South Florida
Some of you may remember that I took a trip to south Florida in 2022 and really I couldn't make this story up if I tried.
I hunted the same gobbler virtually the whole time and after 3 days I finally called "him" in. I shot and missed, and shot some more as I watched my turkey and my chance soar around the corner of some pines and out of my life. For a half hour I looked around and finally stumbled onto a dead Jake turkey, flat on his back. I could not believe my eyes. I had a thought that I found somebody else's turkey until I separated myself from what I thought happened and started thinking about reality. I grabbed him. Still warm and still moved fine. I knew then it was my turkey.
My turkey was a Jake. When he came in, through the tall grass, excitement just simply got the best of me. Isn't that why we do it!? It was an awesome hunt. An awesome experience! But I think everybody understands that I just don't feel totally fulfilled. I vowed to try again "one of these years."
Well this year, I drew the same public hunting area and have all kinds of doubt on if it was the right choice to go on with the hunt. First off, I'm spending my wife and I's money on plane tickets, rental cars, tag fees, and everything that goes along with a trip like this, all while she stays home with our little boy.
Then there's the time off I'm taking, and for a guy that lives a pretty blue collar life and also really likes to hunt elk in the fall, taking a week and a day off for one turkey trip is a little crazy.
There is also the thought of if the hunt is any good! 4 years ago there were a lot less tags given out, than now. They've increased the tag numbers by over 300% and I'm also the second hunt. All the easy birds are going to be dead. No doubt. Probably not many vocal birds left and a lot of competition. Flat out... it's just a lot of gambles....but I love to hunt more than I like not going for it! Hahaha!
Of course I know that nothing is ever guaranteed in hunting, but certainly have regret if I come home unsuccessful and know how many resources I've burned, as well as just burning my points and not waiting for a potentially better opportunity. I guess I'll stress about that if the time comes!
As for now, I leave tomorrow (March 11) and will be in south Florida at about 10:00 local time, if all goes well with flights. My plan is to grab the rental car and hit wal mart on my way out of town. I'll sleep in the car and be standing basically where I killed that Jake, 4 years earlier, on the morning of the 12th. I'll then get a full scouting day until opening day the 13th.
I will keep you all updated the best I can. Hopefully this is a fun follow!
Git r did !!!
:you_rock:
Following
Good luck
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I'll be rooting for you. Good luck!
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Go get em :turkey2:
Good luck!!!
Good luck! Still plenty of birds out there to stumble upon!
Thanks everyone. I'll need your positive vibes! Hahaha!
All packed up and waiting for my wife to pick me up at the house and head to our local airport. Shockingly, prices were the same as flying out of Denver or salt lake, for me. That almost never happens but I'm just fine taking advantage of it this time.
Here are some random pics from 2022.
(https://i.ibb.co/fGtmyMfY/IMG-5258.jpg) (https://ibb.co/NnpwJx56)
(https://i.ibb.co/0jrwsZTT/IMG-5264.jpg) (https://ibb.co/MD7XBprr)
(https://i.ibb.co/VWL9mYNk/22-B5-CBBE-6-C97-4-C31-9669-8-F4-A2-D67591-B.jpg) (https://ibb.co/C5w82KtS)
(https://i.ibb.co/KxwNtJvj/IMG-5441.jpg) (https://ibb.co/60BvKkCR)
(https://i.ibb.co/DjT2nPt/9-DC7954-E-2-DE4-4420-A377-1-BC85-C4668-A6.jpg) (https://ibb.co/CSDGFpz)
Good luck buddy! Plentiful turkeys or not, I know you'll have a great time!
Just a quick heads up if/when you find some water out there whether it be from flooding or a pond be careful around the edges. With how dry its been its pushed all the gators and cotton mouths to the little bit of standing water thats left. And dont think that a gator wouldn't be in some of those small ones. We tell everyone thats coming down here to hunt if you see water and when you touch it with your hand and your hand gets wet there's probably a gator in it lol.
Quote from: TooTallOutdoorss on March 11, 2026, 03:08:36 PMJust a quick heads up if/when you find some water out there whether it be from flooding or a pond be careful around the edges. With how dry its been its pushed all the gators and cotton mouths to the little bit of standing water thats left. And dont think that a gator wouldn't be in some of those small ones. We tell everyone thats coming down here to hunt if you see water and when you touch it with your hand and your hand gets wet there's probably a gator in it lol.
Hey, now that's great info!
We only get one life, and with this being our biggest passion...always take the trip. Everything will be back home waiting for you. Good Luck my friend.
Be safe brother!
As good of a morning as I could ask for. As I mentioned, the plan was to walk to the "kill pin" from years previous. I got there and thought I heard a turkey just as far as I could hear one. Then I heard it again enough to say "YES!"
But between the mosquitos and the crickets and the birds, I just wasn't 100%. I stayed glued listening to that spot thinking "trust your instincts. That was a gobble. You heard him twice."
Just then another turkey sounded off. 100% obvious and closer. He gobbled again and I pinned him good.
It was foggy this morning (maybe it's foggy every morning) and that helped me. I thought well I might as well really pin him, since he can't see me. I snuck as close as I dared so I knew for sure, and backed out. He gobbled no less than 50 times. Enough where I said "okay okay okay. Enough." I also heard hens.
I didn't hear the original gobbler (if it was one) again. I only need one, and I've got one. In a straight line he's .97 miles from where I parked, but walked of course plenty more than that to get to him. It's breezy this evening and I just don't believe anyone will hear him. I hope I'm right.
Instead of heading to the same spot, I think it's best I find more turkeys, than to figure out exactly where that dude roosts tonight. I'm walking into a different area and hoping for the best.
Tomorrow is opening day.
Nothing much going this evening. No noise but I did see a tom and some hens. Of course they were about 20 feet on the wrong side of the fence. I believe they're roosting on public but that's not a game I'd really like to play, especially on day 1!
Plan A is set. We'll see if I'm the only hunter in there or not!
I'll try to take more pictures tomorrow. I only have video, for now!
-TW
Glad you got on one! Yes it has been foggy every morning for the passed two months down here. Some birds react differently to it down here. SOme dont mind others are scared bc it limits their vision. but thats great for you to get closer. As far as afternoons go my buddy never really heard one in the afternoon. Maybe one time did he hear em in the afternoon. I never heard one this season in the afternoon. They are usually pretty tight lipped after fly down. Good luck! Love seeing these updates come in
Set up where the gobbler was roosted yesterday morning and nothing. Silence. 10 minutes after sunrise I hit the call and was answered by hens. My thought process was that gobbler found the hens yesterday and was with them, hence, no gobbling.
Stand up to leave and there's three jakes that had appeared out of thin air. Headed towards the hens and nothing. No gobbling. No hen talk.
An hour later, finally the first gobble of the day. After slow playing to see if he was going to come, I looped around. Luckily I stopped at just the right spot and saw him leave a group of trees. I got sat down, hit the call, and no answer. I saw him picking his way to me about 10 seconds later.
He stopped in a tiny little hole and somehow caught me moving my gun or something. He periscopes and in my head I said "I can kill him right there." But, that little voice told me I needed to be 100% sure it wasn't another super Jake. I held off. I hoped he'd just put his head down and come a little closer. He didn't. Instead he turned to leave and I saw his beard. I touched the trigger and he took flight.
This time I watched him sail away 400 yards, clear the tops of some trees and keep going.
I'm still distraught over it, hours later. I know it's just to turkey hunting but due to all the things I mentioned earlier, this one really stings.
I should have just let him go and live to fight another day, and know where he lived. Instead I rushed it. It's all on me. It's a bummer.
So far my little redemption is more redemption for the turkeys, than me!
I hunted around until noon when I figured I needed a reset and maybe a nap. Went back to camp for a few hours. The reset didn't help lol.
I'm in here now where I missed him 8+ hours ago. This pocket of habitat seems small and the areas he would roost seems small. I really don't expect him to come back but then I know I can cross this off for tomorrow, look elsewhere, and not wonder if he went back to his little pocket.
Happy to report, I'm no longer sad...
(https://i.ibb.co/Jw04sWMJ/IMG-0691.jpg) (https://ibb.co/v6gGjCKn)
Quote from: POk3s on March 14, 2026, 10:25:36 AMHappy to report, I'm no longer sad...
(https://i.ibb.co/Jw04sWMJ/IMG-0691.jpg) (https://ibb.co/v6gGjCKn)
I wouldn't be, either !!! :you_rock:
CONGRATS !!!
Need a story.
Quote from: Yoder409 on March 14, 2026, 10:59:22 AMQuote from: POk3s on March 14, 2026, 10:25:36 AMHappy to report, I'm no longer sad...
(https://i.ibb.co/Jw04sWMJ/IMG-0691.jpg) (https://ibb.co/v6gGjCKn)
I wouldn't be, either !!! :you_rock:
CONGRATS !!!
Need a story.
I'm just letting it simmer, enjoying myself, and thinking of the proper words! A perfect hunt! Will type it out soon!
Heck yea, Congratulations! Looking forward to the story....
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That's amazing!!! Congrats!
Heck yea!
Heck yeah!!! That's what i'm talking about! Nice redemption.
It sure does change one's outlook on life.
It sure does change one's outlook on life.
It sure does change one's outlook on life.
Congrats brother!
That's so awesome man. A memory to be proud of! Congratulations!
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Like I said, I went back to the area I missed him, that evening. It felt like the corner of his range. If he made it through this corner, he would've had to go a long ways back behind the way he flew to have any roost trees or proper turkey habitat. I just didn't figure he'd double back that far, in half a day.
So, The next morning, the plan was to stay mobile and find a gobbling turkey, on the limb, by covering country. I started where the bird sailed to the day before, and just 8 minutes after shooting light, he gobbled. WHAT A RELIEF! I had a turkey in my little corner and I knew I could not make another mistake. The time was now.
I looped around and got tucked into a beautiful location overlooking a small, green, grazed down opening but tucked way back into the brush just looking through a tunnel into this opening. Absolutely no way this turkey could pick me off. None. It felt great.
He gobbled a couple more times, and I did something I don't do often and that's to call to him while still on the roost. We had turkey vultures next to us and they were flying around, making noises with their wings hitting branches. It sounded a lot like turkeys so I figured I'd make it realistic. As they made their ruckus I called. I started slow and ramped it up. I just wanted it to sound like hens flying down for the day and advertise to this gobbler "here we are!"
There was 5 minutes of nothing and I thought maybe I'd made the wrong move. There was even some fog and I thought maybe I just got too close and he was able to pick us off. Oh well." I thought. I wasn't too aggressive and we've got a turkey to hunt. If this turkey did see us, there was enough cattle around that I don't think he's too spooked by shadows 300 yards away.
I'm pondering our next move when all of the sudden the turkey ran into the opening at a high rate of speed. My opinion is that he flew straight in, off the roost, as he looked to be setting his wings when I saw him. He stopped dead in the middle of my opening and stood there. I quickly got the bead on him, aimed...then really aimed and it was all over.
The final piece and all the closure I needed for an official public land grand slam of the wild turkey, all done on the public lands of this great country.
(https://i.ibb.co/Df9kZzZm/1-C4-F6101-110-D-41-AD-BC3-D-7-A73-C4-F17429.jpg) (https://ibb.co/m59t3b3d)
Heck yeah man, congrats!!!
Pulling for you bro, go getem. Z
LETS GOOOOO congrats man! Thats awesome and a great redemption from last years mishap AND this years haha. No better feeling then getting one on public and especially in a fairly heavily populated area like that one! Glad you got it done!
Quote from: TooTallOutdoorss on March 16, 2026, 09:00:08 AMLETS GOOOOO congrats man! Thats awesome and a great redemption from last years mishap AND this years haha. No better feeling then getting one on public and especially in a fairly heavily populated area like that one! Glad you got it done!
I know I've said it but I was down. Really down. I went in saying "I just need one good shot. Just give me one." And then I got it and blew it and I knew that was the best weather day and obviously the longer it goes on, the more other hunters can figure out my little corner.
But hey, all good now! Thanks again for talking turkey with me! I never made it over to your buddy's opening day spot and I don't know if anyone hunted it. Hopefully that turkey lives on!
Freakin' OUTSTANDING, brother !!!!!
:you_rock: