Kendus Turkey Hunting Report - New Jersey Week A
3:45 AM comes quick!
New
Jersey turkey hunting season started this week. Since I had a permit
for this week (Week A), I pursued the wary and elusive long-beards
Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday mornings. Although I have no filled tag to
brag about, I have some interesting stories. The turkey hunts of this
week are chronicled below.
Monday, April 14
Competition
for public turkey hunting spots is high in South Jersey, so I make sure
to get to my hunting spots EARLY -- like 4:45 AM! With shooting times
around 6:00 AM, I find 4:45 AM to be a perfect arrival time.
On
Monday, the opening day of the New Jersey turkey season, I
understandably couldn't sleep, so I was out of bed before the alarm went
off. I dressed quickly, slammed back some day-old coffee, packed the
truck, and drove east. I arrived at my secluded, off-the-beaten path
turkey hunting spot in 38-degree weather, and walked to the location I
scoped out the night before. I set up against a pile of stacked logs
that bordered a powerline cut, and I placed two hen decoys in the open
of the powerline clearing (essentially about the size of 1.5 football
fields). In the midst of situating my decoys, I heard a vehicle pull up
near my parking spot. I then heard the disgusted yelling of a man who
was apparently disappointed that I arrived at the location before he
did! He yelled, "Goddamn it! Some guy from Delaware is here! You better
come move your truck! You're parked in a no parking zone!"
You
can imagine my initial reaction. Are you kidding me? It's opening day.
5:00 in the morning. I'm trying not to disturb any turkeys, and this guy
is on the road screaming! I left my decoys in the field, and I walked
out to the parking area, blinking my flashlight to alert the guy I was
coming. I walked up to him and asked what was going on. He said he was
disappointed because he wanted to hunt this spot. Never wanting to ruin
anyone's hunt, I told him that the spot was big enough for both of us.
He calmed down and turned out to be a nice guy. He was an older
gentleman with some health issues, so he couldn't walk far. I told him
to set up near his vehicle, and I told him where I was. Things turned
out OK. (By the way, there was no "No Parking" sign.)
I
heard some faint gobbling around 6:00 AM, and I heard a hen walking in
the woods behind me. I didn't see a turkey until around 7, when I saw
two jakes diagonally across the field from me. I tried calling them, but
they wouldn't answer. They just made a beeline for my side of the
field, but about 100 yards away from me. After they fully crossed the
field, a nice gobbler followed -- in full strut. He answered my calls
once, but he, too, walked across the field to the same place the jakes
went. I left the spot around 7:45 AM since I had to work, but I made a
plan for the following day.
Tuesday, April 15
Every
once in a while, life is better than fiction. As a writer, I have a
creative mind, and I can spin yarns with the best of them. However, this
"one that got away story" is entirely true. I don't think I could have
made this up.
I
arrived at the same location where I hunted Monday, but this time I set
up just in the woods where the turkeys walked to. I found a nice tree
about 20 yards off the woods' edge and set my decoys near the opening
where the turkeys came in yesterday. I heard tree calls, fly-down
cackles, and gobbles early, so I knew the turkeys were around. Around
6:45 AM, I heard constant clucking and blue jay screams coming from the
woods behind me. It sounded like the bird was walking back and forth,
but I never saw it. (More about this later.)
I
knew my new friend from yesterday was hunting in his same spot. I heard
his calling, and I could just see the outline of his decoys. Around
7:15 AM, I heard a bunch of gobbles. They weren't necessarily answering
my calls, but I knew they were close. I couldn't see the turkeys, so I
moved closer to the field. There, I saw 4 jakes about 100 yards away,
half way between me and the other hunter. I began calling excitedly,
attempting to sound like a lonely, desperate hen. Within seconds, I got
gobbles from the jakes, and they all began walking my way. I called them
the length of the field, but they stayed on the opposite side of it.
There was a small ridge down the middle of the field, so I could only
see the birds' backs and heads. They stayed across from me for 20
minutes, and they were raising all kinds of hell. I thought they were
fighting because I heard cackling and saw the occasional bird jump in
the air. After some more calling, all of them began walking directly
toward me.
Dropping
my slate and aluminum calls, I quickly put my mouth call in. Within 2
minutes, all of the birds were in range, though they were obscured by
brush at the edge of the woods. Literally, they were within 25 yards,
but I didn't have a lane to shoot through. I had my shotgun up and aimed
at the opening -- just waiting for a bird to take TWO MORE STEPS!
Then--things got weird.
I
saw the birds hopping up and down and running in circles, and I heard
them making noises I never heard before. I was quite perplexed. I then
saw something else walking near the birds, but it was about half their
size. With my gun still trained at the opening, a friggin' CAT walks
out. The turkeys run the other way, but now this dumbass cat sees my
decoys. He promptly leaves the live turkeys alone, and begins a
tiger-like stalk on my decoys! Are you kidding me? Not wanting to move, I
tried flicking sticks and leaves at the thing, but that didn't work.
The stupid thing just stared at me (or probably through me, since I was
in full camo) and wouldn't leave. I then just picked up a stick and
through it at the cat. The cat finally left, but the turkeys were gone. I
guess the only good news is that I don't think the turkeys knew I was
there.
Leaving
the woods after this escapade, the other hunter drove up to me. He said
that he could see a big gobbler in the woods strutting back and forth
all morning. That must have been the clucking I heard! Can't I catch a
break?!?!
Thursday, April 17
I couldn't hunt Wednesday because I was out of town on business. I went back to my Monday and Tuesday spot on Thursday.
Nothing
really eventful to report. I heard turkeys gobbling all morning from
all directions, but I saw none of them. They must have been 'henned up'. I
left the woods around 7:45 AM and quickly drove to another spot. I
began yelping with my calls, and I heard yelps in reply every time. I
swear I thought these were coming from another hunter, because they just
sounded too perfect and too much like the calls I was making. I kept it
up, and soon a hen began walking right to me -- yelping like crazy. Oh
well. Off to work.
Friday, April 18
Last
day of the New Jersey Week A permit. I had the alarm sent for 3:45 AM,
but I awoke at 3:00 AM with a migraine. I called off my hunt. I now will
begin my Week B quest on Monday.
