Very little wind this morning as we crossed the Mississippi River. We got into the pond and got the teal decoy spread set out. This effort went without issue and we had a long wait till legal shooting time. We visited and waited with anticipation for that magic hour to arrive. It was slow at first as not much was moving. We had a single Mottled duck get too close and got that one in the bag. A few teal started to buzz around and we picked up a few more, but it was painfully slow. We waited it out, but the flight did not happen. We did not limit today, but it was fun nevertheless. Tomorrow is the last day of the season, but it is predicted to be bad weather so we will not hunt. Overall it has been a fantastic season on ducks in the Mississippi River Delta, will miss being out there. Chasing turkeys will be next in the que.
Wild turkey hunting report – 5/3/2021
We hit it hard for the last weekend of the Louisiana Wild turkey hunting season. I rained a bunch last week and our road system was super soft and sloppy. We got an early start Saturday morning and slid sideways in 4 wheel drive down the road fish tailing back and forth. It was not the super stealth approach we were looking for, but we made it. We pushed deep into the woods down an old logging road that is seldom travelled by humans. We arrived and sat quiet as the day came alive with sounds. We heard several gobbles on the roost, but they were not close. We started out after the closest bird only to hear a gobble back closer to the truck, reverse course and we closed within a couple of hundred yards only to hear the gobbler on the ground headed toward the neighbors property. Plan B – head toward the distant gobbling action. We got close, set up and called. We called in a couple of hens, but the gobbler did not respond. That sometimes means they are on the way in, but not to be. Off to the next gobbler that was still gobbling on his own. Closed in again and set up, but no response. The chess match was on and we walked for miles to move around to the other side of the gobbling. We had to cross a creek and I walked right past a cottonmouth with his mouth wide open. The snake did not strike me, thank goodness, but it definitely changed to tone of the rest of the walk. We don’t think we ever got in front of the gobbler as he quit gobbling and would not answer my calls. Only problem with walking miles in to chase gobblers is now you have to walk miles to get back to the truck! We drove around and hit another area and slipped in quiet to the edge of a big oak bottom adjacent to a green field. We set up and started calling and again called in hens, but no gobbles. The weather forecasted approaching rain and the weather man was right for once. It poured the afternoon, got worse overnight and was still raining with 25 mph winds the next morning. Hate to do it, but we slept in and called it a Louisiana season. Headed to Missouri this week for the last few days of their season. Good luck out there!
Captain Jeff
Wild Turkey hunting report
Spent the last few days with a guest in the turkey woods. We did a good round of scouting the evening before and found some familiar patterns of turkey movement. We listened for roost gobbles, but did not hear anything. The alarm clock went off early on day one and we took a long walk in the dark to arrive at a very high percentage food plot on the edge of a fresh clearcut. Unfortunately, the wind had picked up to 15-20 mph and we did not hear any gobbles. We let out some calls, but did not get reply. 30 minutes in, a log truck rolled by unexpectedly and ruined our set. We headed for plan B, another long walk to a wooded flat. We had a long set but did not get any response. We hit plan C, another long walk into a stand of thinned pines. We hit the calls and got response. There were 2 gobblers that answered from different locations, one was 150 yards away, the other maybe 250. We hit again to an immediate response, quiet time for us as we changed positions slightly to get ready for the charge. Ten minutes later, I see the blue head bopping in quick. We walked up 20 yards in front of me and started clucking. He was a limb hanger with a rope that dragged the ground. Unfortunately, my guest was facing the other way and never saw the bird as he walked out of our lives gobbling and looking for that hen. We eased out of there and hit a couple of more places with no luck. In the evening, we walked back into the area of the close encounter and sat quiet. Nothing happening until 7:51 PM when we first heard and then saw him fly up 70 yards away. Great, but we were now pinned down and could not move. He never gobbled and we waited until well after dark to slowly belly crawl out of there. A sleepless night would follow with nervous anticipation of day 2. My guest had a pedometer that said we walked just under 10 miles using my favorite run and gun style of hunting! Day 2 had us up even earlier to make a sneak back after the roosted gobbler. We made it as close as we could and set up for the show. The time arrived and he boomed an ear deafening gobble from 70 yards away. Oh Boy! Then we heard several other gobbles further away and from there is was on. Gobblers were hammering for the next 30 minutes. We let out some soft clucks, which received an immediate response. Our gobbler dropped down and headed headed down the hill to an open green field lane. Now we were out of position and he would not budge, he wanted that hen to come out in open. Meanwhile the other gobblers, which I think were 3-4 different birds were hammering away. I called sparingly to let the close gobbler know we were still there and he would answer, but not budge. Eventually he drifted off toward the other gobblers and the chase was on. We moved methodically toward the bunch as they gobbled on their own. They would gobble and we would move. The classic chess match! We closed distance without calling and got to within about 80 yards of the last gobble. We found a decent setup and got ready. Moments later a gobbler walked out with its head down about 50 yards away. It was hard to see as the sun was now right in our face. My guest clucked, the gobbler stood up and BOOM. I crane my head around to see him fly off at 8:30 AM. The woods came alive as turkeys were clucking and trying to figure out what happened. There must have been a big flock congregated together. We stayed seated hoping for another chance, but not to be. They all moved away and we walked down to see what happened as the disappointment set in. We found no indications of a hit, it appears that the shot string sailed right over his head. Talk about a long walk back to the truck. We hit a couple of other areas and made long loops to strike again but no luck as we called it a hunt with over 6 miles on the pedometer. Well, that is turkey hunting! It takes so many factors to line up for a harvest and any one of them can foil your effort. We had a great time, had super close encounters and can’t wait to do it again. Good luck out there this week!
Captain Jeff
Wild turkey hunting report
The wild turkey action has been hot. The season dates have been set right this year after several set too late in previous years. The trees and flowering plants are blooming and gobbling action is steady. Cool mornings have been very pleasant for the run and gun hunting style of hunting that I enjoy so much. We have been in action every hunt and a couple of good birds have been harvested. There is still alot of season left and we will be back out there after them this weekend. Good luck out there!
Captain Jeff
Wild Turkey Hunting Report – 4/14-16/2017
Pretty good hunting weather this weekend. Warm, but dry with light winds are good for hearing wild turkey gobbles. My guest was a little turkey hunting inexperienced, but we learned together. The birds were pretty silent the first couple of days as we worked different areas with different techniques. We patterned an old gobbler I have hunted several times before. We saw him in a field late in the evening about 20 minute before fly up time. I knew where he would roost based upon where he was at the time. The next morning we hit the area bright and early to intercept the old tom – wrong, he was already on the ground and strutting at the exact spot we were headed to. I was shocked that he was on the ground so early. He did not see us, but sensed something was wrong and walked off – bummer. We eased out and moved to another area and walked into a bottom and set up to call. I let out a string of yelps followed by some aggressive cutting and was immediately answered by a gobbler across the creek bottom. We worked closer to the bird as the chess match began. I called, he called, he moved, I moved and the game was on. This activity continued for 45 minuets as we got closer and closer. A hen came into the mix and started calling too. She got in between us and the gobbler and eventually hooked up with the gobbler – game over. We decided to ease out and try to get all the way around on the birds. We walked back to the truck and drove all the way around to move in from a different position. Good move as we eased down a dim logging road and saw the gobbler in full strut with a hen about 80 yards out. We eased off to the side of the road and set up by an old pine tree. I used soft calls purrs and clucks, but the bird would not strike. I got more aggressive with the calling and we watched as the hen moved off with the gobbler in tow. Good chase, but no success. Strange turkey behavior for this time of the year. Anyway, the good times turkey hunting continue. We have one more week and the season closes. Good luck out there!
Captain Jeff
Wild Turkey Hunting Report 4/8-9/2017
Tough hunting this weekend. My guests were treated to good weather although a little windy during the day. We marched 9 miles on foot Saturday trying to strike a bird to no avail. Only heard one gobble. Saw plenty of tracks, but did not lay eyes on a turkey until 7 PM. A big Tom, 700 yards away on the neighbors property. Sunday morning had us out early to try and catch a gobble while the birds were still in the trees. We heard 5 or 6 different gobblers going off all around us! We took off after the closest bird and stared working our way into the area. The bird hit the ground and never made another sound. We tried to get it going and pulled every call that I have in my vest out to try and strike it up, but could not. We moved to another area and saw a gobbler in a food plot about 200 yards away. We tried a sneak attack, but must have spooked him on the way in as he eased off the plot and into the woods when we got close. That was the closest that we got as the birds did not want to play the game this weekend. We still had a good time and will be back at it again next week. Good luck out there!
Captain Jeff
Wild Turkey Hunting Report – 3/25-26/2017
The Louisiana Turkey season opened this past weekend. A strong line of storms moved through the area in the early morning hours of opening day. The storms had the birds in full on lockjaw mode. We looped a good portion of the property only seeing a hen and 1 gobbler way off on the neighbors property. We did harvest a big hog and a cottonmouth snake. Sunday AM was a different story. A gobbler sounded off in a bottom about 6:45 AM. We got within 200 yards of the bird on the roost and set up. We started calling, but the bird never responded to us. It was gobbling on its own and to crows and owls. Must have been henned up. We slipped out and drove to another spot, walked in and started calling. We struck a way off gobble. We waited 10 minutes and called again to hear the bird had closed significant distance. We moved slightly to a better vantage point and called again which was answered even closer. I could already smell the turkey cooking! We moved again ever so slightly and set my guest up in the kill zone. The long beard came into the set and started gobbling, spitting, drumming and strutting right in front of me at 55 yards. Unfortunately my guest could not see the bird. The bird moved off still gobbling and looking for action. We let him move off and we repositioned again and called him back, but not within range. Bummer. He eventually eased off the way he came in still gobbling. We walked out and drove to another area for some cutting and running work. We walked down a dim logging road stopping and calling every 100 hundred yards or so. After a mile or so walk, we struck finally a gobbler! We eased off the road and into the woods toward the bird and set up. Periodic calling would elicit an immediate return gobble, but this bird was taking his sweet time working his way toward us. We made a slight move to a better vantage point and waited him out. I worked soft calls and tried to throw the sound behind me so he would think that the hen was walking away. It worked, after 30 minutes the long beard was standing in front of my guest. He shot and then shot again as the bird was running away. Never cut a feather. He was really deflated as we relived the shot. We got back to the tree he was on and saw the reason for the miss – a yopon tree about 4 inches in diameter was cut in half about 3 feet in front of the tree. I guess he was focused on the gobbler and never saw the tree right in front of him. That is turkey hunting! We will be back after them. Good luck out there!
Captain Jeff
Wild Turkey Hunting Report – 3/18-19/2017
It is nice to be in the turkey woods again! The youth opener was this past weekend and the conditions were less than desirable. Brisk winds and fog in the morning is not the best. We roosted Friday evening and a gobbler sounded off as a shock gobble to coyotes howling. Perfect way to start the season! Saturday morning arrived and we positioned ourselves close to where the gobbler was Friday evening. The bird never made a sound. We sat and called for a while and nothing showed. We then started to run and gun. We looped around the property set up many times and called, but never encountered a bird. Sunday morning conditions were worse, dense fog, but lighter winds. We tried a different area and heard a gobble on far off from the roost. The chase was on! We walked down an old logging road to get in the area and then cut down a fire line to close the distance. The bird was already on the ground by the time we got close, but still gobbling on his own. We set up and called and the gobbler appeared about 40 yards away on an old logging road. Unfortunately, the bird stayed behind brush and never offered a shot opportunity. We let the bird walk off, repositioned ourselves, but could not get him back in the kill zone. Strike 1. Back to run and gunning, we walked into another area and got up to the edge of a green field and got busted by a hen and a gobbler which both ran off. Strike 2. We hit another area walked in and sat down. The first calling sequence was rewarded with a distant gobble. We closed the distance and called again which was hit with an immediate response. We sat quiet for a while and I could hear the footsteps coming. Soon enough, 2 longbeards walked up the hill and stopped about 25 yards out. The dominant bird was in and out of full strut spitting and drumming and providing a great show. My 12 year old guest was shaking like a leaf, his breathing was heavy and I could hear his heart beating as we were side by side on a pine tree. There was no way he was going to be able to take the shot with his gun barrel shaking like it was, so we let the birds walk past on us. Strike 3. They live to gobble another day. My guest was disappointed that he did not kill, but after a while he was excited about the experience and the close encounters. The regular season starts this coming weekend and we will be out there after them. Good Luck out there!
Captain Jeff
Wild turkey report 3/26-28/2016
The Louisiana wild turkey season opened up on 3/26/2016. I started up good on Saturday morning with multiple gobblers sounding off in the dawn darkness. We walked toward the closest one and some logging machinery started up on the adjacent property and we never heard the bird again. We ventured to another area and heard a gobbler sounding off. We walked in, set up and started calling. The bird gabbled 3 more times before we saw him working his way to us. The bird came up on the wrong side for my guest and was so close that we could not move on him. He stuck around clucking for a few minutes looking for the hen that he had heard. I tried to work him back into a direction that would offer a clean kill shot, but it was not to be. Sunday morning was a not a good turkey gobbling day as rain was quickly approaching and the birds had lockjaw. I set up in a good historical strut zone and called up a vocal hen to 15 feet away, but she was alone. Then the rains came and wash away the rest of the day. Monday morning greeted us with clearing skies and a rising barometer – good for gobbling!. We got to a good roosting spot and a gobbler started hammering from the roost. We set up and waited on the bird to fly down. A hen flew down close to us followed by another hen and then the big boy. The birds started to filter close to us and I did not have to call as the hens walked the gobbler right to his maker. My guest rolled him up at 30 yards. Good bird at 20lbs, 10″ beard and 1 1/8″ spurs. It happened just like you would draw it up, perfect. Lots of season left and more reports will follow. Good luck out there!
Captain Jeff
Turkey update
The turkey action has been kind of slow. I have made 3 trips and had 2 kills. The gobblers are not singing as we would like, but the 2 that have gobbled have met the end of a shotgun blast. Both good longbeards. The weather has not been the best, but we hope for better action the rest of the season. Good luck out there!
Captain Jeff