The Mississippi winter has once again come and gone and hunters now have their sights set on the sounds of spring. Whether hunters choose to chase those elusive gobblers or wet a line in pursuit of a trophy bass, this spring is sure to be one to remember.
With turkey season only weeks away, turkey hunters should be locating their favorite tree for the opening morning. Make sure you have scouted the land in which you plan on hunting and make sure that our dear friend Mr. Rain hasn’t flooded your plans of hunting those bottomland hardwoods.
When scouting the area, make sure to keep detailed records about what you find. Look for tracks and trails where the turkeys have been feeding and traveling.
Droppings should also give you a good idea of how often a bird or flock is visiting the area. If the droppings crunch under the pressure of your boot, then you know that the bird hasn’t visited the area in days. But if the droppings are moist, then you have found what you are looking for.
Never forget to search for dust bowls when scouting. A dust bowl will be about the size of a basketball and dirt will have been dispersed over the area from the turkey dusting. Droppings and feathers should be found near a dust bowl as well.
One of the best chances turkey hunters will have in harvesting a turkey early in the season will be to find the flock’s roosting area. First and foremost, this lets you know that birds are on the land, and, secondly, it increases your chances of calling ol’ Tom right off of the roost. But once you find a roosting area, get out of there. Don’t let the birds know that you found their home.
When searching for roosting trees, look for tall, mature trees with plenty of limbs that extend horizontally from the trunk. Plenty of droppings will be under roosting sights, so, if in doubt, look for the waste of the birds on the ground.
Turkeys will also roost in pine thickets. Despite what many hunters think, many turkeys call these thickets “home.”
These thickets provide the birds with shelter, food and, in most cases, water. Thus, hunters are provided with a great opportunity to take a gobbler.
When hunting this type of terrain, try to locate an old logging road and set up off it. This will give you plenty of room to set up your decoy and call that mature bird in.
The food plots used for hunting deer will also draw turkeys to the area this spring. If you often saw turkeys while deer hunting this winter, chances are good that the birds will continue to visit the field on cool spring mornings.
With the superb hatch of poults in 2002, turkey hunters are sure to get their chance at one of those strutting sophomores. So enjoy the sounds of this spring because next year might just be a little bit tougher. But, hey, that’s next year.
Jake Fagan can be reached at [email protected].