Turkeygirl Posted April 25, 2007 Report Share Posted April 25, 2007 Went out again this morning...this time a little closer to where I thought birds are roosting and where I thought I heard fly downs yesterday. I get in about 5:45am...overcast so it is still a little dark but about 40 degrees...nice quiet morning. Around 6, I think I hear a distant gobble....then a couple more times I thought I heard it, maybe from across the gravel pit over by one of the corn fields where I saw alot of old and fresh tracks last week...but I'm not sure since sometimes other things sound like a gobble if it is far off....I decide to walk an old logging trail towards the gravel pit so I can get up on a hill but hear nothing. 6:20am comes and goes when I thought I heard fly downs yesterday, but maybe a few minutes after that I thought I heard a bird fly down from the same area as yesterday...down near a swamp. I'm not sure though. I'm thinking about getting near that swamp tonight and seeing if I can hear/see anything. I'm starting to get nervous and unconfident with not hearing a definite gobble these 2 mornings...Suppose to be some rain early this afternoon, so maybe late this afternoon/early evening I'll spot something in a field. What should I do tomorrow morning if I don't hear anything tonight? Sit by the swamp...sit on top of the gravel pit? Go over by the corn field? this swamp I'm talking about is open with some bushes, but an ATV trail through it and some springs which means water. I saw them last week cross through it about 5:30pm...then around 6pm they flew up but I don't know if I spooked them or they were roosting but i'm guessing spooked. But they roosted down near it last year so I'm guessing that is why they are roosting around there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted April 25, 2007 Report Share Posted April 25, 2007 Did you maybe hear hens flydown Ruth? Dont know, birds here have been pretty quiet the past few times I have been out. Heard some birds fly up Friday afternoon, sat out the next morning, owls, crows, and even distant yotes calling never got them gobbling as where a couple weeks earlier everything had them gobbling. Saw one of the birds, I believe was a jake as it got light, and watched him flydown about 6:15 away from me and the field I was sitting over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkeygirl Posted April 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2007 I don't know wtn...that swamp always has fresh tracks - big and small - so they must pass through there at some point. I'm going to go out early this evening and look around the fields then sit near that swamp and try to get a look at what is maybe roosting there. I really hope to see/hear something because i'm getting anxious if no one can tell,lol. Yeah, had crows and even an owl this morning and no gobbles....well not sure if what I heard was one or not...I kinda think so... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhino Posted April 25, 2007 Report Share Posted April 25, 2007 Ruth, the first thing I noticed was you said it was overcast. Eastern birds are finicky when it comes to gobbling. For whatever reason they seemed to be even more finicky this season for some unknown reason. Gobbling activity is supressed down here whenever it's mostly cloudy or overcast. Add any kind of wind to that and it's even worse. My guess is the weather conditions simply supressed gobbling activity. IMHO, ideal weather for the best gobbling activity is a high barametric pressure, clear skys, and it's calm. That's the way it is for Eastern birds which is what you are hunting. For whatever reason, I've noticed that Rios are not nearly as finicky as Eastern birds about gobbling under poor weather conditions. I've had times this season when birds didn't gobble on the roost at all with overcast skys but when the sun came out they cranked up their gobbles. That was in an area where I had heard multiple birds gobbling a few days earlier under ideal weather conditions. I don't think you should get too concerned about those birds disappearing under the conditions you described. They are still there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkeygirl Posted April 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2007 Ok, that makes sense, thanks rhino. It makes sense because Saturday when I saw those gobblers and the one gobbled, it was around noon and like 75 degrees and the sun was blazing. this morning and yesterday morning have both been cloudy, so when the sun does rise, you don't know it because you can't see it come up to the East with the clouds. Next week is suppose to get better...so maybe if I can find their roosting spot, I'll be all set. I just want to have their pattern down because I'm figuring on a guy like last year interfering.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turkeygirl Posted April 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2007 37 views...4 replies...2 of those being mine...Come on...anyone else have any encouraging tips ? lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4Blade Posted April 26, 2007 Report Share Posted April 26, 2007 If I dont hear any gobble I usually just still hunt and blind call in places that I know birds frequent......You mentioned a 4 wheeler trail and an old logging road,,Those sound like great places for birds to travel,,,Around here the birds love to travel on old logging roads and 4 wheeler trails usually late morning from 9am to mid day,,By walking the roads you will most likely spook the birds off.......If there are any tracks,,scratchings or anykind of sign around those roads then I would setup about 10 yards off to the side and wait maybe set a decoy up in the middle of the road/trail,,,Try to setup in a straight patch of road or trail if you can,,That way you can see the bird way before it gets to you..............If you can find any dusting bowls birds usually come back to those from time to time,,,I have one dusting bowl in a foodplot that the birds have kept fresh for the last year,,Think of them like how you would a deer scrape.......Now these tips are for when you are "not" hearing any birds...... These tips are for when you are hearing birds.............Now when you call during the morning just before sun up trying to locate a bird,,,Try to find the highest place possible on the property you are hunting and call from there,,,Try to get to that place before daylight if possible,,You want that sound to travel and by getting up as high as you possibly can you get the sound out over the property much better,,,,,Once you hear a bird gobble then try to get as close as you can before it comes off the roost but dont get too close or you could get busted,,,Try to close ground about 40 yards at a time then call again just to keep a good idea of where he is,,But keep in mind if the bird is looking the opposite direction when he gobbles he will sound much farther away than what he really is,,,I like to keep back about 75 to 100 yards from where he is roosted,,,,,,,Like a few others have said on cloudy,,rainy,,windy days the birds just dont answer as good,,,Even if it rains the night before the hunt it sometimes will slow the gobbles down......If a gobbler already has a girlfriend or 2 he is usually not to anxious to answer let alone leave her to come to you,,,,But if you can call his big beautiful brown eyed hen in,,Most of the time he will follow,,If you can hear a hen just mock her,,,If she yelps 3 times,,You yelp 3 times,,,,If she cuts you cut......If she clucks you cluck,,,This will agravate the hen and she will come looking for you and hopefully her boyfriend comes with her............I have also found out that it is alot easier to call a gobbler uphill or on level ground they are much harder to call down steep hills..........If a gobbler comes in and then hangs up,,,Try calling just a little softer to make him think that you are moving farther away..........From my experience birds dont gobble as good during the evening when they go on the roost as they do during the mornings,,,I have went out just before dark during the evenings trying to roost a bird and not hear anything,,,Then go to that same exact place the next morning and hear 4 or 5 gobblers,,,I like to leave the area alone the evening before the hunt for 2 reasons the first would be that I dont disturb any birds in the area the second reason I go into the hunt the next morning with a better attitude by just not knowing what to expect....... These tips work pretty good for me in my neck of the woods but may not work as good in yours,,,It just depends on the type of terrain that you are hunting in.......I hope that you get get something from these,,,,It is hard to give advice without knowing the property you are hunting.........All areas are different..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhunt Posted April 26, 2007 Report Share Posted April 26, 2007 37 views...4 replies...2 of those being mine...Come on...anyone else have any encouraging tips ? lol LOL. Am guilty of checking back in here to see what kind of advice you got without leaving a reply TG. What Rhino says really is pretty well dead on accurate for these parts. This season for the most part has been windy and screwy weather. With the exception of the first week or so, season here the birds have really been unusually quiet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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