1st Season is on

Couple pics.
1st one from a couple days ago with the real thing.
He came back today to try out the decoy!!

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Missing out this year. We hunt near Frontenac, up to 11 in our crew. Too many to stay at the house of our friend who hosts, too darn cold to camp.

Two guys are hunting Wright County near the Crow River near their homes. So far all of the gobbling was on the other side of the river.

I’m gonna go tomorrow. There’s still too much snow by me and its only 17 degrees out this morning. Weather looks to improve each day though.

I bagged my first spring bird with my bow this morning. I did not have any birds scouted out so I left late to not mess up someone else’s hunt trying to find a spot early. The public land I checked and ended up hunting was busy with hunters.

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dbright –

Congratulations! That is a great accomplishment.

Way to go dbright!!!

Got this guy yesterday afternoon. Was sitting for maybe 10 minutes when him and another came charging in.

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Nice bird!

Nice Birds. Still trying to get my first one in my first year trying. This last Saturday morning I had one gobbling back and forth with my calling but he wouldn’t commit. I didn’t have any decoys out though which would have helped I think, but who knows, still figuring these things out. But I did purchase a couple hens and a Jake decoys after that! Try them out this weekend and see what happens. It was fun just hearing them though plus I had my two daughters with so they got a kick out of the gobbling and had a few deer within 60-80 yards they got to see up close. What I thought was kind of strange for this time of year was a lone hen walked 20 yards away from us but nothing following. I thought forsure others would have been following.

The only bird I’ve seen in the last two days was a single hen as well. I’ve hunted five different public properties so far and haven’t encountered a single gobble or response yet. No idea what’s going on to be honest.

Tom’s were very quiet this last weekend. Had 2 come right in to calls completely silent. Just didn’t get clean shots. Seen alot of strutting, but very few gobbles. My Dad is out on the deck for sunrise each morning. Says maybe 5-10 gobbles a morning spread as far as you can hear.

The best way to get them 2 come in is sit in a big pile of cow crap and wait. They will certainly come.

bigpike wrote:

The best way to get them 2 come in is sit in a big pile of cow crap and wait. They will certainly come.

You mean sit on private farm land? That’s if you can get access, apparently every field around here is leased now. Hunted my 7th public property and scouted an 8th, no sign, no calls, no responses. Anyone that tries to convince you the first three periods are the best is lying lol.

salmo_trutta wrote:

Anyone that tries to convince you the first three periods are the best is lying lol.

I think the combination of no more lottery seasons, an early spring, and people being cooped up has added a lot more pressure during season A. I went for 4 days and saw blinds on the edge of fields in multiple locations that I generally would not see. I may re-consider my strategy next season and wait until B or C instead to avoid the initial wave of pressure. Had there still been a lottery, I think season A would have been better for you.

I had good activity for 3 out of the 4 days I went last week. I heard them gobbling on the roost every morning behind me, and saw 15 on Friday on the field but I simply couldn’t get any close enough for a shot. The toms are basically just following the hens around right now.

gimruis wrote:

The toms are basically just following the hens around right now.

100% agree for what I’ve seen in my neck of the woods in Todd county. Gonna be lots of differences, kinda like deer rut.

salmo_trutta wrote:

Anyone that tries to convince you the first three periods are the best is lying lol.

I see the lol, so I’m guessing you’re mostly joking. For me, early is almost always better than late, though technically I’d go last weekend of April if I had only one choice. Best things about early, very few bugs, Tom’s haven’t been played by to many callers, not much for leaves so sight is better and Turkeys will enter and exit woods more frequently. I find that when low shrubbery greens and thickens, they move less or slower when they can’t see as far. Especially if pressured. Once hens are nesting, the game really winds down. Spot n stalk is fun, but the gobbling, popping, bass humming strutting is second to none!
Good luck to everyone this weekend!

Birds were fired up this morning! Lots of gobbling. Daughter and I had I assume the same Tom from last Sunday come in to 40 yards, but took the same route to evade us while he circled. He’s definitely on to us. Had several more over a ridge going at it. Oldest son hunting 300 yards away had 2 Tom’s and a Jake come to his decoy, and he missed at 35 yards….
Saw a few lone hens also.

Still no real change into the weekend. Nothing calling on roost, nothing responding to calls, one solo hen seen while driving home, nothing else moving.

Does anyone know of some good public land around the Cambridge area? I have attempted asking for permission but nobody seems to say yes. I atleast would like a backup option. Not sure if it matters but I am attempting to bag one with my bow this year.

That’s the hardest thing about hunting now is just simply finding a decent place to hunt, seems everything is leased, spoken for, or overrun with people. Or, you can pay the $2000 for access and enjoy the meat that costed you $400 per pound!