Cedar River Turkey Hunt

I went turkey hunting this morning before school (April 21, 2009) and I’ll tell you right now that there is about no better way of waking up on a school day and going hunting before class. The night before I got permission from a family friend and neighbor whose house is on the river if it would be alright if I hunted on their acreage, and of course they said that would be fine. So, I set my alarm clock for four thirty am and went to bed early to get some rest before the hunt and another laborious day of school and track. Barely closing my eyes I promptly was waken up again by the sound of my alarm clock. I put on the camo clothes, that I also had set out the night before, and grabbed my twelve gauge along with a handful of shells which I thought I would hopefully get to use. I got to my truck and I was headed off just two or three miles from my house onto the river bottoms of the Cedar. It wasn’t before long that I was set up in my blind with a hen decoy lazily turning in the wind just a dozen or so steps from me. I waited a few minutes for my noisy approach to be forgotten before I started calling. As the sound of the first song birds started calling all around me I let out a few yelps and clucks with my mouth call. Not a half minute later the tom turkeys woke up, and responded with the gobbles recognizing their presence and attentiveness to the call. I continued calling, making sure I never called to much, which many times can make the toms get “cold”. I heard three or four turkeys, and three of them were slowly approaching my position. However, they almost all together stopped at the same time, and I couldn’t figure out why they had. Being unfamiliar with ever hunting in this spot it took my a few minutes to realize what was delaying their progress. The River. I knew my chances of getting a tom this morning went from good to poor if they didn’t cross the river, but if by some chance I could call them across the Cedar I was confident enough that I could bring them in the last couple hundred yards to my spot. This never happened though I spent the next hour pleading with the call for them to come over and if they did that they would find a hen, but they never did cross. Therefore, the hunt turned out unsuccessful, but it was still the best way I know how to wake up in the morning (especially before school).