As a lover of Mother Nature and the magnitude she offers, I consider spring, because the world around us comes back to life after its winter vacation. Watching and listening to the woods wake up each morning is just one of things I love about spring gobbler hunting.

In the current shape we all find our lives in, when social distancing is the new catch phrase, while most of us are laying low and staying home, there is something about a walk in the park or the woods that keeps the mind and body sharp. Of course, while doing all this and keeping social distancing is crucial, it is also important that we all work on ourselves during these times.

What better way to stay the course and practice social distancing than spring gobbler hunting. As the snow piles have disappeared, one’s mind turns to distant gobbles on a crisp, spring morning.

With the blessings of early spring comes a jump-start of the annual breeding season for the wild turkey, which in kind makes hunting them a week later difficult.

Getting out of the house after a long winter to do some spring scouting is always an exciting time of the year. Over the years I have learned that while some signs are important, there are others that aren’t so much.

Like goose hunting, to be successful year in and out in the spring turkey woods means having lots of ground to cover. For years I have screamed from the mountaintops about getting permission to hunt ground early. Well, folks, this particular year if you didn’t heed an old man’s advice, as may grandpa would always say you are out of luck.

There is no way, under any conditions that I would suggest chasing down new hunting ground under the state that we find our world in today. Sure, one could make phone calls, send emails, text messages or even smoke signals, but in the real world at some point you have to suck it up and say, “I didn’t do my homework early enough,” and deal the hand that we all have been dealt.

One of the best ways to do your preseason scouting is to ask for, and then lock up, permission to access private land early. This also helps gather information from landowners about the turkeys on the property, saving you lots of time. Plus, once you have secured permission, there’s a chance the landowner might turn others down. And even if a landowner turns you down, if you’re friendly and polite they might say yes next time. If there’s adjacent public land, knowledge of turkey numbers and habits on private ground can help you plan your public land hunts.

When it comes to being successful in the deer woods, one can fill their tags without ever making a sound, but if you want to consistently kill gobblers you have to be a decent caller. That takes practice. It’s never too early to work on your calling skills.

Scout specifically for opening day, especially if you’re a public land hunter. While late-fall and winter observations of turkeys are cool, winter flocks alter feeding patterns as warmer weather sprouts fresh food sources. This is where social distancing comes into play. Midday solo walks in the woods will do more to help you put a plan together than anything. Understanding the birds are still where they have been in the past or if they have changed things up, either way it will save you a bunch of time once the month of May gets warmer.

To nail down where birds will be, serious scouting doesn’t need to occur any earlier than two to three weeks before opening day. But earlier scouting trips will help you get the lay of the land, and also formulate a plan to hunt areas that are not quite as easy to access as close-to-the-road spots that will be overrun with other hunters opening weekend.

A great way to scout is to access a high point in an area you want to check out well before first light and again an hour or so before sundown, and just sit and be quiet. Pick a quiet, calm morning or evening and listen for gobbling on the roost, and for turkeys as they fly down from and up to the roost. Use binoculars and spotting scopes to glass for birds in the trees.

If turkeys aren’t gobbling or visible, don’t despair. Simply search for other clues. Tracks, droppings and strut marks can reveal travel, loafing or feeding areas. Droppings and feathers, especially primary wing feathers near suitable trees, might reveal roosts. Dusting areas can be gold because turkeys like to visit these frequently during the day. As you find signs, look around for ambush sites. One thing I figured out is do your walking during the middle of day.

Simply finding tracks, feathers, and droppings is just the beginning. Unless they’re in a primary roosting area, you shouldn’t get overly excited just yet. Finding travel routes between roost trees and food sources can be gold.

Trail cameras are for much more than deer hunting tools. Once you find signs or observe turkeys on the move, cameras can pinpoint where turkeys are hanging out and what routes they use for travel. Set them up on fields, along logging trails and open hardwood ridges, and around water sources to figure out where flocks lounge and feed during the day.

You’ve worn out those new diaphragms practicing, and you need to see how that Old Faithful box call sounds. Show some restraint when scouting and limit any calling to a locator-type call such as crow and coyote calls. Remember, the key is to learn from the gobblers, not to teach them. It’s best to be stealthy and disturb your hunting area as little as possible while you scout.

At this point I would like to stress preseason calling. There is a right way and a wrong way to practice your preseason calling. The wrong way is while you are scouting during the preseason. Every caller has a what is called a cadence. Cadence can be easily defined as using the same pitch/rise and fall of a sound, such as when we talk.

Cadence also can be using a series of notes the same way every time. When it comes to a song, the same cadence is important and helpful. When it comes to talking turkey, using the same cadence? Not so much.

Hitting the same high note on your yelps every time is not good. Try breaking it up a little. How many times have you been hunting with a buddy and either one of you are doing the majority of the calling? For whatever reason the other guys start calling and the birds fire up. It’s not that one hunter is a better caller — even though that may be the case — but the majority of the time it’s the birds are accustomed to the same calling sequence or cadence.

This was brought to my attention several years ago when I was hunting with a client. We could get the birds fired up easily enough, but they just wouldn’t commit. My client, who doesn’t do much turkey hunting, said all my mouth calls had the cadence or rhythm. All the years I been chasing long breads I never realized that was possible. I changed up styles and calls on that spring morning and, you guessed it, we killed his first mature gobbler that day.

Sometimes changing from a mouth call to friction call to box call back to mouth call can work wonders. That’s the reason we carry around that camo vest filled with calls and strikers. It’s not just for looks, but to use and kill turkeys with. There is always something to be learned in the spring turkey woods.

Keep a list of places where you find turkeys year after year. I have kept a “book,” which I now have access to on my laptop and even cell phone (yes, you can teach an old dog a few new tricks). Make a quick stop there just to be sure the turkeys are still there. It doesn’t matter whether you hear a gobbler or not, as long as you find scratching, droppings, tracks or feathers. Even if you only find turkey signs from hens, you’re good. If hens are there, gobblers will be, too. Once you’ve verified turkeys are in your trusted spots, head off and scout new places. Because, as we all know, nothing lasts forever. Good places go bad sooner or later. The more options you have, the better.

As opening day approaches, take stock of all the information you’ve gathered scouting and plot a strategy. Identify the best spots for a fly-down hunt. Note places to intercept birds as they eat or travel. Remember, always have a good Plan B and C spots where you can cold-call or walk and call during quiet, late mornings, or set ambushes along field edges or water holes. What will you do if you get to your primary spot opening morning and find another truck parked there? Or, the birds don’t respond, or get away from you? The better prepared you are, the less time you’ll waste in unproductive situations.

Spring hunting is a passion of mine. I was asked many years ago why. Why do I enjoy spring turkey hunting so much? After a long pause I figured out it’s the chase and work that goes into a successful hunt. From the scouting to calling to the luck, it’s everything.