Good Luck Charm

On Saturday Ben and I hunted for 12 hours and came so close to sealing the deal several times.  Then on Sunday we decided to take our good luck charm.  Rylie had never been turkey hunting and wanted to tag along with us to see what all the fuss was about.  Walking into the woods, I told her she needed to be quite because we would be setting-up close to the roost tree and we didn't want to spook the turkeys.  Little did I know we had sat-up almost directly below the roost tree and when the first bird gobbled on the roost she almost screamed.  At sunrise 20 birds flew down into our decoys and put on an amazing show.  Ben yelped twice and the rest is history!  Now Rylie thinks turkey hunting is pretty fun!

 

10 Minute Hunt

I am not exactly sure how many miles I have put on my truck during the first month of Turkey Season, but it feels like thousands.  After helping two youth take their first long beards, I was able to get out by myself for a hunt which took all of 10 minutes!

30th Anniversary Kansas Governor's Turkey Hunt

This year marked the 30th anniversary of the Kansas Governor's Turkey Hunt.  The Hunt is the longest running of its type in the Country.  I was honored to take Kaleb Davis of Winchester, Tennessee.  Kaleb entered the NWTF Jake's Essay Competition and his essay titled "Today's Conservation and Tomorrow's Heritage" won him a spot in the Governor's Hunt.  Kaleb was accompanied to Kansas by his father Jimmy Davis.

 
After hunting hard all morning we called in reinforcements!  We got the best turkey caller in the world...literally!  Billy Yargus winner of the 2016 Grand National Turkey Calling Championship and World Turkey Calling Championship joined us and was easily able to call in Kaleb's very first turkey!  

To prepare for the big game Daisy and I went on a SUPER goose hunt. 

The stars may never align like this again...in one single sports year I was able to watch my two favorite teams win World Championships!!! 

Great Season

People keep telling me this was a poor waterfowl season and the migration was "messed-up".  We hunted well in excess of 50 times during the season and found birds on every hunt.  Alternating between river hunts, field hunts and pond hunts was a must, also, constant scouting was a key ingredient to success this year.  We often found birds in areas where just a few days prior we had not seen them.  They seemed to do a lot of bouncing around, whereas in years past they would stay in one area until forced out by hunting pressure or ice.   

Almost Over

The 2015/16 Waterfowl Season is almost over, but there are still a few days left.  The weather has robbed us of some precious time on our favorite spots, thank goodness for the river and ice-eaters!