Editor’s Note: Matt Morrett represents Zink Wild Game Calls, Avian X decoys and the Plano Company. He has been a Mossy Oak Pro most of his life. After winning his first World Turkey Calling Championship when he was 16-years old, he has stacked-up turkey calling championships higher than he is tall. During turkey season, he probably sleeps in Mossy Oak camo, so he can jump out of the bed before first light and get out into the turkey woods. We've asked Matt this week to tell us how he deals with some of the worst turkey-hunting problems.
I think I have the greatest job in the world. I was able to become a part of the outdoor industry, because I won the World Friction Calling Championship five times. Now every day I get to talk turkey, take people to hunt turkeys and help provide calls for turkey hunters. I've seen and been asked just about every question that most turkey hunters have about bagging gobblers.
One of the toughest questions is: “How do you take a turkey that’s gobbling across a creek that’s too deep to wade and too far or too cold to swim?” When I find myself in this situation, I say, “Is that water too cold for me to swim, or is there another way that I can get on the same side of the creek as that gobbler?” If you can manage to get on the same side of the creek as the turkey, your chances for taking that turkey go up to at least 55 to 75 percent. But some situations mean getting on the same side of the creek as the turkey is impossible. Then I crawl up to the edge of the creek and put out as many turkey decoys as I have, so that tom can see them. Then, I back away from those decoys and start calling aggressively. I want to try to get that turkey so fired-up and so excited that his head turns blood red. I want that turkey to know that if he’ll just fly across that creek, he has an exceptional chance of breeding a hen.
Another situation that’s just like a turkey across the creek is hearing a turkey gobble on the other side of the property line, and you can’t go to that turkey. So once again, I’ll try to set-up my decoys where the turkey can see them. However, I’ll back away from the property line and start calling. I want to try and convince that gobbler that I'm the prettiest hen he ever has imagined. I'm fired-up to breed, and all he has to do to have a date with me is to walk or run across that property line, or fly across that creek. Then all his dreams will be fulfilled. Like every other turkey tactic, this strategy doesn’t always work. However, when you have no other options to getting that gobbler in close enough to take, I believe this is your best chance to get that tom that’s gobbling from a place you can’t go. If I don’t get that bird the first time I call him, I’ll go back to him several more times during turkey season to let him know there’s a group of hens across the creek or across the property line that’s really interested in having dates with him. At some time during the season, if someone else doesn’t take that bird, you'll have a really-good chance to bag him.
