Well that didn't take long this year.
The short version is that I missed the first two days this year on account of work. Got after it on Wednesday for my first day out.
After setting up at 5:00 AM I had my first tom of the year down by 5:45. As I was leaving the truck, the birds were starting to gobble from the roost. I headed to my spot and staked the decoys. Settled into my seat and waited for the light to come up. At 0520 I called to the toms. After three series of calls and knowing they were responding to me I went silent. 4 hens hit the field and started towards my set. A short time later 2 toms were headed in from further out. The lead bird was obviously trying to keep the other tom from a romantic interlude and kept pace directly in front of the other. At 30 yards I let the Mossberg bark and dropped him without so much as a twitch.
He weighed in at 20 pounds, ten inch beard and 7/8's inches on the spurs.
Day 1 tom
Yesterday was just like groundhog day. I arrived just before 0500 and the birds were coming alive for the day off the roost. I quickly headed to my favorite tree, set the decoys and grabbed a seat. Again, I waited for the light to come up and start my calling. After 3 sets the birds were definitely answering me, so I fell silent again to wait and see what was going to happen. A lone hen came in and fed right down to my decoys. A few minutes later and 3 more hens followed by 2 strutters crested the knoll and headed right towards me. As I settled the red dot on the lead bird the first hen must have caught a glimpse of movement. She started the annoying "putt putt putt". The tom locked up at about 55 yards and stretched his neck to see what had her worried. His mistake. That Carlson choke and Winchester Longbeard makes my Mossberg a lethal turkey getter. 0545 and I was done for the year. All tagged out.
This fellow weighed in at 21.5 pounds, 9 inch beard and 1 inch spurs.
Day 2 tom
Being done early I decided to head to the lake and finish the day off in style.
Stay tuned in the Ranger forum for the video I'm putting together of a great pre spawn jig bite on Saratoga Lake!
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Lea
