Saturday: Trout Heritage Day? Youth Turkey Hunt? Both
Saturday is one of those dilemma days.
It’s the youth turkey hunt, a day when our hunters 15 and under get a chance to get a bead on a gobbler a week before we do.
It’s also Trout Heritage Day, the one day a year when the DGIF announces ahead of time what waters will be stocked so anglers can make their plans ahead of time.
I have a third potential conflict. The past two years I’ve run a the Roanoke River 5K on the first Saturday in April. It’s a small race put on by a local high school cross country and track program. (It used to be Northside, but now is William Byrd since coach Jeremy Woods changed schools.) So it’s for a good cause. And the race is a good early-season fitness gauge, so it’s tempting. One thing is certain: Both fishing and turkey hunting are much more fun than the 20-minute on-the-verge-of-puking effort that is a 5K. (See picture of me on the verge of puking at the Drumstick Dash.)
I’m taking the kids crappie fishing Saturday evening, so I think trout fishing is probably out for us. If one of them wanted to turkey hunt, I’d do that. But they don’t really have the hunting bug. And I can promise you they don’t have the get-up-early bug.
So I have a feeling I’ll be running.
What about you guys?
Turkey hunt? Trout fish? Both? Or run and puke with me?
April 2, 2012 - 4:38 PM
Youth Turkey day for sure and then home for a large Easter party for all of the kids in the extended family.
First, speaking of running….. CONGRATULATIONS Mark on your fantastic Finish in the mountain Junkies 10 mile race last weekend! Great Pace! Especially for those tough, muddy conditions!
So many critters to pursue! So many hard choices!
We decided to fish on Friday night so we won’t be Turkey hunting Saturday. My boy is ready to tangle with a Big Striper since I’ve been tempting him with the fish tales of the ones I’ve been catching lately! He hasn’t been able to go because of school… Has to be in bed early
And to all of you in the Wildlife Family Good Luck in your pursuits whatever they are!
For me, I’ll be crappie fishing on SML Saturday morning. Trout fishing is out for sure. I never saw the nostalgia of tangled lines and competing for a hole with the 47 other anglers.
As for turkeys, my boys are older and not into turkey hunting anyway. I’ll have that choice the deal with next week.
As for running, I’ll leave that for you ‘fit and trim’ guys. This fall, when I’m hiking the hills while deer hunting, I’ll be wishing I was more physically fit like you!
Won’t be able to pursue either Saturday, will be on the way to sunny FLA with the family while the boys are out on spring break. Am looking forward to some surf casting with my boys in the New Smyrna/Daytona Beach area. Last year we caught a couple of whiting and a pompano, along with one sand shark and this year we’re going down about two weeks earlier than last and hoping the surf casting is more productive. The trout and turkeys will have to wait another week especially the trout, I feel the same way about the crowds as Ranger. Good luck to all those who get at it this weekend.
Huntersdad — Have fun in Fla. Too bad you won’t be on the gulf side as I think you could probably get into some good sea trout and snook action. I don’t know much about fishing the Fla. Atlantic.
Ranger — I’m with you on the crowd thing. I can see how some folks would enjoy it. Clearly they do, which is part of why opening day was so big and Heritage Day is now.
As for your take on running, let me say just one thing: No!
I will not accept that answer!
Don’t leave the running to the “fit and trim” guys and then suffer when it comes time to cover ground during hiking season. Become one of those fit trim guys!
Seriously. Being in shape will make you a better hunter and angler. No two ways around it.
I’ve experienced both sides of this. Three years ago I weighed 210. I wasn’t really fat, but I wasn’t really svelte. I couldn’t hike up a hill without huffing and puffing. I remember one particular walk into one of my deer stands would just crush me, especially if I was carrying my climbing stand. I wasn’t just carrying 40 pounds on my back. I was carrying those 40 pounds plus another 35-40 around my waist. It was a half-mile. And I couldn’t stay in the stand as long, either.
Getting in decent shape over the past three years has greatly increased my enjoyment of hunting and fishing. I can cover more ground hunting, spend more time in the boat casting, spend longer days paddling rivers or wading, etc.
The other thing that I have really come to realize in that time is that training for a major endurance race is a lot like hunting (or fishing), in that it requires discipline, focus, maybe some talent and the right gear (which is fun!) to be successful, plus the best part is the camaraderie with others who share the passion.
I’m not saying everyone has to be running half-marathons or 5Ks or doing triathlons, but spending an hour three times a week exercising and just being sort of vigilant about nutrition (I still eat pizza and drink beer — and I can eat and drink more since I burn extra calories!) can make a huge difference.
I know there are some regulars on this site who will back me up, because at least two of them will be with me on the starting line at the Blue Ridge Half and Marathon on April 21, and another was in several triathlons with me last year. Last week after a race one of the other guys started asking me about turkey hunting!
So, Ranger, are you in?
I’ll be coaching at a youth wrestling tournament in the morning and stopping by Jennings Creek on the way back home in the afternoon. I will be taking 4 grandkids along with my daughter. Hopefully the crowds will have thinned out by then and I can get the kids some fish
.
I will do my running in the morning helping a young one tag a gobbler, then do some running up and down several streams to catch a limit of trout….. hows that?
David — Nothing wrong with that plan!
Mark, I’ve been reading some surf fishing reports for the area we’ll be in and it’s sounding pretty promising, things on the Atlantic side are heating up. Gulf Sea Trout sound tempting though, could be worth the drive across the peninsula.
Back when I was a kid, opening trout day was a blast getting together with your buddies and camping out the night before to get a jump on the next morning and as a kid I didn’t mind the crowds at all. As a man of a certain age now, trout fishing has become to me much like deer hunting, it’s more about a quiet place and some solitude. I’d much rather wait a day or two after stocking and the crowds have gone and then go spend the day trying to catch a few along a quiet stretch of water. The fishing is much slower and a little tougher, but also much more peaceful.
Mark, I appreciate your thoughts on the fitness. I am fairly active with gardening and other outdoor activities, but I really don’t care for athetlic type sports. I take heart though that such training would help with hunting and fishing and overall health. And if I can have more pizza and beer and fried chicken and mashed potatoes and gravy and coconut cream pie, maybe I WILL start running! Yeah, I added to the list…I better get started running!
Mmmmmmm….fried chicken …. and pie … and gravy….
Seriously, Ranger, by gardening and just getting outdoors you are doing more than a lot of folks. And you don’t even have to run. Walk. Hike. Bike. Low impact. The key is three hours a week.
I just talked to someone who had asked me about how tough the hike the McAfee Knob is. She gets very little exercise and smokes. A month of walking (she has that much time before the planned hike) will make a huge difference. Otherwise, she’ll make the 7 miles, but she’s gonna be feeling it.
Youth turkey day! Don’t even have to think about it!