The first nine days of Spring Gobbler Season is behind us and that means that the Richloam WMA is open for non-quota hunting. Anybody looking for a place to hunt can now take a short ride over to the east side of our county and find some great opportunities to hunt Mister Tom.
The Richloam WMA is a 58,000-acre tract of the Withlacoochee State Forest and has a healthy mixture of old Florida flat woods and river bottom swamp. And it is full of turkeys! However, despite the high numbers of birds, they’re not easy to hunt. But, I’ll share a couple of tips that have aided my success on that property.
I’ve hunted Richloam for thirty years and spent several years guiding turkey hunts there and the number one thing I do is hunt the flat ponds. You know, those smallish, shallow, grassy ponds along the edges of oak hammocks and palmetto fields. They hold a lot of protein for the turkeys to eat. Tons of insects, lizards, frogs and tadpoles.
It’s never a stretch of the imagination that the hens will be feeding there at this time of the year; they need that extra protein in their diet to help support their egg production. And where the hens are, them horny and hopeful toms won’t be far.
I learned early on, too, that these public land gobblers get a lot of pressure, and if you get too aggressive, you can actually make the toms suspicious. Keep the calls subtle and not too frequent. Pique his interest and let him come searching for you. He won’t be gobbling either, so stay awake. Many times I’ve almost convinced myself that there wasn’t a gobbler within a mile of my setup, only to look up and spot him standing in front of me like a statue. I’d have no idea how he got there or how long he’d been there, only that he was there long enough to accept an invitation to dinner.
Thus far, it’s been a terrific season. My personal tally with eleven clients during the first nine days has been ten turkeys and one hog. Everybody left with a trophy, a grin and a promise to be back.
Feel free to email me at [email protected] if you have any questions or concerns about hunting turkeys. God Bless, and good hunting!
