Top_Heavy's World

I am getting geared up for turkey hunting, even with a foot of snow still covering the ground! I have been on a lot of turkey hunts over the past 20 years. I actually guided for several of those years, usually not for money, but for the excitement a first time turkey hunter brings to the field. I have taken men, women, children, couples and even my wife! I will bring out some of the photos from hunts from the past and share them and the stories with you. Some of the hunters were friends, some short term acquaintances, and some celebrities that I haven't seen since. The one thing they all had in common... Taking A Turkey With Yami! I have taken a professional painter, a 7 foot tall NBA player, several businessmen and more. I hope you follow along, each hunt will stress a lesson or little trick that might help with your future hunts!

"Jess, do you hear that?" I asked "What is that?" was her reply. "A lonely tom turkey on that ridge" was my excited answer. I was fishing with KRNA radio personality Jessica Doll (known for her HUGE assets on the morning show) and long time great friend Jody Chalupa on a farm pond in Benton County. As the sun set, a gobbler announced his objection to being alone... over, and over and over. He gobbled until it was too dark to unhook the crappies that we were cathing on every cast. I decided to call the fishing trip a success and think more about that bird. "I am going to kill that bird in the morning" was my answer to the question of the next days plans. "As much as he was sounding off, he is alone. A tom that is alone is easy!" was the last statement about the morning hunt that was unfolding in my mind.
I know the property well, I would have to slip across an open grass field with out cover. Knowing this, I was in that field long before the light of day. Luckily for me, the morning was also cloudy and breezy, with thundershowers expected by mid morning. The point of timber the bird roosted in was typical for farm country in the Midwest. A field edge that slid just far enough down the ridge top to offer a little more acreage, but stayed just high enough to prevent the tractor from sliding into the ditches on either side. The big oak tree the tom roosted in was the largest tree on the point of the ridge, where it finally dropped into a valley. The roost tree had several horizontal branches, a huge truck as protection from big winds, and had easy access to the field where the bird strutted for attention. I was able to set my decoy spread with in 100 yards of the roost before he awoke. I used a decoy spread of 2 hens and a jake this morning. I did this as I knew he would come to the decoys easily, and I wanted the Jake to look like a possible competitor. The jake will help to get the bird to strut and get excited. A tom's head will change colors from red, slate blue to white as he gets more energetic. I knew this would be an easy hunt, so I was hoping to get them best show I could.
The morning finally dawned, the lonely tom didn't gobble. I heard a gobble down the drainage about a half mile... LT didn't gobble. Distant thunder crashed... LT didn't gobble... Did I mess up? Had he blown out during the night? Did I spook him, being so close? I tried a light tree yelp... nothing. My heart was sinking as I tried a louder tree yelp followed by a couple of cuts. GOOOOOBBBBBBBLLLLLLEEEE! He hammered his delight! I was in business and things were looking good. I use a wing from another season to do a mock flydown, when hunting birds on the roost. I did my flydown routine; cutting flydown calls while slapping that wing against my leg, followed by the wing in the air only (believe me, they hear the swishing sound very well, it adds to the realism) like a hen flying,followed by the wing brushing into the sticks and grass on the field edge. This was probably enough, he was so locked onto me already, he was on a string. I finished the sequence with a confident set of anxious yelps and he was hooked! That poor tom let out the longest string of gobbles I have ever heard. He was so excited that he flew down before legal shooting time! I have seen them on the ground early, but he set all of my records by 15 minutes! He landed less than 15 yards from the decoys and put on a show good enough to win an Oscar! I played with him until the lightning brought me back to reality. The rain was closing in much earlier than expected. I put the SP-10 to use and LT got a new fasion accessory, my tag, wrapped around his leg! I called the radio station on the way home, Jess actually put my call on the air, sort of an interesting way to start the day!

This bird came in so early on a very cloudy morning, that it looked like night time for the pictures. I ran for the truck to avoid getting soaked as the thundershowers moved in!