Coming up empty on opening day

Opening day for me did not go as well as I had hoped.

The morning started off with me getting to the woods a bit later than I wanted to arrive.

I got to an area that I wanted to call from and immediately had three gobblers answer me.

With all three of them hammering out their calls, I could barely contain my excitement.

I called a little more and had all of them immediately responding from three different directions.

This exchange of calls went on for a little over 30 minutes.

I thought surely one would head my direction.

The downfall of my day was the fact that a front was making its way to Arkansas.

The sun began rising higher in the sky and the wind began picking up speed.

The trees were swaying and I was calling louder so they could hear me.

Fifteen minutes later, I found myself getting less and less of a response.

Five minutes later, there was no more response.

The wind was blowing harder and the lover boys had all went mute.

I waited awhile and called some more.

The woods were silent except for the crows and occasional squirrel jumping through the trees.

I walked to another place to sit and watch another area.

I called a few times and prayed the wind would calm down.

The next three hours were slow and silent.

I got to see a turtle, a few deer and a huge buzzard that lit in a tree behind me.

The terrible exhale they have that sounds like a raccoon hissing will make the hair on your neck stand up.

I called more and was surprised to see a red head bobbing through the thicket in front of me. I got ready and sat motionless.

A young gobbler and a young hen, a jake and a jenny, made their way through the brush and came to a spot about 25 yards away.

They both looked around and took their time making their way to the creek for a drink.

After they left, I figured the mature gobblers were all surrounded by hens and that is why they had stopped gobbling so soon.

I stayed in the woods until 6:30.

After getting no more gobbles and hearing the thunder softly to the west, I decided it was time to head back home.

Maybe this weekend I will have more luck.

Pictures? Questions? Comments? Send them to katiem@eldoradonews.com.