Sunny Barrometric Pressure: 1020 and rising Results/Stats: NA Date: April 27th, 2009 Bird Activity on the Roost: Low, only a few gobbles heard Bird Activity after Fly Down: Activity in fields, but no strutting/gobbling Weather Conditions: 60's early rising to 80's. Windy and Partly Sunny Barrometric Pressure: 1022 and holding Results/Stats: NA Notes: Went to Saturday's spot more on a scouting mission than anything. Some gobbling at roosts when the jokers would blow thier crow call again, yeah they were hear again, but not much else. Once agin they landed and went the other way. Every day besides the two days they ahve been here, the birds were in the pasture, hmmm. wonder why? Scouted out some new areas and got permission ona new farm holding 2 longbearsd and some hens. Also checked a few other field and saw some promising birds, but they weren't hot and the gobblers were grouped up feeding. Hoping the up and coming weather break turns this around.Date: April 28th, 2009 Bird Activity on the Roost: Good, lots of birds gobbling Bird Activity after Fly Down: Good, but not much gobbling except courtesy gobbles, birds strutting Weather Conditions: 50's early rising to 80's. Windy and Partly Sunny Barrometric Pressure: 1019 and rising Results/Stats: NA Notes: Good action this morning with plenty of birds gobbling hard on the roost. Problem, is most were across the road on a different property. I stuck it out and left after the birds went silent. After heading to a different spot, I quickly ran into a bunch of gobblers, jakes, and hens. I tried to slip in and set-up, but they weren't interested in moving in close enough. Had birds within 100 yards a few times and tried my best to work a nasty hen that didn't like me calling in her turf and had a gangster longbeard in tow. He gobbled in strutted just out of reach, better luck tomorrow. Went back just before noon and they were all done and quiet.
Date: April 29th, 2009 Bird Activity on the Roost: Good, sporatic and mostly at crows, but lots of birds heard Bird Activity after Fly Down: Hot, birds continued to shock gobble and answer on the ground Weather Conditions: High 40's early rising to 50's- Rain during night before Barrometric Pressure: 1021 and holding Results/Stats: 19 Lb's, 9.5" Beard, and 1" and 3/4" spurs Notes: Went back to the spot yesterday were I had all the birds in close. Set-up where the big boy strutted and it wasn't long before they sounded off. One bird on the left gobbled well, but he was up on the ridge, then had three more birds (which I thought were two jakes and a 2-year old) gobble heavily on my right. They worked in very slowly, and when I had a hen cut my off, I thought I was finished. I called a little and had them get fired up once or twice. Just before I was going to move, I let one more yelp out and they were on top of me. Safety off, I waited....
Three longbeards stepped out, one in strut, and worked their way towards the decoy. They were very cautious, and slowly and patiently moved towards the decoy. They got real close and I picked the bird with the thickest beard. He was in front and when he stretched his neck, I let the Heavy 13's fly, and missed. He jumped, and I quickly gave him another one and knocked him down. it wasn't pretty, but it came out ok. The stick laying across my rib, the angle, and just how close they were all played a part. On my way out, the bird that was too my left was strutting his stuff in the field all by his lonesome, maybe he will help fill out tag two. One down and one to go!  ©David Rearick, Game Hogg Hunt ClubTM Date: May 1st, 2009 Bird Activity on the Roost: Fair, birds gobbling on the roost but not answering the call Bird Activity after Fly Down: Good, birds strutting and answering the call while in the field Weather Conditions: Low 50's up to 60's by mid day. Cloudy and Rain Barrometric Pressure: Dropping overnight to 1006 and slightly rising to 1008 Notes: The day started off good, with birds gobbling on the roost right where I left them the night before, but not really gobbling at the call. They typically had flown down right to where we were ste-up, but today they decided to overshoot following the hens they had with them. The birds hit the ground and hammered hard, and four longbeards were seen along with a 7-8" bearded hen. They eventually worked away from us and right into the lap of some other hunters who had come in on the other side of the field. So much for a well made plan! The rest of the morning we bounced around from place to place checking and calling. We saw multiple birds using the field, but they always vanished before we could get to them. There is always tomorrow. Date: May 2nd, 2009 Bird Activity on the Roost: Good, birds answering every call Bird Activity after Fly Down: Insane sums it up, birds gobbling everywhere to the call Weather Conditions: High 40's early and rising to 60's, partly sunny Barrometric Pressure: Dropping overnight to 1004 and rising to 1008 Notes: Today was one of the best days afield turkey hunitng. Heard most likely close to 1000 gobbles from 12-14 different birds. They just wouldn't finish like we needed them to and hung up at 70 yards. Either they had hens or where scared of a butt whoppin. Regardless, after a battle with three longbeards, Shaun decided to slide up and get a look. His look turned into one dead longbeard and two others running scared for their lives. We made multiple sets and had a great morning working birds at each spot. A great day even if we only killed one, days like this don't happen to often. The rising pressure and favorable weather conditions were a big part of todays avtivity.
Date: May 5th, 2009 Bird Activity on the Roost: Fair, not answering call Bird Activity after Fly Down: Fair, some gobbling and strutting on ground Weather Conditions: High 40's early and rising to low 50's, partly cloudy Barrometric Pressure: Rising overnight until midnight, and then steady and low at 1007 Notes: I woke a little late and got beat to the spot I wanted to hunt. I want to my backup and heard birds, but no one wanted to work. They would gobble sporadically, but stuck to the woods and the backfield. I went back to the spot I intended to hunt and he was there again in all his glory and the other hunter was gone. Hestrutting with some hens and maybe a nother longbeard or jake. I tried to make a move but he was gone, or so I thought as when I returned to the binocular spot, he was still there. I laid out a plan for tomorrow, lets see what happens!!!
Date: May 6th, 2009 Bird Activity on the Roost: Slow, not many gobbles heard, but heard about 6-7 different birds Bird Activity after Fly Down: Nothing going, maybe 1-2 gobble sheard after fly down Weather Conditions: High 40's early and rising to 60's, partly sunny Barrometric Pressure: Steady 1008 Notes: I have been hunting this bird either myself or by taking someone to him for two years. Today, was his day to be mine, and I blew it... He is a good adult gobbler 3-5 Y.O., and getting him to 20 yards took some work and many hunts. I set-up where he strutted the last three times I checked the spot. I expected him to come from the left (oh and he did), but all the birds gobbling I heard were on the right. After light, I changed positions to get a better angle to the right, as this field is tricky and has some rolls where you can't see what's behind them. He had been everyday at 6:30 ish, and my patience was too short today. At 6:26 I decided to make one last call, just incase he was over the roll in the hill. Turns out, he and two of his hens (one bearded), were right there. I made a short series of soft yelps and purrs and as I was putting down my crystal Zink call, I saw him right coming over the ridge with two of his lady friends. At the same time, he saw me and he turned about face. Being on my hard left and being that I am a left handed shooter, it is hard for me to swing that way, and before I could get the gun across he was gone. I even jumped up to see if he was standing there, his two hens flew away but he must have run. I wanted to throw up, because today, I had him, and I shot myself right in the foot (not literally of course). Fingers crossed that he returns in the next week or so, but I am sure he will be even harder to kill after today.
Date: May 7th, 2009 Bird Activity on the Roost: Slow, Very quiet Bird Activity after Fly Down: Zero Weather Conditions: High 40's, Cloudy and light rain Barrometric Pressure: Steady and as low as I have seen it at 1002 Results/Stats: NA Notes: Not much to report. Tried a new spot with E., and heard very little and nothing close. Did run across a jake but all he wanted to do was scratch and eat. Headed out of the woods early and off to work. Date: May 9th, 2009 Bird Activity on the Roost: NADA, never heard a bird Bird Activity after Fly Down: After 5.5 hours of hunting, we only heard 2 birds Weather Conditions: Windy at times and partly cloudy. High 40's early and low 60's by noon Barrometric Pressure: 0997, Low and steady (lowest all year) Results/Stats: NA Date: May 11th, 2009 Bird Activity on the Roost: Decent, heard 5-6 different birds Bird Activity after Fly Down: Fair, some birds gobbling on the ground, but lots of strutting activity in fields Weather Conditions: Low 40's high in the 50's. A little bit of rain and clouds Barrometric Pressure: The pressure rose steadily after noon on Saturday and flatlined at daybreak at 1012 Results/Stats: NA
Date: May 15th, 2009 Bird Activity on the Roost: Good, 6-8 different gobblers heard in the tree Bird Activity after Fly Down: Decent, for the first half hour Weather Conditions: 40's early rising to 70's. Sunny Barrometric Pressure: Rising to 1014 overnight and stabilizing at daybreak Results/Stats: NA
Date: May 16th, 2009 Bird Activity on the Roost: Fair, a few birds heard but not like yesterday Bird Activity after Fly Down: Very little, only a few shock gobbles Weather Conditions: 50's early rising to 60's. Partly cloudy Barrometric Pressure: Plummeting overnight to 1007 Results/Stats: NA
Date: May 19th, 2009 Bird Activity on the Roost: None Heard Bird Activity after Fly Down: None Weather Conditions: Low 30's early rising to 70's. Sunny Barrometric Pressure: Rising slightly overnight to 1019 Results/Stats: NA Notes: Heard no gobbles and saw nothing up until I was leaving for work. Then, the bird I was after was in the field on the opposite side with his two hens. He is a longbeard, but very small and I would guess about 15 lbs. I would love to see his hooks.
Date: May 20th, 2009 Bird Activity on the Roost: Fair, a few birds heard but not like yesterday Bird Activity after Fly Down: Very little, only a few shock gobbles Weather Conditions: Low 30's early rising to 80's. Sunny Barrometric Pressure: Dropping slightly overnight to 1017 Results/Stats: NA Notes: Same as yesterday with nothing heard, but I was on the opposite side of the field. The birds came out, saw the decoy, and stayed in the middle of the field. They are very spooky and he is a wise old bird. I am going to let him rest for a few days.
Date: May 21st, 2009 Bird Activity on the Roost: Fair, heard a few birds gobbling Bird Activity after Fly Down: Very little, maybe 10 total gobbles on the ground Weather Conditions: 40's early rising to 80's. Sunny Barrometric Pressure: Dropping overnight to 1015 Results/Stats: NA Notes: Well, the birds were in this field the day before, but they never showed today. Three gobblers were seen on the upper field with one hen, but the birds we were after never came out. They did come to the woods edge, but either saw something they didn't like, us or the strutting decoy, and never came out the whole way.
Date: May 22nd, 2009 Bird Activity on the Roost: Slow, only a few birds heard in the tree Bird Activity after Fly Down: Nothing heard all day on the ground Weather Conditions: 50's early rising to 80's. Sunny Barrometric Pressure: Plummeting overnight to 1010 Results/Stats: NA Notes: Started off at a spot I hit last week. Birds gobbled, but very little and they were spaced out, making it hard to move in. Once they hit the ground, it was all over. I hunted 5-6 different spots running and gunning, with not a bird heard. Tough day, that being said, the birds we hunted yesterday were back out, so maybe that will be tomorroe's plan.
Date: May 23rd, 2009 Bird Activity on the Roost: Very little, one gobble heard Bird Activity after Fly Down: None Weather Conditions: 50's early rising to 80's. Partly sunny Barrometric Pressure: Plummeting overnight to 1004 Results/Stats: NA Notes: Well, they were coming to the field. There were three longbearsd here yesterday, and we set up hoping for E., Smiley, and myself to tag out. Two gobblers and two hens came down to the field, but they either didn't like the decoy or the blind. The hens seemed to quickly shy away from the other hen fakes and started putting. The gobblers stuck around enough for a long shot, but nothing going. Frustrating to say the least.
Date: May 25th, 2009...The Last Day Bird Activity on the Roost: Fair, a few birds heard hammering away Bird Activity after Fly Down: Very little, only a one shock gobble Weather Conditions: 50's early rising to 80's. Partly cloudy Barrometric Pressure: Dropping overnight to 1004 Results/Stats: NA Notes: Got up a little late and had two trucks at the spot I intended to hunt when I got there. Went to plan B and heard birds but they were all across the road. Tried to run and gun and got one bird to shock gobble, but only once out of courtesy. Frustrating season to say the least with 20 morning out. Lots of hunting pressure and not the greatest weather. The hens never seemed to nest, and there are still lots of hens around all day this year. This may not be a good sign for next year, or we may just have a lot of late hatch birds for next season. Copyright © 2008 Game Hogg Hunt ClubTM. All rights reserved. |
