Talkin' Turkey and Our Extreme Weather Pattern

Well, this rainy day has me inside and finally back to bloggin'. I have been pretty busy lately and it always seems like there is no shortage of projects this time of year, both at work and in the woods!

I'm helping take down the old set...
well, sort of helping.

One of the latest projects was a major renovation at our station ABC5. We dismantled our old news set and constructed a new set, something I'm very proud to have been a part of. You can see more online at myabc5.com and on our Facebook page.



Our new studio set! It's very sharp
 and a great addition to ABC5!



Now we're switching gears to talk some turkey. One of my good friends at trailcamtrophies.com sent me an awesome turkey video of their family hunting adventures the last few years and now I'm all fired up to hunt some turkeys. One of the biggest challenges we'll see this season stems from our amazingly warm weather pattern which has launched the woods way ahead of schedule. Here's the rundown on Spring Turkey season 2012.

Apr 7 - 15 (Youth Season - Resident)
Apr 16 - 19 (Season 1)
Apr 20 - 24 (Season 2)
Apr 25 - May 1 (Season 3)
May 2 - 20 (Season 4)

The woods look a lot more like they
do in May, rather than April.

Once you step afield one of the first things to notice is how thick and dense the cover is. The forest undergrowth and canopy is nearly one month ahead of last year making it look more like 4th season, rather than the beginning of turkey season. The turkey breeding has followed suit and I'd estimate over half of hens have already been bred. Toms have been strutting for over a month now and I've kicked hens off of nests for the past three weeks during scouting and mushroom hunting. Two weeks ago, I had several reports from farmers of hens being bred. I think sucess is going to depend on how well sportsmen can adapt to the extreme changes in this season vs. seasons past. I plan to be mobile and I'm going with a bow to spread out the season and hopefully increase my odds of success. With the foliage further along, camoflauge will be key to hiding both hunters and prey much better than in years past. This is sure to make the game more challenging but could work in your favor if your patient.

Cover is getting thick! Slow down when
you find one, more are likely nearby.

Thick brush is helping camoflauge the Morels that are still out from a few weeks ago. I suspect our widespread freezing conditions will hurt the crop of mushrooms that were up, but I don't expect it to be a detriment to any new ones on the way in the next few weeks. Once temps warm back up, more should pop up after this weekend's warmth and thunderstorms. Next week I expect another round of wide-spread fresh morels in their more typical spots.

Morel mushrooms I
found on Easter. Left to right, morels
that fired after our week in the 80s,
mushrooms from April 1st and 2nd
and finally on the right,mushrooms
less than a week old.

If you plan to be outdoors this weekend either hunting, fishing or just taking a hike, be sure to keep an eye on the weather. I am expecting an outbreak of severe storms and tornadoes to our south, but some severe storms with hail, high winds and even a tornado or two could sneek into Iowa. It's always a good idea to tell your friends or family where your going and have them give you a call if the weather looks bad. Follow the latest forecast on myabc5.com, and tune in to ABC5 for any info on severe weather.

Good luck and have a safe, fun weekend in Iowa's outdoors!