TEAM 2: "HOOK HUNTERS" Official Site

[Borch]

Way to go Pikefisher!

Those last minute birds sure make great memories...

[elevatorguy]

Excellent work Pikefisher09! Looks we are on the board! And good luck tomorrow bowfin!

9 days and counting...

[Hodgy17]

Here is the Beard, i can't get the other picture up.

[sticknstring]

Great looking bird Pike - congrats!

[Bowfin]

Thanks elevatorguy, I need some luck. Not seeing any birds in my usual places - fields still snow covered. Heard my first gobble at 3:30 pm today. Saw 2 coyotes and 2 sets of bear tracks but only 1 hen. The snow tonight isn't going to help things!

Glad we got one on the board.

[sticknstring]

Any updates Bowfin? You've got 2 beautiful days here to fill your tag - good luck!

[Bowfin]

Not much to report. I've been out each day and have heard little gobbling, larger flocks, not much activity in the fields, and no response to calls. Tough when the roosts in both of my areas are on private land and the turkeys are bunched up in the woods not willing to come give me a look on public land. I did get a return gobble today which has been the most attention they showed me all week. Been spending a lot of time on a small DNR food plot one flock has been visiting from time to time. Missed them by a couple hours yesterday evening. I was sitting at one of my spots while the flock visited the food plot at the other spot (snow all tracked up)! One more day!

[Bowfin]

Sorry guys - No help from me this year. Ended the day over looking the food plot this evening. Just hens came in to visit - No Toms. Good luck to the rest of you.

[just1fishaway]

Good hunt this morning 22 3/8lbs 15/16 R spur 1' L spur 2 Beards 9 1/4 and 8 1/4 pics to follow

[DonBo]

Good bird just1! Congrats.

[just1fishaway]

now if i can get some help to post pics

[elevatorguy]

Congrats Just1! Sounds like an awesome bird. And there is a thread that explains how to post pics.

[Borch]

Congrats Just1.

You have an email.

[sticknstring]

Way to go - congrats! You'll have to change your name to just2beards!

[just1fishaway]

Started out my hunt the same way I've had since 1993. Get up at 2:30 in the morning and make the drive to Lake City to my Aunts Farm in time to see the sunrise and also see that the field is not plowed uug. Make the walk across the the field with all my gear it seems like I add more each year. Set up my blind in the same spot that I had for the last 6 years and then set up my decoys the same way also. Setteled into the blind and still no sounds yet pulled out my slate and made a couple of sounds and had 2 Gobblers 1 in front of me and 1 behind. Kept on calling and it seemed like they were hung up then it went quiet around 7:00 so I pulled out my box call and hit it and got some hens to talk back and then I saw him about 100 yds to my left. I then switched back to my slate and hit some clucks and purrs he then saw Mr. Sandman (my full strut Tom). He then started to make his move with 2 hens in tow. He made his way behind the hill and into sight about 20 yds away and in full strut he went right at my decoy he was stopping at 10 yds away. After the shot I could see the 2 hens were still around and flew away when I got out of the blind. When I walked up to the Turkey I noticed it had 2 beards and knew I had to get it recorded right for the NWTF books with a score of 76.748 what can I say but WOW

[just1fishaway]

Mr. Sandman and his latest victim

[sticknstring]

Sounds like a great hunt & nice pics - congrats again!

Anyone else have hunts coming up? I start MN May 7th.

[elevatorguy]

Great bird just1!

I am headed for the Black Hills this morning! We might make it in time to see if the gate is open to one of the areas we hunt and if we are lucky try to roost some today! I can't get there quick enough!

[sticknstring]

Should have an hour or so of daylight left - good luck elevator!

[FrontenacPike]

Fish: Great story and very nice bird!!!

[elevatorguy]

Well another on the board! I got a 2 year old bird. He ain't the biggest but a mature bird for the Hills!

[sticknstring]

Awesome job - congrats! Can't wait to hear the story and see some pics.

FrontenacPike & I both start Tuesday. We're 3-4 right now. One team is already 5-5, so we'll both need birds or at least one multi-bearded beast to make a run at this thing!

[Archerysniper]

One team is already 5-5,

[123fish]

Just remember FrontenacPike and sticknstring there is nothing wrong in shooting a skinny malnourished jake. All birds are a trophy especially in the eyes of Team 7.

[hugonian1]

I agree.

Better than a jake is a bearded hen.

There is somthing abouth their "funky chicken" stature and those smoooth legs.

[elevatorguy]

Here is my bird. Official stats are 17 lbs, 7 inch beard, 3/8" & 1/2" spurs.

And there isn't really a great story to this bird. Just some dumb luck. My buddy got his first Black Hills bird about 45 min before mine. So we were still celebrating and happy about his as we were headed into town. And then we came around a corner on a forest road and bam there was this guy with about 6 or 7 hens out in the middle of a clear cut. We watched which way they went and went down the road a little and bailed out to try and cut them off. We ran up a ridge and were able to get in front of them and as luck would have it they passed just at the edge of my gun range at about 45 yards and I was able to knock him down. I had to jump up and chase him down but none the less I don't have to come home with an unfilled tag. It floors me sometimes out here in the Hills we work our tails off only to get snubbed and then out of no where this happens. And the crazy part is we were talking about how we thought the logging chases them out then here they were out in the middle of it. Like we always say just when you think you have them figured out they do something totally opposite.

[123fish]

Congrats on a nice bird. Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good. Keeping after them payed off for you.

[sticknstring]

Nice bird elevator! Being good don't matter if you don't have some luck on your side! I hope to have some myself tomorrow morning. If it's as beautiful out as this morning was, it should be a great morning to be in the turkey wooods.

[elevatorguy]

Thanks guys! For as long as I have hunted the Hills it means a lot just to come away with a bird. It was really a great year out there even though the birds were henned up bad. It was really fun when they were gobbling at anything. We were on birds every morning and they gobbled all day long. And every time it seemed we worked a bird we were cut off and shut down by the hens. It was definitely one of our funner years and we also saw a ton of Elk this year.

[sticknstring]

So close this morning! Had birds around for 30+ minutes and even watched a tom breed a hen @ 35 yds! Repositioned the blind for morning.