Spring Turkey '09- Wrap-up

Well, turkey season has come and gone without a kill. It was cold at the beginning and we haven't had this much rain in years. It was one of the toughest seasons I can remember. I did figure out some new tactics for the place I hunt and the State Wildlife Agency is contiplating a new fall turkey season, so I hope to have some better luck then. We do get to hunt turkeys in the fall during the "archery only" season for bearded turkeys and we have quota hunts for either sex.

I went on a hog hunt at my lease a couple of weeks ago and it was spoiled by trespassers. I was in the stand and it was about hog 30 when I started hearing atv's. I thought it was on the other side of the valley but they started getting louder. I look down the trail towards the river and here come 3 UTE's, right where the hogs come from at this time of day. Needless to say I was pissed. I came down from the stand and walked back to the 4-wheeler I had and chased them down.

There were six of them and one of me with a bow, so my options were fairly limited. They were locals so I tried to be diplomatic and asked them not to be on the property as it is private property now. They said they had been riding there all their life so I asked them to at least be respectful enough to avoid our place on the weekends. There is plenty of other land to ride on including 4500 acres of public use land, which is where they started. They appeared to agree and I hope they do. All lessees try to get along with the locals in the area but there have been some confrontations that have led to personal property damage and legal actions with other clubs. There is not a whole lot we can do as there is not someone there 24/7 and we are outsiders for the most part so we don't generally get a lot of help from law enforcment either. All we can try to do is get along.

We are hoping the rain stops so we can get started working on our food plots and feeders. We are already behind due to the weather but we are hoping we can still salvage something and have some decent plots by the fall. Whenever we go to work, I will still be chasing my first hog. I hope to get it with a bow and be the first one to do so.

Well, I'm off to start on honey-do's that have been waiting on the end of hunting season. I hope everyone has a great summer and gets done what they need to before their next season starts. Good luck with your food plots and don't forget to leave the trail cams out. You never know what you might see.