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Pre-Season Strutters Set Turkey Fever in High Gear

It ain’t right.

Temperatures in central Wisconsin soared into the high 60s this week, and — you guessed it — strutters were out in force. The hens are weeks away from wanting anything to do with the gobblers, of course, but I’m not going to tell the longbeards that.

There’s something cool yet disturbing about watching gobblers strut weeks before the season. Will they still be fired up by opening day? When will those big winter flocks disperse? Where?

In the end, everything will be all right. I guess just seeing strutters before the season helps get the blood boiling. The birds will be there — in their general home ranges, at least — and if they’re feeling like it, they’ll gobble and maybe even work to a call. For now, it’s nice just to enjoy the sight of a puffball during an unusually warm day.

Yet why do I have the feeling it will be 30 degrees and raining sideways when my Wisconsin season opens?

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