CHRIS WILSON
Well-Known Member
After a long week of getting up early....having a bird spooked off by another hunter on opening morning and passing on six different jakes this week....it finally all came together this morning. Canoed out to an area of public land early this morning. Got in and setup right before light. Had multiple birds sounding off....unfortunately, most were on the other side of the river. The few that were on my side apparently didn't want to play so about 9:15, I got up and moved to another spot about a mile away. I setup on this trail 50 yards off some fields. About 50 yards in the other direction is a gate that is the boundary onto private land. I'd been setup about 30 minutes and doing some light calling when a group of four jakes showed up. They were fun to watch but not what I was looking for. They moved on and I continued to go light on the calling. Seeing how I got up really early, I closed my eyes for a bit and leaned back on the tree, knees up and the shotgun resting on them. As I sitting there, I think I hear something. I open my eyes and lean forward just a bit to peak down the path. Two long beards had snuck in on me and where standing about 25 yards down on the path. I slowly get on the gun but it must have been more movement than I realized. They start putting and take off, making a beeline for the gate. The first bird is gone in a flash but the second bird suddenly stops about 10-12 paces from boundary gate, still on the WMA, and looks back in my direction. At 38 paces, he catches a load of TSS #9 shot to the head and my first bird of the season is in the books. 19 pounds....1 inch spurs....double bearded (9.5 inches and 5.5 inches). My first double bearded bird. It was a good day to be in the woods.
