2018 Spring Turkey Opener - Extreme Weather! - Iowa Wildlife Federation

2018 Spring Turkey Opener – Extreme Weather!

Photography courtesy of Lowell Washburn, all rights reserved.

2] Opening Day 4-16-2018

 

Iowans are used to dealing with extreme weather. We take it in stride. But you have to admit that at 19-degrees, winds gusting to 26 mph, and several inches of bright snow on the ground, that the Opening Day of the 2018 Iowa turkey season was a bit out of the ordinary.

We really hated to miss an opener, so Matt and I decided to give a try in spite of the conditions. Settled into position an hour before sunrise and at daybreak was pleasantly pleased to hear some gobblin’ over the roaring wind. Later, we saw some birds pitch out of the swaying trees and eventually had a group of four jakes come to within six feet while beating up on my plastic version of themselves. We stayed until 10 o’clock and called it a morning. More rain and another 5 to 8-inches of snow is predicted for Wednesday. Guess I won’t put away the heavy boots just yet. This could be the year that the ice goes out of Clear Lake during the Fourth of July parade.

Iowa’s weather extremes cut in both directions, of course. Below is a photo of how things looked in northern Iowa on the April 16, 2012 Turkey Opener.

LW

April 16, 20181] Turk. Opener 4-16-12

 

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