Tips From the Pros
Spring Turkey
It's that time of the year again. The old Toms are strutting their stuff in open fields getting me more exited every time I drive past my secret honey hole. Although I see them in the same place year after year they are still a challenge to put on my dinner table. Scouting is the first step to being a successful turkey hunter. A week or two before my season I like to drive the back roads a couple hours after dawn stopping at ridges and open creek crossings to listen for gobbling. I blow my locator call a couple times to narrow down the location of the gobbles. After you have located them it's now time to get into their "living room." I like to find where they are roosting and look for good ambush points. This helps tremendously when you are tracking through the woods in the dark at 4 AM looking for a good place to set up. I like to set up as close as I can to a roosted Tom without him seeing me move in. The closer you are to him the better chance you have of him coming to your calls instead of going the other direction to a live hen. Turkeys have unbelievable eye sight. Make sure you cover yourself from head to toe with camo. Patterns with mostly browns and grays blend in the best in the early season and patterns with more greens are best used in the later seasons. Follow these tips and you should find yourself opening morning with a big Tom answering your calls and getting closer and closer. Now it's up to you to sweet talk him in and seal the deal.
Bryan Lape,
EP Adventures Pro Staff
