Scouting Early

[shaman]

I got out this past weekend, and managed to scout a little. Okay, by scouting I mean I went out to my Thoughtful Spot and drank coffee until the sun came up. Occasionally, I'd slip around to the front porch and sit there for a while.

The result? Nothing. Usually there are 2-4 flocks that fly down within earshot of the house. Right now, there's a big zilch. The past two years have been like this: I don't start hearing turkeys until the last two weeks before season.

I did see a flock Saturday afternoon, down in a creek bottom a few miles from the house. That again matches the pattern of the past couple of years. They seem to want to stay in the bottoms close to the river until just before season and then come up only after the pastures green up. My guess is the reason is our acorn crop has failed pretty bad the past couple of years, and there is little for them to eat up on top of the ridges during the Winter.

In good years, I can be out anytime over the winter and listen to Flydown from the house. Later in the morning I can usually spot of flock or two out in the pasture. They come out in the open and peck their way across the field , usually crossing from one side of the ridge to the other.

[Cut N Run]

I saw a good sized flock of turkeys with 4 longbeards milling about about 35 yards from the main group in Mrs. Walker's field a few days ago. Even though I don't have rights to hunt that property, I do hunt about a half-mile from there and fully expect to see some of those turkeys during the season.

I hope to keep an eye on them between now & the season to see if I can tell when the flock starts to bust up. I don't want to put too much pressure on the place though.

I've seen no gobblers at my friend's uncle's fields so far, but when I do, turkey season will be just around the corner. That place is about like a ghost town until things get ready to break loose, then I see gobblers there daily. It is a great barometer for what's going on in the turkey world around here. That's where I took pictures of gobblers last Spring that I posted here.

Weather permitting, I plan to go bump around the swamp this weekend to see what sign I can find.

Jim

[onpoint]

In my view.......About the only real benefit I would see in any woods entry regarding turkey hunting now....would be to learn the lay of the land.

You can see everything quicker beacuse there's no follliage obstructions....and knowing where creeks...ditches..and fences etc are beneficial so you can hopefully avoid setting up in a way a bird could hang up.

Knowing where all the logging roads are and where they lead as well as firebreaks can't hurt as it may provide an avenue to move on a gobbling bird once the season starts

Its not to say you won't see turkey sign while you're out but patterns are likely to change...might be sign now and none in Spring or vice versa...some places experinec more change than others......mostly where I hunt....not really a big difference

But as far as real scouting goes..its not like it can hurt...(short of doing it so often you affect bird behavior) ...but its not likely to provide any real data you can count on later

Ditto here in NW FL. No need until a couple of weeks before the season starts.