|
Black Eagle Longbeards & Mother Nature
It's been a good long while since Mother Nature has been a hindrance to the outcome of one of my turkey hunts but this spring she tried pretty hard to ruin a great New England homecoming. I grew up not too far away in Vermont and when I contacted Joe Ciampa of Black Eagle Outfitters about making my way to Maine for a hunt, I may have forgotten how the New England weather changes at the drop of a hat and how quickly the behavior and patterns of these birds are affected when Mother Nature throws a wrench into my always spinning wheels.
Joe and I met and put a plan together for my first day and it would be calling softly in a food plot not far from his home and to be at McDonald's before the drive-thru opened.
Well. we had those birds hammering and my god it was all going well until the long beard circled the food plot and made his way up a road where Joe had suggested I
sit. (don't guide the guide I always say ...my bad on this one) a foolish decision on my part. Well, the morning drew darker and the rain set in and before we knew it the noon shooting deadline approached and my morning coffee at McDonald's was a distant memory.
Advice for any turkey hunters going anywhere in the country: when you mess up and your guide is a bit cranky from your screw up--feed them. Yup, I took Joe to lunch and we discussed a battle plan for the next morning and later that day we spotted several flocks of birds and the same plan of the drive-thru coffee at dawn was put into motion again.
Well let me tell you all about Maine turkey hunting. This is a place where it gets light very early. It's just about shooting light at 4:45 am so if you are not a morning person you had better stay home when it comes to being ready for a shot before most the other 49 state's turkeys are even gobbling. I consider myself a die-hard turkey hunter. I have hunted all over the country for long beards and this spring I had already hunted Kansas, Wisconsin, and Michigan and each place I tagged out with terrific gobblers. When Joe asked me what I thought of the turkey hunting in Maine I was very honest with him. Maine is a state where the turkeys are on the ground very early and even the most callable two-year-olds in most other states can be easily persuaded these two year old acted like the weariest of old long beards. Maine birds are some of the most challenging turkeys I have ever hunted in my life, but there is a large number of turkeys in the areas where Joe has access and he knew where the birds would be.
I mentioned that I am a very dedicated turkey hunter and I don't think anything comes close to a good old-fashioned New England turkey hunt. I just may be a bit biased about the piece of ground I grew up on and the spring woods I cut my teeth on this wonderful sport, but it was a very memorable hunt and homecoming. Maine is a place where if I were a resident I could have my turkey roosted the night before and back at the truck by 6:00 am and to work by 7:00 if I played the right cards. My gosh! If Nova Scotia to the Northeast has birds you'd be at full light at 4:00 am. (I will have to check into that.)
This place is just awesome and I never saw another turkey hunter and everyone who we encountered wanted to know if we had any luck. The people of Maine are second to none when it comes to wanting to hear a good old hunting story. People are dedicated deer hunters in the Pine Tree state and a 200 pound buck is not at all un-common and their black bear harvest numbers also speak for themselves. By the way, Black Eagle Outfitters offer deer and black bear hunts, too!
Turkey hunting is kind of taking off slow with the locals in Maine so if you are looking for turkeys that have relatively no hunting pressure and you like early strutters you should give Joe Ciampa at Black Eagle Outfitters a call. He will hook you up on that long beard I messed up on or one of the other 75 or so birds I saw on my trip. I did want to mention that Joe is a dedicated bow hunter and for me being a guy who relies on his slate call like a reserve parachute, Joe has these bird patterned by means of strategically placed ground blinds that honestly calls are not necessary. Call me crazy about calling spring long beards but I saw it first hand. It was more like hunting fall flocks around food plots. The bottom
line is I learned on my hunt that it may seem odd to the spring turkey caller, but I always have told people, "it's called turkey hunting not turkey calling." My advice to you if you are considering a hunt with Joe is to trust his decisions "if he tells you a chicken can pull a plow, just hook her up." You will be knee-deep in turkeys.
Did I get a long beard on this weather-impacted hunt? The answer is yes. He was a down-pour-soaking 19-½ pounds and had an 8-½ inch beard and one inch spurs. I crawled to what seemed to be the New Hampshire border to get a crack at him. My hunt was not necessarily a text book turkey hunt but I can count those hunts on one hand. this one was special. I had to work hard with the weather conditions not to eat that turkey tag sandwich and this time luck was definitely on my side.
If you are one of the few fortunate hunters that can work a bird in off the roost in this part of the country that's a feather in your cap and you have my undivided attention for what tactics I need to do for the spring of 2008 because I will be back trying to outsmart a big one and make the memories we all desire to have every time we try and match wits with the Eastern wild turkey.
You will work for your bird when you hunt with Joe and I don't think many other guides would have gone the distance like Joe did for me. It says a lot about a guide that sits out in the rain until the last minute of legal shooting time is up. My hat is off to Joe and his operation is nothing short of top shelf. You will be reminded several times a day that it is called hunting not killing but that only makes it a sweeter experience when the hunt leans towards your direction. If you are ready to undertake a challenging hunt smack dab in one of the greatest numbers of unhunted flocks anywhere give Joe Ciampa a call.
Thanks again for a great hunt Joe! I hope to make it home again soon to hunt a place I am proud to be from and long to return--New England!
|
