Check out our live underwater Bluegill Cam! This is active during central daylight hours. These fish are wild and are occaisionally harassed by large bass and northern pike!

Click the link below and enjoy!

www.mnbound.com/live-bluegill-cam/

Last night the sun set on my 2009 turkey-hunting season. And while no turkeys were harmed during my two weeks in the field, don’t shed a tear for me; I had one of the best hunting seasons of my life!

Turkey hunting is like a chess game, only you have to play by the rules and the turkeys don’t realize they’re playing a game. When they figure out the game is on, they turn and run but right before they bugger off they make you think you’re about the shout check mate! Those who don’t hunt, may overemphasize the importance of the harvest. For me, getting close to wildlife is as rewarding as having a trophy on the wall or meat in the freezer. Besides, I’m a bowhunter which means lower harvest rates as you need to get closer to take an ethical shot. While I didn’t close the deal on a boss gobbler this season I had great encounters with turkeys and nature every time I went out. In addition to seeing dozens of turkeys, I saw eagles, sand-hill cranes, pheasants, ducks, geese, feral cats, fox, and coyotes... not to mention multiple amazing sunrises and sunsets!

I also proved to myself that I can use a mouth call (not easy if you haven’t tried it!) and can get into shotgun range of a gobbler with relative ease. There’s a sense of satisfaction when a turkey responds to your calls and comes in to check out what the fuss is all about. And, there’s nothing like the feeling of the hair standing up on the back of your neck as the echo of the first morning gobble rolls through the trees. When a majestic gobbler shows himself 40 yards away from you with his long beard dragging on the ground as he pecks for food, your heart goes from 60 bpm to 160 bpm in about 1 beat! That alone is worth the price of admission.

My season was late this year and it was after all the hens had been mated and moved to their nests. This caused a unique challenge because the toms were a little confused as to why a hen would be calling them. Part of my strategy was to set up my blind between their roost and feeding grounds and hope to ambush one as he walked by. As often happens in turkey hunting, the turkeys did pretty much the opposite of everything I anticipated, with one exception.

Kristin keeping warm in the blind

On the first night of my season I was in a blind with my wife Kristin and Andy Loos from Hunt Fish TV We were glassing a couple of deer across the field when my wife spotted a hen out in front of us. A few minutes later 5 jakes (young males) filed out next to our blind at about 10 yards. I passed on the opportunity to shoot a jake (a decision I later regretted), but had a blast getting that close to so many birds and sharing the experience with my wife. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to her for allowing me to spend as much time in the field as I did this year. She understands my passion for hunting and was so supportive she even came along to my first ever Wisconsin turkey camp at Potter’s Swamp in Pepin, WI. Most of my friends cringe at the thought of having their spouse in any of their hunting camps; for me it was the highlight of the season. I think the biggest challenge I’ll have in the future is convincing her that turkey camp is something I should do on my own;.I wouldn’t be surprised to see her next year in a blind chasing a gobbler herself;she’s starting to understand the obsession. She also experienced a unique hunting-camp meal that only a man could plan/prepare: meat with a side of meat, and meat appetizers, followed by more meat. (Venison and smoked pheasant appetizer, beef sirloin with a caribou steak on the side). There may have been some fruit (wine) and vegetables (potatoes) involved as well. Not a very balanced meal but damn good!

Our group at turkey camp with our trophies!

So, another turkey season has come and gone, but this one won’t soon be forgotten. Thanks to all those you helped make it a great season. A special thank you to Durk Stark from Kicking Bear One-on-One for the invite to Potter's Swamp and to Andy Loos for filming me and Kristin for a couple of days. Also, thanks to Bill "the Man About the Woods" Sherck for setting me up on prime hunting ground in my backyard! I can’t wait until next year but fishing and deer season should help distract me until next spring. Best Regards: -MJP