[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/hooked-for-life\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/hooked-for-life\/","headline":"Hooked For Life","name":"Hooked For Life","description":"Nothing could have prepared us for this.\u00a0 19\u00b0F is what my phone read at 4:45 AM.\u00a0 A quick glance out...","datePublished":"2016-04-13","dateModified":"2018-10-24","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/author\/hagosto\/#Person","name":"Hector Agosto","url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/author\/hagosto\/","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7bfedbdc5ef3ed8f8df91eb37e1ffbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7bfedbdc5ef3ed8f8df91eb37e1ffbe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Legendary Whitetails","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/logo-legendary-whitetails.png","url":"http:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/logo-legendary-whitetails.png","width":522,"height":226}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/IsaacYouthHunt3.jpg","url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/IsaacYouthHunt3.jpg","height":662,"width":1000},"url":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/hooked-for-life\/","about":["News"],"wordCount":1381,"keywords":["News"],"articleBody":"Nothing could have prepared us for this.\u00a0 19\u00b0F is what my phone read at 4:45 AM.\u00a0 A quick glance out the window showed a layer of snow from the night before.\u00a0 It was April 9th and we were getting ready for our first Wisconsin turkey hunt of the spring, and oh what lovely conditions we were greeted with . . . Had it been my tag, I probably would have elected to stay in bed, but thankfully the decision wasn\u2019t up to me.\u00a0 It was up to Isaac and nothing was going to get in the way of his first ever turkey hunt.Isaac is my wife\u2019s little cousin and he had never been hunting before.\u00a0 He had expressed his interest in wanting to hunt during several family get-togethers and we finally made it happen.\u00a0 He got his spring turkey application in before the December deadline and we waited for the results.\u00a0 In the meantime, Isaac completed the hunter safety course.The results came in and he drew the second time slot. \u00a0He also\u00a0could participate in the youth hunt, since he was under the age of 16.\u00a0 So here we are, it\u2019s the first morning of the youth turkey season and snow covers the ground on a crisp 20\u00b0 morning.\u00a0 Out the door we headed.We came across this large flock of turkeys while scouting during a snow storm the day before.The day prior was spent scouting and I was able to locate a large\u00a0group of birds just off the highway on one of the farms we had permission to hunt.\u00a0 A flock of 40 or so were on one side of the road and a lonesome 3 were on the other.\u00a0 I knew exactly where we needed to get a blind up, but didn\u2019t think it could be done without bumping the birds off the field.\u00a0 I returned to the field a couple hours later to set up the blind with hope that the birds had moved on . . . they didn\u2019t, and now instead of 3 birds, there was roughly 20 in the field.\u00a0\u00a0 With snow moving in, I made the executive decision to go ahead and bust the birds so I could get the blind set up.\u00a0 Hopefully it would give them enough time to work back towards the field before roosting.Here’s the turkey blind all brushed in. \u00a0It would be covered with snow by the morning.On the day of the hunt, during the early morning drive to the property, I knew Isaac was excited. He was loaded with the same questions and curiosity that I remember having as a young hunter.\u00a0 As we eased towards the blind along the creek bank, we froze in our tracks when multiple gobblers broke the morning silence.\u00a0 I turned to Isaac and said, \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a good morning!\u201d\u00a0 He smiled and we quickly made our way to the blind.\u00a0 Due to the snow, daylight seemed to be coming fast and these birds could be flying down at any time.We got the Montana Decoys situated out in front of the blind \u2013 a hen decoy accompanied by a full strut tom.\u00a0 The waiting game was on and we could only hope that they would fly down on our side of the creek.\u00a0 We opened some hand warmers and waited patiently in the snow covered blind.\u00a0 Luckily for us, \u201cboring\u201d was not an adjective suited to describe this hunt.\u00a0 Four or five gobblers were hammering to our calls all morning long.\u00a0 It was only a matter of time before they would emerge from the woodlot.Isaac with his first turkey.An hour passed and it seemed like the birds hadn\u2019t moved at all.\u00a0 With them being in their winter flocks, I was afraid this could happen.\u00a0 Still, they kept us engaged.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t hit the call much early on because I knew they were all flocked up and with hens.\u00a0 They\u2019d answer to every call, but never advance.\u00a0 Without being able to see them, our options were limited.\u00a0 Our hands were getting cold and Isaac\u2019s toes were starting to get that tingly feeling every cold-weather hunter knows all too well.Not knowing how much longer we\u2019d be able to last, I decided to amp up the calling with the hopes of firing up the hens.\u00a0 Armed with diaphragm call in my mouth and a box call in hand, I started calling as if there were two hens and a gobbler out in the field. Just as I had hoped, the hens in the group started firing back and the gobblers were responding.\u00a0 Our eyes were peeled to the wood line, surely something was going to appear.More ramped up calling and more responses, but still no visual.\u00a0 Then, during a quiet period, we heard a sound I\u2019m very familiar with coming from directly behind us.\u00a0 I knew exactly what I was going to see when I peeked out the back window of the blind \u2013 a tom in full strut!\u00a0 Not one, but two!\u00a0 Their wings were popping off the crusty snow and the strutting gobblers were less than 5 yards away!Mayhem broke out in the blind as I shuffled to get the camera out of Isaac\u2019s way and he readied for the shot.\u00a0 You can\u2019t really walk a first time hunter through the steps of aiming and breathing when a hunt takes a turn like this.\u00a0 These birds came out of nowhere!\u00a0 To make matters even trickier, the birds came from our back left and Isaac being a lefty needed to completely shift his body for the shot.\u00a0 Amazingly, he got the gun out the window as I sat back with the camera.Isaac preparing to take the shot on the strutting tom.The birds were walking by at about 25 yards when Isaac finally got a bead on the moving gobbler\u2019s head.\u00a0 As he steadied his aim, you could hear the nervous and excited breaths that overtake a hunters\u2019 body every time a shot is about to be taken.BOOM!The gobbler folded in its tracks from a perfectly placed shot. Like a couple of little school girls, we giggled, high-fived, and celebrated an unbelievable turkey hunt.\u00a0 We honestly could not believe what had just happened.\u00a0 Isaac was tagged out with a whopping 27.5-pound longbeard!On his very first turkey hunt, with less than ideal conditions, Isaac had shot a bird bigger than anything I\u2019ve ever shot over the course of 14 previous turkey seasons! \u00a0What a bird and what an accomplishment! More than anything, I\u2019m glad I was there to be part of something that he will never forget.Yup, this world just gained another lifelong hunter and I encourage anybody who is willing and able to do the same and take a kid hunting. Trust me, it’ll be worth it. "},{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"Legendary Whitetail's Blog"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https:\/\/community.legendarywhitetails.com\/blog\/hooked-for-life\/#breadcrumbitem","name":"Hooked For Life"}}]}]