To turkey hunt or to hit the lakes, that is the question

We sit at the end of April with turkey season in full swing and the fishing opener this Saturday.

It all kind of meshes together for me. Wednesday starts my turkey hunting week and fishing opens on Saturday. I can’t decide what to do. I need to wait until Saturday to do either one because of my schedule. The predicted weather looks promising for both.

I got the boat prepped and the gear ready. So, what to do?

If I go turkey hunting and things don’t go as planned, then I wish I went fishing. If I go fishing and I see a turkey on the way to the lake I’ll wish I went turkey hunting. Terrible problems to have.

A good number of years ago I met a guy that had this same week for turkey hunting. He even took the whole week off. Struck out on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Not only did he strike out Friday, but a huge storm hit about 10:30 in the morning and he got totally drenched.

Saturday came along and he decided to call the turkey hunting a season and he planned to go fishing in the afternoon. He woke up just before first light and started the coffee. He said about the time he would expect to see the birds on his food plots he looked out a window and saw several toms strutting in his back yard.

He grabbed his shotgun and a couple shells, quietly snuck out the front door without letting the dog out, and tiptoed in his slippers to the side of his house the turkeys seemed to be moving towards. He told me that he crouched behind a bush underneath his and his wife’s bedroom window. The turkeys stepped out about 20 yards away and he shot one of the turkeys in his bathrobe. Said it was chilly but worth it.

He did say his wife wasn’t all that impressed with the feat. He went fishing that afternoon and had one of the best days of fishing in his life. He said his boat started on the first pull. Didn’t have to wait for anyone to launch or land the boat. He said he even felt obliged to put a little something extra in the basket the next morning.

I too took that week off and I planned to kill a turkey on Wednesday, a limit of trout on Saturday, and plenty of panfish on Sunday. I recall getting drenched to the bone from that storm on Friday, running like a madman across the field trying to beat the lightning with grass and leaves flying past me in the wind, and shivering for the next two hours on the ride home. I went fishing that weekend and caught like two bluegills. I needed to wait for a cluster at the landing to launch and land. And I lost an anchor when the line broke off. I’ll admit that his turkey and fishing story is better than mine by far. But I’ll also tell you that you won’t have any stories to tell if you don’t get out and make some of them. The smoothest days afield lead to success and relaxation. But I’ve found the best stories come from a horseshoe being stuck someplace on the person at that time or from a state of if it wasn’t for bad luck, you wouldn’t have any luck. It might take a few years but usually you can learn to laugh at the stories of bad luck. Like a friend who shot a goose flying at him and the goose’s momentum brought it right to his chest. He made a spectacular catch, but got knocked out of his canoe into the reeds and water. Another got to his first set up with turkeys gobbling everywhere. He started calling, a big tom ran right in, he put his sights on the neck and heard: “click.” He forgot to load his shotgun.

Another guy backed his trailer into the landing and the boat slid off the trailer and started floating out into the lake in early May. The catch rope wasn’t hooked well and he had to take a refreshing early morning swim to get his boat.

Whatever you plan to do this weekend, fish or hunt, I wish you good luck. Remember the water is cold this time of year, tight lines, and please remember, Safe Hunting is No Accident!

THROUGH A

DECOY’S

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BY

CHUCK K OLAR LOCAL OUTDOORSMAN