— WINNEBAGO, NEB. — Although spring officially arrived March 20, winter still clings stubbornly to northeast Nebraska.
Slivers of snow can be seen in steep ravines and drifts continue to clog some of the less-traveled rural roads.
That these winter vestiges remain is a testament to the several feet of snow that blanketed this part of the state in the wake of several heavy snowstorms that began in late December.
Nevertheless, come March, the wild turkeys will do what wild turkeys are inclined to do at this time of year. And that is to engage in a little woodland hanky-panky, all in the name of procreation.
Or so I hoped as I carefully picked my way through the darkened timber recently in the red glow of my headlamp.
March 27 marked the opening day of the early wild turkey season on the Winnebago Reservation in northeast Nebraska.
The early-season hunt is a two-edged sword. On one hand, the birds have yet to be hunted and in theory, ought to be a little less call-wary.
On the other, many of the birds tend to be flocked up this early in the season, which can make it difficult to call one within shotgun range.
And then there’s the weather.
Early season weather can be not-so-spring-like and while the March 27 forecast was hardly wintery, morning temperatures in the 30s and a forecast of a cold rain weren’t exactly shouting spring.
Both conditions tend to put a damper on a gobbler’s ardor, making him much more difficult to entice into shotgun range.
In the later season, which opens in late April, the birds are a bit more educated and wary of hunters, but the weather is much more pleasant, and as the hens begin to nest, the gobblers are more inclined to respond to calls.
Finally settled into a ground blind with a loaded shotgun across my lap, a few barred owls began laughing from the ridge-tops in the morning half-light.
Several distant toms awoke and gobbled with gusto. An even more encouraging sign, one tom gobbled a hundred yards away on the next ridge.
I gave a few quiet yelps with a slate call, just to let him know there was some prospective action just a short strut away.
Evidently, he had already hooked up with hens. When he flew down, his gobbles grew fainter as he headed the other direction.
Forty-five minutes later, the woods had grown quiet. For the next several hours my calls, even those of passing crows, were met with silence.
Then, on par with the forecast, it began to rain. A few drops quickly settled into a steady cadence that drummed on the blind’s fabric roof.
Somewhere out there, the birds undoubtedly were going about their spring ritual of procreation but it was becoming clear that, at least for this hunter, it was game-over.
In spite of all my layers, the damp, chilly weather began to seep into my arms and legs. I packed up my gear, folded up the rain-soaked blind, and hiked back to the truck through the woods that looked more like November than late March.
Today, March 28, the forecast is calling for sunshine and warmer temperature. Game-on!
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John Cross is a Mankato Free Press staff writer. Contact him at (507) 344-6376 or jcross@mankatofreepress.com.
