Heres a few tips that you can do now and take care of over the next couple to few months that will help you down the road come opening day of your spring 2005 season....

Where to hunt...

First things first, If you are interested in hunting a piece of private land that you have seen birds on, make your connections now.

Keep in contact with the property owner and offer to help around the property if needed.

Lots of people are resorting to hunting on private ground to avoid the masses who hit public land opening day.

If you hunt public land, get familiar with the area.

Nothing's worse than going back to your favorite spot to find out it's been logged or marked with fresh new "No Trespassing" signs.

Take the time to drive through your old haunts and look at the area.

Recent storms may have taken down the old roost tree you're accustomed to and you may need to do some homework to find the new one.

Develop a backup plan.....

Most of us have a favorite place we like to start the season. All of my favorite spots have become someone's "new" spot.

And the new spot I discovered last year was at least six other guys' "old" spot, even though I never saw a soul while scouting the area for the month prior to opening day.

I like to have at least three other spots I can go to without a lot of travel time in case one is overrun.

Develop plans A, B and C before you even make your first call.

Patterning birds.......

This time of year turkeys are traveling in flocks and are fairly visible.

As we get closer to the rut, they will disband and the jakes or smaller toms will band together in bachelor groups.

Mature toms will gather a harem to begin breeding season and will stick with them.

If you're seeing birds in a general area, mark it down. I like to drive around with a good topo map that I bought at G.I. Joe's.

With this map I can use a highlighter to mark certain areas and then cross reference with public-lands maps.

Turkeys will travel when pressured, so if you are seeing them in an area, they will be close come opening day.

Low pressure scouting....

Use spot-and-stalk tactics when your out in the woods using your ears and eyes with a good set of binos as you scout your woods instead of blowing everything out blundering through your stretch of potential hunting ground

Calling to a tom now will only educate him to your calls, and if he sees you, he may go silent during the season.

If you must call, use shock-gobble calls such as crow, owl, coyote, woodpecker and others to pinpoint a bird's location.

Keep a journal.....

Along with your map, keep a small notepad and keep tabs on travel patterns of different flocks in your hot spots.

Turkeys like to keep a schedule and you can get a good clue of when they fly down and when they hit the strut zone by taking notes.

These few tips will tell you when and where you need to be come opening morning wherever you may be across the country....hope it helps ....Bob

Are turkey's actually gobbling at all this early in the year?

Great post, good tips for all types of hunters. I started patterning the birds last year in middle Georgia the third week of February and watched them carefully until up to a week prior to the start of the hunting season. Really helped me get that bird on opening day.

Thanks Yank....Ontario good question,trying to get a bird to gobble this time of year would be futile for the mnost part at best particularly where your at!But some states such as Florida and even Hawaii spring is just a little over a month away!Trying to make a bird gobble is the last thing I would try to do in my preseason scouting anyway, and even than here in my home state I wouldn't try till about 2 weeks before season.Than I'm the type that would rather let the birds sound-off on there own!There will be enough locators and goof balls trying to make them gobble come opening day!The whole idea here is as Yank said"doing your homework"so that obviously your in the best possible position you need to be in but also a prepared turkey hunter gets the drop on the birds before the other guys in high pressure woods!I'm sure your in snow which makes tracking and locating birds that much easier,which in turn if your persistant will determine a pattern!!

Dang you Bob, I was going to type this out and you beat me too it again [8D]. Only thing is how many of the hunters that read this have practiced their calling yet or how many haven't stopped practicing I should say? Again Bob well writen and thank you for taking the time to type that all out. Pat

Great post Bob, lot's of good pointers in there for sure!! We think alike!!

Real good post Bob

Exsperence shows in the Typing, Good post for all to read...BT

Great post Bobgobble....I think scouting year-round is understated. Finding large winter flocks and then marking these areas on your maps or GPS can put you in the money. While these winter flocks will probably move a little, chances are they won't wander too far. With additional scouting a couple of weeks before the season you could really put yourself in the money. One thing I would like to improve on is learning to call the hens. I've noticed on too many occassions the toms are henned up and I would like to learn to call the hens or mimic the dominant hen to get her riled up to come over. The theory here is that get her ticked off and coming your way, the tom will follow. Any tips?

Kit , Mimic her , but put more aggression into the call and up the volume from her Cuts. As she decides to scold you , Cut her off and take over the Conversation, If shes Dominate she'll come in to Woop your Butt. As a general rule they will come in way ahead of the gobblers ,so patence is required and lack of moving is best ...BT