4-17-2012 Tue

4-17-2012 Tue
6:15 AM – 8:00 AM – Turkey Hunting
12:00 PM – 8:00 PM - Fishing
Weather: (0653) E5, clear, 32˚, 30.33 rising
(1653) S 9, a few clouds, 58˚, 30.22 falling
Location: Trempealeau, WI (hunting), Nelson, WI (fishing)
Bagged: 21 pound gobbler
Caught: Pike (22) 17 – 34”, LMB (6) 13 – 19 “
Partners: None

Comments

The hunting that I did yesterday in the brutal wind, paid off today! I got to my spot a little after daylight and to my disappointment I heard no gobbling. I took a stroll down the hiking path and after about 10 minutes and a quarter of a mile I did hear a gobbler off in the distance. I set up in a clearing and hoped the bird eventually would respond to my sorrowful turkey imitations and close the distance to my shotgun.
The original bird I set up on never did budge, but within a short while I did have a lone hen come in. After playing quiet with here when she was too close, she would eventually wonder off and then would come back all agitated after I would do the talk with my own turkey language. This call me and let me go routine went on for around a half hour. I was fearful she would bust me and the game with any other turkeys would abruptly end, but as long as she was helping me call I did not care.
While this was taking place with her I could also hear a jake and an occasional gobbler fairly close by. The distressed hen eventually left and I now had the full attention of the sparring jake and gobbler. It did take about one and a half hours but I eventually lured the old tom into shotgun range and silenced his voice with one shot.
Next on the days agenda was a fishing trip a couple of pools north of home. I was on the water and fishing by twelve o’clock. I had fished this area in the past and had done quite well on pike early in the season. I started out fishing my old tried and true spots, except they were not so true. The first two hours I virtually struck out. I was suspicious of the water clarity and not the mood of the fish. You see the last couple of days had been terribly windy and the large shallow wide open expanses of river bottoms had been vigorously shaken, which made the water clarity very poor. I was certain there were fish around but they were not seeing my bait or were just uninterested on account of the poor clarity of the water.
After a couple of unproductive hours I started exploring and once I found some clear water my fish catching rate skyrocketed. I fished hard all day and caught a respectable amount of fish, but I always think I should have done better.
The fish I caught early largely fell to spinner baits, but later in the day a Mann’s swim bait really made the pike fall prey to the hook. The fish were not overly active and I could safely say I missed at least half of the strikes I did have!

Observations:

As early as the spring started out I am very surprised that the aquatic vegetation has been in the no growth phase the past couple of weeks. I did see some lily pads on top of the surface, but there were not many. The blooms on the apple trees appear to be in their final stage.