BOWHUNT FOR THE RIO GRANDE
by Robert Hoague

Apr 19 - Down By The River

If you study on the picture on the left you can make my smiling face out and see what I look like to the wild turkeys on a real hot day -- up to 100. For the morning hunt I went to the Point again and was turkey-less. Then I was later than usual for the afternoon hunt. I went to the ridge above the river, got set up and made a few yelps. Minutes later I saw (above right) the red head of a gobbler standing behind some cedar limbs.

He looked around briefly and left. This is the same place that the 4 longbeards came from on opening day.

An hour later a hen came up the ridge from the river to see what the yelps and clucks were in my area. It walked past my hen decoy like it wasn't there. 

It went directly to the Jake in this picture. But that's not a real jake, it's the Hazel Creek taxidermied jake decoy. The hen checked it out and then walked back down hill.

Before long another hen came up the ridge and looked around. It made a bee line in front of the blind. A second hen was behind it.

The lead hen approached my hen decoy and puffed he feathers up got in the decoy's face. It was quite a show. I clicked my camera over on video mode and clicked record. The battery promptly died. 

That was the show for today and it was a grand one. I didn't hear any gobbles at gobble time. Then I moved the blind over to where the young gobbler was so I can see turkeys coming from the woods as well as any that come up the ridge. 

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