After not hearing a thing between 8 and 10, I got up to stalk. It felt good to move my limbs and I was able to admire the dramatic landscape. I made my way along some game trails along the N of a spur jutting out to CR22 from the location of my blind. I went no farther than a large boulder perched fairly close to but well above the road. In hindsight I marvel at how this puppy may come crashing down one day, rolling onto CR22. I'd rather not be below at that time.
Then I climbed back up keeping to the S of the spur. Interesting to see the difference between the N and the south slopes, the N having been logged many years ago, as evidenced by many moss-covered tree stumps and woodpiles. The logging seemed to have been quite inefficient and wasteful, some of the logs were at least a 50 cm across.
I did notice that most of the area was infested with poison ivy (Toxidendron radicans), just beginning to peep through the leaf litter, just like some fist-sized morel mushrooms (Morchella esculenta). Unfortunately, the latter were a bit past their prime, otherwise I would have gladly bagged them in lieu of a turkey.
We came out of the woods around noon, again heading for the Redwood Cafe for lunch. Merrill joined us. After lunch we chose Bee Creek which flows south into Iowa as our fishing spot for today. The water was crystal clear and there were a lot of rises. After a few tries I ended up with a size 14 royal coachman parachute fly. It brought a lot of hits, but the trout were spitting out the flies as soon as they took them, I ended up with a single smallish trout. Jim had a similar experience with the nymphs he used but he caught a few more. However, we greatly enjoyed the scenic, almost park-like riverbank on the Bee.
This was the day that I decided to relocate. I went down the logging road into the valley only to find that I couldn’t find a good spot to set up my blind. There was a steep ridge on the left side of the road and a huge drop off on the right side. So I just did the best I could right there in the middle of the logging road. I heard lots of gobbling, but most exciting, I heard a turkey drop down from a tree behind me (a huge crash!). I tried to stay motionless, but after a long time, I just had to assume that the critter had moved to territory that he knew was safer. The gobbling that entertained me for at least 1 and ½ hours was exciting, but no way could I call the birds in. They were on the other side of the valley and were certainly not going to travel the distance to introduce themselves to the hen that I was trying to imitate. Truly a great morning in the woods, though.
ReplyDeleteBee Creek?????? I’m ready to go back anytime. Should we call in SIK someday and head south?
Day 4: Our last 4 hours in the woods. It was great! Lots of gobbling but no “sightings”. I was at the pond again. And this time, it was a real thrill. I didn’t see any turkeys, but I was visited by three beautiful deer. One by one they walked past my blind (less that 25 feet away), knowing well that a human was somewhere in the vicinity. Their noses picked up my scent and left them very pensive. They stood in front of me, looking right at me, but because of my camouflage clothing they could not see me. This absolutely wonderful experience lasted at least 10 (maybe 15) minutes. It’s great to be a man of the out-or-doors!
Can’t wait until next spring! In the meantime, let’s see if we can get together for some trout fishing this summer. Bee Creek and Crooked Creek are always options. So are the Kinnikinnic and the Rush Rivers in Wisconsin. In fact, they even closer! Let’s look for that “window of opportunity”.