Nice morning to be out

[Bill OC]

I was in the woods by 05:00 this morning, beautiful morning out there!! <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
Had a bird answer my first call, in the field next to where I am about to set up. I set up my decoy, get comfortable in the edge of the old field and start my calling. The bird is going NUTS!! Every time I would call he would answer, but not come closer. Then I heard another bird answer behind & below me. Nice to feel like my calling is OK.
All of a sudden the bird I am working stops answering. I wait, patiently....hoping he sticks his head out of the edge. Next thing I know, a hen flies over the old wire fence into the field, followed by 5 more. All about 60yds out. They were a mix of hens and jakes…the bird I was working turned out to be a jake. Last one over the fence, tall & skinny. I tried to call him in, but he was just going with the crowd. He sounded bigger than he actually was. Tongue1 That being said, if he offered a shot I would have dusted him…
I will be back out there Saturday AM…in a better position, there is one small tree in this old field which would put me 30yds closer. I did not think it would offer me enough cover, but after picking up and checking it out I can hunker down and be stealthy...I will bring my digital on Saturday.

[knotreelly]

good luck, they only get bigger

[Uncle Rickers]

Bill, no Saturday action?

[Bill OC]

Saturday:
I was in the woods early in the steady increasing rain...no responses in the first spot. Moved around to two other spots, the second one was a walk down to a bluff on a powerline with a high vantage point..figured my call might carry better. My slate was starting to get wet, so I reverted back to the mouth call. Between the rain and the buzz of the power line I thought I heard a faint gobble...back in the truck and around to where I pinpoint the sound.
I drive around to an old road that leads to the powerline and jake runs out in front of me. Stop, get out quielty and walk the path up to where I could set up. One yelp, no answer. I sat & called for a while, and decided to move up to the powerline to call again. As the cart path "T"s the powerline, I looked left instead of looking right first. When I did look right, there is a big old gobbler sitting on a pile of brush/junk pile about 8ft high. He blended right in. Good bird, 6-8" beard. We were about 10-15yds away from each other...before I could react he flew right down the cart path straight away from me. I watched him flew about 100yds and walk into the woods. Decided to back off him and go the other way. Hopefully he thought I was just a walking brush pile. Set up in a small grass field the other way and had three hens walk out in front of me. No other gobblers. It is not the same group of birds I saw the other morning, but there seems to be three or four small groups in the same general area.
Bad news: No bird taken
Good News: It was still an enjoyable morning out, only ran into a few guys at one spot that I stayed away from, the gortex kept me warm & dry, no ticks, and there is still a week to go.