Catholic Hotdish

This year’s early and warm spring is mostly good. But, there is a downside, which I encountered about two weeks ago.

As I was walking around on a property where I got permission to hunt turkey and deer, I picked off a tick. These little buggers came early this year, and I was not pleased to find one so soon. With the Wisconsin youth turkey hunt coming this weekend, it’s time to find a solution.

Fortunately, that part is easy. I merely will put on my ElimTick clothing and not have a worry in the world. The product was developed by a company called Insect Shield, which owns the patent and manufactures clothing that repels ticks and other insects. Gamehide is a brand partner and incorporates the fabric developed by Insect Shield into its camouflage clothing. That makes it perfect for spring turkey hunting, which is when ticks are the worst.

I became aware of ElimiTick two years ago because my friend, Steve Huettl, is Gamehide’s general manager. The company has been selling it for three years, and Steve has been using it himself for four. The first time he tried it, he went out into the woods with another Gamehide employee who also was wearing ElimiTick, plus several others who weren’t. One was a youth who counted 58 ticks he pulled off that day.

I have used it for two full seasons, and only once did a tick get under the clothing and attach itself to my leg. I have been in the  worst places for ticks at the worst times, so I estimate the success rate is well above 90 percent, and actually pretty close to 100. I’ll take that any time. Steve said he has never had a tick bite him while wearing the clothing.

But, there are a few key points to know:

1. Ticks may crawl onto the surface of the garment at times, but they eventually drop off without biting. Somehow, the tick I discovered last year had crawled underneath the pants and up my leg.
2. The pants, especially the bottom, are critical. Buying them a little long can be helpful, and be careful whenever you sit down, as the pants can ride up your leg and expose your skin. That’s probably what happened to me, and made me vulnerable to ticks.
3. You can wash them as often as you want. They are said to be good through 70 washings, but Steve told me the tick repellent will last the life of the garment. In his words, “the garment will fall apart” before the repellent quits working.
4. It also repels mosquitos.

The good news for turkey hunters is the clothing is easy to find. You can buy it online directing from Gamehide, or check out these local retailers that carry it – Mills Fleet Farm, Joe’s Sporting Goods (St. Paul), Capra’s Sporting Goods (Blaine), Cabin Fever (Victoria) and All Seasons Sports (Delan0).

I just ordered a set for my son, William, who is going out turkey hunting this weekend. I want to know that both of us are protected. Ticks that get attached to your skin are bad enough, but what’s worse is the threat of Lyme Disease. I have talked to a few people recently who have had it, and it’s not something I ever want to get.

That’s why I’ll be wearing ElimiTick on my turkey hunts this spring. Then, instead of being distracted by ticks crawling all over me and trying to pick them off while staying still, I can focus on working a gobbler into shotgun range.

Lord knows, that’s hard enough!

Q: How much of a problem have ticks been for you?

Within the last week, I have been treated to starry skies on my regular 3-mile walk. On one night, in particular, the sky was so clear near my home in St. Paul that I could make out several constellations, not to mention the Big Dipper.

It was a beautiful sight, and one that touched me deeply as I made my way around Highland Golf Course two hours after sunset. I caught a glimpse of God’s infinite creative power, which inspired a biblical writer to proclaim: “The heavens declare the glory of God!”

Then, last night, a different scene unfolded. I walked through freshly falling snow — a rarity this winter. Because of the warm temperatures, the snow stuck to branches and pine needles on my walking route. The glow from the street lights illuminated the snow, and I paused several times to take in the beauty of the wet, sparkling snow.

I came back with my camera this morning to take a few pictures. The snow was melting fast, and I was just in time to catch some clumps hanging on to some pine tree branches.

Light snowfalls that provide a soft, beautiful blanket that melts quickly and doesn’t need to be shoveled away — now that’s my kind of winter!

As the sun dipped to the mountain tops near Great Falls, Mont. on the Friday afternoon after Thanksgiving, I figured it was now “Jesus time.”

We had about an hour of legal shooting time left, then just a few more hours of hunting the next morning before our trip would end with the 15-hour drive back to Minnesota. I had already tagged a whitetail doe, and my son, Andy, was still waiting to fill his buck and elk tags, which he bought as part of a special youth combination license. My son, William, also was waiting to fill his whitetail doe tag after a few close encounters but no shot taken. With time running out, I turned to the Lord and asked for his help to bring some deer our way.

Throughout this  trip, we had seen lots of animals, many of which were on land we couldn’t hunt. Still, it was cool to see so many whitetail and mule deer in the hills, mountains and lowlands of North Central Montana. I was able to shoot some with my camera, including a nice group of muley does with a buck (shown above).

Seems like every year God does something special late in the trip to put smiles on our faces and meat in the freezer. Two years ago, again on the Friday after Thanksgiving, my son, Joe, and I tagged mule deer bucks on the same stalk. Last year, I shot my whitetail doe on the last morning of our trip, and Grandpa Bob Guditis got an elk on the following morning, which was the last day of the rifle season.

So, I was not at all giving up hope as we continued looking for deer in the twilight of this day. In fact, I coined a popular sports phrase when I told Bob we should hunt until the final whistle.

That’s exactly what we did. There was a grassy lowland area near the mountains that is a whitetail magnet. It is a crop field with a double row of trees on the western edge. Because the lowlands are mostly grass, this gives the deer a rare piece of cover.

We have seen deer bedded or standing in the cover many times. In fact, last year we saw a beautiful 10-pointer that Andy came close to getting a shot at. It ran out of some cover and right past Andy at about 100 yards. He was waiting for it to stop or at least slow down, but it did neither. In wide open spaces like these, deer will run a long way before stopping.

We saw the 10-pointer a few days later when my son, Joe, was with me. It was with some does, so we went on a stalk. Because we had only doe tags, we had to leave the 10-pointer alone. Joe ended up getting a nice doe on the stalk. I probably could have gotten one, too, as they ran out of the cover when we approached to get Joe’s deer. Ever since then, we had been wondering if we would see that buck again this year.

Time for a stalk

On our final look at this piece of cover on Friday, Bob spotted some deer just outside the cover and walking in a grass field. Quickly, he saw that one of them was a nice buck. So, Andy grabbed his .308 caliber rifle that Bob had given him, and the stalk began. William joined in, hoping that maybe he could get a shot at a doe.

I tagged along as well, but mostly to carry gear and help William. Andy has been on stalks like this before, so I knew he would do fine on his own. We started on the opposite side of the tree rows from the deer, and walked down the outside row of pine trees toward the deer.

We had gone about 300 yards or so when Andy decided to poke through the trees to see if he could spot the deer. He did, and held his hands out wide to let me know that the buck had a very good-sized set of antlers. That got us all very excited.

He went about another 100 yards, then looked again at the deer. William and I stayed back a little bit so we wouldn’t be seen. Andy then got down on all fours and crawled to the other row of trees, which were only about half the size of the pines. He slipped all the way through, then sat up to a shooting position. At that moment, I made my greatest contribution of the stalk.

Finger on the  trigger

When he was ready, I asked him if he wanted the shooting sticks. He motioned me over, and I belly crawled just a few yards to him and handed him the sticks. I was itching to see the buck, but I stayed in the trees so I wouldn’t spook either the buck or the two does that were with him.

Andy didn’t wait long to put his finger on the trigger. He actually pulled back once without firing, because he had forgotten to take the safety off.

Once he put the gun on fire, he settled in and locked the crosshairs on the buck’s chest. He fired, then I heard the telltale thump of the bullet hitting the deer. The buck wheeled and ran straight away from us. Andy fired again, not sure whether the first shot had found its mark.

The search

After that, we all stood up and I asked Andy what he saw. He said he watched the buck do the classic mule kick after the shot, then run toward the trees. So, we walked the edge of the tree line looking for blood or a fallen deer. We went about 275 t0 300 yards, then decided to duck into the trees.

That was a mistake. There was neither blood nor beast in there, though we scoured the tree lines for another 100 yards or so beyond where we started.

Meanwhile, Bob was back at the truck watching us. He had seen the whole thing, and witnessed a very important part that we all missed — the buck falling 30 yards from where he had been hit.

Trophy found!

So, Bob got out of the truck and made his way toward us to let us know the buck was down. In fact, it never made it to the trees. William spotted it first, then told the rest of us. Turns out, I was only about a step or two away, but I was looking farther ahead.

It was a magnificent buck with a beautiful, wide 10-point rack. We knew instantly this was worthy of mounting, so we made a decision to take it in to a taxidermist in Great Falls. We chose Waylon’s because Bob had used him to mount a black bear he shot a year ago. He also has a butcher shop in the same building, so we could get the meat processed there also.

The look on Andy’s face when he saw the buck was priceless. I think I had more joy than if I had shot the buck. We had a brief celebration and photo shoot, then got busy field dressing the buck. I gladly volunteered for the task, with Andy serving as my assistant. This marks the fifth deer I have field dressed this fall.

Once back at the truck, I performed a very important part of the process — removing the tenderloins. The two oblong pieces of meat near the hind end would look very nice on the grill back home. We have a tradition of grilling the tenderloins within a few days of the hunt. Because Andy was going back to Winona State University Monday morning, we decided to have them on Sunday night right after we returned home from the trip.

 
 Other good news

It wasn’t just a good trip for us. Jerry Gray, Bob’s son-in-law, shot a  nice eight-point buck during the trip, plus a bonus cow elk on the last  day of the rifle season, which was Sunday.

Due to a lack of snow caused by warm weather, the elk were higher up. So, he hiked to the top of a  small ridge on Bob’s land to gain some altitude. He looked across a draw  and spotted a group of several cows on the other side. He took a 400-yard shot with this .30-06 and hit the animal. After running down the  draw and up the other side, he found blood and, eventually, the elk. It  was still alive, so he took a final shot.

Once again, God blessed us tremendously on this hunt. Not only did we enjoy great food — courtesy of Grandma Sharon, a fabulous cook — but we had some awesome stalks with great results.

Over and over, I have thanked God for his great generosity. So did Grandpa Bob, who responded to my words of gratitude by pointing to our Heavenly Father and noting his abundant blessings.

Thus, during this Thanksgiving — now Advent — season, I think it’s only appropriate to thank God for creating the deer and the elk  and the great habitat that they live in, and to celebrate his vast and unending kindness toward us.

Praise the Lord!

I couldn’t resist the urge to get out in the woods yesterday morning and sit in my stand for a few hours of bow hunting. I was hoping  the deer would be moving during the cooler weather we’ve been having the last few days.

But, what greeted me in the opening minutes of legal shooting hours were not the footsteps of whitetails heading to their bedding areas, but shotgun blasts. Apparently, there were some busy waterfowl hunters nearby. The area I hunt near Lino Lakes in the northern suburbs features a lot of wetlands, and it was obvious that ducks were flying in the area.

So much for peace and quiet. It sounded more like the firearms deer opener. Yet, being in an archery-only area, I figured maybe the deer wouldn’t get spooked so much by the noise that they would sit tight.

Nothing moving

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Whether for that reason or some other, no deer were moving. With most of the leaves down on the ground, I could see much farther than I could on opening weekend, so I figured I might see deer a ways off.

No dice. I suspect that there were at least two factors that led to the lack of deer activity in the woods. The first is what my experienced bow hunting friend calls the October lull. It seems that in mid-October, the deer will slow down their movements for about two weeks or so right before the rut kicks in. He thinks it has to do with the deer wanting to rest up a bit before the breeding starts and they move much more than normal. In fact, the rut features the highest amount of deer movement of the entire year. That’s a big reason why hunters like getting out in the woods in November.

Reason No. 2 is the wind. It has been very windy the last few days and, although the wind died down a little bit, it still was strong yesterday morning. That will often shut down deer movement, except during the rut, which is about two weeks away.

Time for some scouting

At 9:15 a.m., I climbed down from my stand and headed over to a second stand that I had put up last week. It’s much farther back into the woods and I needed to finish putting up some trail tacks on trees so I can find the stand in the dark. I began that task last week, but ran out of tacks. So, yesterday, I was able to finish the job.

I also did a little walking around the area to see where deer might move and where I might see them. Turns out, I am in a nice bottleneck area that features a point of tall grass coming in from the west and a big swamp coming in from the east. And, to my left is a creek bottom with a thicket of woods behind it. There is a crossing to my left that’s about 15-20 yards from my stand and one to my right that’s about 25 yards. Both crossings lead right into the thicket. I know deer will use them to come in and out of the thick cover, so I think there’s a good chance of some movement on these trails when the rut kicks in.

Preparation is key

When it comes to bow hunting, advance planning and preparation is crucial to success. Of course, it starts with practicing with your bow and developing shooting proficiency. I think hunters should be good to at least 20 yards, if not 30. I have been practicing at 20 yards for several months, so I feel confident I can make shots up to that distance. I tried a couple at 30 yesterday. One was wide right, but the second shot hit the center of the bullseye. I adjusted my sight a little because I had been shooting right of the bullseye consistently. After moving my sight, I was back on the bullseye. Experts say not to correct for mistakes in your shooting form, but I had been shooting to the right for two whole sessions, so it was time for a change. If I start shooting left, I will simply move the sight back.

Another part of preparation is having the right setup in your stand to accommodate all the directions where you might have to shoot. One change I made to accomplish this is getting a new safety system. I was using a safety harness that attaches to my upper body and both legs. But, I found it to be cumbersome and restrictive when I would try to rotate a lot to the left or right.

Silent Slide is the answer

Then, I found out about a product called the Silent Slide. It’s a marvelous device invented and patented by a couple in Wisconsin that is very simple in its design and well made. I was nervous about trying it at first because it’s a belt and not a full body harness. But, once I understood how it works, I felt it was worth a try.

I bought one and used it for the first time yesterday morning. All you do is put the belt around your waist before you go into the woods, and roll up the belt that attaches to the tree. Then, once in your stand, simply put the belt around the tree at waist level of a standing position. The tether on your waist belt allows you to move however you need to with no restrictions or binding. And, it has quick release buckles that allow you to get out of it when you need to. Because there is only 12 inches of strap from your waist belt to the tree belt, you’ll merely fall against the tree if you have an accident. When this happens, you simply turn your body to the tree and either climb back into the stand, or release the belt and shimmy down the tree.

I have full confidence in this product and I think it’s a brilliant piece of engineering. It’s easy to set up in the dark, and that’s something hunters should always think about when trying to get a stand ready for hunting. During the rut, mornings can be very good times to hunt, and experienced bow hunters often preach about the benefits of getting into your stand before legal shooting hours. Now, I’m ready to do just that.

Bring on the rut!

Photo by Jonathunder

I finally got my first taste of bass fishing last Friday, July 22. I usually start earlier in the summer, but my schedule has been busy, plus the cold, wet weather made me think it would be better to wait until we had a stretch of hot, stable weather.

I’d love to be able to say that the bass were biting aggressively and that I plopped lots of them into my livewell, but that wasn’t the case. I had to work very hard, and many of the fish I caught were small. I did manage to catch two 18-inchers, one of which was nice and fat.

But, I had higher expectations than this for the lake I was fishing that day — Cedar Lake on the Calhoun chain in Minneapolis. I have caught fish all the way up to 21 inches on this lake, and hoped to get something in at least the 19- or 20-inch range.

What I saw on my way over to the lake made me wonder if the fishing was going to be tough. There was a noticeable lack of weed growth on all three lakes — Calhoun, Lake of the Isles and Cedar. Usually, by this time in the summer, there is a thick carpet of eurasian watermilfoil on all three of the lakes. But, for some reason, that’s not the case this year.

I have always found on these lakes that the more weeds there are, the better the fishing. So, once I saw the sparse weed growth, I figured I would be in for a tough day.

Turns out, I was right. I worked my way around the lake and tried to fish the edges of any weeds I found with Texas-rigged plastic worms and baits. I had some success, catching a fish here and there. But, I did not encounter any schools of fish. I wasn’t surprised. When the weed growth is scattered, so are the fish.

The hot bait of the day was a Berkley Crazy Legs Chigger Craw. I caught most of my fish on this bait after starting out with a Berkley plastic worm. Unfortunately, I only had four of the Chigger Craws with me and the fish tore them all up.

I’ll be sure to buy another package before my next outing. I hope to fish Lake Calhoun in August. Even though the weed growth is thin on this lake, I usually can catch some fish. Generally, when the sweet corn is showing up at stands across the state, the bass are going on Calhoun.

Bring on the corn, and bring on the bass!

I spent five days fishing on Lake of the Woods as part of a fishing retreat organized and run by a priest of the Diocese of St. Cloud. It is the subject of my outdoors column, which will appear in this week’s edition of The Catholic Spirit.

As the photo in this post will attest, I was successful in my search for walleyes. But, I had to work much harder to find and catch fish than I’m used to on this lake. Part of it certainly was due to the weather. We had winds from the east for three of the days we were there, proving once again the time-worn slogan: Wind from the east, fish bite the least.

Wouldn’t you know it, the weather got nice the last afternoon we were there, and our departure the last morning featured clear blue skies and bright sunshine. That was good news for a priest, Father Greg Mastey, who came in right after us with his group of fishermen. I emailed him after he got back and he said the fishing was excellent for the three days he was there.

As I have often said, timing is everything. Father Mastey hit it right, we didn’t, at least in terms of the fishing. But, that’s OK. The virtue of patience was tested on the trip, though I struggled to be patient at times.

I sure hope I can hit it right sometime this summer. The weather often stabilizes in July, so I’m optimistic for good outings ahead!

For those looking for good walleye fishing, I have a suggestion: Go to Upper Red Lake on Wednesday or later.

Starting on that day, the normal protected slot of 17-26 inches for walleyes shrinks to 20-26 inches. So, those fish between 17 and 20 inches, for the first time this year, will be fair game.

Folks, there are a lot of fish that size in this lake. If the weather holds up, it should be a bonanza. Since the opener, the walleyes have been shallow and biting aggressively when the weather is decent. But, strong winds can make the lake unfishable, especially when they’re out of the west, northwest or north.

Looking at the weather forecast for the area, things are looking pretty good for this week. Looks like there could be some rain on Wednesday, but nice after that. If the winds are light, anglers should have a walleye feast.

The nice thing is, we have had a cold spring so far, which means the walleyes will stay shallow. There is a break along the shoreline that goes from 4 feet to about 10 feet, and as long as the water stays cool enough, the walleyes will hang out on this break.

I have anchored on the break and fished many times, and it’s generally pretty easy to catch walleyes on a jig and a minnow. Some folks troll Rapalas and catch fish, too. In fact, both methods work well.

I looked at a recent fishing report on a website called iDoFishing.com and the fishing has been good on Upper Red, as I suspected it would be. What’s nice about Upper Red is that it’s an easy lake to fish — find the break, anchor and throw out a jig and a minnow. You will catch walleyes, and also freshwater drum (commonly known as sheepshead). With the expanded slot, it will be possible to catch a four-fish limit of walleyes, all between 19 and 20 inches. That’s tough to beat on any lake!

If you’ve got a little more time, I would suggest adding a day or two on Lake of the Woods to your agenda. The fishing is also excellent on this lake, and it has a year-round protected slot of 19 1/2-28 inches. Not only that, but once you reach your four-fish limit on walleyes, you can add two more sauger (you can keep up to six walleyes and sauger in combination, with up to four of them being walleyes).

What some people don’t know is that, if you fish both lakes on the same trip, you can keep a total of six walleyes (the statewide limit), as long as no more than four come from either one of these two lakes. So, if you would like to take home the most walleyes that you can, this would be a nice way to go. I’ve never been able to a catch a combined six walleyes on the two lakes, but have tried a few times.

A good place for a fishing report on Lake of the Woods is a website called Walleye Hunter. It actually has fishing reports from several sources, including resorts on the lake, which are updated regularly. Plus, on several of them, you can read the history of fishing reports going all the way back to the opener and, in some cases, the ice-fishing season. Basically, unless the winds are really strong, the fishing is good on this lake. There were some high winds last week, but things look quieter for this week.

If you can take some vacation days this week, now’s a good time to head up north!

“Nothing venture, nothing gained.”

This is what I told my oldest son, Joe, as we fished the waters of Lake Traverse, which runs about 15 miles or so on the border of Minnesota and South Dakota. We were hoping to cash in on a hot walleye bite that has been running strong for the last few weeks.

I got a great tip for a local fishing guide, Steve Carney, who has fished this lake many times over the years. He says it is typically good in the spring and fall. In fact, he said it’s usually “on fire” in May.

I was envisioning an outing like I’ve had on Upper Red, where dozens of walleyes come over the gunwale, and many more fish are thrown back then kept. What I liked, in particular, is that the protected slot for walleyes on Traverse doesn’t start until 20 inches. And, you’re allowed one fish over 20. So, you would be able to keep at least one walleye per person of any size.

That was enough to lure me and my son three-and-a-half hours west. I left with high hopes, confident we would be bringing home eight walleyes.

Unexpected results

Unfortunately, the fish had other ideas. We ended the day with three 13-inch walleyes in the livewell. Typically, we throw those back. But, it took us several hours to land the first one, so I kept that one and the other two. We pulled back to the boat landing scratching our heads.

I feared we might learn that other anglers were successful using different tactics, but that was not the case. In fact, Carney had told me that a number of people catch lots of walleyes fishing from their docks. We worked areas where there were docks and people fishing from them. We saw very few fish caught, and even asked a few how they were doing.

The reports were all the same — very few walleyes, and all of them small. Of course, we heard the classic line: “Shoulda been here yesterday.”

I emailed my report to another friend who has fished the lake. And, he said this lake can be very tough at times. Thus, he was not surprised that we had a tough day.

Still, we had fun, especially with the half dozen silver bass that we caught. They put up a pretty good fight, and I wouldn’t mind targeting them sometime. That is, after we have caught our limit of walleyes.

On the positive side

One bright spot was meeting Todd Johnson, owner of Wing N Fin Resort located on the south part of the lake on the Minnesota side. He was very accommodating and did his best to help us find good spots to fish. His information was solid, the fish just didn’t cooperate.

He said the fishing can be good all summer, and generally picks up in the fall. I think it would be fun to come back in October and try for some walleyes. What I like about the fall is that there generally are fewer boats on the lakes. In fact, sometimes you can have the entire lake to yourself.

Time to hire a guide?

Given the long drive and higher gas prices, it makes more sense to go for a few days to make the trip worthwhile. And, it might also be a good idea to hire a guide like Steve Carney. He has a keen attention to detail and he has fished lakes like this so many times, he knows just where to go and what to do. What I especially like about him is that he is very willing to share his tips and techniques. I can read them just about every week in Outdoor News, where he writes a weekly column.

I have had the pleasure of fishing with Steve on a few occasions, way back in the 1980s when I wrote a fishing column for Sun-Current newspapers in the south and western suburbs. Most of the time, we did very well. In fact, on one trip to Mille Lacs, I caught two 27-inch walleyes in one morning. But, Steve topped me with a 29-incher. That was a day on the water I’ll never forget!

I hope to have more days like this. Maybe, it will happen someday on Traverse. My next chance to catch a walleye comes later this month, when I’ll take my son, Andy, and his friend to Lake of the Woods for a fishing retreat led by a priest from the Diocese of St. Cloud. I hope to write about that for an upcoming outdoors column.

Stay tuned!

I have heard that male wild turkeys can have two beards or more, but I had never seen such a bird until yesterday. For the first time, I not only saw such a bird, but shot one.

It came after several hours of work trying to call in a tom in Wisconsin. After shooting three yearling toms (called jakes) in Minnesota and Wisconsin, I had one tag left to try for an adult tom (also called a longbeard, in reference to the longer beards adult gobblers have).

Fast start

I decided to hunt a 40-acre piece of property where my son, William, had shot his first deer last fall. Woods surround the property on three sides, with a small cluster of pine trees in the middle of a big field of clover.

Wouldn’t you know it? When I pulled up the long driveway and parked in front of the landowner’s garage, I heard a turkey gobble from that cluster of pines. I tried to figure out a way to get close without being seen. I decided to move away and try to circle around and get to the back corner of the property, which is where I thought this bird would go.

He went there after flying down, alright, but he got there long before I did, and then left the property soon after. Other birds were gobbling on the roost, but they shut up quickly after flying down, except one bird across the road that continued to gobble.

I moved to the woods closest to him on this property, and hoped to call him across the road and up the hill. But, this bird was stubborn and stayed on the other side. Eventually, he quit gobbling, and the woods fell silent.

Waiting game

So, I had to figure out what to do next. I decided to walk the perimeter of the property and listen for gobbles. I walked short distances, then sat down and called.

As I did so, I cleared out spots to sit later if I needed to. I used a small pair of clippers – a very important tool – to trim some brush and give me room to maneuver my gun.

Generally, I like to trim some of the brush, but not all. That way, there is still some left to offer concealment. I figured that if I had some spots cleared out, I could jump into them fast if I needed to later. Hopefully, this prep work would pay dividends.

After not hearing much for about an hour or so, I finally heard a gobble at about 8:30. I had reached the corner of the property and turned 90 degrees to follow the property line. Shortly after doing so, I heard a very raspy gobble down the hill and back in the woods. The brush looked very thick – just the kind of place an old gobbler would feel safe.

I found a small opening along the fence line and set up. I called for a while, but the bird never answered. Eventually, I gave up on him and started moving again.

The right time to move?

Sometimes, I like to sit in one spot and wait for the birds to move through. Other times, I move around a lot to try and find an active bird. Because I wasn’t familiar with this property, I decided to stay on the move. I just didn’t know what areas the turkeys liked to use.

After about 9 o’clock, I started hearing birds gobble again. At the same time, the clouds were beginning to thicken and I started hearing thunder close by. I wondered if I may have to make a quick exit from the field. But, there was only a little rain, not enough to chase me back to my car.

For some reason, the weather seemed to turn the turkeys on. Gobbling picked up, and so did my hopes. Problem was, the gobbling was sporadic and there were birds gobbling in several directions. Seems like I would move in the direction of one bird, set up, then the bird would stop gobbling. Then, I would hear a bird gobble near where I had just been, and I’d move back again.

This went on for about an hour. I was along the back edge of the property and heard a bird gobbling on the neighbor’s land not too far away. But, it didn’t seem to be interested in my calling. It never gobbled right after I called, and didn’t seem to be moving closer.

Costly mistake

Finally, I got tired of this bird and decided to move. I went back to the first fenceline I had hunted, which ran perpendicular to the fenceline I was on. I only went about 125 yards or so, and set up in a thin row of trees and brush between the landowner’s clover field and a picked corn field on the neighbor’s land. I figured the birds might move back and forth between these fields. And, it’s where the bird that was roosted in the cluster of pines went at dawn.

This move turned out to be a mistake. Even though I heard a bird gobble from somewhere on that picked corn field, I soon learned that I gave up too quickly on the last spot. Just minutes after sitting down, I heard a gobble from right where I had just been sitting. That is one of the most agonizing things a turkey hunter can experience.

The bird gobbled twice, and I knew it had come in looking for the “hen” that had been calling. Had I just had a little more patience, I might be putting my tag on that bird right then.

Redemption

Oh well, I thought. What can I do? Perhaps, I could call that bird over to me. Fortunately, while all this was happening, a gobbler sounded off back in the woods near where I was set up. After gobbling a ways off, it sounded like it was much closer. Now, I had two birds gobbing away!

Not a bad problem to have. I was optimistic that one of them would come in. Sure enough, just a few minutes later, I heard a gobble very close. The volume and clarity of the gobble told me the bird was out in the field. In fact, I was pretty sure he was standing in the corner where I had walked earlier. He couldn’t have been more than 50 yards away.

I turned my chair toward the bird and tucked in next to a big tree. There was a lot of brush in front of me now, as I hadn’t trimmed any in this direction earlier. But, there were some holes in the brush, which would give me a couple of small windows to shoot through.

Time for seduction

Sometimes, when birds come out like this, they will sit there strutting and gobbling, waiting for the hen to show up. My strategy at times like these is to hit them with the soft stuff – clucks and purrs that hens make where they’re content and are interested more in feeding than breeding. In other words, playing hard to get.

I pulled out a little push button call made by Quaker Boy called a Pro Push Pin Yelper, and made a short series of clucks and purrs. The bird gobbled with gusto to these sounds. I’m always amazed at how effective soft calling is at bringing in a gobbler those last precious yards into gun range – and equally amazed at how so many hunters fail to employ the “soft stuff” in their calling arsenal.

Within a minute or two, I saw the gobbler’s head bobbing through the brush. He passed through the first opening and was headed for the second. I quickly pointed my gun at the next opening and took the safety off. Within a few seconds, the bird’s head and neck appeared again, and I pulled the trigger.

The bird went down, and I felt both joy and relief. After making a mistake by moving at the wrong time, I still was able to bag a bird. This has happened before, and most turkey hunters will tell you that mistakes in the field are inevitable. You just have to keep at it. The lesson I have learned over and over again is to be persistent. You can fail nine times, and succeed on the 10^th try.

Big bird

This ended up being my nicest bird of the season. It was an adult tom that weighed 20 pounds. Sure, toms can get quite a bit bigger than that – up to 28 pounds. But, this bird was big enough for me.

And, it had an extra bonus – a double beard. That’s a first for me, and another great part of the story. It also had 1-inch, pointed spurs, which likely makes it a 3-year-old bird. The older a tom gets, the tougher he is to fool, so getting this older bird makes the hunt even more gratifying.

More about brush

Many hunters consider brush the enemy when it comes to turkey hunting. I’ve heard many stories about how toms have hung up behind brush and the hunter never could get a shot.

But, brush can be your friend, or, at least, it needn’t be the frustration that many make it out to be. For starters, it’s important to understand how turkeys react to brush.

Even though the toms are very interested in breeding right now, their number-one priority at all times is survival. That is why they are so wary and hard to call in.

And, it’s also why they will often come in through thick brush, even when a more open path is available. Because their eyesight is so keen, they can see through thick brush far better than we humans can. They also know that predators won’t be able to surprise them as easily when they have to move through brush.

That’s why so many hunters have birds come in behind some brush. It happened to my brother earlier this week, and to my son two years ago. My brother chose not to shoot, while my son did, but neither got the bird in the brush. Fortunately, in both cases, they later shot birds that came out into the open.

But, you can actually use a turkey’s affinity with brush to your advantage. I like to set up in some brush, so that the tom has to come in close to see through it, which will bring him into gun range. All I need to do is trim enough of it away for me to move my gun and have a few small openings.

That leads us to the problem of shooting through the brush when the moment of truth arrives. I think many hunters are scared to shoot through brush, and too many choose not to take what I would consider to be a makable shot.

A friend of mine helped me with this concept a number of years ago. He noted that every shell contains several hundred pellets, and that many of them get through the brush without hitting it. He said that, basically, if you can see the head and neck of the tom through the brush, and if the bird is in range, your pellets will bring it down.

That’s exactly what happened for me yesterday. In fact, I was amazed at how many pellets hit the bird. My shot was just a bit low, and I found quite a few pellets in the body of the bird when I was taking the breast out. That’s all the proof I needed that shooting though brush isn’t the vexing problem many hunters think it is. Just be sure that there are no thick branches between you and the bird. Those will, in fact, stop or deflect pellets.

Ending with gratitude

So, I finish my hunting season with all four of my tags filled. As always, I said a prayer of thanks to God in the field yesterday as I was carrying my bird out. The Lord has been good to me, and my prayers for successful hunts have been answered.

I just have one prayer left – for my son, William. He has a Wisconsin tag for this week as well, and I plan on taking him out Sunday morning. I tried helping him get a bird earlier this spring in both Wisconsin and Minnesota, but we couldn’t quite get it done. He did take a shot, but it was a long one and he missed. I’m hoping his next shot will be a lot closer!

I had high hopes when I took my son, William, on the youth turkey hunt in Wisconsin Saturday and Sunday. Joining us were Chris Thompson, dean of the St. Paul Seminary, and his son, Pete.

Chris and Pete are new to the sport, and they eagerly awaited the gobbling of turkeys on Saturday morning. The scouting trip Chris and I did the day before was productive. We set up a blind on a small wooded point that jutted out into a picked corn field. There was good turkey sign, including a bunch of feathers on the ground, so we felt confident we would see birds the next morning.

Strangely, though, we did not see a single bird the next morning, or the entire weekend. We heard gobbling in the distance, but those birds never showed. We heard two more gobbles later, but again, no birds appeared. Even when we went driving around and hunting other properties, not a single bird was spotted. William and I went to the same spot we had hunted the previous year, when we had seen two young toms (called jakes), but saw no birds this year. Again, we heard some gobbles, but the toms didn’t come over our way, despite responding to our calls.

Surprised and baffled

I didn’t know what to make of it all. I called my friend, Steve Huettl, a turkey expert, and he said the cloudy and humid weather we had both days likely dampened the gobbling. Plus, our lack of turkey sightings on the first property caused him to think that perhaps the birds hadn’t spent the winter there, as he had originally thought.

I must say, it was discouraging. I had hoped to give Chris and Pete — not to mention, William — a strong taste of the sport I have become so passionate about. Instead, it got just plain boring. Turkey hunting can definitely get that way, but like muskie fishing, it often provides a dramatic thrill strong enough to help get through the boredom.

That didn’t happen this time. The good news is that William has another chance at a bird — tomorrow (Thursday), in fact. He will hunt in Minnesota, with his season running through Sunday. It actually started today, but the weather looked rainy, so I decided to wait until tomorrow.

I’m optimistic we’ll at least see something. We have three adjacent farms along a ridge near Red Wing to hunt. I have been hunting these properties for deer and turkey since 2003, and have always encountered birds. In fact, I and everyone else I have brought out there have filled all of our tags in that time.

After what happened over the weekend, I’m certainly not guaranteeing success. But, I think we’ll do better than we did in Wisconsin. I would like to have the experience of calling a turkey in for William. I would like for him to at least see it. Of course, getting a shot would be nice, and making the shot even nicer.

Steve is going to come with us for the morning. I’m sure his expertise will help us even more. I’m predicting the hunt will be funner for William than the weekend hunt. And, maybe, just maybe, he’ll take his first shot at a wild turkey.