Scouting starts this weekend any tips?

[bigthunderchicken]

starting to see some tracks but have yet to see any birds or scat. any tips?

[henned up tom]

Slap a game-cam on a tree close to where you found the tracks and see if they come back. If they do, you may have found a little highway for them.

Did the tracks belong to a tom or a hen? Also, were the tracks on a dirt road? Field?

[jerseyjimk]

a little early for that it's still winter

[henned up tom]

Good thing you got a winter...its 75 degrees in Alabama. I don't think it got below freezing down here but maybe 3 or 4 times.  Not very good conditions for hunting at all if you hunt deer or waterfowl.

[jerseyjimk]

duck sucked this year,lakes and ponds never froze over and when they did the season was over

[bigthunderchicken]

im in Crawford Al where are you? I found one set of gobbler tracks the rest looked like hens. They were in a road. Planning on putting some cameras out this weekend. Maybe some corn too.

[henned up tom]

@bigthunder:I am in Birmingham (Hoover specifically).  Slap a camera on a tree and see where they are coming from. 

@jerseyjim: It was a horrible duck season in Alabama. Our season just finished up last weekend.  I have seen an increase of duck hunters (who by the way have no clue what they are doing...skyblasting, calling excessively, etc) who ruin the public waters, so if there were ducks, they didn't fly on the rivers. Got lots of woodies, some gads, a couple of sprigs, and ringnecks, but not a single mallard. It was tough pickens this year for sure.

[dirt road ninja]

Go sit in the woods where you think they might be before sunrise. Bring something to sit on and wear your camo, and face mask. Just sit and listen for an hour or so after sunrise, if you hear any don't try and move on them, just stay put until they go on with their day. Once they move off go try and find the area they were roosting in, then look for a food source. As long as the food doesn't leave they won't either.

If you dont hear anything I'd still go looking for a food source, but before I left I would throw out some corn and a camara.

[Aim@it]

Bigthunderchicken,  Sir, I have never heard of putting out corn for turkeys. The biologist that I have listened to at game dept. presetations say not do this as it can be the catalyst for a certain disease.

[henned up tom]

@ Aim,

I have heard that too. I have also seen turkeys gathered around my corn feeder in the summer time for years and nothing has really happened, that I can tell. 

Any biologists on here that can help us out?

[henned up tom]

I've thrown out corn chops before too and had pretty good success.

[Ol'Mossy]

I'm just itchin to get out there, the gobblers are strutting from what i've heard from guys, not gobbling too much though, it's still cold back in them mountains. I'm going on a scouting trip in the morning for coyote sign but I will keep an eye out for any turkeys.

[SonicBanshee]

i need to scout