Flushing out a bear always makes for a good day. Talking about grouse, I don't recall even tracking a grouse last fall or winter. We have a few, and it seems they are all up in the highest mountains.

Above in this thread I've mentioned my buddy Brandon. Don't think that I've told you this before, Brandon's family owns the local sawmill. It's a top of the line mill, it's mainly a rail mill. They saw posts and all for a rail fence. His family is one of the owners of the mountain where I hang out.

We stay in touch, share pictures an all. Some of the pictures we get on our trail cameras, we don't share with the public. It just cuts down on problems.

Anyway, at the mill they have all kinds of equipment, so Brandon took their trackhoe to the mountain the other week. Above I've told you about me scratching out the spring with a grubbing hoe.

I asked Brandon to take his hoe up to the spring and make us a little pond. After all of the days that he's hunted that mountain, he didn't know exactly where it was located. I gave him directions, and he found it. He sent me a picture, we have a nice little water hole now.

I have been looking for turkey sign,It seems to be a few around.
Also keeping my eye on leeks,they are just coming up here.
That spring should be a good place for a trail cam!

Yes, I have a camera at the spring, it is a good spot. Someone else has a camera up there too, I guess it belongs to Chris? I haven't talked to him for 8 or 10 months?

Trying to explain to Brandon, the best way to get his hoe up the mountain to the spring. There is a skidder path, it's about 30 years old, and with every rain and freeze and thaw, the path is getting smaller. Years ago a man told me that after 50 years, Mother Nature will pretty much take erase all of the cuts. I'd say that's about right.

I told Brandon to be careful, it's steep and rough. He told me later that he was puckered to the seat going around that one turn. His trackhoe weighs 8,000 pounds, so it's not a big hoe, and it's not a toy either. But a hoe is top-heavy compared to a dozer.

Anyway, he said that it took him an hour and a half to walk that thing back to the end of the road. For anyone that has ever operated a vehicle on tracks, that's a long and bumpy ride.

Brandon texted me while he was at the spring, and asked about trying to bring the hoe down the hollow. I told him there was a lot of timber across the hollow. and it's steep and rocky. He texted me back in a few minutes: Nope, I'm not going down the hollow.

We talked about this a month ago, I asked him to block the trail when he came back off. So he blocked it off, and said nobody will be using the trail. It's just one of those places where game can get out of the way. If you want to hunt that area, you will walk. I like spots like that too.

In one of the other threads I mentioned the bobcat that I watched cross the road, 2 weeks or so ago. It just happens that my friend Diana saw one the other day, and my buddy Willie got to see one too. All 3 of us within a week or 10 days time.

I've been asking, as far as I know, nobody has seen a bear yet. They should be out moving. I know guys that are still getting bucks on their cameras. I haven't checked my cameras for a while, I figure batteries are dead in a couple of them.

Someone was selling ramps here in town over the weekend, I think $10 for a shopping bag full. I've planted ramps all over the place, doesn't seem like they are spreading.

A man told me yesterday that he heard a gobbler. People are seeing them out in the fields a good bit. I did see 6 or 8 big birds a week or so ago. It's time.

Friday morning I took the dog to the mountain, wanted to check my cameras, check out Brandon's work, cut the dog in the wind and put out some salt. I dumped three 50# bags of white salt. It's just regular salt for livestock, it's around $6 per bag? Two spots are old saltlicks, and I started a new one. Game will find it.

I'll tell you Brandon did a really good job, he was up there at least 2 days. He spent a good bit of time running a chainsaw too. He started a mineral lick, and sowed a clover/alfalfa/chicory mix, in the places he was down to bare ground. It hasn't been long, but the clover is already up. It's just 2 little leaves, right at ground level now, but it's looking good. We've had some good rains lately, the ground is moist.

Above I said that someone had stolen one of Brandon's SD cards, last fall or so? When you first turn onto the right-of-way to this property there is a pipe gate. Back when they put up the gate, folks didn't have 4-wheelers and side/by/sides and such. There was room on one end of the gate, where you could squeeze past.

We knew that people were going around the gate, and nobody really cared. Until someone stole that $10 SD card. I talked to all of the landowners, we all agree, that crossed the line. So, while Brandon was up there with his trackhoe, I had him put a boulder in that spot and plug the hole.

I've said this before, it's about like a padlock, it'll keep an honest man honest.

Anyway, I checked 2 of my cameras. I hadn't checked them since back in deer season. I have a picture of a buck taken on March 23rd, it's a 6-point or small 8? And have a picture of a bear, taken April 7th. We've guessed it to be around 150 pounds. Only 1 bobcat picture, several coons, zero fox, and one coyote.

But since November, that is the first and only bear that I've got on camera. I do have a picture of 3 gobblers, one is strutting, fanned out and all. People have been hearing them off and on.

West Virginia's spring turkey season opened April, 21st. Plus a 2 day youth season, the Saturday and Sunday before the regular season.

I've only had a chance to get out 4 times, so far, seems like they are very quiet. Wednesday of the first week, Big Donnie and I had a good round with one. Donnie just had his left knee replaced, so he's on light duty. I told him they probably used a Black Angus knuckle. But I helped him find a good spot, I pulled back about 40 yards and told him we'd just hang tight and call for an hour and a half or 2.

Donnie said it gobbled about 45 times, also said he could hear a hen with him. So, probably more than 1 hen? The bird stayed just out of sight, D. said he was about 60 yards for a while. I gave him the best I could muster on 3 of my favorite calls. The rascal walked away from us. We should have killed it, and probably would have if we'd been more agressive. With Donnie's knee, it's not worth the risk.

We were back on the same property Wednesday of this week, didn't hear a peep.

The other 2 days I've been out, I haven't heard a bird. With my ears, I hear stuff, and just can't tell for sure. But about everyone that I've talked to, say they are just not gobbling much.

I'll give you a turkey report. I know of a couple that have been harvested, but not many here local.

My buddy Jim is hunting with friends in PA this week. He said that they have turkeys out the butt, where they are hunting. Jim sent me pictures yesterday, with 4 guys hunting, they killed 3 long-beards before 10 O'clock. I haven't heard from him yet this morning.

We've talked about food plots for the game a little bit. I drove on the Ratliff Place the other morning, there are 4 or 5 guys that have the property leased for hunting. I bumped into Chuck and Joey, they were getting ready to till up another little area. They have a small farm tractor, it's 4WD with a bucket on the front and a tiller on the back.

There is a transmission powerline that goes across the property, most of the food plots they've made, are in the right of way. Honestly, they are looking good. But one thing that I want to point out, they have a piece of twine, like a chalk line. The line circles the food plots, about waist high, with surveyor tape about 6 feet apart.

I asked the reason for all of that stuff, Chuck said it's to help keep turkeys from messing around. I know another man that broadcast wheat, before it had a chance to sprout, the turkeys had pretty much cleaned it up. He said they were in there everyday. I guess those ribbons flapping in breeze might help ?

Above I told you that my buddy Jim went to PA, to turkey hunt. He was there about a week< he's home now. One day last week Jim and I went out here local, and he told me about his trip.

Jim said he was hearing 8 to 10 different gobblers, all but 1 day that he was there. I forget, but I think it was really windy that one morning and he only heard 1. But he was seeing 15 or 20 turkeys just riding around changing spots and all.

The morning that he and I went out here local, we were in some good turkey woods, we never heard a peep. He's hunted about every day of season, I think today makes 6 days in a row that he hasn't heard a gobble. I guess they are done?

Seems like our spring season is always 2 or 3 weeks past peak gobbling.

Early in this thread, I mentioned someone's campsite on one of my landowner's property. With the tent, little fireplace thing, growing dope and all. It was in the fall, I think 2 years ago?

Anyway, the landowner's son told me 2 or 3 weeks before turkey season came in, he was out there feeding the cows. He said every time that a cow would bawl, a turkey would gobble, up in there someplace near the campsite. I told him that I'd go check out the campsite and turkey hunt one morning.

I was out there yesterday morning, the tent is still there, nobody home. But someone has been there since the last time I was there. The tent hasn't been used for a while, but I'll check it again in 2 or 3 weeks. He or she has trash and junk scattered all over the place.

I think in my original comment about the tent and all, I said that there was a shovel, one of those little garden tools used to fluff his dope patch. Where I took the hatchet and brought it home. I brought the garden tool home yesterday, it's a "Hound Dog". About 20$ or so? Showed it to the landowner today, he said he didn't want the thing.

But if I'd happen to run into the person that made all of that mess, I'll either run them off or call 911. The landowner doesn't want anyone living on his farm. But I never heard a peep yesterday. Guess I should have let out a cow bawl?

It's a shame how some people treat others property.
The turkeys are giving me a hard time this year,I
also think our season starts to late.

One thing that I forgot to mention above, not sure if it's like this everywhere or not? But I've noticed more poison ivy and oak this spring than ever before. Or "3 leaf greeny" as some of us call it. The other morning when I went to check on the campsite and all, I walked up this ditch line, and the poison was almost waist deep. Plus it was growing on the trees. 150 yards up through that mess, I figured about half way, I'm gonna come out on a different route!

My buddy Jim is back in Pa. I'm not sure exactly where he's hunting, but it's someplace over around Washington, Pa. Jim said the place is just loaded with turkeys. They killed one yesterday, said it was pouring down rain today.

Jim and I talked about this the other day, a good fire would do our woods good. It'd be good for the game and healthy for the woods. But, there are so many camps and homes in the mountains today, it's almost impossible to have a fire.

Finally talked Moe into going hunting with me, we're headed out in the morning. Our season ends Sunday, the 25th. We're going to hunt just across from his house, there should be turkeys in that area. I'd love to see him blast one. Or at least have a good round with one.

I hope Moe gets one!

You guys will have a great time regardless.