The Spring Legion Podcast
Welcome to a year-round discussion on the wild turkey and those who hunt them. Hosted by Hunter Farrior, founder of Spring Legion and author of Ballad of a Turkey Hunter, the weekly podcast is geared for all outdoor communities and dives deeper than the usual tactics and calling tips. Holding true to the brand, topics are built upon respecting the heritage and challenges of hunting, with a never-ending appreciation for all that the spring season provides. Enjoy insight from special guests like Dave Owens of Pinhoti Project, Cuz Strickland of Mossy Oak, our friends at NWTF and Muscadine Bloodline, and so many more widely known for their impact in the turkey hunting community, as well as the deer, duck, and waterfowl realm, who exhibit the obsession of which only a real turkey hunter may truly understand. Thanks for listening.
The Spring Legion Podcast
Public Land Turkey Hunting | Tips Tactics and Hard Earned Wisdom
Is navigating public land hunting as challenging as it seems? Join us as we welcome back the exceptionally skilled, and a good buddy to us, Land Smathers to the Spring Legion Podcast. Known for his deep expertise in public land hunting, particularly turkeys in the Deep South, Land offers a treasure trove of insights from his expansive hunting experiences. We explore the thrill and complexity of hunting on public lands and compare it to the exclusivity of private hunting clubs. Our discussion paints a vivid picture of the excitement and fulfillment that comes from pursuing game across diverse terrains.
We also immerse ourselves in the world of spring turkey hunting, sharing nostalgic tales and strategic insights. Whether it's using kayaks for a stealthy approach on public lands or the sheer joy of early morning hunts captured on GoPro, the conversation reflects on cherished hunting traditions. As we gear up for the 2025 spring season, the focus remains on celebrating the camaraderie and excitement of turkey hunting. We invite our listeners to join the conversation, share their experiences, and suggest future guests, fostering a vibrant community of outdoor enthusiasts.
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For a pursuit in which 99% doesn't always cut it. We've rested our liability in Apex's ammunition since they began making turkey loads in 2017. Their iconic TSS turkey shells are able to pack more shot into traditional payloads, resulting in more pellet scent, more consistent patterns and an increased pattern density. So, in other words, apex makes sure that the conclusions to those long-fought battles of spring are instant, absolute and ethical. Welcome back to another episode of the Spring Legion Podcast. I'm your host, hunter Farrier, and not rolling with you solo. Today we're going to call up the reigning champion.
Speaker 1:Guest of Spring Legion Podcast episodes, guru in the realm of wisdomship and public land and, uh, a few other things as well. Somehow or another, uh, jack of all trades and a master. A lot of them are good buddy land smathers uh, if you know land, you know he is a good time and he is uh, he's got river water in his veins. Almost it feels like the dude just has a knack for for finding animals, finding critters and, um, and pretty damn good at hunting them, and we're going to dive into some of the stuff that he's learned along the way and in many years hunting public land, more specifically, public land turkeys here down in the deep south. As well as a few other things we're going to hit on, I do want to mention a couple things got written down here.
Speaker 1:As far as the Mossy oaks turkey tailgate coming up march 8th, we hope to see y'all there we'll be in town there in west point, mississippi, at their outlet, as far as I know, all the full foliage and the new strap vest, all that good stuff's going to be kind of available in person there and then it'll be hitting online sales march 10th. We're pumping out tentatively pumping out uh hunting videos on our youtube every week, every sunday at three o'clock central time. So y'all be sure to check those out and uh subscribe so you don't miss no more. And uh, all the likes, shares, follows and all that good stuff is is very much appreciated. It drives us, especially this time of year and all the hectic chaos the turkey season and pre-turkey season can bring us. We've got it. As far as I know, our website is pretty normal now. Thank you all for bearing with us as we stocked, unstocked and restocked the entire online store at springlegioncom due to the National Wild Turkey Federation Convention and Sports Show in Nashville, which was a grand old time. We appreciate you all who did show up there and those who were patient back home or wherever you might be, as we kind of worked out some kinks and getting all the inventory straightened out. We're selling out of some sizes.
Speaker 1:I will say that as far as the new jacket, the mesh-lined turkey hunting top.
Speaker 1:We've got a couple of bundles I do want y'all to take a look at, could save up 20 if you do buy the whole suit two, two different suits actually an all-season suit and then a run and gun type suit that includes the gators in exchange for the uh the jacket.
Speaker 1:So if you have one or the other and you want to toss in some more stuff, you can get them all for 20 off, I believe, at springlegioncom. That should run until're probably out, which might not be all turkey season, but at the moment we do, and we'll pick up the podcast as usual. I think we're going to try to have a couple more of these call-in guest episodes here as we prep for turkey season. We're going to pick a guru at each topic. That I think would be a good one, and then I would love to hear y'all's opinion on the episodes themselves via reviews and um, and sharing it on your stories and stuff like that as well as, however, means possible letting us know some folks you would like to hear on it and some topics you'd like for them to cover.
Speaker 1:So we only have a few left until we get into the actual 2025 spring season, which is crazy to say, but it is on the horizon and we'll be talking about current events, how much that that happened that day, hunts, that happened that morning, or that week at least, and the very very near future, and I could not be more excited. So tune in, sit down, listen to a man of many words and most of them being very valuable, and our buddy, lance Mathers, will give him a call right now.
Speaker 2:What up Leo?
Speaker 1:What's happening buddy?
Speaker 2:Can't call it Cold yeah.
Speaker 1:Appreciate you hopping on dude.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, no problem, I was just talking about 6,000 deals.
Speaker 1:This cold weather ain't got them quiet up there, has it? They probably gobbled out.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, they're done. They might as well not even open. Yeah, they're definitely not open.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, no, I'm with you. I'm with you. They're pretty quiet down here too. They probably finished about a week or two ago while we was up in Nashville being hooligans. You come back with any new diseases or anything. Not that I know of. I've heard everybody, apparently, but me has.
Speaker 2:So shout out to Germ-X and Oranges.
Speaker 1:Yeah, every time I ever went up there, I always came back with something. I might have shaken about 2.5 million hands, I think which might be a blessing to have as kids in the preschool era.
Speaker 2:So I'm probably immune to near about everything about this time. Oh, it's a constant. How somebody's got something, is my audio okay, I'm in my truck, kind of so warm, I think.
Speaker 1:So I don't know I'm, I can hear you just fine. So if it ain't, I don't really know how to correct it. If that makes any sense, it's as good as it's going to get. Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. But yeah, hopping in to who in the heck Lance Mathers is he's a jack of all trades is the only thing I know how to describe it, because, as far as I know, when I first met you, you were riding bulls and working for Preston Pittman, if I'm not mistaken.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I'm glad those days are at the top of Preston boy, I'm glad the bull riding's over that was the dumbest thing I ever did.
Speaker 1:So I just want to make sure I didn't dream that up, because there ain't many land smathers in the world and I don't think I would have crossed the two up. But but yeah, the last I remember, uh, meet, meeting you at the extravaganza. I'm talking circa 2010,. Maybe I don't know. Yeah.
Speaker 2:It was uh.
Speaker 1:I want to say that had to be like 12, 13, something like that probably, but yeah, so I ain't going gonna dive into the bull riding because we'll eat up the whole episode, but I have always been curious how the connection with preston pitman kind of came along and what all you did with him and stuff like that. Um, because, because land, if y'all don't know, is on every podcast he has. I mean, he's just the guy to get on the podcast. Um, for whatever reason, I know the reason why because he's an audible dude and a source of entertainment as well.
Speaker 1:But, um, but I I will say this of all the episodes we've done which I don't know how many it is there was a time there and I ain't checked lately, but I'm gonna go as of lately of all the guests which we've had, a good, probably 50 percent podcast have had a guest on them and we're talking daveens and Dr Chamberlain and folks like that are up at the top. Land is atop all of them. Land's episode from three years ago is the reigning number one champ of Spring Legion episodes Always has been. I don't know how that happened.
Speaker 2:Dave Owens and everybody else you just listed. I'm a nobody, I just like to talk.
Speaker 1:Well, people like to listen to it, I guess, and I ain't no keyword wizard or something like that, so, whatever I mean it ain't incidental. Folks figured it out, I feel like. But yeah, I've always been curious about the President Pittman deal. I never asked you about that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so my uncle spencer, um, it's my, my mom's brother, obviously, but he worked at mossy oak for years and, um, he worked with a lady up there and they were they kind of they grew up together, they knew each other for a long time and I moved up to aberdeen, where I'm at now, and I was just kind of tossing around the idea of jobs and all that and of course I bought a dang house before I even had a job lined up, but the kind of transitioning. And I called her because I mean, I've known her pretty much my whole life as well. I said, hey, I'm kind of looking around, poking around, looking for a job. I went to a native nursery, all that kind of stuff. Nothing really ever came as well.
Speaker 2:And she's like, yeah, well, we're actually looking for a call maker, because people that don't know this hitting game calls as big as they are. There is one guy that makes all the wood products. There's a lazy engraving. You tune all the box calls, you build all the slate, glass, aluminum calls, everything. And then they've got another guy that does the mouth calls. Thank God, because that mouth call is not enjoyable for me, just stretching the face and cutting it, I mean, but I love cleaning box calls and building pots and stuff like that and all that. So anyways, I got in touch with her and she called me in and I had an interview with Preston. Next thing I knew I was back there behind a computer learning how to create stuff on a computer and send it over to a laser engraver and take a peek and all that kind of stuff for a laser engraver and all that. But yeah, that was a pretty simple story, just lifetime-like places, cool.
Speaker 2:And that led to. I worked with him for, I think, four years probably. That's awesome Followed him all through the woods hunting, videoing everything and traveling all over the place, hunting, videoing every spring and paddling all over the place. That was the best part of the gig. To be honest, yeah, I got paid a little to do it. Got a heck of an education and a little bit of pocket change.
Speaker 1:Right, yeah, in that order. I mean, that's the valuable stuff right there. Not many folks can say that, you know.
Speaker 2:It was incredible Because you know, know, I grew up a really old school turkey hunter. Um, my granddad was pretty much my mentor and he lived up here. Of course I grew up down there by you and raymond clinton and all that, and uh, I, I would come up here spring break and we'd hunt and I'd hunt with him and that was basically my week's knowledge for the year, and so I went back home and then I basically my week's knowledge for the year and so I went back home and then I would just spend the rest of the season, you know, putting into practice what he had taught me. And his style was old school, gritty, sit down, shut up, don't even hardly blink your eyes. You call extremely sparingly and when you do you do it soft and about three or five you know yelps you might. If you caught him on a good day after the coffee, you might catch him maybe about three or four cuts on that old set.
Speaker 2:But other than that it was sit down and you just wait to catch him out and it's a great you know tactic and it worked a lot through the years. And then I got on Prestian. The opposite he'll be patient if you have to, but most of the time he's out moving trying to find a turkey that wants to die, and I kind of I kind of enjoy that side of it more than just to sit down and be patient, to sit for four hours done on your knee on go you. You know what.
Speaker 1:I mean Mm-hmm, yeah, and it's crazy how different that is, but they're both still old school, traditional styles of turkey hunting Some old, old pro type people, you know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean you can kill every turkey in the world using both styles, right?
Speaker 1:It's just depending on what you do, you know yeah, and and, and I'll have to side with you on the I would rather. I don't. I don't like sitting. I don't sit well, I'm not. I'm not good at that and turkey woods and whatever I'm doing, I ain't good at sitting down. Um, I like doing everything standing up, like I've shot, probably shot more turkeys on a knee, or crouched down or some kind of pretzel. Uh, I've bound myself into. Then I have, you know, sitting with the gun on my knee or even a vest on. I ain't. I don't realize how much I took with vest on and hadn't had to go back and find my vest and god knows how many years. It's just.
Speaker 2:Um, yeah, it's fun that way yeah, I mean, 30 minutes is a long shit for me. I'll sit for an hour occasionally like especially on those morning hunts when you've got to wait on the pitch out and all that. If he ain't done something in 30 minutes, I'll start getting a little antsy.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, I do want to hit on the subject of and this is a sacred subject, so this is to be taken with grains of salt and also could be a disclaimer of the limitations of the disclosures. But talking about public land hunting, because, uh, some folks I don't want to talk about it with, some folks I'm cool talking about it with, and I know you do a lot of it and I know you know the, the unspoken rules of certain things with public land mentions and everything but um, but I know you, I know you do hunt public land and um, and I do as well as a subject I think we can talk about on an audience. But, um, how did you grow up hunting public land? Or cause I didn't start hunting public land until I was grown.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I've pretty much, since I could drive, I guess you could say um, been hunting public especially. Well, um, whenever I was in the 10th grade I moved from clinton to madison you're familiar with that. But, um, my mom had to. She got a teaching job. She taught clinton for years and years and she got a job at madison. So we moved up there.
Speaker 2:My 10th grade year, and that was just that was the year I started driving pretty much. Um, so then I was a lot farther because growing up I had our farm down there by y'all was 288, and that was where I did 90 of my hunting. When I wasn't up here where I am now in northeast mississippi hunting with my granddad, I was down there the rest of the time. So, not having a car or anything, the farm was right out the back door so it was all over there. Well, we moved to Madison Rather than drive. You know, 45 minutes away to the farm, I could drive 20 minutes to a lot of public ground. So I started branching out. I really took to it quick, because rather than 280 acres now I've got like three to 4,000.
Speaker 2:And I really enjoyed that. You know, not to mention the fact you pay 15 bucks a year for a WMA permit and you can hunt any of the public in the state Right or what is it, I don't even know Almost a million acres or something like that I don't know, that's the cheapest hunting club, yeah.
Speaker 2:So yeah, I've just. I've been at it ever since. I love having the ability to, if you blow something here, get up and go five miles down the road and start a whole different block and a whole different um terrain type or you know, you know cover type, whatever you want to call it um. But that being said, in my personal opinion, a turkey is a turkey, a deer is a deer. It doesn't matter where you find them. You know they're still going to be that same animal, no matter where they are. But different in public and private is that that on public you really don't know what that person already knows, but when you find him in an area that he's comfortable, you can guarantee that he's comfortable for a reason you know, molested or recently.
Speaker 1:Yeah, he's recently His brain has forgotten or it has let the guard down. But I'm exactly right there with you and that's probably the main benefit of public land, and I feel like we probably came from similar, you know, situations and the main benefit of public land to me was, like I said, a $15 entry fee and then it's up to you from there. So a little more work is going to have to be put in covering up the private places I've hunted, whether it be as a guest or something like that. I'm not a fan of deer camps. I don't like deer camps. I don't like 20 people hunting the same 2,000 acres, no more than I don't like, you know, however, many people hunting a million acres, exactly. Yeah, I swear them, your clubs.
Speaker 1:It's more precious than the public, though, on uh, you put it, put it. You know, apples to apples, that turkey to that turkey, probably. So a lot of times the domes are dead quick and then, um, where they I mean turkeys on the property lines they're going, the direction they're going east towards is, uh, not that camp probably, and it's going to be across lines and god knows where, across the road and everything, and then if they hunt or if they don't hunt, it don't really matter and you know they gone and uh, because I bump a lot of turkeys, I ain't gonna lie if I bump one and can, can just reset and you know, drive 30 minutes especially. I got a chance and that, that optimism, I think, kind of keeps me going a little more than it would be if, if I knew that was it, I got to go cut grass now. So when you're looking for public land, would you rather hunt the big chunks or the little chunks?
Speaker 2:shoot man, I'll be honest, uh, I'm gonna hunt the, the, the chunk that's got the turkey on it. Yeah, okay, and it's got a turkey on it. Um, I'm, I'm gonna try them, but start now. If I'm going in blind, I'll. Yeah, I would prefer that bigger chunk and, um kind of work generally my way to the middle of it, if it's possible, just so I can put my ears on as much of it as I can. You know, and a lot of that comes back down to looking at maps, you know aerial photographs and stuff and seeing what the surrounding property allowed. It is similar to deer hunting with me. I, the first place I look is the, that perimeter of the property that's public, rather than the middle or the farthest to get to. But it's not always the best. Obviously, everybody nowadays, you know there's not a whole lot of places in Mississippi where you can walk two miles, three miles, right, like public pieces. Everything has either got a road somewhere or you can come out private. You know there are some places, but they are meaningful at the point.
Speaker 1:You right um, I was. I was looking at something this morning on the internet, not on, I mean, it's places I've already been, but I'm trying to kind of refresh everything and and trying to and, and I'm having almost reset from the last time I really scouted at all was, you know, late season, in a place I'd never been, god knows how many hours away. Trying to find something, and that's what I'm looking for is, how can I get somewhere which up there, a little different? Um, how can I get somewhere? Nobody else has been?
Speaker 1:Well, sometimes drive down the road and you're probably one of the first that year, um, but around here that ain't the case, obviously and trying to find areas that were even accessible, whether b-ball walking or anything like that it was, I mean, it was few, very few. You're going to almost have to hunt an area that has been hunted and I think that's what kind of makes southern public land a little. You know higher on the hierarchy of ranking and you know the difficulty measures and stuff like that. Catching them on opening weekend is one thing, but catching them on March 16th, honestly you're dealing with one that has been dealt with before, more than likely.
Speaker 2:Yeah, there are many stuff that you can gobble in public that haven't been heard about.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, Somebody, and if it's been heard it's been hunted. Kind of deal, yeah, yeah. And if it's been, heard it's been hunted.
Speaker 1:It's got a deal. Yeah, exactly, but getting there is, and what I have found and I've mentioned it before was you know if you can find a way to get in there that the other hunters ain't? You're in a good spot, but that takes a little time. Time equity is poured into it and probably some sweat equity and some blister equity and all the other equities you can think to find it that's like around here and a lot of other places.
Speaker 2:You know we're very similar to you know, southeast in general there's lots of waterways, lots of creeks, deep creeks and all that stuff. So everybody's either got a kayak or a boat or a canoe or something, and that opens up a lot, and that I mean I'd much rather paddle two miles than walk two miles. You know that's way easier, right, um? But there again you're getting back into that, um aspect of trying to hunt the least molested turkey as possible. And, generally speaking, if you can put a barrier like that between you and the majority of the general public, that kayak opens up some maybe not quite so wise goblets, mm-hmm.
Speaker 1:And that opens up. That's something I want to hit on, because I know you got a kayak because I see it a lot of times on your stories and stuff like that and I ain't never had one. For all I know, they cost $5,000 thousand dollars. It could be much cheaper, but I've always thought, you know, I ain't never gonna be able to have a kayak, whether it be hauling it, whether it be, if it's one of the things also, if I have it, I'm gonna have to use it, and there's not a ton of places around here that I direly need it, so to speak, now. If I lived up in tennessee, or something like that I know, you know that's a, that's a.
Speaker 1:You need one to hunt a lot of places. Uh, the good places are the easier than usual places, but but there's, I don't. I mean, I can't really. There's a few places I've hunted that I wish I have one, but I I've never really dealt with that. So you, you would say that's a, that's a. I don't want to say an advantage or a benefit, but you break it up pretty often.
Speaker 2:Oh, it's absolutely a benefit and an advantage, because every now and then you run into a spot maybe there's an island or something that's 10 foot deep that you can't get to by foot. You've got to either swim it or boat it, or whatever. I mean for the price, you can go to Walmart and get a kayak. Now, it doesn't have to be some camoed out, raked out thing. You can buy one of them, dang neon blue ones. It's going to do the same thing. You ain't shooting them out of it you know, right, for $150,.
Speaker 2:you can go get one of those and just have it in the carport or behind your house or flipped over upside down in the vent that you go out of state and you think I might need it. That thing. You can throw it in the back of the truck and it's not in the way or anything, and like you've got a camper shell on yours now, don't you? Yeah.
Speaker 1:I'm leaking one, but I got one?
Speaker 2:Does it have a rack on the top of it?
Speaker 1:No, this new on the top of it. No, this new one. I know don't, but it might, I ain't even looked up on top of it. It might have a place where you can put one that it was the only one I found in three months and I bought it from a hispanic and from mobile and I said I should see you later and he said he just just handed it to me. I handed him money and I put it on my truck and left yeah, the lower questions I I don't need enough.
Speaker 1:I don't know. I don't have to know where you got it from, because I've been looking for these and they're usually priced way higher than this one.
Speaker 2:But uh-huh yep, I got it mine now, so that's all people that serial number sticker off yeah, this one didn't have one for some reason I'm just kidding, but no, it's just one of those things that I mean. It's no different than a bicycle or yeah you know, god, no, I've stayed boat poor. I've got three kayaks, a canoe and two boats. I mean, you know, but I'm also in a river town and it's kind of a way of life.
Speaker 2:You know, fishing just sandbar every weekend during the summer. Um, but yeah that I would, if you don't mind throwing 150 away on a piece of tupperware just to have it if you need it. It's man, they come in so handy sometimes I think I can handle that.
Speaker 1:I think that I would get the the work out of that 150 bucks, that's for sure. I know I've thrown away a lot more than 150 of regular tupperware, so this one came through away, yeah I mean we're down here dollars on pss every year oh, yeah, or at least I don't know, will you right there?
Speaker 1:will you have to hit this past weekend? Uh, more than that actually. Um, when you're paddling down, are you listening from the kayak or are you going? Are you using it as a tool to get to a spot that you've predetermined would be a good listening spot? You know what I'm saying a little bit of both.
Speaker 2:Okay, sometimes you're in, like when you're down deep in those big creeks and stuff, it's really hard to kind, of course, a gobble, so it's a lot easier to be outside of it. But if you're in like the main, a big river channel, where you're not kind of stuck down outside of everything, you can hear a lot better. Then, yeah, I'll just stay in that kayak or the boat or whatever and just that right at y'all one time. And but generally speaking, I've got somewhere in mind. I want to go put ears on. Yeah, and the beauty of it is you get down there and you get up out of the kayak and or up on top of a dry ground and you don't hear anything. You just drop right back down and get in the kayak and press on, especially later in the season when you can't hear them there right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because you're in a low spot, I would think, being in a creek or river, something like that. You know, I've always kind of wondered that I never really I've heard of folks cruising down and just listening, maybe pre-season. I don't know what they were talking about, I was a bit of a conversation, I remember. But you know, then you're starting kind of lower and so that's why I was wondering, you know, do you, do you pick a spot and try to get high and then listen, or if you're listening from it? But no, it makes sense, easier than walking.
Speaker 2:That's great. Yeah, you can get in there preseason, like a week before season. Get in that boat and just drift in the daylight and this is the spot. First, 10 minutes of gobbling time when those red bears are doing their thing and owls are coming up. You don't hear anything crank up. Run a mile, get some. Red bears are doing their thing and owls are cutting up. You don't hear anything crank up. Run a mile, get some more. And then, because you know turkeys, they're gonna gobble for 30 minutes if they're gobbling good, before they pitch out and shut up. Oh yeah, so you can. You can drop a lot of pins that way yeah, no, I'm, you're about to.
Speaker 1:You're gonna need some royalties from flambeau, whoever makes these kayaks, because I'm about to. I'm about to use your code, if you have one. You're talking me into it, let's see. So, all right. So I got a story too I want to get into later, but while we're just hitting on you know kind of finding them in public and stuff like that Um, I uh, uh, I put in for a place that you and I both know about and it's a place I haven't hunted.
Speaker 1:I think it might've been. I was young hunting with my granddad one time and I ain't been back. He's been, he's been gone for a while now and I never went back. But you and I have talked about it for um very briefly and, um, I was about to say I don't think it has water on it, but I think the whole thing is on water. So never mind that kind of kneels, that whole question, and I'm thinking back. I'm like I was just young and didn't get to go on the water, but okay, so, hypothetically speaking, um, say it was a dry ground.
Speaker 1:Where are you heading to? You finding a turkey first, or are you going blind? Because I do both. So I can't really. I. I'm 50, 50. Sometimes I was. I was thinking about this, you know, putting in draws all over the place. Do I go back to where I heard one three years ago that I know is going to have trucks everywhere around it, or do I? Do? I try to take the time and just and find a, you know, a good looking spot, maybe on an email or something like that, and try that out.
Speaker 2:And I maybe on an e-map or something like that and try that out. And I'm talking opening morning. I promise you, I promise you I'm not going to be on public opening day, I'll be on private right because I mean it's going to be a madhouse, um. But yeah, that's your question. Um, generally I'm not going to drive, you know, hour, two hours, whatever it is, over there to go scout. I just prefer go up blind and meet my battles as they come right. Um, but depending on the area, I am a river bottom, bottom land kind of hunter.
Speaker 2:I love hunting around water and nasty hardwoods. I love hunting around water and nasty hardwoods. Stuff like that I love. Also, you know, the areas with more topography. But it's a lot more challenging, honestly, than teal turkeys in the bottom, dang near, pick out. You can drop a pin on just about every roosting point that a turkey could roost on, you know, in areas of topography, and then work them.
Speaker 2:I like hunting those type of areas because they're just staying the most predictable that the turkeys do, whereas down in the river bottom they can go wherever they want and then there may be a flash of water over there that you don't even know about and they sit over there and scream at you in cushions all morning long and then finally have enough of you and walk off and you never hear from them again until tomorrow. You know I love the river bottom stuff. That being said, if I'm going to an area of topography I'm going to look at every one of those secondary ridge points and stuff like that. I'm going to try to get at the head of where a big ridge starts and then kind of base my next move after daylight one day. He's letting me know where he is, and if he doesn't say anything, you know that's not necessarily mean that turkey's not there, generally speaking, if he's't say anything, you know that's not necessarily mean that the turkey's not there, right, generally speaking, if he's ready to die, he's going to say something.
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Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:You just happen to not know where his whereabouts are.
Speaker 2:Right. So it's a lot easier to find a better starting point in areas of topography. When I go down to like, if I'm going to a river bottom type scenario, I'll go to somewhere that looks like good hardwoods around water, whether it be sloughs or slashes or creeks or whatever because, generally speaking, most of your turkey is going to be either there or they're going to be roosting on private right next to the public. And the sad thing is you know, I was talking late about this yesterday um, private corn feeders. People are more and more keeping those things full yep throughout the year. So, uh, that's a. That's a battle we're dealing with and I don't see any way to counter it.
Speaker 1:Um, but that's a whole another conversation yep for another day yeah, I don't know if there is a way to, before Big Ridge starts you mentioned that and then Secondary Ridge. Elaborate on them two things.
Speaker 2:Yeah. So if you think about your main ridge, let's say like it run whatever direction north, south, the main, the big ridge right and then you've got little fingers, little secondary fingers, that run if your main ridge is going north, south and your fingers will run like east west yep and it seems to me like, especially where that ridge toes out at the very end of it.
Speaker 2:It seems like the turkeys generally hang out towards either of that, and this is also. It also goes back to you know what the surrounding area looks like for each one of those, because it might be a toe that goes off towards some private and there's a big old field over there, a big, you know, food plot, pasture or whatever that that turkey likes to hang out at. They'll take that high ground in the evening. So then if you see that big field on that, you're like, well, definitely probably not going to come up this ridge. To me I need to hook around and get into that field Anytime you can find a situation like that big ridge on public fingers headed towards private, that's a dang good spot.
Speaker 2:I mean, honestly, I start over in on that side, more towards the private rather than on top of big ridge like I normally do. But you run into situations in a neighboring state I won't name anything more than that where you've got just giant ridges and hardwood. There's really very it's very monotonous type of uh terrain and you're not looking at that field and stuff. It's just all big hardwood, ridges and creek bottoms and stuff, beach bottoms um, that one is where I would generally pick out the bigger ridges and start at the head of them and then kind of just hope like hell that the one I pick has got a willing turkey guy on it. If not, then I'm not even going to. You know, you can from time to time nothing's happening at daylight walk out that ridge real slow, just kind of be a turkey, and you can maybe fire one up and call them in. But I don't like those kind of. I want to hear one screaming at daylight and then I'll stay with them all day if I have to.
Speaker 1:You know what I mean yep, I'm with you and I've been in situations before and somehow or another it ain't in this state, but it's too, too much good turkey woods and it almost get under my skin. I'm like everything looks pretty turkey woods around here and everything you know. Then you're just hoping you pick the right one or one that hadn't been picked. Um, it's just, everything looks beautiful, especially someone coming from you know, south central mississippi, where it's just rabbit patch after rabbit patch after swamp, and you know, you know trying to find them pretty open river bottoms.
Speaker 1:You know that ain't claimed yet. Ain't the. You know ain't ain't that common. They're there.
Speaker 2:But but I'll go someplace.
Speaker 1:I'm like gosh dog it. I can't you know. It's like a kid in a candy store, but except you don't know. You know which one. We know where to even start. Um, and I found it on public before and I'm just like where's this being hunted all the way around this place and then I'll go in there and then and I won't even hear one in there. I'm probably the third, fourth person to find it, even on march 17th. But at the same time I'm like they're gone.
Speaker 1:Um, but the uh, the story I want to dive into is one, and this is um. I don't know if this is probably private or whatever, but um was a turkey. You was hunting on near cutover and you have a video of it. Um, this happened to be in the past year. So because, uh, my daughter and I was watching about 3 am the other morning, she woke up morning to watch tv. I watch TV. I said, well, we're going to watch this and it was on like my recently watched whatever, and she don't. She likes looking at turkeys and stuff, but you know she's watching any of our videos or something like that. She loses interest after about three minutes. She watched the whole daggum thing, and the funniest thing was the turkey flies in. You shoot it, it and I don't know where she, she just goes. Oh, I'm like she.
Speaker 2:She comprehended what's going on here?
Speaker 1:like when she was like pumped up and I'm like, okay, all right then, like I didn't even think she would like notice the bird or anything like that. Um, this was a. This was a few few months ago, so she wasn't saying many words then. But, um, but she, she knew what happened. Then she got pumped up at 3 am, sitting on the couch watching you shoot a turkey in the face.
Speaker 2:I love it. I think I know which one Was that the one that it was nothing but just GoPro video, probably.
Speaker 1:As soon as the turkey's feet hit the ground, he took about three steps.
Speaker 2:Oh, okay, I know. Yeah, that one was, that was river bottom it was Okay I was right on the edge of the river. Oh, is that a river? I thought that was a cutover. It does look like it. If you don't know what you're looking at, okay, but yeah, he was roosted over the river.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay, I thought he flew a cutter. He flew the river.
Speaker 2:Yeah, he he was. He was roosted on my side, but all his hens were roosted across the river, yeah, and I was thinking, man I've got, yeah, that might've been the one that I got in a little bit of a cussing match with another hen, I think. So I'm comfortable. There was three or four hens across the river and he was on my side. Like I said, he was on my side. Like I said, he was roosted. I actually kind of went in there. It's my every year. I generally start in this particular area. It's kind of like a you know, nostalgia type thing. It's my opening day tradition. I was sitting there and he gobbled the first red bird, found it off and it was like 30 seconds later he hammered and I said, well, well, I still got plenty of darkness and I got up and about. I want to say I was, I thought I was about 80 from him, but he was gobbling the other way from me and about the time he spun and gobbled.
Speaker 2:I looked up and he was about 50, because my style I think me and you talked about this before. My style I think me and you have talked about this before. My style comes from hunting before work a lot of the time. So I've got an hour, maybe hour and a half, to get it done. So I kind of started, just I pressed the issue, Probably a little too aggressive in most people's opinion, but that's how three-quarters of the turkeys I kill are within five minutes of them hitting the ground. You've got to see him hit the ground. But yeah, he was one that I called to him a couple times, if I remember right. He wasn't really that interested in me. And then that other hen started cutting up because she heard me and he's gobbling her. Everything she said. Well, then I started going back and kind of one-upping her a little bit yep and I think it.
Speaker 2:We went back and forth for probably three to four minutes and then he gets around like 30. He strutted up, like you said, but yeah, that's how. That's how most of my hunt goes. I hate it and love it. You kind of when you do what you've done by you know 6, 30, 7 o'clock. Now you've got a whole day to kill, so I keep the crappie pole in the cellar, mr State, bulldogs are whooping up on somebody, oh yeah, and the bass dog crawfish is in the season. You know the why not pissed at you because you're staying in the woods at noon or one o'clock, I don't know. I love that loose hunt more than anything.
Speaker 2:But, man, it's hard to beat it. You put it out, right.
Speaker 1:And I hadn't, for the first time in a long time when I say a long time, at least a season or two, probably no more than two but you shot one right off the roof just like that this past year and I was like that was cool. I just don't get to do that much. You know, very often anymore A lot of times that I'm behind the spot that I didn't know existed the day before or whatever. But those familiar nostalgic places like you mentioned, I didn't know existed the day before or whatever. But those familiar nostalgic places like you mentioned, you know getting to go back there and and um and that is a bliss to public land and having connections there, cause even we mentioned on our you know on the show a lot.
Speaker 1:There's a little plot of land we got which right now consists of nothing but Jake's and a few Jenny's. Um, you know, at any moment the landowner can pull the plug and say I'm gonna cut it. All you know and and all the a lot of memories gone and stuff. But but when you got a spot that you'd like to go back to and stuff like that and see how much the tree has grown, see what's happened, what's changed, stuff like has good to have in your pocket and and know that it's, it's always gonna be there. It ain't gonna change, you know for the most part. But yeah, it's, it's, it's always going to be there. It ain't going to change, you know, for the most part.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's really awesome to.
Speaker 2:I mean, I've literally been, I've started turkey hunting at like nine years old and I mean generally speaking, there's going to be a turkey there to play with and having that much you know yearly experience, you're in or out of having that much you know yearly experience, you're in your outlet place. You kind of you get really good at knowing what you know every turkey. It's funny how, like, you've gone through so many generations of turkeys, yep, and you know in that particular area and yet somehow they all learn from each other and they all do the same things as they've always done. It's kind of interesting. It's almost a cheat code like you kind of feel bad every now and then, especially if you just bushwhack one there. Generally I will make him, you know, approach me rather than just right, because you did that.
Speaker 2:Out there you can kill a turkey every day and it's a river bottom but there's so many slashes and stuff like that through there that those turkeys take the same path year in, year out, no matter what the woods look like. And honestly the woods haven't really changed hardly at all. It's really old virgin hardwood bottom timber. It's gorgeous in there. So it looks almost identical to what it did when I was first started. That's good. I mean 24 years ago 24 years ago.
Speaker 2:Whoo, I think we're getting old brother I know it blows my mind to think of now that I just said that yeah, you did.
Speaker 1:I've been hunting targets 25 years this season. I don't. I think I feel like I was 25 when this podcast started. Heck, I wasn't far from it at least. But cool, dude. Uh, I'm trying to think anything else that wouldn't be too revealing to ask you about, but I think it was a good discussion one. I appreciate you hopping on and talking a little bit about um and folks. If you don't know, just you need to just go follow him on social media and you'll learn more from his story of a morning he didn't even shoot one on than you will from watching three episodes of uh outdoor channel, probably. But yeah, dude, appreciate you hopping on and, uh, wish you the best this spring. I hope to see you soon, I think, mossy Oaks Turkey Tailgate coming up on March 8th. We typically run into each other there every year and hope we do the same this year.
Speaker 1:I said, I hope we do the same this year, hope to run into you oh yeah, I'll fly out over there it's right down the road.
Speaker 2:I'll come say hey and get your autograph and all that stuff. But yeah, I'm looking forward to it. Maybe we can get together this spring and whack one in the head. Let's do it. We'll just have to see how it goes. You know turkey spring is always so damn busy, yeah, you know turkey spring is always so damn busy, yeah. Or it's something as simple as hunting turkeys. We've gotten so caught up and you know we got to make this happen, got to make that happen, got to go with this guy got to go here and I love every minute of it, but it's that I always keep my opening day.
Speaker 2:Yep, just me and the little river bottom with a coaching unit.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's hard to beat right there. If, uh, if only every day was like that.
Speaker 2:Yeah well, all right, brother, I'll see you then. I appreciate you calling me man. I love talking turkey stuff. Anytime you want to talk, let me know, I'll take you up on it.
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