I remember a trip to the Matapedia River in New Brunswick, Canada where I was going to be fly fishing for Atlantic salmon, and my guide was a famous Salmon fisherman, inducted into the Atlantic Salmon Hall of Fame. I had fished all the Alaskan species and this was going to be exciting. I looked at a variety of fly patterns, consulted with a few fly manufacturers and put together a handsome collection of absolutely wonderful patterns. Honestly, I may have overdone the quantity.
I woke early the next morning and was greeted at the river by a man clearly in his 80’s with a corduroy brown jacket, proper green vest, hip waders, and cap. I couldn’t wait to show him my beautiful fly selection! After a few pleasantries I reached into my vest and pulled out Box 1 of 5 chock full of the best flies and asked “so which one should I use?” he looked right at me and said, “the one that will catch fish” My heart sunk and I remember thinking “really”? I just spen $400.00 on freaking flies! Was he kidding? As he leaped from rock to rock with the agility and precision of a twenty year old I thought that this day, at the very least, would be a very interesting day.
So how is this little story related to turkey hunting and camouflage? Well after some lengthy discussions he shared his philosophy with me. The point Mr. Adams was trying to make was that to be successful in hooking a salmon, I had to blend into the river, be one with the river, its natural surroundings, and its biology. Meld into it. Fish like a fish. Be both the hunter and the prey. You can apply this same philosophy to turkey hunting.
Blend:
I am always asked if I prefer one pattern or another or “is there one best camo “pattern of what seems to be 230,000 patterns out there? The answer is no. But soon the latest real tree mossy oak AGP turbo platinum double secret super probation 4D leafy pro pattern will be released and it will also guarantee your success…….Nonsense. Here’s a better tip. Look carefully where you live/hunt and try to pick up the colors and hues of your terrain. In general you want a wide variety of colors in the pattern you select as you may be hunting the edge of wetlands in the morning or maybe in an old oak grove the next day.
Do you need one of those 3D leafy or gillie suits? Nope! I’ve been hunting turkeys long before the advent of the 3D leafy suits and a military grade heavy and hot gillie suit weighing me down also wasn’t in the cards, and I did just fine. The good news is that there are some real bargains around in 3D leafy suits and they are an excellent tool for blend and break up.
You want something light that you can slip over some neutral colored clothes. One thing not to forget is to cover you face, hands and gun. Facemasks and gloves are inexpensive and easy to find. Want to be different? Buy some camo face paint and have some fun with patterns. Don’t have a camo gun? No worries. You can buy a slip-on universal sock that will break up the outline of your gun.
Breakup:
The other main objective of using camouflage is to break up the human form. You can also use the cover you’re in to blend into the environment. Use your surroundings to naturally camouflage yourself. Use some pine boughs stuck in the ground in front of you to break up your pattern, throw some leaves/ferns/whatever naturally occurs around you on your legs or on top of your cap. Weave a branch or two into the webbing of your vest or backpack. Anything you can do to distort the human form will help. My Great-Uncle Art Crelan, a master hunter/trapper was an expert at both blend and break up, didn’t use modern camouflage and always came home with the game.
Next post…..Scouting!
Gobble Gobble,
Ringo
