IT HAS BEGUN!

[arrowsonly]

I was out for almost 5/6 hours yesterday; Saxeville 4 jakes, West Bloomfield 6 long beards, over in Waushara Cty. The snow was so ice/covered @ 165lbs I was able to walk across the 24/36 inches of snow in the woods.
NOT A ANIMAL TRACK IN SITE ANYWARE ! Deer, turkey, squirrel, grouse, not even a song bird, WT% ?
Drove over 200 miles total up into Shawano Cty back to my old reliable Navarino Public Hunting grounds; 50/60 on Hwy 54 near the Mack public hunting grounds outside Black Creek. They were flyin' across the hwy, not good a turkey off the windshield at 55 mph makes for a bad day...
On the way back to the parking lot 200/300 birds total on 3 seperate farms all private proptery thats mixed in the 2000 acres of public land. Big groups of 50/75 birds walking the sun exposed cut corn fields, pikin' waste grain & followin' the manure spreader...
I have not been out in the woods till yesterday, WOW we have a shitload of snow cover ! I tried to drive back into the parking area NO WAY the snow on the road was still 6/8 inches deep & glare ice from the little bit of traffic.
I may be rethinking MN this year, my tag is for April 18th- 22nd & that part of WI/MN/IA has received record snowfall ! That and 4.00 gas when I have turkeys 40 miles from home, unfourtunetly unless I can get permission to hunt some private property over there.
I have hunted both there before and the public land is over run with road hunters & others; one year I had 4 toms on film 75/100 yards out from my blind & on cue hear comes 2 golden retrivers & a babe walking the logging road.
What are ya doin' ? Oh I thought those were geese till they didn't honk when they flew away...
It's partialy my falt but thats were the birds are all the time at the end of this road is a beautiful oak savannah, 15/20 100 year old oak that opens up into 640 acres of grasslands/marsh ect. back to the river.

[joeturkey]

Hey guys; regarding scouting I was just talking about the general lack of turkey sightings in my home area ( waukesha county) on the way home from work sunday morning, when I spotted a large mixed flock of birds in a field next to open public hunting. 30 to 40 birds with 7 or 8 toms in full strut!! Now I'm starting to get pumped for the chase!! I really haven't been seeing many birds lately. Maybe the change in the weather is going to get them more active. Good luck and Good hunting! joe

[charlie elk]

WOW we have a shitload of snow cover !

My area has the same problem or more accurately very thick ice.  Snowshoes are still required to prevent breaking through to your knee or waist. 

I found more dead turkeys this weekend or I should say what is left of them.  I have found more winter kill this year than any other in the last 12 years. Think they were mostly young birds; biologists say we lose 50% of all young birds before spring so maybe this is normal and I missed them in past years.  Very disturbing to say the least.  Perhaps this fall I will need to harvest more instead of letting them die and go to waste. 

[TURKEYBOSS]

SCOUTING IS NOW STARTING TO PICK UP FOR ME.... WAITING FOR MY NEW SPOTTING SCOPE TO ARRIVE! SEEING SOME NICE BIRDS! HOPE IN A COUPLE WEEKS ILL BE ABLE TO GET MY HANDS ON ONE OF THEM OR MAYBE A COUPLE OF THEM!
 
I WORK 3RD SHIFT AND MY RIDE HOME HAS GONE FROM 25 MIN TO ALMOST A HOUR! LOTS OF FARMS TO CHECK OUT!

[charlie elk]

Spotting scope is a smart way to scout there turkeyboss especially when the trees are bare the turkeys stand out like sore thumbs. [:D]  I set up at the tops of hills and can "scout" miles of valley and the opposite hilltops. 
Are you seeing and remains of dead birds.  I'm finding a depressing amount of remains including some 6-8" beards.
Even though my sightings of birds is down this year compared to usual there are still plenty left to hunt. 
Heard some sporadic gobbling this morning in spite of 8 degree temps and ice everywhere.