Zim

So after my #1 public spot was blocked by flooding, after work today I drove out to scout a different nearby property I'd never been to. Last night from my hotel room I used Google Earth to view aerials of six public properties I can use my county wide Illinois tags at. Of these six, only one kind of appealed to me, and I chose it despite the fact that our ILDNR did not even list it as holding wild turkeys. But it appeared to have the habitat I look for.......Timber, water, CRP, crop fields, and seclusion. Due to my job I travel the whole states of Illinois & Wisconsin so I like scouting and am never afraid to check out a new parcel. Well, I drive there, park, get out of my jeep, and immediately glass 5 gobbling mature toms & one hen ~300 yards at the end of the field. If you zoom in the first photo you may see them. I thought this ironic the property description omitted turkey yet it took me a whopping 1 minute to view 6!


Anyway, I observed them strut for a half hour, then backed out of the area not wanting to disturb them. So I hike into the adjacent field through one mile of CRP and find a huge secluded freshly plowed field full of tracks and dust bowls! No hunter sign at all. I think the flood was a blessing. This new spot looks even better! I marked 5 good setups along the west facing side of the 1.6 mile long field. Heck 4 guys could show up Thursday and I'd still have plan B, C, D, E & F loaded with tracks. Expect first tom down within 48 hours.