The spring 60s are pushing in and we’re finally warming away
from winter! Spring turkeys are gobbling and strutting. Before long we’ll be
talking about Morels! We’ve still got a ways to go, and maybe a few cold –dare I
say snowy – hurdles to jump. But this cool weather may not be all bad!
Last week I went to Omaha for Easter and some turkey
scouting. I found a flock of turkeys over 50 strong with a pretty good mix of
hens, jakes and strutting toms. Western Iowa and eastern Nebraska are about a
week ahead of central Iowa but it still seemed like the flock was in their
winter survival mode. The large numbers of turkeys were all together and it
reminded me of the summertime bachelor packs of bucks. Everyone is still
friends because it isn’t time to fight yet.
You may recall last
year was tough to hunt with May-like weather during 1st season.
Birds were tough to call and came in quiet. Most hens had been bred in my hunting
areas and the toms seemed very disinterested in my decoys. This year is much
different!
Winter's cold temps and above average snowfall has set spring back this year. With that said, I think the first
half of turkey season should be great! Vegetation is sparse, so decoy
visibility will be good. Hens may not be ready to breed and nest, which could
make toms gullible and excited to investigate your spread. And cool rainy
weather or even snow will ruin a few days at a time, but on that sunny “mild”
day with a frosty start those birds will be talkin’! Now we just need them to
be walkin’ into range!
Soil temps are warming up and if you’re thinking about
morels, I’ll put out the 2013 morel mushroom forecast in my next blog.
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