Turkeys
Once almost extinct have been making a comeback. The Government decided that if turkeys used to be in the Midwest, they they should be once again. So, they planted them in pairs and let them go. Unlike wolves who are a problem most people were pretty glad to have something else to hunt. I mean turkey, gravy, thanksgiving , yummm.
Let me tell you why this is really exciting. Most hunting is in the fall, duck, goose, deer, are all fall seasons. Starting in September and ending in December you have to cram it all in those short months. Then comes winter, ice fishing, really sit on a bucket on a frozen pond. Until I went up to Minnesota i. Really didn’t understand. They build houses and literal towns on the ice.Local liqueur stores deliver to these shacks, that’s when I understood. Its not about the fishing, its to get away from the wife and drink with your buddies. Sorry, I understand but not a sport.
Then spring, golf and fishing. Both very frustrating. I mean fishing would be good if I could CATCH them. On the Potomac I catch blue catfish. All about the same size and you can catch them on hotdogs. There are bass, ferocious snake heads and stripers but do i catch them, no. I have shadowed successful fisherman, I have spent hours at Gander Mountain (a moment of silence please) listening the nice man tell me how to catch fish. I have a tackle box of gear to show you how effective he is and then hunting season again. In reality my happy time is about 3 months a year. And then come turkeys.
You hunt them in the spring, yes you heard me, spring. That lonely time during golf and fishing a golden opportunity pops up to get out the gun and get into the woods. Happy yet, wait there is more. You need all new gear. Yes you can reuse some archery gear and your shotgun but really, come on, we NEED new gear.
The planning and research begin. My favorite part to be honest. I break out the hard bound cabelas catalog, what you don’t know what I’m talking about? You need to buy more. My first catalog came in the fall edition after i picked up a couple of guns and a tent and some boots, well you get the idea and it came. Yes if you buy enough they send you a hard bound catalogue. I found out they have a spring edition after a fish finder, sounder, some rods again you understand. Ill not say how many of these catalogues have arrived at my mailbox due to the possibility of my wife one day using this blog in court. Now that I have college age children the catalogues are back to paper, sad i know. Anyway, my hardbound edition has a whole turkey gear section. See unlike deer, turkeys see in colors so you need all new camo to match the ground cover, your gun needs camo, you face needs to be covered. You need a vest, a seat, a blind, and calls galore. Oh my the shopping. And you have to practice your calls, mouth calls, slate calls, box calls, oh my. Its like a Dr Seuss rhyme. So sitting I’m my living room dressed in my new gear, practicing my calling with Buffalo and Tater, the quiet one and the owner of the fattest cat i have ever seen. Yes they are new but they are always somewhere in or near these stories. I once spent an entire day fishing in a canoe with him and he never spoke. But when he does it’s hilarious. I love having him with us because i get to talk all the time. He moved to California (gasp) and then Oregon (better) so I don’t see him much. The fat cat owner was a proud member of the MJBHDM and participated in many escapades. Anyway were are all happily trying to figure out where to try our new equipment. You see since they were introduced there weren’t too many yet so it was a lottery and you had to pick a week and the weather mattered etc. Complicated work. We wanted on stay in Illinois so we could use our resident license to keep costs down, stop laughing, I’m serious. Its like a Diet Coke float or a rum and Diet Coke, It doesn’t make sense but you see it all the time. We selected POPE COUNTY
No comments:
Post a Comment