PURSUING THE WILD LIFE
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Pursuing the Wild Life

Spring Turkey Season.....over but not forgotten

5/12/2015

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Despite our best efforts the Spring Osceola Turkey season ended without a dead gobbler (the photo above is from a few years ago). We hunted them with dedication and came very close a couple times but the never were we able to squeeze the trigger.


A few lessons learned:
  • Weather can and will make it difficult. Windy days can make it hard or impossible to hear a gobbler and a falling barometer can shut down gobbling completely.
  • The swamps are the most challenging habitat to hunt the Osceola turkey. The thick cover, water, creeks, etc. require careful movements and strategy. 
  • The gobblers were quiet. When we did hear them gobble it was often one gobble, two if we were lucky then complete silence. Quite a few days we heard no gobblers.
  • A few of our set ups and the turkeys we were hunting were busted by bald eagles and wild hogs. A few areas we hunted were thick with sounders of wild hogs that at times came within fifteen feet of us before running off.

All in all we learned a great deal, discovered some very promising deer and hog hunting areas and had a great time. 
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Repair notes:
  • This was a fast and relatively average to poor, bordering on redneck quality job.
  • All materials were purchased at Lowes and Home Depot.
  • Total time spent: a few hours.
  • Total cost: approx. $50.


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 A marine grade filler was applied
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Then sanding and multiple coats of cloth, resin and sanding
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Then a final light sanding and spay can / palmetto paint job

The first trip we put in near Cedar Key and worked our way up a couple creeks that would have been inaccessible in a larger boat. We found 15 or more Redfish and a couple nice trout.
Gear used:
  • ​Old 1980’s Gheenoe, classic model purchased at a garage sale for $150.
  • Trailer assembled from parts
  • Yamaha 6 hp purchased new
First Impressions:
  • ​Gheenoe’s are excellent backwater boats. Their shallow draft, excellent stability and maneuvering are boats you can take just about anywhere in relatively protected waters. And you can pull, push or paddle them if needed.
  • The Yamaha 6 hp 4 stroke is a good balance between weight, portability, economy and power. The engine is not yet fully broken in, so it hasn’t been run a full throttle but I’m guessing it will move the loaded Gheenoe between 10 and 15 mph. The 6 hp is not a speed demon but seems fast enough and in the rocky backwater creeks, speed is the last thing you need. Easy to tilt up, shallow draft, and easy pull start are more important to me. As far as fuel economy goes, I don’t know how many hours I can expect from the 3 gal. remote tank because after a two or three hours running time the gauge hadn’t budged from full.
  • The ride of the Gheenoe is great in smooth water and fair in a chop. The boat and motor are sensitive to load distribution and the loads should be adjusted to be when heading into the wind and waves to keep the boat dry. I expected and did notice some hull cavitation when in rougher water. The hull could be strengthened in some areas but I doubt I will make many hull modifications.
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Paul with a couple nice trout from the first trip
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  • Blog
    • Garage sale Gheenoe
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  • Some links of interest