Michigan Turkey Season Day 3

Well this Saturday would be the first time my daughter Mackenzie would get to actually hunt turkeys. We bought her license and got everything laid out the night before so we could slip out the door in a timely fashion the next morning.



Michael and I introduced her to our morning hunting ritual of breakfast at Micky D's up the street. That place is going to be the death of me one day! On this morning we got up a little earlier since the sun starts rising sooner each morning. 4:15am comes early in the morning to hunt turkeys, let me tell you! We got to my buddy Kevin's house at 5:30am, he and his youngest daughter were ready to go and we headed to the woods.



After about a 10 minute trip from his house we made our way to the parking area and unloaded our gear. I got Mackenzie ready first and then loaded her gun for her and proceeded to make sure Michael was ready. I didn't have to tell him what to do, he was already and set by the time I turned to check him. We all got loaded up and started for the field. Kevin headed to the same end of the field as last weekend and I told Michael that he would sit at the point where I could see him from the pop up blind that I would set up for Mackenzie and I.

It was begining to break light pretty good by now, so I hussled and got Mikey set up and then put the pop up blind back in the same spot as last weekend. It wasn't long until we heard the gobbles of a far off Tom! Mackenzie said, "That is so cool" she was ready to blast a stinkin' bird as she calls them. I began to call, then I could hear Michael calling as well. We all had our decoys set out this morning and the day was looking perfect. We had a clear sky and warm weather with a rising moon that morning! It wasn't long before other Toms got fired up and started their morning conversation with us. We played the cat and mouse game with them, but they were not going to fall for our tricks today.



At about 7:15am I saw a bird coming from our right. It was angling towards us from across the field. As it began to cross in front of us at about 60 yards it disappeared behind a rise in the field. I thought it was going to head right for Michael. It never appeared on the other side of the hill, but all of a sudden it cackled and flew right towards us and over our blind. It was a hen. About a half hour later I saw another bird crossing the field parallel to us. It was about 75 yards away and I called softly to it. It looked at our decoy and ran right into the woods! I don't know why it did, unless it didn't like our decoy! About 10 minutes later another bird came from the same way the first one did. This one did the same thing as the first one, but it kept heading towards Michael. I told Mackenzie that the bird was going to go right to him.



We watched it walk right to the spot where he was set up. I told Mackenzie that either that bird was a hen or Michael was asleep, because it was right on top of him. He later told me it was only two or three feet away from him when he saw it. He was tucked in some heavy brush next to a tree and the bird slipped in from his right on him. The bird and Michael saw each other at the same time and it kind of scared Mike. He jumped and the bird jumped and cackled, then it flew right towards Mackenzie and I right over our blind. I almost laughed out loud!



Between seeing the first bird and the second bird, Mackenzie had a small problem. She was sitting on a three legged folding stool, and she lost her balance which took her over into the side of the blind. I tried to grab her, the gun, and the blind all at the same time. Over we went, it was quite a site I imagine. We got a good laugh out of that one. No harm no foul I guess.



We did have one incident before we left though. About 3o minutes before we were going to leave I saw a car pull into the parking area next to Kevin's truck. A guy got out dressed in jeans, white shirt and a white hat! He walked to the edge of the field we were in and stopped. He was about 40 to 50 yards in front of Michael and his decoy was in plain site! The guy then walks right across the field between Kevin's and Michael's set ups and bumbled into the woods. We never saw him again. I knew that our hunt was over at that point, so I packed up and headed over to Michael. We all got back to the parking area and never saw the guy again. We figured that he was probably a mushroomer.



He had as much right to be out there as we did, but he showed no consideration for others or his own safety by walking through our set ups. Now had he busted a bird off the field when he did this, there would have been a confrontation. All in all it was a good morning and Mackenzie and Michael had fun. That is what it is all about.

Michigan Turkey Hunt Days 1 and 2

Finally my turkey season started in Michigan. We have been anxiously awaiting the arrival since we got back from Ohio. Mikey and I started out by heading down to our deer hunting area and met our buddy Kevin and his youngest daughter at the parking area. When we arrived we got our gear together and hit the woods. We set up in the same spot that Kevin had seen a bird come off roost earlier in the week. I sat down with Michael and Kevin set with his daughter about 40 yards away from us. As the morning light began to break through the thick clouds we began to call, and call, and call. No luck, we didn't hear a peep out of anything. The wind started to pick up somewhat and a little drizzle started to fall. We didn't even see a tweety bird flutter by. The woods were dead this morning. After about an hour and a half we packed it in and headed out of the woods.
We decided we needed to drive and call, so we began to hit all the woodlots and fields nearby. We would stop and give a hardy call to the Toms with no avail. With that not working, we decided to head to another game area and see what we could find. We found a field that was state land but was allowed by local farmers to plant crops on. We made our way from the parking area to the field and got busted by a hen. She flew out of the field and we saw another bird in a nearby private field. Not only that, but we saw all kinds of sign in the field where turkeys had been. This was the spot to sit the next morning we decided.
That next morning we set up in that same field. Kevin and his older daughter set up at one end, then Mike and I set up at the other end. Just about the time we got to the spot where we wanted to be, we heard Gobble Gobble Gobble!!!! We looked at each other and we knew that we had to hurry and get set up. The birds sounded like they were down by Kevin, and we began to call. We kept hearing the Toms call back and forth but never saw them. I just knew that Kevin and his daughter saw them. After about 2 1/2 hours of sitting we packed it in and headed to the truck. When Kevin and his daughter got there he said he could see three Jakes about 20 yards away, but decided not to shoot them. We are going to head back there again this weekend and hopefully get back on those Toms. This time we are going to take Mackenzie with us.

Ohio Turkey Hunt Day 5

Well shortly after I wrote the last entry, Jacob got kicked out of the boat by Michael and Jim, I guess they got tired of him getting hung up all the time. It wasn’t but a few minutes later I was with him at the dock and he caught two pan fish! Then a little while later he was on the shoreline casting out near where Michael and Jim were fishing in the boat, and Jake caught a nice little bass! I told him to rub it in real good, since they kicked him out of the boat and then he catches three fish! We went back to camp and cooked dinner, yes it was hamburger again! Then we all sat down around the camp fire and did a portion of the podcast for the week. It wasn’t long after that, when the two guys we talked to at the boat launch stopped by for a chat. After that we sat around the fire until around 11:00pm.
The alarm rang at the usual 5:30am the next morning, this would be our last hunt of the trip. As we got ready, I was anxious to get into the woods, but sad that it would be the last one of this trip. We got to the parking spot, but someone else was already there. We had to go to plan B. We drove up the road a ways and found a nice spot that might hold some birds and we set out. Jim and Michael went one way and Jake and I went the other. We found a spot to head into the woods and Jake noticed that there was a deep creek bottom, he told me that he wanted to hunt down there! Reluctantly I ventured down and got us set up in quick fashion, since the sun was getting ready to pop. I made a series of calls with no luck. About 45 minutes into the setup we heard a gobble down the creek bed, but it was way down there, I threw a set of calls that way after hearing two gobbles, but it wasn’t to be today. I wasn’t chasing a Tom that far and he wasn’t coming that far to us either. We made our way back up to the road bed and found Mike and Jim waiting for us, and they had a similar story to tell. They heard a Tom but couldn’t get him to budge and he was way off in the distance. We took some pictures of all of us in our camo and then headed back to camp.
This is always the worst part of a trip, breaking camp and heading back home. We had an awesome time, and it is an experience that I will never forget. It was so much fun to introduce my youngest son to hunting and sharing that with my oldest son. We also got to introduce my brother in law to turkey hunting, we made some memories and spent some good male bonding time together in God’s great outdoors! No bird was tagged, but what more could you ask for!

Ohio Turkey Hunt Day 4

Well we got to eat hamburger again! No fish last night. I guess I should have got a fishing license and went out with the boys to teach them how to catch fish. As I write today, all three of them are back out trying again, hopefully with better results this time, or its hamburger again.
Last night we got back to camp and cooked dinner earlier than the previous two nights. We got done with the hamburger and baked beans before dark, so we cleaned up after dinner and messed around camp some. We got the radio going with some Brooks & Dunn playing while sitting next to the camp fire and watching the sun set! What a way to end the day. The boys and Uncle Jim tried to show each other who could cast a fishing rod the best. They tied weights on the ends of the lines and had a casting contest, until Jim’s reel back lashed and messed up all his line. They then spent a few minutes putting new line on his reel and then we sat and swapped lies and stories around the camp fire while watching the stars. It is so amazing when there is no artificial light around that you can see so many stars out on a clear night. Once again for the third straight night, we heard a group of birds calling back and forth all night long. It sounded something like a whippoorwill. I don’t really know what kind of bird it was, but you can hear them all night long.
Up again at 5:30am and get ready to hit the turkey woods. This morning was cooler, probably in the 50’s and it was overcast. We were expecting some showers today, and it looked as if it wasn’t going to be long until it did rain. We got to the parking area again just as it was getting light. When we got out of the truck, once again we heard a Tom off in the distance gobbling! It was in the area Michael and Jim have been hunting the past two mornings, so I told them to get their stuff and get after it! I took Jake down to the spot we had cleared out the day before. That is where he wanted to spend this morning. I figured that since we didn’t hear anything off that way it might be a slow morning, but this was his hunt and that is where he wanted to go, after all it was his birthday this morning so I left it up to him. What a way to spend your ninth birthday, with your dad, older brother and your uncle in the woods stalking the mighty thunder chickens! I wouldn’t have had it any other way!
We made our way down to our spot and I put out one lone hen decoy on a gentle slope down to the creek bed, hoping a Tom would spot her on the rise. We got hunkered down and settled in and I started to call softly, letting any nearby Tom know that a lonely hen was nearby looking for a suitor. Little did he know if he did come by he would get a surprise from Jake. The wind picked up a little and the clouds looked a little darker than before, the bugs were starting to buzz somewhat now so I fired up the ThermaCell. We were sitting in a little depression overlooking the creek bed, and Jake laid down on his little seat which was folded flat. It gave him an excellent look down on the creek. It wasn’t long until he fell asleep. I kept the calling going for about 45 minutes or so and then I laid down, it wasn’t long until I too fell off to sleep. Occasionally I would hear birds nearby and I would raise my head ever so slightly to peer down to the creek to see if there were any birds. I once saw something dark moving through the cover near the creek, I got Jake up and ready, but nothing ever came out of the cover. We both dozed off again. I heard two different gun shots that peeked my curiosity wondering if it was Mike or Jim. Finally I was awoken to rain drops hitting my face and Jake woke up at the same time. It started to rain heavily so we packed up and made our way back to the truck. When we arrived we saw the two guys there already. They never got on the gobbler from the morning, another hunter had turned some beagle dogs out to run and they scared off any birds that might have been in the area. They were pretty hot, but that is one bad thing about hunting on state land, you have to share it.
When we got back to camp we all took a nap, Jake and I woke up around 11:00 and got out the magazines and read and talked to each other about the articles in them while listening to the rain hit the top of the tent. He thought that was pretty cool to sit inside the tent while it was raining. I thought it was pretty cool just to be with him on his birthday sitting in a tent in the woods!
It got to be about 11:40am and I heard a gobble just off the ridge behind our camp. I told him to quietly get his gear and grab the gun. We still had 20 minutes to chase another Tom! We scrambled down the ridge on an old overgrown two track and set up quickly. I knew we didn’t have much time and he was still nearby, because as we made our way down the ridge we heard him gobble again off in the distance. With such little time left to hunt for the day, I threw everything I had at him. I used every sequence I knew off for an excited hen! If he were nearby he would surely hear it, but he never came. As Noon drew near we unloaded our guns and headed back to camp. The tow sleepy heads had never heard the bird or us getting our stuff ready to go out. They finally woke up and we headed back to the lake for another try at dinner for tonight!
When we got to the lake we noticed that another truck pulled up behind us at the launch. It was two guys that were camping nearby our camp. After the boys pulled out to the lake, I stopped by and talked with the two hunters. They were from a town near where Uncle Jim lived. Not only that the dad went to college in Alpena, Michigan! He hunted as a college student in the same area I now deer hunt. What a small world. We talked turkey hunting, hunting in general, and fishing. It was nice to meet a couple of good ‘ol boys who like to hunt and fish like we do. Where else can you just walk up to complete strangers and strike up a conversation about something you have in common? That is one of the great things about hunting and fishing.
While I’ve been writing this story I haven’t seen the boys catch anything yet! It is looking like another night of burgers and beans! Oh well, at least they are having fun!

Ohio Turkey Hunt Day Three

Well here we are at day three of our turkey hunt and I sit at the boat launch again watching the boys fish with Uncle Jim in the boat. Let me start at last night. Needless to say we at hamburger again last night, because they only caught one fish! They let it go since there wasn’t enough for supper. After we got back to camp we built a camp fire and the boys thought that was pretty cool. You’ve got to remember that neither one of them has ever roughed it before, so all of this is new to them. We broke out the camp stove again and cooked up dinner. Uncle Jim had brought some sweet corn with him and warmed that up in a pot for us, so hamburgers and corn! Yummy! Uncle Jim had a new fandangled camping grilled cheese cooker he had to try out. It sort of worked! After getting into bed we heard a couple of barred owls calling to each other, Jake thought that was pretty cool also. Shortly after he fell asleep I heard a pack of coyotes call out pretty loud, there must have been 5 or 6 of them! They probably took down some game and were going at it. Michael and Jim heard them and Jim didn’t know what to think!
We woke up again at 5:30am and got ready to get into the woods. This morning was a little different, everyone was on a mission and got with it pretty quickly this morning. It was overcast and much cooler, probably around 55 degrees. We got to the parking area and just as we got out of the truck, GOBBLE, GOBBLE, GOBBLE!!!!! We all looked at each other and I told the boys get your stuff together, at least that is the nice way of putting it! Let’s get into the woods, I told them.
The Tom was calling from the roost near where Jake and I last set up the day before. So Mike and Jim headed down another adjacent ridge, just incase he went the other way. Jake and I slipped into the woods with stealth and speed or at least as quick as we could. We hurried to our spot from the day before and got set up. Another series of gobbles from the roost, he bellowed out. Thunder Chicken was just about 150 – 200 yards away! So I threw a call his way, a moment or two later another gobble, only this time it sounded a little more muffled, he must have pitched down out of the tree. I fired another sweet lady call his way with my slate call, nothing, so I got the old lady box call out and rasped one his way. A moment or two later he fired off again, only he was closer! Game on now boys, I told Jake. This is where it gets good I told him. He took a deep breath and sighed, as he rose his gun up into shooting position. I told him don’t get nervous yet boy, the bird is still far away. I could tell the excitement was building up in his young mind. I wish I could have known what he was thinking at that point. This was the first time he has ever heard a wild turkey before. I kept throwing a couple of raspy lady calls to him every time he bellowed! Each time he was cutting the distance to us. After about 5 series of back and forth, I could tell he was about 75 yards away or so. We had set up on and abandoned logging trail that was now overgrown, all you could see was the indentations in the ground were the two track used to be. It made a bend around the hillside to the left and I just knew that ‘ol Tom was going to coming strutting around that corner to our decoys. We waited and waited, after about 15 – 20 minutes I threw out a call and nothing, I knew the game was over and he must have hung up on something and went the other way. We waited about an hour before we made our move, when we did I wanted to see what was around the bend that stopped him. As we approached the bend I could see that the hillside dropped off into a creek bottom about 50 feet down off the hillside! No wonder he didn’t finish making it to us. While we were there we went down a ways and cleared out a nice spot to set up in the morning. Maybe we will get another chance at him or another Tom nearby.
We made our way back to camp and took a nap, just as it began to rain lightly. That made for some good sleeping weather. After about an hour or so, the sun popped back out and it got hotter than blazes again! Time for lunch and then off to the lake. That is where I’m at right now, watching the boys try to catch dinner again. The pair of geese that were here yesterday are still milling around. I think I will just sit back in the truck with the windows down and the breeze blowing and take a nap!

Ohio Turkey Hunting Trip Day Two

The big morning is finally here. The alarm clock rang at 5:30am and we all scrambled to get out of bed and get our camouflage on, eat, load up and get to the woods. We made it to our parking spot and split into two groups as we headed to our spots. Jake was with me and Michael went with Jim. Being that this was Jake’s first time out hunting, I thought I should carry his shotgun for him till we got sat down. He carried in his seat and the backpack. After about a 10 – 15 minute walk we picked a spot where a ridge ran out into a low spot in a ravine and set out decoy up there. As I walked out to put the new Montana 2D decoys out, I noticed that I gave Michael three hens instead of two, so I now get to set out a lone gobbler decoy, oh well! The sun was starting to rise up and the air was starting to warm up quite a bit by now. The bugs were starting to get busy also, so I got out the ‘ol ThermaCell and fired it up. Within a couple of minutes, no more bugs, man I love that thing! I heard what I thought was a gobbler off in the distance, but I wasn’t going to go chasing it since I was in a new place to hunt, last thing I wanted to do is get lost. We heard what we thought were some hens a couple of different times also. I found out later that Michael and Jim heard another gobbler and some hens nearby, but didn’t see anything either. At least we were hearing birds!
After about 8:30am it started to get really warm out and we weren’t hearing any more birds, so I decided that we should eat a snack, and it was then that little Jake got sick. That was the worst feeling I think I could have had at that moment, here he was on the first big hunt of his life and he gets sick. I felt so bad for him. I thought he was just getting to hot, so we peeled off some of the camo and then got up and walked back out to the truck. He got to feeling somewhat better so we picked another spot near by to go and sit until 11:00 am, that is when we were all going to meet back up at the truck. He made it until about 10:15 and he got sick again. So we headed back to the truck and the guys were already there waiting for us. They got too hot also. It was almost 80 degrees by now! We headed back to camp to get something to eat, but Jake just kept getting worse. I thought to myself, here we go, we are going to have to pack it in and head home. I called home to ask my wife what to do, and she told me to get him some Coca-Cola to drink. I thought that sounds crazy, but ok we’ll try it.
Michael and Jim wanted to go fishing at a near by lake, so we hooked the boat to Jim’s truck and put Jake in and headed to the store and the lake. I got some Coke for Jake, then we went to Ruppert Lake and put the boat in. Michael and Jim headed out and Jake stayed with me on shore and fished from the shoreline. After he finished his can of soda, he told me that he felt great and wanted to get in the boat. I called Michael back in and they picked up Jake and headed back out to fish. As I write this entry, I’m sitting on the dock watching them fish and writing the blog entry with my feet dangling in the water! Now that is the way to end the day! I hear two geese coming in to land right now, we have seen a couple this afternoon while we were here. I makes me want to go get the shotgun and load up! If these guys catch enough fish, we will have them for supper, if not, its hamburgers again! They have only caught on bass so far!

Ohio Turkey Hunting Trip Day One

Well the big day finally comes and we get the final things we need packed so we can head out of town. I picked up both the boys from school around noon and got them loaded up for the big trip. After kissing the wife and girls bye, we headed south, the three amigos, three musketeers, or three stooges, I don’t know which, but we were headed south! A trip south on US 23 wouldn’t be complete without a stop at Cabela’s. Yes we did stop and purchase a couple of things we needed. Jake needed a pair of new boots, since his old hunting boots were getting small and he also needed a face cover for the big turkey hunt. Michael didn’t need anything, but of course he had to have a new turkey box call. He bought the Primos double box cutter, his money not mine, and also a new slick stick for conditioning the slate calls and also has a holder for chalk for the box calls. On our way out I noticed at the sales counter that they sold licenses and thought since we were only 17 miles from Ohio, they might sell them for Ohio. Sure enough they did, this is a nice service to have for people heading to Ohio for a fishing or hunting trip, you can get your license on the way down to the state.
The only problem we had getting to our meeting place where we were supposed to meet my brother-in-law, was the traffic in Columbus. It was horrible, we drove a mile and a half in 20 minutes. Other than that it went just fine. Later that evening, when we got near the state forest land, you could smell wild onions in the air, someone must have just cut their yard. It reminded me of my grandparent’s home down in Alabama in the spring! The smell of those wild onions brought back a lot of memories as a kid! Hopefully this trip will make many memories for my two boys.
We pulled into the camp site around 8:30pm and went to work right away setting up the new truck tent. Michael and I had it up in less than ten minutes! After setting up camp we got busy cooking hamburgers on the camp stove for supper. We all ate pretty well and the boys thought cooking at camp was the coolest thing ever. It was now about 10pm so it was time to hit the hay and get some rest for the big hunt the next morning. Jake woke up around 12:30 am and wanted to know how much longer it was to hunting time! I guess he is excited to get out for his first hunt.