Turkey Time

OPENING DAY WAS A COLD one. At least the rain had stopped, but the elds were muddy. Only the true lover of turkey hunting would even consider ge ing up to slide around in the mud as you trudge to your favorite spot—that is me in a nut shell. ere is something about hearing these majestic birds giving us their symphony of gobbles in the early dawn. It somehow seems to make it all worthwhile.

I have o en said that I enjoy hunting these birds more than hunting whitetail deer—and I will bet that I am not alone.

Although the number of turkey hunters has declined over the years, unfortunately, so have the number of turkeys. ere are many reasons why that is, especially in a state as large as Texas. Severe drought in some parts of Texas as well as too much rain in other areas can cause the turkey numbers to diminish.

Add varmints to the mix, and one can see why it has been a bad year for those birds. However, I am con dent that these numbers will pick up. Simply because the numbers are not there, should not deter you from still getting out in the great outdoors to pursue your favorite sport.

Chances are, if you have one area where you usually see turkeys, that particular spot will still produce. ese birds like to roost in the same location night a er night. Now that is not to say they will be in the exact same tree every night, but generally, they will not

Some grizzled veterans prefer to wait until mid -morning to hunt turkeys. Although I consider myself in the same category, I like to get there at pre-dawn to listen for the rst

If I do not hear any birds sounding o , then I have the option to move to another location and try again. On the other hand, if I do hear those gobbles, then I am absolutely sure I have birds around. If I can’t call them to me at rst light, then I still have a good chance to take one later in the morning.

Most of my hunts have been successful later in the morning, but there have been times when I am lucky right o the roost. I recall one particular season where a certain tom would call every morning, then he would y down in a di erent direction and leave me empty handed.

My wife thought I had lost my mind when I would get my weary bones up every morning in pursuit of that particular bird. I must admit, as I drank my morning co ee in an e ort to wake up, I thought that she might be right.

A er all, this bird with a brain the size of a pea had outsmarted me for days. en one morning I snuck in the roosting area under the blanket of darkness and set up one hen decoy 20 yards from where I sat down.

I waited for sunrise when all of a sudden, the familiar gobble sounded o . is time, instead of yelping back to him, I just made a few so clucks. I did not even know if he heard me because all was silent. But then in the dark dawn light, I saw a black gure heading to my decoy.

I never even heard him y down, but there he was none the less. More important, there I was too. I came home early that morning and tapped lightly on our bedroom window. My wife looked out and saw a proud hunter with a nice tom turkey in his hands.

She told me later that the expression on my face looked like a mad man who had gone totally bonkers for this bird. I might have even stood close to the window and screamed at the top of my lungs for all the neighbors to hear, “I GOT HIM.” ere are several other ways to rig so plastics that break the conventional molds of Texas and Carolina rigging, several of them intended for nesse or high pressure situations when the bass are wanting something a li le bit di erent. Here are a few worth trying:

But that is only hearsay, and I will never admit to it.

One important thing to remember: If the tom is with hens, it is extremely di cult to call him in to you. As a ma er of fact, I have had times when the hen will purposely walk away from your call, dragging the tom along.

One trick that worked for me is almost comical. Once I knew the tom was “henned up,” I waited to hear the boss hen call. en I would suddenly interrupt her call with a deep raspy hen call to simulate the biggest hen.

Every time she called; I purposely interrupted her. Again, and again and again. I could actually hear it in her voice that she was ge ing agitated at the intruder hen. But I kept my game going until she came looking for me.

When I spo ed her, she had a few other hens and a nice big tom following her. I let most of them walk by me. ey all ew in different directions a er I shot the big boy.

Another technique is to just wait until mid-day to start your hunt. Most of the time, if a tom is with a hen, he will stay with her until she heads for her nest. It has been my experience that all is quiet until about 9:30. at’s when the hen has already le the tom, and he is searching for another hen. Once, while hunting with my cousin, we were in a blind, and this exact scene happened.

I had my bow, and he had his shotgun. At around the golden hour, the tom came back looking for us. Except there were three of them all toms and all big.

I whispered to my cousin to shoot on the count of three. He picked one, and so did I. I drew my bow and so ly counted down. All of a sudden, two birds had a bad morning.

I have to say I really do LOVE turkey hunting. I have had some great hunts, and I know you will too. It is just a fantastic time to be outdoors doing what you love.

Have fun and hunt safe.

FISHERMEN ARE AMONG THE WORLD’S GREATEST story tellers. ey also can be pre y shrewd when it comes to guring out cool ways to rig or modify baits to fool more sh.

Bass shermen are particularly cra y, especially with their plastics. Changing hook position or adding a li le weight here and there can mean subtle or drastic changes in the action, fall rate and overall performance of a so plastic lure like a worm, stick bait or creature. At times, may add up to more bites.

Mississippi bass pro Paul Elias gave so swim bait shing a new twist way back in October 2011 when he rigged ve paddle tail swimmers on homemade jig heads and a ached them to a weird-looking shin’ apparatus not many in the bass shing community had ever seen before — now known as e Alabama Rig.

Elias gave the A-rig a coming out party on Lake Guntersville in Alabama, site of the FLW Tour Open bass tournament. He found the sh suspended in the water column over deep water and exploited them to the tune of 102 pounds, 8 ounces on 20 bass over four days — a whopping 17-pound margin over second place. Elias pocketed $100,000.

While matching a ve-inch swim bait with a jig head was nothing new at the time, throwing them ve at a time on a rig with as many spread wires and swivels connected to a single head was a tactic not many bass anglers had tried, or heard of.

Elias changed all of that. e A-rig has since proven so deadly it is now banned in some tournaments and considered an IGFA records rule violation if equipped with more than one live hook. However, it is perfectly legal for recreational use on Texas waters. It’ll work yearround, but anglers have found it to be most e ective at times when bass are herding shad over deep, open water. e belief is the cluster of swim baits simulates a pod of eeing shad that invokes a violent predatory response in bass.

WACKY RIG WORM: e worm is hooked through the middle of the body, usually through the egg sac. is causes the worm to dangle freely at both ends and creates a peculiar action.

Cast it out, let it sink a few seconds and move it towards the boat using subtle twitches with the rod tip, pausing occasionally to let the bait sink in the water column. e center-punched worm pulsates at both ends when twitched and sinks horizontally with a slow, u ering action when paused. Most strikes come on the fall.

NEKO RIG: It’s a modi ed version of the wacky rig. A small exposed or weedless hook is cross hooked through the body cavity or

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Tides and SoLunar Data parallel with the body, usually just below the bait’s egg sack or mid-section. Some anglers prefer to slip a rubber O-ring around the body and use it to hold the hook in place when cross hooking. The idea is it prevents tearing up soft baits prematurely.

A light weight with a sharp end or screw insert is center punched in the head. Several manufacturers like Z-Man, Big Bite Baits, Mustad, Damki and VMC offer weights specifically for Neko rigging. You can also use a small finishing nail.

The bait pulsates when twitched; keep slight tension on the line to keep the bait standing upright, head down, as it moves through the water.

CHICKEN RIG: A modified version of the Neko rig intended for weedless applications. The hook is Texas rigged along the body cavity rather than leaving the point exposed. This makes the Neko rig virtually weedless so it can be fished through grass and other cover with less worry of hanging up. VMC’s Finesse Neko hook works great for chicken rigging.

DROP SHOT: Easy to build and simple to fish, the drop shot is a light-line tactic where the hook is tied to the main line leaving a lengthy leader (a foot long or more) for attaching a special drop shot weight that hangs directly below. Be sure to run the leader tag back through the top eye of the hook before attaching the weight. This keeps the hook facing upright.

The mechanics of the set up keep the bait elevated off the bottom and away from the weight. This gives the bait a natural action and limits resistance when a fish eats it. Small finesse worms hooked through the nose rule in drop shot arenas. Several companies make specialty drop shot weights that are cylinder or ballshaped with a clip for securing to the line quickly.

Hardly a secret among tournament pros, the drop shot is a popular tactic when fishing vertically for schools of fish relating to bottom or suspended in deep water. It also can be effective when cast and dragged across the bottom like a Carolina rig on gravel banks or around docks and other structures.

POWER SHOT: The rigging is basically the same as the drop shot, except it calls for heavier tackle, line, an EWG style hook and a 3/4-ounce cylinder weight to go after fish buried up in thick vegetation using a vertical presentation. It’s a good idea to add a sturdy barrel swivel on the main line, ahead of the hook, to reduce line twist.

MINI CAROLINA RIG: The mini model is built similar to the standard Carolina rig, except the slip sinker is significantly smaller, 1/8 to 1/4 ounce. Secure the weight between two bobber stops, or using a rubber Peg-It strip that slides between the slip sinker hole and the line. This allows for sliding the weight up or down to adjust leader length without damaging the line. Ideal in shallow water situations around grass and other cover when other tactics aren’t cutting it.