Yesterday was a fun morning of turkey hunting despite the rain, fog, sloppy mud, cold, miserable wind etc. etc. etc.  I’ve come to realize in order to be a dedicated turkey hunter you have to be partly crazy, numb to what is normal and have an obsession only found in a turkey hunter.  I’ve also come to realize that I could never be a guide.  Guides have to do this sort of thing every day and not for fun, but for profit.  A guide has to put up with people worse than I am and “hope” they get a tip by the end of the day.  I could NEVER be a guide.

OK, so today it is Weasel, Squirrel and I who will don our camo, put on our still wet from yesterday stuff and venture out into the wet and wild woods for another try at those stupid (and smarter than us) turkeys.  With all the rain that fell yesterday (Noah knows how much) it is wind still and not raining right now, where will the turkeys have found themselves when it finally came to roosting last night?  I picture all the turkeys in Northern Utah strutting around with their waddles held high.  Not because they were proud, but because they wanted to breath!  I saw water flowing in streams where there have never been streams before.  In fact, I saw a stream (usually there when it rains), and another crossing it at a 90 degree angle flowing a completely different direction!  Cross flow streams!  And I even think I saw three streams of water in that same section where not only was there a cross-flow, but a third stream that was flowing the opposite direction of the main stream!

There was a ton of water flowing yesterday!

So, what about todays weather?  Rain is a possibility.  But right this very second it is wind still, partly cloudy and only a 20% chance of rain…at least until we get to the mountain.

Dress code for the day:  Rain gear, boat, paddle, life jacket, bible….not necessarily in that order.

Should the waddles have waived appropriately down steam last evening, we should find the turkeys roosted in their normal spot.  However with the prevailing streams they could be anywhere on the mountain, like they were yesterday.  All we can do is go out there and hope we find them, or better yet, hope they find us.  We will be camped in the same spots.  Weasel and Squirrel tucked away in a nice cozy tent/blind, me spread out among the wet sticky ground leaning against an oak tree being drenched by whatever falls from the tree leaves and sky.  Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.  Let’s hope Squirrel gets a shot!

When his dad asked him last night about his desire to go hunting today or staying in his warm bed, he opted quickly to go hunting!  With that….I’m up and ready to take on another raining day challenge!  Let’s go!

Bears Butt

May 17, 2015

UPDATE:

We came back early this morning because of something you will learn in a minute!

Our timing was perfect once again, arriving on the scene well before light and the hike in was uneventful.  The weather was partly cloudy but it hadn’t stopped raining very long before we got there.  Everything was WET, WET, WET!    By the time we got to our respective blinds I was soaked from the knees down, including my newly water proofed boots.  Some stuff sold called “Silicone Water-Guard” isn’t worth a crap.  I hate wet cold feet…this was going to be a long day!

I built up my blind a little to make it more homey and maybe keep a gobbler from noticing some of my movements.  I always like to make my blinds look like the beginning of a log cabin!

The forest was quiet again this morning and at 6 a.m. another vehicle had parked up above and a couple of hunters hiked down into the valley.  That happened right at fly down time!  And just barely before I heard their truck door slam shut, I heard a bird come off the roost.  I landed just up the hill from me and I heard a soft hen call as it slowly made its way away and up the hill.  My attention went from “Alert!  Gun up and pointing in the direction of the fly down”, to “Sit back down and relax, we have to wait some more”.

It wasn’t until about 10 minutes later that I heard a gobble far off in the distance.  I heard that twice is all.  Yesterdays rain really did a number on the birds in this zone.  But we will just sit tight and wait them out.  Sooner or later they will come through here.

I watched the deer move to and fro across the valley.  They would feed up hill and then across the hill, then back down the hill and eventually up and over the hill.  That place has a lot of deer in it and there is no reason for them to be leaving.  Lots to eat, plenty of water, loads of cover and nobody bothering them.

About 8:30 3 adults and a young boy appeared high on the ridge above the valley.  They glassed down into the area for about 2 minutes and then two of the adults split up and hiked down into the valley below.  This is the valley we are set up in and they are hiking down and will be up the valley from where we are.  Closer to where that hen was going that flew down earlier.  Maybe they will kick something our way.  That is always a hope.

Well, with just himself and the young boy up on the ridge, Mr. Know it all decided it was time to teach the young hunter to be a lesson or two on turkey hunting!  “Let me show you how to call a turkey”!  He was very loud in his presentation talk!  He pulled out a box call and let out a series of squawks that would make even a deaf turkey run!  Then added, “And this is what turkeys really like to hear”….another definite lesson on what not to do came pouring forth.  Finally, he needed to show the youngster just what it takes to make a turkey come running and another fine display of squawks and squeals came belching forth from the box call.  I’m thinking “perfect”!  That young man is really getting to know how to hunt turkeys….well, how to call them anyway.

AND THEN THE ULTIMATE DEMONSTRATION CAME!

“HEY JERRY!  JERRY!!!!  JERRY!!!!  COME ON BACK UP, THERE AREN’T ANY BIRDS IN HERE!!!  JERRY!  JERRRRRYYYYYY!!!!

Again I’m thinking, man you sure do know how to hunt these birds!  Good job man!  But that isn’t the end!

I’m looking up at him standing there on the ridge thinking wonderful thoughts about his knowledge, when he raises his gun and lets go a blast from the past….BOOM!   And then he yells “TURKEY!!! TURKEY!!!!!   TURKEY!!!!”

Oh My Hell!  He didn’t really just do that did he?  Again echoing down through the channels of all turkey-dom….”JERRY!!!!   JERRRRYYYYY!!!!  JERRRRYYYYYYYYY!  COME ON BACK UP THE TRUCK IS BEHIND US!  LET’S GO WE HAVE ANOTHER PLACE WE NEED TO CHECK OUT”!!!!

Well, by now Jerry and the other guy are working their way back up and over the ridge.  My thoughts are on how stupid some people are when I suddenly came to the conclusion that IF there was some birds working their way up to where we were, they would be going the other way right now.  We might as well head on home!

I picked up my stuff and headed down to Weasel and Squirrel.  Squirrel was ready to go, he was shivering from cold wet feet just like I was and so we packed it up and headed for the truck.

We stopped about half way up the steep hill and glassed a lone gobbler down the hill below where our blinds were and sure enough it was going the other way and into the next drainage.  Thank you very much Jerry’s friend!

Bears Butt