Last fall I wrote a column while deer hunting from Big River Rich’s deer stand. It got some great reviews including but not limited to my mail carrier who said, and I quote, “nice article.” It was a no brainer to create a spring version so heads-up, grab a cup of coffee and welcome to the Turkey Blind.  

To give you a little feel for where and what it’s like here, the Rush River is behind and below us.  If the wind is not blowing you can occasionally hear a trout angler self-cheering to their partner the two greatest words in the fishing kingdom: “got one!” Other than that, it’s a pretty basic setup of a blind, a couple of decoys, and a camp chair. At first light, I prefer sitting in a blind. If a couple of hours drag by without any action, I’ll strike out and “run and gun,” which is a popular way to say going after them as opposed to calling the birds in.   

This morning we are lucky enough to have a tom behind us and hopefully coming our way. He’s gobbled on the roost fairly often and I’ve thrown only a smattering of hen calls at him as my way of playing hard to get. Only time will tell.  

So far this morning all birds have been active. The earliest risers today were some Canadian geese that flew by in the predawn and called like geese do - for all to hear. That must have woken the crows up because they chimed in shortly after. That was when our tom started gobbling. He has since flown down off his roost and on a guess can’t be more than 100 yards into the woods and seems to be heading our way ever so slowly. I wouldn’t be too upset if he just came right in and got me out of the woods early and into some flapjacks.   

I was just about to say……… WAIT. SHHHHHHH! Did you hear that? He’s coming. The gobbles are coming more frequently and better still, they are closer. On a guess he is going to step into my field about 50 yards to the south and will see my decoys. I’ll be ordering breakfast before you can say, “early bird gets the pancakes.” 

Oh, there he is. I gotta go.   

Well, it’s not over yet so an early breakfast is not going to happen. The tom came out right where I expected him to but so did a couple of hens.  They did what hens do and that spoils hunts. They led him safely away and he never paid my decoys or calls a bit of attention. I’m not going to wait all day for him to come back. Since I self-planted the seed in my own head, I may opt for the “222:” Two eggs, two sausages and two pancakes.  

Didn’t get enough Dave this week? Visit “Outdoor Trails and Tales with Dave Beck” on Facebook for photos and video of Dave’s adventures. You can share your own photos and video with him there as well, or by emailing him at dave@piercecountyjournal.news Also, check out OTT content on Instagram @thepiercecountyjournal