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Louisiana’s Tyler Rivet loves to hunt, but the Bassmaster Elite Series schedule normally keeps him from the woods in the spring. So when the Covid-19 crisis hit, he headed to the turkey camp for some social distancing.
Turkey’s see color, which makes camouflage critically important. So Bassmaster Elite Series pro Tyler Rivet paints his face to make it more difficult for wily gobblers to see him.
Photo: Andy Crawford
Rivet’s gear was stacked in a corner of the camp when I arrived an hour before daylight. “I love to hunt, and when I’m not deer hunting, I’m turkey hunting,” he said. “Of course, I haven’t had the chance to turkey hunt the last couple of years because of my fishing schedule.”
Photo: Andy Crawford
He uses Remington 3-inch No. 4 high-velocity magnum shells to put a wallop on any longbeard that struts in front of him. “You need knock-down power to put a gobbler on the ground, especially if they are a little farther away than you’d like,” he explained.
Photo: Andy Crawford
The camp he shares with his family is located in the Tunica Hills area of Mississippi, but there are signs of the family’s South Louisiana heritage tucked in different corners of the camp. This alligator head sits beneath the TV.
Photo: Andy Crawford
Finished with painting his face, he packed some snacks in his backpack and headed out the door to ensure he beat the sun up.
Photo: Andy Crawford
He hopped into a side-by-side for the 10-minute drive to the area he had chosen for the day.
Photo: Andy Crawford
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Photo: Andy Crawford
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Photo: Andy Crawford
The hunting lease is on an old plantation and is prime property, so the club members keep the gate locked to cut down on interlopers.
Photo: Andy Crawford
He didn’t take long to grab his gear once he was parked.
Photo: Andy Crawford
The hunter took a few minutes just to listen for gobbling as the very first light of day began to filter through the trees.
Photo: Andy Crawford
He finally cut the silence with an owl call, hoping to shock a turkey into giving away its location by gobbling. Unfortunately, conditions weren’t optimal and the gobblers stayed mum.
“It’s windy, hot and overcast,” he lamented. “Not exactly the best turkey hunting weather.”
Photo: Andy Crawford
Rivet soon headed into the woods, with all the tools he needed tucked into his hunting vest. He keeps two decoys in the game pouch of the vest.
Photo: Andy Crawford
With turkeys refusing to sound off, he took the time to search for tracks in the bottom of a small creek.
Photo: Andy Crawford
He reached an area of hardwoods on the edge of a pine thicket, where he heard a gobbler the week before. “Hopefully that turkey will still be in this area,” he said.
Photo: Andy Crawford
He keeps a mouth call handy, and he gave a couple of call series hoping to romance a gobbler into the area.
Photo: Andy Crawford
He said turkeys like transitions, even though he was striking out on this day. “They really like these areas where the pines and hardwoods come together, and they’re usually in here,” he said.
Photo: Andy Crawford
Rivet decided to sit a bit and see if he could call a turkey into the forest opening. He doesn’t use a blind; instead, he sits with his back to a tree and relies on camouflage to keep him hidden from any turkeys that show up.
Photo: Andy Crawford
The hunter pulled out a slate call to provide a little variety to his calling.
Photo: Andy Crawford
And then he sits and waits, keeping a careful eye on the area so he picks up any movement.
Photo: Andy Crawford
Periodic shock calls are used, again in hopes of provoking a gobbler to sound off. “I don’t usually get them to react to core calls,” he said. “I don’t know why; maybe it’s because there are so many crows in this area and they are used to them.”
Photo: Andy Crawford
And then it’s more waiting.
Photo: Andy Crawford
After about 30 minutes, he moves on, taking the time to guzzle some water.
Photo: Andy Crawford
The hunter heads for a small food plot surrounded by woods, hoping the wide-open space would attract some birds. “Turkeys don’t like all this wind,” he said. “They can’t see movement as well because of the wind.”
Photo: Andy Crawford
He sets up his turkey decoys in the field to give gobblers something to focus on.
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Photo: Andy Crawford
He gets his mouth call ready so he can cluck and purr without moving his hands.
Photo: Andy Crawford
He picks his way into the woods, ensuring there’s plenty of small bushes between him and the decoys while ensuring he has shooting lanes.
Photo: Andy Crawford
After allowing the woods to settle down a bit, Rivet goes through his first call series.
Photo: Andy Crawford
The decoys moved a bit in the wind, making them look more lifelike.
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Photo: Andy Crawford
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Photo: Andy Crawford
He signaled his impatience with a look through the thicket in which I had tucked myself.
Photo: Andy Crawford
By 9 a.m., he called the morning hunt. “A lot of times they’ll move between 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.,” he said. “Let’s go eat some breakfast and come back.”
Photo: Andy Crawford
He quickly picked up the decoys and headed back to the side-by-side.
Photo: Andy Crawford
Well, some turkeys obviously were out and about. He found this scratching that obscured the tracks his side-by-side left just a couple of hours before. “That’s about right,” he chuckled. “Stupid turkeys ….”
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Photo: Andy Crawford
Even the name of the camp refers to the heritage of the Rivet family.
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Photo: Andy Crawford
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Photo: Andy Crawford
He dug around in the refrigerator and soon had some jalapeno/cheese sausage sizzling in a pan.
Photo: Andy Crawford
An hour later, he was raring to go — although he couldn’t stifle a yawn.
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Photo: Andy Crawford
Rivet’s hunting lease is characterized by steep hills and creeks with a mix of hardwoods and pines. It’s a deer and turkey haven.
Photo: Andy Crawford
He loaded up his 12 gauge before heading back into the woods.
Photo: Andy Crawford
The gun is tipped with an extra-full choke. “It’s welded in there from all the duck hunting I’ve done,” he said with a laugh. “Man, I’ve shot some ducks with that thing. Now the choke won’t come out.”
Photo: Andy Crawford
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Photo: Andy Crawford
His vest includes a cushioned seat that folds out when he sits down.
Photo: Andy Crawford
He headed back to the transition areas, with the ultimate goal of sitting on another green field where he’d seen turkeys on a game cam.
Photo: Andy Crawford
Another crow call failed to produce a gobble. But he remained confident. “A guy I know and his granddaughter killed a gobbler the other day after noon,” he said.
Photo: Andy Crawford
There are all kinds of tools needed in the turkey hunting game, so his vest includes numerous pockets.
Photo: Andy Crawford
It was warm, so hunting boots not only help with traction in muddy areas but also provide protection from snakes slithering around. his hunting area is known for harboring rattlesnakes, so the danger is real in the springtime.
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Photo: Andy Crawford
Before walking out onto the food plot, Rivet stopped and peaked through the woods to ensure he didn’t jump a bird.
Photo: Andy Crawford
He uses a simple stick on which he mounts his decoy. “I can get one where I am; if one breaks, I just grab another one,” he said. “And it’s easier than keeping up with the sticks that come with it.”
Photo: Andy Crawford
The stick also allows the decoy to move freely, increasing the realism.
Photo: Andy Crawford
Once in position, he ensures he has clear shooting lanes into the field through the cover in which he hides.
Photo: Andy Crawford
He begins his calling sequences with a mouth diaphragm.
Photo: Andy Crawford
He uses his cellphone to keep up with the time because it’s easy to lose track in the quiet of the woods. “I like to call every 10 minutes or so,” he explained. “This helps me ensure I’m not calling too much.”
Photo: Andy Crawford
After several mouth call series, he reached into a pocket and pulled out his slate.
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And then it’s time for more waiting.
Photo: Andy Crawford
Finally, he pulled a gobbler call from a pocket. Use of gobbler calls isn’t wise on public land, but his lease is private and no other hunters were there. So, he could add a gobbler call to his repertoire in hopes of challenging a longbeard.
Photo: Andy Crawford
He began with a series of purrs and clucks.
Photo: Andy Crawford
Then he added a gobble. “It’s the one-two punch,” Rivet explained.
Photo: Andy Crawford
A long midday without a sound from another turkey finally broke his confidence. “That’s it,” he said.
Photo: Andy Crawford
He couldn’t help giving his decoy a dropkick for good measure. “Turkeys will drive you nuts,” he said.
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He there his gear in the back of the side-by-side …
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... and unloaded his shotgun.
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Then he hopped into the side-by-side and headed back to the camp, where he would pack and drive home to fish in the marshes around his home.
Photo: Andy Crawford
Photo: Andy Crawford
