During the late spring seasons gobbler yelps get a better response than hen yelps. Breeding is winding down, hens are tending nests, the gobblers are losing testosterone and looking to reform into bachelor flocks (they hang in these all summer) in order to find each other they yelp and cluck. Not aggressively just in a where are you sort of way.
To locate toms in the late spring season many hunters make the mistake of listening for gobbles which are fewer, rather they should listen for the gobblers yelping and clucking to each other.
Bottom line during the last 2 seasons in WI most hens have been bred, the guys are tired of the woman talk and looking to start up the guy talk again.
Archives for March 2012
Wisconsin Fall Turkey Hunters Kill 5,433 Wild Turkeys
Hunters register 5,433 birds in 2011 fall wild turkey hunt
Weekly News Article Published: February 28, 2012 by the Central Office
MADISON – Wisconsin wild turkey hunters registered a combined 5,433 birds during the regular fall 2011 wild turkey season and the extended season in Turkey Management Zones 1-5.
The 5,433 registered birds compute to a success rate of 10 percent, a slight decrease from the 12 percent success rate for hunters during the 2010 fall season.
“The fall turkey season, along with our spring season, continues to provide important recreational opportunities for Wisconsin’s hunters,” says Scott Walter, upland wildlife ecologist for the Department of Natural Resources. “Hunters that pursue turkeys during both the spring and fall seasons are really treated to two very distinctive outdoor experiences, and get to enjoy turkeys during very different phases of their annual cycle.”
The decline in harvest between the 2010 and 2011 fall seasons continues a downward trend in fall turkey harvest over the past seven years and likely reflects turkey numbers and hunting trends, Walter says.
“Certainly, the previous three winters have stressed turkeys, and recent wet springs have likely limited production,” he says. “Long-term, turkey populations – and the number of turkeys hunters encounter in the field – will ebb and flow in response to weather conditions that determine production levels.”
Not including Fort McCoy, the total number of permits available statewide for the fall 2011 season was 95,700, the same as in 2010. A total of 54,949 permits were sold, including 41,332 via the drawing with another 13,617 permits sold over-the-counter after the drawing had been completed.
Turkey permit levels for fall 2012 to be set this summer
Permit levels for the 2012 fall season will be set this summer once harvest data for the spring 2012 season is available and biologists can assess spring production levels, Walter says. Permit applications for the 2012 fall season are due August 1st, 2012
“Statewide, the population of turkeys remains strong,” says Krista McGinley, DNR assistant upland wildlife ecologist. “Long-term, turkey numbers are primarily driven by the quality of habitat available and weather during the critical nesting brood-rearing period.
“We’ve got excellent turkey habitat across the state, this winter’s been mild for turkeys and, given good production this spring, hunters should have an excellent opportunity to see turkeys and perhaps harvest a bird this coming spring and fall.”
The number of permits available to hunters in each of the state’s seven Turkey Management Zones is recommended by members of the Wild Turkey Management Committee, who consider recent trends in harvest, hunter success, and turkey reproduction, as well as hunter densities and field reports of turkey abundance, when deciding on final permit numbers.
Spring Turkey Scouting in Wisconsin
At least they were there
Spring is coming, and you’re anxious to get turkey hunting, but it is weeks away. The fever is setting in both for spring and turkeys. Scouting makes sense, where do you start even if you see turkeys now there is no guarantee they will be in the same place come the season.
Here is what I look for and do while scouting-
- Turkeys; yeah duh, but it is very nice to see them. If you plan on filling a tag the first rule is you must hunt where the game is. Because if you hunt where there is no game no matter how hard you hunt you will not fill your tag. Do not let tradition dictate where you hunt allow the game in this case turkeys determine where your hunting area will be. Turkeys are wide ranging here in Wisconsin so be adaptable and keep scouting for birds right up to your season.
- Think nesting areas. Where will the hens most likely choose to nest? Of course, this is where the hens are going to be hanging out during the spring season with the gobblers satelliting them.
- Roost areas that are adjacent to the nesting areas.
- Now that you’ve keyed on some good nesting areas think about the food sources that will be in this area when you start hunting. Such as new green grasses or clover, insects including flying, crawling and burrowing, wildflowers, and new buds. If you hunt multiple seasons, this will be changing weekly.
- In spite of all the advice about not calling in the area where you plan to hunt, you should ignore this unsound advice and take your calls out to use for locating birds. In my opinion, this does no harm; turkeys have no memory, and they will not imprint your calling as a danger because you are not shooting at them yet. Interactive calling with real turkeys is the best learning experience to begin gaining the understanding of different turkey vocalizations and their inflections.
Time to go out and find those Wisconsin turkeys. Enjoy.
Post Season Melancholy
Are these turkeys laughing or snickering?
Postseason melancholy has set in, and it is never too early to start obsessing about the next hunt. Wisconsin was kind enough to provide me with 6 in state tags this year. The 6th season has been my jinx season, or maybe I should refer to it as the turkey jester season. I had been doing the Snoopy dance each previous seasons with a gobbler at my feet and the intense feeling of invincibility coursing through my veins. With two 6th season tags in my pocket, this would be the year of 6th season gobblers. Of course, that was the invincible thought going into the season. Reality soon set in; spring growth from 5th to 6th season was shocking to behold — areas where you could see last week – no longer so. Forcing me to set up on a field edge, I could see here that is as long as the expected gobbler entered the field but noooo! He the Gobbler started spitting and drumming behind me so close I swear I can feel his exhale on my neck. No see, no shoot. This is repeated time and again all season. The memory highlight occurred on May 23 I found a “loud mouth” gobbler at 5:30 am and worked him non stop until 4:30 pm suffering cramped seriously puckered wing bone lips and a severe case of leg cramp in my right hand. Suddenly the gobbling feathered submarine went “up periscope” in range, in front of my bead. His neck and head were all black with only a red skull cap on top. I hesitated to confirm the identity of the target. “Down Periscope” and back to loud mouth gobbling for another hour without an opportunity repeat. It is just amazing how my “can we have a replay” look to the sky never helps get that replay. The next weekend with no open season, in a field where I can hunt, a gobbler lights up at 9 am and gobbles over the next 2 hours. Not sure if he was laughing at me or frustrated by lack of hen interest. It was a great season filled 4 out of 6 tags. The remaining tags were not half bad as a condiment on a grilled Greek turkey burger.