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Might head to Florida...

Matt

Matt

Active Member
932
61
Norton, OH
... to chase Osceolas and hogs. I have been trying to decide what to do for my spring break, which starts March 26th. I have a buddy who lives in Port Charlotte, which is near Ft. Myers, so I will probably stay with him. It will end up being a last-minute final decision based on my money situation at the time, but I will most likely drive down. So, based on that, who (1hornwilly ;) ) can give me some tips and help me navigate the mess that is the FWC regulations? I am planning on bringing the shotty for turks and possibly a .25-06 for hogs. Might do some fishing too, depending on how the hunting turns out for me.
 
Matt

Matt

Active Member
932
61
Norton, OH
No intentions of trespassing. I have my buddy looking for a place to hunt now. And UK, I promise, I will take pictures. Just for you sweetheart.
 
1hornwilly

1hornwilly

*Supporting Member III*
1,826
66
too far from the Ohio woods
Just read this...no time to respond right now, but I'll be back on here to get the lowdown. I'll help in any way I possibly can. Welcome to the sunshine state! 70 Degrees here today :smiley_clap:
 
T

tuffshot

The Crew
2,074
102
South of Chillicothe
Say hi to my mother and daughter, Matt
They live on the south side of Ft Myers

Maybe you should just wave when you go by, don't want you to scare them.

There are some places down at the Big Cypress swamp to hunt, but would be a long drive from Port C.
There are some places to hunt hogs around Lake Okechobee (sp)
 
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Matt

Matt

Active Member
932
61
Norton, OH
Tuff, I am not looking to spend a lot of money, so this will be a self-hunt most likely. Now, where the hell did willy go?
 
1hornwilly

1hornwilly

*Supporting Member III*
1,826
66
too far from the Ohio woods
Matt said:
Willy, you ever hunt Osceolas? Can you give me any Areola-specific tips?
Click to expand...

I will assume you meant "Osceola" specific tipslmao. They are much like other turks, just a little smaller. Skittish as all hell and stick together for the most part. They like rain, and head out into the open to feed a couple hours after sunlight. I kill them every year. The best deek I have found for them is a real osceola tail in some sort of ultralight that sits on a stick...when the slightest breeze blows the deek moves. The Gobblers in the area come in and kick the crap out of the decoy. It's awesome. Little calling is better than too much. Purrs and clucks seem to get the best response from the Toms in the area. If you can figure out where they are roosting, you'll have a heck of a day. I mostly hunt from blinds, but when a ground blind is not available, you can easily make one. Find a palmetto bush (looks like a squatty palm tree with big palm fronds) and cut about 10 fronds from the bush. Make sure to leave about 18 inches of stem from the frond. Stick them in the ground (it's all sand down here, so not too tough) in front of where you want to sit at varying heights and you will blend in just as well (maybe better than) as if you had a pop up. A good Osceola bird will have a 10" beard and 1 1/2 inch spurs. Anything over 20 lbs is a big bird. I've killed a bunch from this set-up. You can kill 2 gobblers per season down here. I'm working on getting some more info for the area you are going. I assume you are doing a self-guided hunt? If not, there are some great outfitters down there..but it ain't cheap at all. People come from all over the US to kill the Osceola to complete the grand slam. This is the only place in the world that they live. However, I've never even killed another kind of turkey :).

I'll try to get the rest of the info to you on here by next week. Hope this little bit helps.
 
Matt

Matt

Active Member
932
61
Norton, OH
Yep, self-guided. The information that I could dig up was that WMA's in the area are out of the question as none of them have non-draw hunts for turks.
 
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