By Mike Roche

This writer spent the past week in Kansas “visiting my sister” Pat. For years, she has been kind enough to buy me a Kansas hunting license, and so I fly out to hunt turkeys. It has become a very enjoyable getaway. During those years, a number of the people Pat has connected me with to hunt with or to hunt on their land have become friends. She is an avid horsewoman, and her network of friends include many other equestrian enthusiasts. She has a beautiful stable which is a place where the “eat off the floor” axiom is really true. She rides with the Leavenworth Hunt Club, and they follow a pack of hounds and ride on properties with trails complete with jumps and obstacles for the horses. This is known as fox hunting, but the lack of foxes had led to the hounds now chasing coyotes. The properties have become the primary locations where my turkey hunting adventures take place.

As has been noted in this space, a number of states in the south and Midwest have noted a sharp decline in the number of wild turkeys, and Kansas is one with a significant decline. That has led to a reduction from the two-bird spring limit in all but one of the state’s wildlife management zones. My week in Kansas seemed to affirm the population dynamic. In my 10-years plus of turkey hunting in Kansas, gobbling at dawn while hunting usually involved multiple toms sounding off almost every day of hunting. My recently completed week had single or double gobbles heard at dawn and hens were also scarce.

Opening morning, my choice was a location where every year you could count on multiple gobblers sounding off at dawn over a broad landscape that included tilled fields, hardwood ridges and creek bottoms. My hunting success there was far and away the best of any place hunted and the number of turkeys—both toms and hens—encountered was traditionally greater than any other place. Wednesday, two birds every year gobbled off the roost, but they were probably a half-mile apart. The closest tom flew down at dawn, gobbled once, and moved away—likely following a hen or two and that was the high point of that day.

The following day was spent with Kin Hickman. He has become a good friend and is one of the best woodsmen that it has ever been my pleasure to spend time with. He recently retired as a supervisor of a regional highway district and is an avid trapper and animal control agent. His true passion, however, is coon hounds. He spends many nights running his dogs and is very active in the Kansas conservation community, advocating for the houndsmen, the wildlife resources of the state, and keeping the outdoor tradition alive by involving youth in hunting and fishing activities. After our hunt, he was going to spend the next three nights serving as Huntmaster for a three-day United Kennel Club sanctioned coon hunting event that was the Kansas State Championship.

Our day hunting got off to a challenging start when two other hunters moved into the area where we had set up and were calling. Kin identified himself and asked them to do the same. They had permission to hunt a small adjacent property, but after seeing our vehicle, what they did was a serious breach of hunting ethics and protocol and contrary to turkey hunting safety guidelines. We moved and located a gobbler, but the bird never moved for almost an hour, a sure sign he was “henned up.” We then drove north to Perry Lake, a large public hunting area which required online registration. Our day was enjoyable, but we never did get a bird going.

The rest of my hunting week was slow, but l did end up locating a roosting gobbler Saturday pre-dawn. He gobbled almost non-stop for 30 minutes and then chose to come in my direction after flying down. The fact that he chose my imitations over at least two hens who were also talking made this turkey hunter was feel pretty cocky. Then the mature tom walked up the ridge into sight and stood 60 yards in front of me and gobbled. He was clearly looking for the hen, but unfortunately my decoy was obscured by some vegetation. He then turned and went back down towards the hens, never gobbling again. You learn humility when you hunt turkeys!

The clear highlight of my trip was pairing with an old friend, Dr. Steve Williams, to compete in a fishing tournament on Sunday afternoon. We met when he was the Deer Project Leader at MassWildlife. He went on to be the Environmental Secretary in Kansas before being appointed by President Bush to serve at the Director of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He recently retired from the Wildlife Institute where he was the director.

The fishing tournament was organized by his two grandsons, particularly Parker Petesch, who drafted the rules, and Jack Williams. It took place on a farm pond with a population of bass and crappie. Before the contest, both boys flashed pictures on their phones of 10-pound bass they had caught. Steve and I were not intimidated. Parker was kind enough to lend me a spinning rod and after a short drive from Steve’s house in a fancy utility vehicle, the game was on!

After selecting a chartreuse and white paddle-tail soft bait to match the bright, sunny conditions, my first cast resulted in a nice largemouth and the rout was on. Despite a strong wind gusting over 30 miles per hour, the old geezers kicked butt! The first three fish were mine and then Steve heated up and we opened up a 7-0 lead before the young guns got on the board. When the contest ended, we were victorious by a wide margin and bragging rights were ours! The contest was fun, and it was inspiring to see how much the boys were into fishing and hunting. Jack had taken a turkey during the Kansas Youth Turkey Hunt with his dad Matt Williams and Parker was clearly a serious fisherman! We are all looking forward to the rematch next April!

Monday morning the Massachusetts turkey season opens. Be safe out there and remember that it is the gobble and not the gobbler that is the real prize!

There is great news from the Mahar Fish’N Game Club that the popular game supper is back! The popular event, which began as the club’s Father & Son Banquet in 1958, is taking place on Saturday, April 29, in the Mahar Cafeteria. Doors will open at 5:30 for a great evening of wild game appetizers and entrées will all the fixins’. Tickets are out for $20 and club members have them to sell. They will also be available locally at Trail Head and Flagg’s Tackle in Orange. You can contact club advisor Evelyn Cunha by email at ecunha@rcmahar.org or phone or text at 413-221-5297 or William Devine at wdevine@rcmahar.org or 508-667-0955. As always, any donations of game or fish are more than welcome and you can contact Evelyn to make arrangements to donate any venison, pheasant, bear, moose, or fresh or saltwater fish you might want to give to a great evening.

And on the topic of young people and fishing, the Orange Gun is looking for support for the club’s annual Kids Fishing Derby. The derby will be held on May 7 at the club and it is a great event for boys and girls age 14 and under. The derby runs from 9-11 a.m. and the club provides free hot dogs, soup, soda and cookies for all who come, with great prizes for the biggest fish, and every child will receive a prize for taking part. If you would like to support the derby with a prize or financial donation, you can contact the club at P. O. Box 263, Orange, MA 01364 or call Chuck Neveu at 413-522-8808.

Mike Roche is a retired teacher who has been involved in conservation and wildlife issues his entire life. He has written the Sportsman’s Corner since 1984 and has served as advisor to the MaharFish’N Game Club, Counselor and Director of the Massachusetts Conservation Camp, former Connecticut Valley District representative on the Massachusetts Fisheries and Wildlife Board, has been a Massachusetts Hunter Education Instructor and is a licensed New York hunting guide. He can be reached at mikeroche3@msn.com.

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