By Brandon Wikman
This year’s weather has been anything but kosher, considering the destructive tornadoes, countrywide flooding and strange cold weather patterns that linger over the states. Spring has not officially sprung into action for the better part of the United States, which puts a lot of strain on everyone in some way, shape, or form – both economically and emotionally.
Many hardcore whitetail enthusiasts around the Midwest have had their food plot production shut down like a day’s end of work. The chilly temperatures and sporadic snowfalls have iced any thoughts of growing season. I’d like to break out the ATV and begin lathering the fields with fertilizer, but I am afraid I wouldn’t be able to make it out without a chain and a strong winch!
My dear friend Joe, who lives in the fertile grounds of Illinois, has over twenty acres of foot plots to put in this spring. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to drop a seed or disk. Weather isn’t his only issue – mud has been his largest obstacle.
Much of the Midwest has random pools of standing water in the fields, driveways and low spots in the forest. Water is considered to be gold to many farmers and foot plot aficionados, however when it comes in never-ending buckets – that is another story. The water not only affects the annual planting season, but halts all of the planting industries across the country from shipping to distribution. There aren’t very many food plot manufacturers that have had a smile on their face the last couple months.
The abundance of water and cold weather has not only affected planters, but also turkey hunters. My woods have been flooded like a swamp in the middle of Florida’s ‘Gator Alley’. Turkeys have ventured into neighboring properties where they established new roost trees and different travel patterns.
It seems that the frigid temperatures have kept them somewhat closed-beaked and out of the field. I am hoping to sneak out in a couple weeks to see if any of my family’s properties are finally worth hunting. Standing water and soggy feathers doesn’t seem to be the best turkey hunting combination.
All we can do is hope that the weather turns ripe and we can begin our ritual outdoor behaviors that we so adore. For those of you with higher ground, good luck planting and enjoy the rest of your spring turkey hunting.
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