The Turkey Challenge: Spring 2002                            Mark A. DePugh

 

Ohio’s 2002 Spring Gobbler season was exceptionally strange, to say the least. Unusual high temperatures in late February, March and early April left many turkey hunters “up the miff tree”. What happened? I am not a wildlife biologist so I can not express official statistical data as to the cause and effect of Ohio’s strange 2002 Turkey Season, but I can share my personal experiences.

 

The birds in my area …Were not gobbling! I hunted long and hard, especially the first week of the season, which was the last week of April. I was in the woods by 5:30 am and hunted until noon each day of the first week. I never heard a bird gobble after reaching the ground! Times like these begin to mess with a hunter’s head, so to speak. Dilemmas like…am I calling too much or not enough. Am I calling too loud or calling to soft? Many of you know what I am talking about, right? Is it me or what?

 

The second week was not much better for me! I was still enjoying the opportunity of being amidst God’s great outdoors, but gobbler thunder was seldom heard and only on the roost at best. What was going on? I kept telling myself, “It must still be a little early”; sooner or later those gobblers have got to start looking for hens.

 

Late into the 3^rd week things begin to improve. After three weeks of hunting nearly every morning and excitedly getting out of bed at 4:00 am (haha), I had an opportunity for a shot of adrenaline… You know the ol’ knot in the throat thing, accompanied by a racing heart beat and short shallow breathing. As daylight begin to break on Friday morning of the 3^rd week turkey thunder finally filled the forest! Birds to my right, birds to my left, and birds down in front…. “Golly, where did these guys come from”? I didn’t really care, I merely said thank you Jesus, and began to pursue the plan of attack.

 

I waited about ten minutes allowing more light to fill the woods, during which time I probably encountered 50 roosting gobbles. Yes indeed, God is good! Finally, I let out a couple of soft tree yelps, followed with a fly down cackle, which included the sounds of beating wings on my pants leg. The birds went NUTS! Birds began flying down all over, I could see several from a distance, while others I could only hear. What should I do now? This was easy… After three weeks of hunting, I held a deep longing for grilled turkey breast. The first legal bird in range was goin’ down! I caught a glimpse of 3 birds coming my way about 75 yards down the ridge. I let out a soft yelp and they all three froze in their tracks, raised their heads, and spotted my decoy. I could see beards on all three birds but was unable to see how large, but then again.. it didn’t really matter. Jake meat sounded mighty fine! The trio came in at about 30 yards, I clucked, they raised in attention, the gun fired, turkey on the grill! Again..I love it when a plan comes together!

 

My question?? Where had these guys been for three weeks, not to mention the other birds I had heard gobbling that morning? Not only did I harvest this 14-LB on Friday of the third week, but also I harvested another beauty two days later on Mother’s Day morning before church. My second bird was an 18 ½ pounder with an 11 ¼” beard! The big bird did gobble on the ground, but only four times.  Gobbles in 2002 were few and far between.

 

Ohio’s 2002 Spring Gobbler Season was definitely strange and Ohio’s Division of Wildlife released data to support its ambiguity. Ohio’s spring harvest was approximately 20% below forecast. Some say it was the weather, to warm to soon, and the birds were done breeding before the season hit in late April. Some believe the gobbler to hen ratio was out of alignment, and that the gobblers were not there in 2002. Whatever the case, 2002 in Ohio was tuff for spring turkey hunters. I feel very fortunate to have been able to harvest two birds in the third week of the “strange” 2002 season. I can most definitely proclaim that persistence pays, and often times help put meat on the table!

 

Mark A. DePugh

President FCH