Grow the Hunt

Karlee's First Bird

-By Brandon Wikman

Introducing people into the hunting and outdoors lifestyle has always been my passion. It’s a unique and thrilling opportunity to educate, be a role model, and change someone’s life in a positive matter. This past week proved to be a life-changing experience for one of my friends during her very first turkey hunt.

Step 1: Scout
A few days before Karlee’s turkey season opened, she and I trekked through the wooded grounds we would be hunting in search of turkey signs. I am a firm believer in doing your homework early to reap the rewards early (a big gobbler).

As we edged toward the field, she spotted a few feathers buried beneath the grassy weeds. It was obvious to see that this was surely a turkey roosting area after looking up into the tall white pines. I explained to her that the branches of white pines are like beds to turkey. They spend half of their life sinking their claws into the bark and sleeping through the night. We continued on our mini-journey through the woods in pursuit of more hardcore evidence of my favorite feathered-friends.

Step 2: The Pre-hunt
Karlee didn’t hesitate to let me know her true feelings of waking up at an ungodly 3:30 am. I guess I couldn’t blame her. Regardless, she managed to gladly surprise me when I saw her sleepily walk into the living room. Half-zombie and half-woman, she slowly began waking once the coffee and breakfast was served. I could tell that she was pretty excited about the morning hunt.

As every guy would know and every woman could agree, women seem to typically take a lot longer getting ready than men. Not this time. We were actually out the door and on the road with time to spare. It’s not too often I make good time when I’m just by myself. I was anticipating that the good omen would continue.

Step 3: The hunt
Karlee and I slinked into the forest’s darkness silently like a burglar slipping into a backdoor. We tiptoed through the woods, gun, camera, and gear in hand. I whispered to Karlee that any obtrusive noise would wake the birds and send them darting through the early morning air.

Our morning setup was only a hundred yards from where Karlee found the turkey feathers. A jumble of white pines and a small patch of cedars is the only thing that held back Karlee’s first turkey. As morning light danced upon the horizon, the woods came alive. Morning songbirds sung a sweet melody as the geese chimed in every now and then. The squirrels began rummaging through the forest floor and deer sluggishly walked back to their beds after a long night of gorging. I knew it would only be minutes until I’d watch Karlee’s eyes pop from the shriek of a gobble.

The turkey began claiming dominance with thunderous gobbles soon after the crack of dawn. I nudged Karlee to pick up a call and softly begin chiming love toward their direction. She was able to ignite a few gobbles from her box call. We waited motionless for another five minutes until I spotted a gobbler fluttering through the air heading to Karlee’s yelp. The gobbler pompously walked into range while strutting the entire time. This scenario was absolutely perfect, one that doesn’t come too often when hunting these random critters.

Karlee steadied her shotgun as the bird high-stepped his way in looking for the imaginary lovesick hen. When the tom crossed the 20-yard mark I told Karlee to fill his face with bb’s. She did just that! An eruption of bb’s burnt through the air splattering into the gobbler’s face. We both couldn’t help laughing. She looked completely speechless. She was glowing with pride and shaking with turkey-fever. I soaked every moment of it up. I knew in my heart that this was an experience that she’d never forget for the rest of her life.

We recovered the bird and took some great pictures of her trophy. Little did she know, those pictures photographed that day would be a conversational piece in her scrapbook forever. Not only did Karlee kill her first animal, but she also lived in the shoes of an outdoors person, the eyes of a hunter, and mind of a conservationist. It was by far one of the most memorable hunts I’ve ever been a part of. Hunting to me is simple, it’s about making lasting memories with people you enjoy spending time with.

Fishing Small Ponds and Lakes

Many anglers across the country got their start fishing on small lakes or ponds. In fact most anglers probably pass by several of these hidden treasures on their way to larger reservoirs. If you really want to return to your roots or introduce a new angler to the sport give one of these small lakes or ponds a try. Here is a great article that we ran across on fishing ponds and small lakes.

Spring Food Plot Tips

-By Rich Miller

This has been one hectic week. In addition to it being the last week of turkey season I have been trying to get all of my gear packed for a bear hunt next week. Normally when I am going on a hunt I have an enclosed trailer tagging along behind my pickup. This gives me plenty of room so I don’t have to worry about weight or how many bags I can carry. If I think I might need something I throw it in the trailer. Well on this trip I am flying and am not going to have the luxury of the trailer. For the last three nights I have been packing, unpacking, and weighing my gear. I think I have finally got it where it needs to be. It is the hardest thing in the world to get everything I might need on a hunt in the middle of the wilderness in a bag that can’t weigh but fifty pounds. I swear my backpack that I am carrying on board weighs as much as my other bags. All I can say is thank god for the Moultrie Digital Game Scale.

Other than packing I have been trying to put one last tag on a gobbler’s leg before I leave for Canada. The only thing is I don’t think the turkeys got the notice because they are keeping their mouths shut and staying well hid. This week I noticed that all of my clover plots have grass in them. This isn’t the worse problem to have in my clover plots but I don’t like my clover having to compete with the grass. So every spring when the grass starts to really take off in these food plots I spray them with a brand of chemical called Post. It will kill all of the grasses, but it wont harm any of my chicory or clovers. You can find the Post brand at most farm and garden stores. The bad thing is that it is pretty expensive because it only comes in two-gallon containers. There is another alternative for those who only have a small area to spray. This is called Vantage and it comes in smaller portions so that it is more affordable for the managers of smaller areas.

You can get away with not spraying your food plots but if you do it will help prevent your plants from competing against non-desirable ones. In the long run it help make your plants stronger and more productive. The main thing is that it will help these plots last longer so they will not need to be replanted every year. That is a good thing because over a four or five year period that will save us lots of money in food plot supplies.