SPORTS
Spring Turkey season is special
By Luke Clayton
Ask me in October what I love best about the outdoors and I will probably say that nothing compares to the preparation before archery whitetail season and then settling into that blind on opening day with hopes of arrowing a mature buck. Ask the same question a month or so ago and I’d probably be bragging about how much fun it is to walk a remote creek with moving water tossing jigs along the bank for spawning white bass. Ask me now and, hands down, I will talk your head off singing the praises of heading out to the woods and fields in quest of a big turkey gobbler.
Truly there is nothing quiet like spring turkey hunting. There’s something very special about being out when the woods is coming to life, replacing the drab grey colors of winter with shades of green that even the great artist Monet couldn’t accurately capture on canvas. Deer hunting is largely a waiting game where one sits in a ground blind or tree stand and patiently waits for the buck to present an ethical shot. Turkey hunters also have to be patient but usually are not relegated to staying in one place.
Hunting turkey is a run and gun endeavor with the hunter staying on the move with his or her call, mimicking a lovesick hen in hopes of getting a response ‘gobble’ from a big gobbler somewhere back in the woods.
On a calm spring day, it’s possible to hear a gobbler sounding off through the woods from several hundred yards. This is the stuff great hunting memories are made. I usually begin the morning hunt well concealed before daylight near a turkey roost area or a field edge where I’ve seen turkey feeding.
With my old hen decoy, Henrietta, positioned about 25 yards out from my position, I set quietly. Sometimes, when I am lucky, I will actually hear a gobbler sound off from the roost and on occasion, I can hear the wings flapping as the birds set their wings and soar down to the ground.
To be perfectly honest, that first hour or so of daylight seldom results in a bagged gobbler but we turkey hunters have to be out there at first light just in case. Very often gobblers are roosted near hens and there are easier things to do than entice a lovesick gobbler away from what he has his eyes on. But sometimes I get lucky and when the gobbler hits the ground and spots my decoy and hears my plaintive hen yelps, he comes trotting to the ‘new’ hen (my decoy Heneretta)
I drop the hammer on the shotgun or release my arrow and its time to turn the bird into turkey nuggets and fajita strips. But more than likely the bird’s attention is focused on the hens he has spent the night with and after a brief courtship, the flock disappears into the woods or feeds it’s way slowly down the field out of sight, stopping occasionally to nip a bit of clover along the way.
At least three-quarters of the spring gobblers I’ve killed were taken from about 9 am until early afternoon. After Gobblers mate with receptive hens during early morning, the hens feed and then go to their nest. Gobblers are then left alone but are still looking for love. They roam the woods, grabbing a bit of fresh greenery here and there as they feed. But courtship remains paramount on their mind, and this is when the sound of what they think is a receptive hen yelping back in the woods is more than they can take.
When things go perfectly as scripted, the scenario goes something like this- the gobbler hears the hen yelp made by the hunter’s call and instantly stops to strut and gobbler. The hunter gets a rough idea of where the bird is from the direction of the sound and quickly locates an open spot to set the decoy and conceals himself in the brush, facing the direction he expects the bird to approach from.
If things go as planned, as they sometimes do, the hunter then calls again, and the gobbler once again stops, struts and replies with a gobble. This time, the hunter can tell he is closer and adjusts his position to face the approaching gobbler. It’s a good idea to keep calling but not too much, just a few yelps every couple minutes. But sometimes the gobbler will sneak in quietly without making a sound.
If you hear a responding gobbler with every series of hen yelps, you are working with a ‘hot’ gobbler and your percentages of success are high. But don’t be disappointed if one minute you are staring at your decoy and the next you see a gobbler in full strut. I’ve killed as many ‘quiet’ gobblers through the years as I have those that gobbler their way to my set up.
This week, I’ll be hunting with my long-time friend Bill Carey, owner of Striper Express up on Lake Texoma. This will be our second year to open the season together. Last year I lucked out and bagged a big gobbler the first thirty minutes of the hunt. Bill and I both enjoy camp cooking and last year,
I butchered the gobbler and we enjoyed a tasty lunch of grilled asparagus and turkey nuggets at a little makeshift camp we set up near a pond on the ranch. This year I’ve changed the menu to wild turkey fajitas and seasoned camp beans. But as all turkey hunters know, it is remotely possible a bird won’t be bagged before lunch. Not to worry, I have some chicken breast meat strips marinating just in case. Of course, if the stars are aligned, and I get a gobbler early, we will save the chicken for later and dine on very fresh wild turkey. Better to be safe than sorry though, fajitas are pretty bland with just veggies and no meat.
CAMP BEANS Open a can of the no brand Dollar Store baked beans-they are pretty bland tasting right out of the can but become a gourmets delight when ‘doctored’ up. In a skillet fry a couple pieces of chopped bacon, add a diced jalapeno, one onion and several cloves of fresh garlic. Heat until the onions are soft then add the canned beans and a little bbq sauce and a handful of brown sugar, let simmer for a few minutes. This makes a great side dish for an impromptu wild turkey lunch.
Listen to Luke’s weekly podcast, “Catfish Radio with Luke Clayton and Friends” just about everywhere podcast are found. Email Luke through his website www.catfishradio.org
A solid day was had by Montague county high school tracksters at the State Track and Field Meet May 16 in Austin.
Bellevue’s Mattie Broussard had a pair of second place finishes in both the 800-meter run with a time of 2:21.41 and the 3,200-meter run with a time of 11:31.33. Broussard also was 4th in the 1,600-meters with a time of 5:22.18.
Her teammate Brylie Hager was 9th in the 110-meter hurdles in 19.93.
Forestburg’s Brenna Briles was 4th in the triple jump with a 35’9 1’2” leap. Her teammate Jocelyn Rich was 4th in the pole vault with a 9’ leap.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
Bowie had a pair of top four finishes at the State Track and Field Meet May 14.
Sophomore Brayden Willett made it onto the medal stand, finishing 3rd in the 1,600-meter run with a time of 4:17.89. Bowie junior Tyler Richey finished 4th in the pole vault after a 14’6” effort.
The top two finishers from Holliday, also in Bowie’s district, celebrated with him after he crossed the finish line.
“It was kind of surprising,” Willett said about Ryder and Noah Stroman embracing him in a celebratory hug. “They’re good guys, so it was kind of cool.”
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
This past week found your outdoor scribe doing some rather mundane things such as yard work, vegetable gardening and repairs around the old cabin. Oh, I also wrapped up a couple of magazine articles. I always enjoy sharing my adventures with all of you in this column but to be perfectly honest, not nearly as much as my ‘field work’ hunting and fishing which is an iatrical part of any good outdoor column. If you’re like me, you much prefer reading about an adventure that you can also partake.
I am far more comfortable telling you about an outdoor experience I had firsthand knowledge of rather than the reporting part of my job as an outdoor communicator. So, this week, I’d do a bit of ‘reporting’ and share some planned adventures I have scheduled for the next couple weeks. By the time you’re reading this, I will have already been in the woods in quest of a fat ‘eater’ hog and probably have some freshly caught blue catfish fillets in the freezer, details will follow in the next couple of weeks.
I’ll kick things off early in the week heading down to my friend Jeff Rice’s Buck and Bass Ranch located on the upper end of Lake Fork. Jeff produces our weekly TV show “A Sportsman’s Life” which airs on Carbon TV and YouTube. Our plan is to film a segment of our show on stalking wild hogs. It will be a challenge to capture the shot with all the thick grown spring vegetation. It could happen fast and require a fast shot. We will be breaking in my CVA Cascade scout rifle in 308 caliber. This short barrel little rifle is light and easy to handle in thick cover, ideal for this type of hunting. Our plan is to hit the woods during the last couple hours of daylight and ease along the trails, watching and especially listening for hogs. Wild porkers are vocal critters and it’s common to hear them before seeing them. We will play the wind and attempt to get downwind and then close the distance for a shot but you can never guess how a hog hunt will unfold. Wild pork or not, Jeff and I always have a great time together and I plan to bring a side of wild pork ribs already slow smoked and covered in brown sugar and BBQ sauce with a side of camp baked beans!
After a tasty dinner we plan to get a good night’s sleep and head out the next morning for a planned fishing trip with guide David Hanson at Lake Tawakoni. Both channel and blue catfish are on a very good bite right but it’s hard to pass up those snow white blue catfish fillets when the bite is good. David is, to my knowledge, the most veteran catfish guide on the lake and became friends close to a quarter-century ago when we first began fishing
together. The plan is to use freshy cut shad in shallow water and target eater size blues weighing between 2 and about 10 pounds but as every catfish angler knows, it’s always possible to connect with a big trophy size blue when fishing Tawakoni.
Next week, I plan to join my long-time friend J.C. McCollough on the Red River below the Texoma dam. I’ve been fishing and hunting with J.C. for many years and look forward to getting with him again. I would describe this to catching big catfish in a barrel but in this case the deep holes in the river are comprised of several acres. The water level in the river below Texoma are dictated by the water release at the dam by the Corp of Engineers. When there is a current in the river, fish move upstream to feed on baitfish coming through the dam. When the water recedes, they fish move into the deeper holes where baitfish also seek refuge from the falling water. Catching will be fast paced with the chance to connect with some big fish as well as limits of “eater” size fish. We’ll be rigging with big live gizzard shad fished weightless on a free line, using medium spinning gear. The bigger fish will often nail the frisky live shad and the fresh cut bait is a sure way to connect with lots of smaller fish. There is something very exciting about fishing big live baits on a slack line. One minute your bait will be darting around and you will occasionally feel it taking up slack and the next when a big blue catfish grabs the bait, the rod will bow and the fight will be on. There is usually no ‘setting the hook’, by the time you feel the fish, it will already be hooked and making a strong run to the nearest submerged brush. Your job will be to keep the drag set just enough to keep pressure on the fish but not so much as to cause the line to break.
J.C. uses his airboat to access these deeper holes because of the very shallow water. While it’s not impossible to portage a kayak or small boat in the river, it often requires a few miles travel to get to these deep holes, this is best accomplished by experienced kayakers with plenty of endurance. There was a time when I was game for this type fishing but I much prefer to do my river fishing these days from a boat designed to negotiate the shallow waters.
Squirrel season is underway in many of the east Texas counties and there’s some pretty good fox squirrel hunting here close to home in Kaufman county and I’ve been thinking about how tasty a big skillet of smothered squirrel with rice, gravy and biscuits would be. Bream are on the beds now and my friend Edgar Cotton invited me to come do some ‘perch jerking’ with him and his son David-it’s in the plans! Well, hopefully next week I will have a ‘sure nuff’ adventure of two to relate you you-I’m ready to get some relief from all this work around the homeplace! LC
You can contact Tawakoni/Fork catfish guide David Hanson at 902-268-7391. Contact J.C. McCollough at 580-372-0320.
Listen to Luke’s podcast, “Catfish Radio” just about everywhere podcast are found.
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