Opening Morning 2009...

Opening morning found me in Mendocino county sneaking into my blind at about 5 am. I had a friend with me and another friend and his two kids headed to the other blind. One has a junior hunting license and she was hoping to take her first bird. We got in early and quietly, without touching the electric fence (a better wake up call than strong coffee I have found!). So far, so good

The weather was cold, about 40 degrees with a light wind. There was a lot of fog, which certainly didn't help things. About 6 am, I threw out a couple of light tree calls and got no response. Again at 615, with no response. I was beginning to think that maybe the birds roosted elsewhere......

About 630, later than I expected, a horse on a neighboring farm let out a whinnie......GOBBBBLLLLEEEE from about 100 yards out. A few minutes later the forest was alive with Gobbles. I heard 7 distinct groups gobbling, with 5 of them within 200 yards of my setup. The game was on......

We sat there waiting for flydown, which came at about 645. We didnt hear the birds fly down, but could tell by the change in pitch that they were on the ground. The woods got quiet very quickly, with only 3 or 4 gobbles after the flocks hit the ground. We got ready and watched the jake and hen decoys 15 yards in front of the blind. I felt fairly confident that the birds would come our way.

15 minutes later, there they were....3 giant longbeards came into the field at 80 yards. One had what appeared to be a paintbrush swinging from his breast. A "monarch" bird as my friend razorback likes to call the giant ones. They were tough to see through the fog, but it was clear they were looking our direction. Everything was coming together....so I thought.

About this time a yearling cow named "white face" by my friends kids saunters over and stares my decoy in the face. He's been in the field with us all morning but chose this moment to come by. He stares at my decoy and then gives it the biggest lick ever, knocking it off its base. The gobblers stop in their tracks. He then uses the stake to scratch his ears, eventually breaking it off. That leaves one other decoy which quickly gets the same treatment. The gobblers walk, then trot, then sprint away toward the other blind. So much for a bird in the truck by 730.

It appears that the birds are going to cross the creek near my other blind where razorback and his kids are set up so all is not lost. About 2 minutes later BOOM, I hear his daughters freshly bought and recently sighted in Remington 870 youth 20 gauge sound off. I expect to hear shouting, giggling, or some sort of happy kid sounds. I hear nothing. About 5 minutes later I get an email on my blackberry that the birds came in to 20 yards...and the youngster missed. Shooting a turkey is no easy task and everyone misses. Some of us have elevated it to an art form so I cant fault her too much. The rest of the morning was completely quiet, with a few birds spotted in the distance. After a lunch break, we returned and the same "3 amigos" were sauntering through the field. They had no interest in any calls we threw at them.


Sun AM was a lot quieter. The weather was the same but the gobbling was minimal. Not a single bird entered our field. After a couple of Red Tail beers (hey, I wasnt driving so who cares), we headed back to the bay area with no turkeys in the truck. Looking forward to my next trip up.