Shangobango
Well-known member
I thought I would share a little about my turkey season down here since I
get so much enjoyment out of all of the posts that everyone else shares here.
This has been the toughest season I have ever had by far, taking the crown easily from the previous champ, last season. Honestly in the 32 years since I took my first gobbler I have seen nothing like it.
To say that the turkey population where I hunt is in trouble is an understatement.
So far in six full days of hunting 6 different spots on a National Forest and WMA that are 70 miles apart as the crow flies and logging almost 34 miles on foot according to the odometer on my handheld GPS I have seen alarmingly little turkey sign and I have heard one gobble, called in and passed on one jake that never gobbled and only clucked,and saw two hens dusting on gravel roads. Being able to sit and watch one of those hens for about 30 minutes through the binos as she intermittently dusted and then went to the tall grass and laid down when vehicles approached has been the turkey related highlight of the season so far.
With all that doom and gloom out of the way, I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in the spring woods. The only thing missing was the turkeys. Here are a few pics of my ramblings in the spring woods
These are a few landscape pics I took on the National Forest. Ranges from 95 to 250 feet in elevation.
Here are some landscape pics from the WMA in the Mississippi River flood plain closer to home. Elevations are from 65 to 70 feet unless on the bank of a bayou then you get down around 60 feet maybe a little less.
Boar hog that stood as high or higher at the shoulder than my head while sitting next to a tree. These things are a partly to blame for the turkey decline I think:
The old handmade cedar turkey call my grandpa made in the early 70’s. He gave it to me when I was 11 years old in 1988, the year I killed my first gobbler while hunting in a natural blind with my grandma:
An old bald cypress log that hasn’t changed much in the 20 plus years since I first saw it:
That is a 10’ish foot alligator that I had just walked right by down the edge of the bayou. He had crossed from my side headed the opposite direction that he is facing and was on his way back to my side. There is an very old beaver dam just down stream from here that has been in use for as long as I remember:
This cypress tree must have been unfit for the loggers that cut all this in the 40’s. It is about 11 feet wide at the water line:
A dead head I found. Somebody’s “ one that got away” last season I imagine:
This weekend is the last weekend on the WMA. I missed yesterday due to catching up on farm chores and today due to severe weather. I am going to the National Forest next weekend, which is the last weekend on it.
Thanks for looking and I hope you all enjoy your outdoor endeavors this spring as much as I am enjoying mine and have more hunting success than I have had to boot.
get so much enjoyment out of all of the posts that everyone else shares here.
This has been the toughest season I have ever had by far, taking the crown easily from the previous champ, last season. Honestly in the 32 years since I took my first gobbler I have seen nothing like it.
To say that the turkey population where I hunt is in trouble is an understatement.
So far in six full days of hunting 6 different spots on a National Forest and WMA that are 70 miles apart as the crow flies and logging almost 34 miles on foot according to the odometer on my handheld GPS I have seen alarmingly little turkey sign and I have heard one gobble, called in and passed on one jake that never gobbled and only clucked,and saw two hens dusting on gravel roads. Being able to sit and watch one of those hens for about 30 minutes through the binos as she intermittently dusted and then went to the tall grass and laid down when vehicles approached has been the turkey related highlight of the season so far.
With all that doom and gloom out of the way, I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in the spring woods. The only thing missing was the turkeys. Here are a few pics of my ramblings in the spring woods
These are a few landscape pics I took on the National Forest. Ranges from 95 to 250 feet in elevation.
Here are some landscape pics from the WMA in the Mississippi River flood plain closer to home. Elevations are from 65 to 70 feet unless on the bank of a bayou then you get down around 60 feet maybe a little less.
Boar hog that stood as high or higher at the shoulder than my head while sitting next to a tree. These things are a partly to blame for the turkey decline I think:
The old handmade cedar turkey call my grandpa made in the early 70’s. He gave it to me when I was 11 years old in 1988, the year I killed my first gobbler while hunting in a natural blind with my grandma:
An old bald cypress log that hasn’t changed much in the 20 plus years since I first saw it:
That is a 10’ish foot alligator that I had just walked right by down the edge of the bayou. He had crossed from my side headed the opposite direction that he is facing and was on his way back to my side. There is an very old beaver dam just down stream from here that has been in use for as long as I remember:
This cypress tree must have been unfit for the loggers that cut all this in the 40’s. It is about 11 feet wide at the water line:
A dead head I found. Somebody’s “ one that got away” last season I imagine:
This weekend is the last weekend on the WMA. I missed yesterday due to catching up on farm chores and today due to severe weather. I am going to the National Forest next weekend, which is the last weekend on it.
Thanks for looking and I hope you all enjoy your outdoor endeavors this spring as much as I am enjoying mine and have more hunting success than I have had to boot.
