King Mackerel, also called Kingfish make there way up and down the coast ofFloridaand depending upon where in the state you are you can be pretty sure about what time of year the King Fish run in your area will take place. In the summer months the northern Gulf of Mexico and areas near the panhandle will have good numbers of fish, while during the winter monthsSouth Floridaand the Keys are prime King Mackerel fishing regions.

These members of the Tuna family are great fighters and I can definitely confirm from my first ever King Mackerel hook up that they will peel line off your reel at an amazing speed. Because the are usually found in good numbers and in relatively shallow water (60-250’) off South East Florida’s reefs and wrecks, (the gulf side might require a bit more running to find deeper water and structure) they are a very popular quarry.  Trolling and drifting baits are the most common methods to catch King Mackerel with live bait fishing being my favorite.

Noah Van Hochman with a Florida King Mackerel

Trolling spoons or feathers rigged with Ballyhoo are generally the most used methods but rigging the ballyhoo properly is the key to being successful using this method.  It is vital that the bait resembles a fish swimming normally and not spinning. There are many products on the market that can assist you in getting a rigged bait out with a natural action or you can also buy pre-rigged frozen ballyhoo and just put a skirt (plastic or nylon covering) over it. Spoons and other types of deep running lures can work as well. Many people use planers, downriggers or various types of weights to work different areas of the water column when trolling. You can also troll live baits, but its very important to remember that you are now slow trolling for Kingfish and may even consider bumping your engine into neutral from time to time to let the bait swim and drop a bit deeper. When trolling or live baiting for Kings you also have the chance of catching numerous other types of game fish including sailfish, Dolphin and lots of other fun creatures.

Since I mostly do catch and release fishing when it comes to King Mackerel, I prefer to use a 2/0 to 3/0 circle hook, this can vary a bit depending upon the size of the fish that have been reported but it allows me to pretty much let the fish hook itself and is much easier to unhook as well.  It’s very important to use a few a length of wire leader to your hook, at least 6-12 inches (although people prefer even longer) as Kings are known for their razor sharp teeth. Connect the wire to your monofilament with a small barrel swivel.  If you are drifting dead Ballyhoo then just try and hook the bait through both lips or sideways through the bony part of the nose after you have snipped off the beak. The key is to have it drift naturally and almost like a wounded baitfish. If you are using live baits such as Pilchard, Pinfish or the like, the three most common hooking points are through the lips, sideways through the nose or just in back of the where the gills and body merge underneath. Keeping this bait lively and swimming is key. Some people like to place what’s called a stinger hook on a piece of wire attached to the main hook and then into the bait near the tail for fish that bite short.  Since I practice catch and release, I’m not a big fan of this method.

These fish can range anywhere from a few pounds over 50 lbs so the range of tackle used can be wide. My preference is to use pretty much anything that can handle a good amount of 20-30 lb test line. Some people prefer heavier spinning rods while others like more conventional type tackle. With the stronger thinner lines available now no matter what your choice you should be able to have enough line to handle deep diving fish without sacrificing strength. If the fish seem to be finicky you can try lighter leaders and shorter wire. For trolling a good 30lb class outfit should serve you nicely.

Be careful if you are bringing a fish on board as their teeth are razor sharp!

To find fish, just always keep searching the horizon for birds diving on bait, this is always a good sign that fish are near. Tide lines and changes in water color are also a great place to try. Just remember to take notice of the depth, direction and area your are fishing when you do hook a fish as King Mackerel are likely to hold over a certain structure or water feature. Keep an eye on the GPS fish/depth finder so you can return to a spot that is producing and better understand the patter that is working. The same goes for drifting baits at certain depths and bottom will hold more fish.

Lastly, be very careful when unhooking or gaffing these fish as we have stated they have incredibly sharp teeth and can get a bit nutty when brought on board. Many a fisherman has suffered a nasty injury from a berserk Kingfish. These fish are great sport and reasonable table fare but not my first choice, great when smoked which is why large Kings are called smokers. If you want to get out and try some entry level off shore fishing of the coast ofFlorida, King Mackerel are a great way to begin.

Hunting seasons in South Florida can be a difficult proposition for a newcomer, as much of the public land is overrun by hunters, many of whom are seasoned veterans. To be fortunate enough to apply for, and win a drawing for a quota hunt permit for most species and seasons is like playing the lottery and can be very frustrating. I had to think of something that would be filled with adventure and excitement, yet would be an experience that would make a newbie want to learn more about the sport and lifestyle. It also had to be simple and easy, with some greater chance of success than that of sending a person who just purchased their first shotgun into the woods to hunt an Osceola Turkey on their own. It came to me as I was looking through some pictures of my favorite past hunts and saw a few pictures of a hunt I had done last year thru Boarsight Outdoors. A Wild Hog hunt is about as exciting as it gets!

Either with a swamp buggy or spot and stalk for more experienced hunters, nothing beats the excitment of a South Florida hog hunt.

South Florida is overrun with wild pigs and many landowners will lease out the hunting rights to their property to outfitters, for a fee and the chance to curb the massive destruction done by these animals. Although I’m a bit of a purist when it comes to hunting and rarely hunt with dogs or guns, I always jump at the opportunity to go after Wild Hogs. The adrenaline rush of riding in a swamp buggy while specially trained dogs search the palmetto thickets to find the pigs is incredible. This is the perfect type of hunt for those who are just beginning and need the supervision of a qualified guide and are not ready or willing to be sitting in a tree or blind an hour before first light.

Two phone calls later and my buddy and I were all set for a Wild Pig hunt just outside of Okeechobee, Florida on what turned out to be a spectacular Sunday morning. There was a chill in there air when we arrived and were greeted by Blaine, who would be our guide for the day. Blaine was a very personal fellow with a great laugh who taken part in a team rodeo event just the night before, but still was ready and willing to be part of our adventure. I was so happy with Boarsight Outdoors for being able to put this together with a great guide on such short notice. So after getting the dogs into the buggy and giving Jack some last minute instructions we were off to the lush thickets and Cyprus Hammocks where we would hunt. Of course Blaine and I couldn’t help the good-natured ribbing of our new hunter Jack and his SWAT team style shotgun.

Before I go any further I’d like to say that setting up a hunt with an outfitter such as Boarsight Outdoors is the perfect introduction to hunting in South Florida. It’s difficult for a new person to get started and with these guys Hunters of any level are welcome. You can use whatever weapon you choose within reason, there are even those who like to live on the edge and go after Wild Boar with a spear. These guys really go out of their way to make it an enjoyable experience, whether you are alone or making it a family outing. Kids love to sit and watch all the excitement from atop a swamp buggy and learn as they observe. Bob Cain has often arranged for me to simulate my other big game hunts by setting me up in a tree stand with my bow or .308 at O’dark-thirty in the morning to practice well in advance of any specific hunting trips I may be considering. Since Hogs may be taken on private property all year long they are the perfect game for not only sharpening your skills but to add tasty meat to the freezer as well. The guide will skin and quarter your animal right there so be sure to bring a big cooler!

We weren’t quite sure weather Jack was Hog hunting or getting ready to raid Bin Laden’s compound!

Okay, back to the hunt. We were cruising in the buggy watching the dogs work the dense brush when all of a sudden they started howling! A large boar broke out of the brush and Jack was out of the buggy in a flash and in perfect position for a shot. The dogs were barking…Jack had his finger on the trigger…the boar was now only 10 yards away and had to pass him to get to safety! Jack had the boar in his sights, the boar had Jack in his sights…Jack then began to squeeze the trigger and brace himself for his first shot at a angry Wild boar…we waited for the shot with the anticipation of watching Jack harvest the pig, then… Nothing! With the classic rookie mistake of forgetting to take the safety off, we watched a 150lb hog run by Jack, run through the palmetto, through the fence line and just keep going. We reassured him that he was not the first person to make this error and it was better than the other classic rookie mistake of forgetting to load the gun.

It wasn’t much longer before the dogs had found another large Hog deep in the brush and shortly after that with a big bang my good friend had taken his first Wild Pig. The look on his face was priceless, and he learned of the elation and sorrow that only a hunter that has harvested an animal can feel. My buddy has now asked me to schedule another hunt and is bringing along another friend who has never hunted before. This other friend is also at the range every week practicing with guns that would never see the light of day without South Florida Hog hunts.

Hey Even the Outdoors Guy can’t resist taking one for the Smoker!

Outfitters such as Boarsight Outdoors can schedule all types of hunts, from year round hog hunts to Spring Turkey, as well as Alligators and exotics. I love the Hog hunts as they are relatively inexpensive, can be done with any weapons at any time you and your friends feel the need to have an adventure, while filling the freezer with excellent meat. With the abundance of Wild pigs in South Florida, Bob Cain and John Slick of Boarsight Outdoors have also been able to set up unique hunts to offer me the opportunity to practice long range shooting to practice for my Fall Wyoming Antelope hunts. If you are itching to get out and use that assault weapon that never sees the outside of your neighborhood range, or want that extraordinary adventure for the entire family, or just can’t wait for the fall hunting season to begin. Give these guys a call, because when everyone else is sitting behind their computer or lying on their recliner watching television…We Are Out There!

Protecting your eyes from the harmful effects of the sun requires a bit of understanding of just what you are protecting yourself from as much as selecting the perfect pair for you. I have tried many different brands, shapes and lenses and have always found myself picking the Costa Del Mar brand. They have been with me high in the Himalayas of Nepal as well as Surfing in Costa Rica and of course all over my home state of Florida. The Tuna Alley model seems to cover all of my needs. In addition to being very stylish, one of my concerns was coverage, and just as scientists are telling us that we should wear sunscreen whenever we go outdoors, it’s also vitally important to protect not only the eye itself but the sensitive tissue around it as well. The large frame of the Tuna Alley does just that.

When I’m fishing on the boat or skiing in the winter, the polarized lenses on the Tuna Alley are perfect for reducing the glare from reflected sunlight coming off the water or snow. I also love them for long drives too as they filter out the sunlight bouncing off the highway causing my eyes to tire quickly. Another feature of the Tuna Alley model that I really like their patented vent system which helps keep these shades from fogging during some of my most strenuous activities.

The UV filtering capabilities of the 580G blue mirror lenses that I chose are perfect for my offshore adventures. The color of your lenses should coincide with the activities that you will be engaging in the majority of your time outdoors. The Sun’s UV radiation can cause a multitude of medical issues ranging from cataracts to photokeratitis (aka: snow blindness). Many Doctors suggest that long term exposure to ultra-violet radiation from the sun can due cumulative damage to your eyes and that just as you should begin using sunscreens starting at a young age, so should you also wear protective sunglasses.

The bottom line is that you need to protect your eyes from the harmful effects of the sun. You need to have the best vision possible to really enjoy whatever outdoor activities you choose. Why take chances with the only set of eyes you will ever have. The Tuna Alley Model by Costa del Mar are perfect for all your outdoor needs, just choose the lenses that best fit your lifestyle and remember that you can either live your life behind your computer, Flat-screen television or Smart Phone, or get out there and enjoy!

Important Info on the Tuna Alley Blackout from Costa Del Mar!

•Lightweight, impact-resistant polycarbonate lenses
•Blocks yellow light
•Repels water and oils
•100% UV protection
•Durable nylon frame
•Patented vented system
•Integral hinges
•Manufacturer’s lifetime warranty

Costa’s Tuna Alley 580P Polarized Sunglasses feature a durable nylon frame with integral hinges and a patented vented system. Impact-resistant polycarbonate lenses repel water and oils, and feature 580 technology to block yellow light and enhance reds, blues, and greens for sharper clarity and greater definition. Costa sunglasses are backed by a manufacturer’s lifetime warranty. Imported.

How to choose your Costa lenses:
Heighten your visual acuity with a lens color that suits your outdoor needs.
Amber is an excellent all-around lens color that delivers the brightest field of vision; a great choice for sight fishing, driving and everyday activities where high contrast is needed.
Gray maintains color saturation and natural contrast in medium to bright sun conditions; a good all-around pick that’s great for water or land sports.

This light-weight device is very simple to use and I either clip it to my pack or wear it on my arm whenever I feel I need that little bit extra sense of security. Many people tell me that they see no point in it because their cell phone is their means of contact if a problem arises. It’s a lot of fun to see them scurrying about trying to get that elusive cell signal when in marginal areas, or really start getting nervous when we are fishing offshore and their smart phone becomes nothing more than an MP3 player. As long as I have a good view of the sky I am relatively certain that within a few minutes I’ll have acquired a satellite signal and can send my location and a preset message to family and friends or call in the Calvary should the situation become dire.

My most used function on the Spot 2 is the Check-in function that allows me to send the aforementioned preprogrammed message and current location to specific individuals. I also like the similar custom message function that is basically a secondary check-in feature. I used this function to let my brother know that I am OK and on schedule along with my GPS position. Although these two functions are similar, you can basically use them to send different messages to up to 10 different contacts. These messages can be sent to their email, as a text message to their phone or both along with your waypoint at that particular time.

To let a greater number of friends know where I am and what I am up to I can also link to Facebook and Twitter, reminding the masses that while they are sitting behind their keyboards and smart phones, “ I am out there!” This Spot Track Progress feature allows pretty much anyone I want to see my locations on a Google Map.

Sometimes, you get yourself into a non-life threatening situation that really doesn’t require calling out Search and Rescue but you definitely need a bit of assistance; clicking the help button will let specific land or water based service providers of your location and send help.

The Outdoors Guy playing it safe offshore with the Spot 2

If you are in a life-threatening situation pressing the SOS button will alert closest emergency responders worldwide through the GEOS Emergency Response Center. You can rest assured that if a situation arises where you need immediate help, it’s available.

A few people might suggest that they would not want to pay a service to utilize this product and that their cell phones are okay for their needs, but I feel that the abilities of the Spot 2 far outweigh the nominal yearly fee and the peace of mind I get by knowing it’s there makes my travels much more enjoyable. My family has always been a bit concerned by my extreme adventure lifestyle, and although I cannot completely make them feel at ease, the Spot 2 gives them a greater degree of peace of mind, knowing that they can pinpoint where I am and that I am always within a button click of help.

What is Geocaching you ask? Well, basically it is a high tech treasure hunt that utilizes GPS (global positioning system) enabled devices. You know that voice in your car that tells you when to make a turn and how far you are form your destination? That is utilizing GPS technology. Geocaching is using hand held devices that assists you to navigate to a specific set of coordinates where someone else has hidden a geocache. The geocache itself need not be anything elaborate and quite frequently is nothing more than a waterproof container such as Tupperware or old used 35mm film canisters, which are called micro-caches. The may contain nothing more than a pencil and paper for you to record your name and the date you found the treasure or they may contain a various assortment of goodies. The rule of thumb when taking something from a geocache container is to place something else of equal or greater value in return. You can then go home and comment on your find and log it in your account on a geocache-listing site. It is at these listing sites that you can obtain the list of coordinates of geocaches that are in your area. Geocaching is a worldwide adventure so even if you are traveling you can enjoy the thrill of the hunt.

Geocaches can be anything form amo boxes to Tupperware to used film cannisters!

If you really get into the world of Geocaching you may consider leaving personalized trinkets for others to find and move around the world, taking one thing from one geocache while leaving a trinket taken from a different geocache somewhere else. Items called Geocoins and Travel Bugs are known as ‘hitchhikers” and are commonly moved from one place to another. On the listing sites you will be able to see when the last person to find that geocache logged it in and what the condition of that cache is. Geocaching began to increase in popularity near the same time that the movie “Harry Potter” became popular so those non Geocachers’ mulling about while you are on the hunt are referred to as ‘muggles’ and a vandalized cache is said to have been muggled or plundered.

I started with the Garmin eTrex and now have both this DeLOrme PN40 and a Garmin Oregon.

The great thing about Geocaching is that it really doesn’t cost a great deal of money to get started, in fact many of the smart phones on the market today are equipped with GPS and there are many mobile apps for these phones that can be easily downloaded. Any of the major outdoor and camping stores will have a wide variety of GPS units to choose from so you really need to just concern yourself with your budget and what features are most important for you and your area. Some important factors to ask the sales person are how quickly the GPS unit acquires the satellite signals. It’s no fun to be standing in a field waiting for your GPS to be ready to get you right on the spot. Another factor that I feel is very important is battery life, its easy to carry extra batteries with you, but with most electronics, the longer the battery life the heavier the unit.
Finally make sure that you can read the screen well. Numbers will be changing and many units have the ability to download detailed maps so screen size and clarity is of the utmost importance. Make sure your Handheld GPS is waterproof as I have gotten caught in rainstorms and fallen in puddles more times than I care to remember.

If you have any preferences on which handheld GPS unit you feel is best for newbies up to advanced please feel free to voice your opinions here as enquiring minds need to know!

Whether to go for Hollow points or soft points will depend on what your purpose is. Hollow points are quick expanding bullets, but due to this they will not penetrate as deeply as soft points. Hollow points will also cause sever tissue damage which may be of concern to those who are harvesting game strictly for table fare. They have incredible stopping power for most game but would not be my first choice when hunting especially tough animals such as wild pigs, as the it may not penetrate deep enough to hit any vital organs. A big hog or bear might get back up and you then need to take additional shots to put it down for good and thereby destroying even more meat. I also should remind you that pissed off bears and hogs are not especially fond of getting shot and can turn on you in an instant. Smaller game animals are not great quarry for hollow points either, also for the reason of too much tissue damage on any game heading to the frying pan. If you were a farmer and merely trying to rid your land of problem animals, etc, then you would not be worrying about the meat but more about stopping power.

.44 mag soft point and hollow point that I commonly use for Wild Hog

Okay, so you have a lot of very general information, but a reasonably simple explanation of the difference between a hollow point bullet and a soft point. The first thing to remember is that either bullet will do the job if you are proficient with your gun. Velocity, how many grain bullet and distance all come into play in some fashion but that is why we practice and learn. What is perfect for one hunter may not be the ammo or gun of choice for another. Those using their weapons for self-defense or those in the military and law enforcement may also choose differently depending on their needs and conditions.

My person choices as someone that shoots wild boar in the swamps from within 50 yards is to go with the soft point in order to penetrate the tough hide, muscle and bone of the evil beasties, but I practice enough to hit where I aim and am patient enough to wait for my shot. Smaller animals I may choose to go hollow point and for those critters that I want to fill my freezer, probably go with soft point. Listen, you may choose otherwise, but generally speaking you won’t go wrong with this philosophy. Get out there, hunt, learn and have a great time. Let us know what your preferences are as a comment to this article.

Those who have made hiking trips of more than a few days understand that it is not all a bed of roses, for all the talk of beautiful sunsets and sunrises, the waterfalls, spectacular views and great experiences along the trail, there are the also the tales aching knees that no aspirin can cure, the insects that make you want to jump off a cliff and the mornings that you just can’t seem to get out of your sleeping bag. I remember a trek in the Himalayas on the route to Everest base camp, I wouldn’t have traded it for anything, but along the way, at times I just wanted to survive it. For everything that is worthwhile, it seems you always have to take the good with the bad. I’ve read somewhere that the vast majority of those who being a thru hike finish it. This is not a camping trip, it is a hiking adventure. For those merely taking a week out their busy schedules to hike a portion of the Appalachian Trail, it’s still hard! Its not like you can check into a motel 8 if the weather turns bad, be prepared, always be prepared.

When preparing for your Appalachian Trail adventure, don’t go into it without training. Spend a few weeks walking on relatively flat ground with a light pack to get the feel of it. Adjust the straps and other components to give you the most comfortable positions. As you get closer to your hike add some weight to the pack and find some hilly areas to walk. By the time you are ready to go you should feel comfortable with a full pack and able to walk uphill relatively easily. If you are not prepared and push too hard early in the hike you may develop overly sore muscles and blisters, which can make the adventure feel like a trip through purgatory. Start your trip easy to ensure that you have enough left in the tank to finish.

As you get more acclimated to the trail and you own abilities, you can gradually increase the pace, but here is a good piece of information, if at all possible, hike with other that are of your own level. No one wants to fall too far behind or have to slow down too much to wait for others. It’s always a great idea to set goals for the day and adjust these goals depending on conditions, such as weather, injuries or the all too frequent, unexpected incident. Realize that you may have to hike through inclement weather and sore muscles.

The Appalachian Trail is a spectacular hike, not only will you get the chance to see magnificent scenery but an abundance of wildlife as well. It’s a smart idea to become familiar with the flora and fauna of the area you will be covering and what types of creatures to avoid. If you really want to see some incredible wildlife then you must be on the move at the same time they are, most commonly early in the morning and first light. Yes, there is a chance that you will see bears, but for the most part, they will leave you alone if you do the same to them. Just don’t startle or surprise them on the trail and don’t leave food open in and around your tent, that’s like a neon deli sign to a bear. Many people carry bear spray, but I feel its just extra weight and fairly unnecessary if you just use common sense, and can run faster than those you are hiking with, Just Kidding!not really).

Typical Portion of the AT

This is a hike that you want to have fun with, don’t be concerned with anyone’s habits but your own. Find a good pace and enjoy it. Before you set out on your journey do some research and find out where the shelters are along the trail in the areas you will be hiking. Although occasionally crowded and musty they can be a great port in a storm. Check by distance and elevation on the Appalachian Trail where these shelters are located to find them. You can also find via the Internet, food re-supply locations, but make sure you know how far off the AT they are. All in all, prepare well and you will have a great Hiking trip!

After visiting some websites on the subject and watching several YouTube videos on panning for gold I decided it was time to go for it. Well, going for it as much as I could for the moment. I came across a website called Addictedtogold.com that offered great paydirt and reasonable prices. Paydirt! I recognized that term from the gold mining shows, it’s the actual dirt that that one digs out of the ground in hopes it contains gold. Now I’m not a complete moron, I’m not the type to by a deed to the Brooklyn Bridge or anything so I did a bit of research and found that AddictedtoGold.com had done quite a bit of business on eBay and other online sites and enjoyed a very high feedback rating. I’m also not naive enough to think someone is going to sell me something that I can get rich on and not keep it for them self, but I did think that I could have some great fun, relax and learn a new hobby, and that’s exactly what happened!

Don’t expect to find this amount of Gold Flakes in one pan of online dirt! But this is about the size you may find.

OK, so now picture this, there I am sitting on my front porch placing scoopfuls of paydirt into my gold pan and going through the motions that I saw while watching gold mining shows like “Gold Rush” and “Bering Sea Gold.” I was having a blast! My neighbors were thinking I was a bit insane by now as every so often they’d here me shouting Eureka! Something that I learned after just a few hours of panning is that you need to find a comfortable position when bending over your pan as it took me almost as long to straighten myself out as it did to find the days gold, which by now was almost enough for a cheeseburger at MacDonald’s…on cheap burger day. But that was not the point, I was finding gold and relaxing and learning how to separate gold from dirt. I was practicing for going out and finding my own claim.

When you pan out all the dirt you are usually left with some black sand and hopefully a bit of GOLD!

So, now that I know how to pan the stuff, I started accumulating more equipment for prospecting and practicing with more paydirt and running the old dirt through various other apparatus. I have also decided to join a gold prospecting club to meet other like-minded folks and perhaps make a few new friends along the way. I hear they have some great outings!

Just a quick note about the neighbors who were so quick to look at me like I was a crazy man; well it’s amazing what putting some barbed wire around a hole in my front yard with a shovel and sign saying “claim jumpers will be shot” can do, not to mention the several phone calls I received this week about where they can get a gold pan of their own!

It’s a lot easier these days to get a great lay of the land as the Internet and programs such as Google Earth can give you a great idea of possible hot spots where the Wild Turkey may want to roost, or even where they may want to go during various times of the day. This can be especially helpful if you are hunting public land and can see the probable entry points less experienced hunters who will invariably push many birds to where you can lie in wait. There is however no substitute for boots on the ground and the ability to read sign and deduce potential patterns. Get comfortable with that area if possible, knowing the terrain, water sources, types of trees and wind patterns for certain times of the year. This all should be done well in advance of the actual Wild Turkey season. Driving around the area, if possible is a great way to cover distance and with the use of a good pair of binoculars allow you to find birds and determine a ratio of Gobblers, Jakes and Hens in that flock. Remember that Jakes quite often like to associate in small bachelor groups.

Take your time and enjoy the day, as the area you are in may be showing dozens of birds at one time of the day while looking barren just an hour or two later. I once noticed group of Osceola Turkey in Florida showing up just before noon in a particular field just before the season opened. I created a brush blind and on opening day sat there for an hour until my very punctual friends showed up on the opposite site of the field and worked their way right to me. I didn’t use a Turkey decoy or Turkey call, I just waited and within 45 minutes noticing them, had a nice bird.

Look for scat, feathers and scratching under trees that may be used for roosting

If you know you are in an area that has a flock of Turkey, spend some time patrolling the woods for sign. A sure sign of a tree that is popular for roosting will have Turkey droppings and feathers scattered below the branches of the tree. Mark this tree on your GPS so you can find it on an aerial map and be able to get stealthily near it when it comes time to hunt. Even before the season begins it’s a great idea to sit a few hundred yards away in the morning to hear any gobblers that may be vocalizing at first light. You may also hear them actually flying down as well. You can also do the same in the evening just before dark to hear or see birds that may be heading to those trees to roost. Just don’t get so close that the Turkey then may begin to see this area as dangerous.

Strolling through the woods you need to keep your eye out for areas that have been scratched by Turkey looking for food. An area that has leaves on the ground that have been pulled back by birds feeding on bugs and grubs is actually quite easy to spot and usually will have a good number of tracks as well. Remember that scouting in the summer when insects and corn, etc are plentiful may be a bit easier than scouting in early spring, but remember Turkeys are eating all year long, so adjust your scouting a little bit as needed for the time of year. Scouting a week or two before the season should give you an excellent idea of their current pattern and allow you choose an area for your Turkey Blind. Although Wild Turkey tend to use the same trails and patterns in the Spring as they do in the Fall, keep in mind any changes in food availability, water, construction and adjust accordingly.

Okay, we covered enough to give you a good idea about the habits and patterns of the elusive Wild Turkey, however there is one more tactic to employ and could quite possibly be the most important of all. The night before you are going to hunt it is a good idea to get to the woods an hour or so before dark and do a bit of watching and listening.

More than likely knowing where a flock of Turkeys are roosting for the evening will give you a great idea of where they will be at first light. “Putting the Birds to Bed” as it is most often called is the method that allows you to be set up in a blind or close proximity to where the birds will fly down in the morning. As dusk falls in the woods you should be listening for the beat of wings as the birds fly up into their roosting tree. This is a sound that once you hear it, you will never mistake it for anything else. Keep an eye open for birds coming in from an unexpected angle. If they are on the ground and you can see them, then more than likely they can see you too, so stay still and wait for dark before leaving. You may also listen for Gobbles, yelps, purrs and all other Turkey sounds coming from a particular spot seemingly without changing distance. Once it’s dark, it’s a good bet they are in the roost for the night.

Wild Turkey Scat

Try and get to the Turkey woods about an hour before first light and slowly make your way to either your blind or another good spot to wait. If you plan on using decoys, make certain you set them out with as little motion or noise as possible. Try and walk to your blind in the shadows along a tree line as well. This is especially important if it’s a clear morning with a bright moon. Then listen and look, because if everything goes well, you’ll be at the diner about 30-60 minutes after sunup having a cup of coffee and telling tall tales about your Spring Turkey hunting adventure.

Hunting GPS Maps provides a chip that goes easily in most Garmin gps devices that have color screens and expandable memory, in my case the Garmin Montana 650t hand held gps. This bit of technology not only allowed me to determine which areas were public or private land, but it helped me find smaller parcels of public land which hunters without this chip would never have known about. It was on one of these smaller, lesser-known blocks of state land that we harvested a beautiful Wyoming Pronghorn Antelope.
 

Noah Hochman with a Wyoming Antelope with an assist to the HuntingGPSmaps chip finding this public land

During one of our morning hunts, my buddy and I noticed a cloud of dust and flashing colored lights coming towards us on an old dirt road. Within minutes we saw the officers leading 2 other hunters towards their vehicle. It seems that not all land is created equal, and much public land is not a perfect square! Our Hunting GPS Maps chip kept us from making a fatal error; it accurately showed us where we where in relation to private land that may have had an irregular shape. The other guys were not so lucky and more than likely paid a hefty fine for trespassing on the land that we had considered hunting before purchasing the chip. I actually think that the cost of the fine would have more than surpassed the cost of the chip…and my GPS!

The Hunting GPS Chip can also assist you prior to your hunt as it can give you a better understanding of not only which land is public and private, but allow you to find newer or easier access points to that land. You need only plug the chip into a computer or card reader to view the maps and create a plan of action for your hunt.  After the hunt you can also plug the chip in and view any waypoints you logged, which are invaluable for future reference and scouting.

We found an out of the way piece of public land that ultimately led to a successful hunt

Just like the guy with the British accent trying to sell you something on late night Television I get to say, “But wait! We’re not done!” Along with additional features such as topographical maps, trails, roads and much, much more the folks at HuntersGpsMaps.com also added property owner’s names and property boundaries. This came in very handy one morning as we had met a father and son sitting in their car by the side of the road staring at about a dozen Antelope about a ¼ mile into private land. The little boy, who was about 14 years old looked like he was getting sadder by the minute. Now here is a very cool feature of this product, I saw the land owners name and matched it with a sheet provided by the local hunter’s information center that had the phone numbers of land owners who will allow hunter’s to trespass in order to hunt for a fee. We outlined a route for them to take on their paper map, and having done our good deed for the day, we continued our quest to hunt only public land. There are occasional updates which are great as land can change hands frequently.

Now I’m not completely saying that this bit of technology is going to take the place of a professional Guide or outfitter, after all, you still need to know how the animals move, where they want to go and other crucial factors, but the people at HuntingGPSmaps.com have definitely made it easier for the average Joe to get out on his own a bit and learn on the fly. This year I’ll be back in Wyoming for Antelope, perhaps Montana for Elk, or any number of species that I never attempted because I didn’t know where to hunt on my own. If you are the kind of guy that just wants to get out there but can only afford to hunt public land, this is an invaluable tool. If you have permission to hunt private land you can easily see the boundaries and perhaps keep away from the border with public land. I used that method to sit and wait for the masses hunting Osceola Turkey in Florida to push a flock of birds into the private ranch I had access to. Do it yourself hunts are just one of the many reasons this chip is so useful, but there is something also to be said for just plain old knowing exactly where you are and where you shouldn’t be!

HuntingGPSmaps.com