Hello and welcome to Kentucky Afield.

I'm your host, Chad Miles.

Join us as we journey the Commonwealth in search of outdoor adventure.

This week, we're going to celebrate Mother's Day.

But first, we're going to head to Central Kentucky to try to punch our second turkey tag.

Well, I'm out for day two of the 2025 Turkey season.

Season started out great.

Was able to take a bird on the opening morning.

so now it's Tuesday and I hunted this morning.

I don't have a bird.

I'm still hunting, but I did see a bunch of gobblers.

I had a bird right on top of me right at the decoy, not pressured.

We sat there and filmed the bird walking back and forth.

Gave me a 30 yard shot.

Absolutely steal on my shooting sticks.

When I pulled the trigger.

I didn't draw a feather.

Complete miss.

I opened up a brand new box of shells that happened to be the same kind of ammo, same gun, same choke tubes that I've been hunting for the last three years.

Never had an issue.

I patterned the gun multiple times.

It shoots great.

I cannot believe that.

But after that, miss, I felt like man, something's up, I can't, I can't continue hunting.

I need to go shoot this gun and see what's up.

So I take- I shot one of those shells I took took the other shells went out, set up a target at 30 yards.

Pull the trigger, miss.

Wait a minute.

Same ammo, same gun, same choke tube what the heck happened?

It just happened to be a new box of shells.

So luckily I happened to have another box of shells with me swapped out that ammo, put the new load in, put the target out there, smoked it so just re-patterned my shotgun.

New ammo.

I'm in Butler County.

Beautiful piece of property.

A lot of turkeys.

Let's go give it another try.

All right.

This is a good place to start.

In the afternoons, I'm in here pretty early.

I've gotten by the hour for dark.

I like to get set up, but be ready to move.

If hear some bird gobbling somewhere close by that I think I need to make a move.

That█s exactly what I█m going to do.

Time to get camo█d up.

Get settled in and listen.

Yes.

MA, I haven█t been out here an hour.

Middle of the day.

Was planning on a long set.

And I was just calling about every 45 minutes.

And all of a sudden, when I called, they were right on top of me over this birm.

They must have been come in quietly.

Oh, let's go get this bird.

Wow, what an incredible hunt Man.

Get in.

Sat down.

Let about 20 30 minutes pass.

Make a couple calls.

Nothing.

Wait about 40 minutes.

Called a few more times.

Still had about 4 or 5 hours left in my hunt.

And all of a sudden, pick the call up, make a call, and birds gobbled and they sounded close and within 15 seconds I look and over the rise I see a gobblers head standing there.

He comes in, second one comes in, third one comes in, and then I noticed there stood two turkeys down by the pond.

They were hens and the gobblers were paying a little bit attention to my decoy, and a whole lot of attention to those hens.

The first two birds came out and walked and turned and started headed toward the hens.

The last two birds kind of followed them slowly, but they kept paying attention to my decoy and going into strut.

When the last two birds got to where they were behind this big tree in between me and them, I got my call back up, made another call that bird gobbled, went into full strut and turned and presented me an opportunity to make a shot.

Now this shot was a lot further than the one I missed this morning, but this turkey folded straight up, went straight down, and now I'm officially tagged out in Kentucky for 2025.

And I couldn't be more happy with this hunt.

Now let's head down to the Bluegrass Army Depot outside of Richmond, Kentucky, and meet up with a mother who's about to take her daughter on her first squirrel hunt.

On this hunt.

We're within the 14,000 acres of the Bluegrass Army Depot in Madison County.

We're joined by our good friend Megan and her daughter, Rayland.

As we hunt for squirrels.

Raylan.

So you've been doing some hunting, but, never a squirrel hunt right?

I think the first hunt that I've done was a squirrel hunt, but I never got one.

But it was with my dad.

So if we do get a squirrel today, it'll be with my mom.

Cause I've never got an animal with mom.

Squirrels aren't the only thing you'll find at the army depot.

You'll find an abundance of deer, turkey, waterfowl, and other small game.

Since 2018, the Bluegrass Army Depot has been closed off to public hunting.

But now the depot is open, giving the public more outdoor opportunities to hunt here, there's an application process that has to be completed, which is what we did so that we could join Raylan on her squirrel hunt.

Good to go.

Now you've got some big, timber trees.

We got this creek side.

I believe if we just kind of get down here and watch through the canopy.

I mean, the beautiful thing is this time of year, if there was a squirrel moving up there.

60, 70, 80 yards will be here.

So if we get in there and sit down for a little bit, we'll see what happens.

Okay.

I'd say just ease on up through there.

We'll pick a spot.

I tell you what, it's so cool that, you guys have met through an organization that connects potential mothers and kids to get outdoors and do outdoor activities, and.

And that she's taken to it.

The way that she has.

Yeah She seems to really love being outdoors.

Yeah.

Well, the organization that we matched with wasn't like an adoption organization at all.

It was a mentor mentee organization.

So we were just supposed to spend one hour a week together once a week.

And of course, it turned into one of the greatest blessing of my life.

that's such a cool deal, I can tell it really means a lot to kind of emotional about the fact that, you know, being outdoors and getting involved in trying to share what your passions are, is now connected you with someone who shares some of those passion.

Right.

And of course, I”d love her if she wasn't into hunting.

Oh, yeah, but we have a lot of fun together outside.

I mean, she's even helped me teach forging classes now, it's just nice to have so many things in common that are.

I mean, they're free.

We have so many resources in Madison County, like the wildlife management area, like the depot, that we can take advantage of any time of the year.

Yeah.

it really is a very cool bond to see you guys share.

Oh, I see it.

I see it.

Right there on the ground.

There's one up there too.

I see it.

There”s one climbing up that tree, least two over there.

Alright, we”re finally seeing some squirrels.

Let”s ease up there a little bit closer.

You wanna go up front?

And we█ll walk right down through here, and I█ll stay behind you.

Thanks.

On the other side of the tree, do you see where that leaf is wiggling?

Yeah, that█s where he jumped up and went straight up there.

Keep your eyes on him, I'm gonna walk on the other side.

You see that limb that comes out right there?

There's another limb I see him.

You seen him?

Yeah.

He█s sitting right there.

okay?

I think I could shoot him maybe, Okay.

all right.

Hold tight.

Megan.

Okay.

Put that crosshair, that dot right on him..

There he goes!

You got him!

Alright sis!

What a great shot!

First squirrel.

Nice job!

here.

I█ll hold the gun.

You go talk to your mom and check that squirrel out.

You got him!

You got a squirrel!

You did a good job girl.

Look at him.

Hey, you made great shot because when that squirrel was sitting up there.

We could kind of see about that right there.

Right.

You put a great shot on it.

Nice job Good job girlfriend, you're very first squirrel.

You shaking a little bit?

I was shaking when I was about to shoot him.

You were shaking when you were about to shoot him?

Are you shaking more or less.

And when you got your first deer?

I was shaking like a popsicle when I first got my deer, Well, your first squirrel ever.

You got your first squirrel ever today.

You're a little different than a lot of people.

They start out getting squirrels and then go to deer in Turkey.

You got deer and Turkey first.

I first got a turkey, then a deer.

Yeah.

And now you went back and got.

You got your first squirrel.

you made a great shot.

Teamwork, right?

Yeah.

Perfect.

You want to throw it in here?

You want to carry it?

It doesn't matter to me.

See that pocket right there?

It goes.

Put it right in there and I'll carry it out of Go little buddy.

Well, hey, we saw a lot of squirrels today didn't we?

Yeah, I think they saw us.

But to be here and to see you get your first squirrel, that that's special in itself right there.

Yeah.

And it's really cool because your mom spotted it so you might have to.

You might have to give her half your squirrel.

Of course you can have my squirrel.

Yeah.

We'll share, we█ll share.

thanks for inviting us out.

Couldn't have been a better hunt.

And, something tells me this won't be your last squirrel hunt.

You're going to be out again, aren't you?

Yeah.

This was a great, great opportunity for us.

And I know that it's going to be an extra special memory for for both of us.

Oh, yeah.

Well, you did a great job.

Thank you.

You got a special mom there.

Any mom that take you out of the woods, take you squirrel hunting is a keeper.

Located two miles south of McKee, Kentucky, off of highway 89 is Mill Creek Wildlife Management Area.

This WMA is over 13,000 acres and provides great hunting opportunities for deer, turkey, small game, and other game species.

With its diverse landscape ranging from hilly slopes to narrow ridge tops.

The area has a unique blend of habitats.

Forest dominate the landscape, comprising of over 95% of the area, with pockets of open land scattered throughout.

Take note that this WMA falls within the Daniel Boone National Forest and is owned by the U.S. Forest Service.

Remember the wildlife management area users must abide by the Kentucky hunting, trapping, and fishing regulations.

Also, keep in mind that regulations on WMA█s often differ from statewide regulations.

So be sure to review the hunting guide or website for the specific WMA that you are using.

For more information about this WMA or the latest regulations and restrictions that pertain to it, visit our website at FW.KY.GOV or call 1-800-858-1549 Are you looking for a way to get your kids interested in the outdoors?

Well, I recommend taking them out to forage for morels.

Today we're here in Grayson County.

We're here with the Meredith family.

Carly, I follow you on Facebook.

I know you really like to just get out at this time of year and involve your kids.

Just take a walk through the woods.

Yep.

We're outside all the time.

All the time.

And then you brought your daughter and your son here, and we're going to do some fun stuff today.

You were raised this way.

I know.

I was raised this way.

Out walking through the woods.

Exploring and seeing what you find.

And April is a great month to do it.

All the ground cover is not grown up.

And we may find all kinds of things today.

What kind of things are we looking for?

Might find a shed antler or some morel mushrooms.

You might even find an arrowhead.

You never know.

This is how most kids should be introduced to the outdoors.

Walking through the woods.

Let's go see what we can find today.

Ready?

Look here.

Look at this.

Mushroom.

They've got a name for these don█t they?

hickory chickens.

What else?

Dry land fish.

These are really, really, really good to eat.

Oh yeah.

You knew we were out today walk through the woods, this was an opportunity to potentially find some of these.

You brought a bag?

Well, I've always been told you're supposed to use a mesh sack so that the spores can spread and maybe more will grow in this spot next year.

I'll tell you what.

If you have a spot that produces morels year after year, you've kind of got a little slice of gold.

So you want to try to protect it if you can, but to bring them out in the sack just in case the spores can fall out.

Are you going to pick it?

You know how to pick these?

Uh huh.

You want to show us?

Pinch all the way at the bottom.

Yep.

Now twist.

perfect.

Looky there.

Look what you've got.

So if your momma takes that home tonight and puts that in the skillet, you're going to give it a try?

Or maybe tomorrow, if she█s going to soak it overnight.

No!

No?

you already see another one?

Ooh, take that part off.

Man.

Look at that.

That looks so good.

I found two mushrooms by myself.

You sure did.

So Owen I noticed while ago you had a little different approach to looking for these morels.

I noticed you took a knee.

Tell me what you were doing and tell me why you do that.

I get down.

I mean, you hear a bird's eye view might be the best sometimes if you get down because you're hard to see.

I mean, that big or that big camouflaged.

So if you get down, just scan, you█ll see them.

Yeah, and plus we do have some leaf litter as well as, you know, some green foliage with these may apples coming up.

If you█re standing like this.

It might be blocking the view.

But if you kind of get down and look, you can see better.

Well it works because I think you spotted two of those first.

So it must work pretty well for you.

Yeah.

Nice one here.

Lookie there.

Yeah.

What a pretty find.

Beautiful morel mushroom.

So Carla when you're out looking for morels.

Tell me a little bit about what do you look for when you're looking for morels.

Damp areas near streams.

Usually when you see may apples, that's a good indicator that the ground is damp.

I think the weather conditions are the biggest factor in how many you're going to find and where.

Yeah.

awesome.

Is this where we found the last one?

Yeah, I think Leah picked the last one right here.

We should look up in that drain right there.

You know what?

It's.

There's probably some extra moisture right there.

You're probably right.

Yeah.

All right.

here's one.

Oh yeah.

They're all different shapes and sizes, too.

Look at that thing.

How pretty that is.

Man, they█re right here in this little ditch.

Got one right here.

And then another one right here.

Jackpot.

We're into them now.

We're finding quite a few.

It is amazing.

Like I say, you can walk through an area and absolutely be nothing.

And the ground looks almost the same.

But it has to be something about the moisture or the amount of sunlight or for whatever reason, they're not there.

And then all of a sudden, there they are.

man, look at this.

Antler!

Well, look whay Owen just spotted right here looking for mushrooms.

And look what we've got.

What is that?

You going to put it on your head?

Don't poke your eye but here, do you want to put it on your head.

Put that up there, let's see what you look like.

The other side of this might be around here.

Hey, you can carry this, but you got to be real careful if you fall down with these.

You don't want to let this poke you, okay?

Why don█t you take it over, show it to your momma Cool.

Beautiful.

Isn█t that cool?

to prepare these, I slice them long ways.

Okay.

And then a soak them overnight in the refrigerator in saltwater, and that gets the little bugs out.

Then they're ready to cook.

And what I do is I dip them in egg, then flour, salt and pepper and pan fry them in oil.

You don't have to cook them that long, do you?

I prefer them crisp.

Yeah, but he prefers them soft.

Okay.

So, I cook them crisp.

There you go.

Hey, the power of the chef.

You get to cook them how you like.

Well, I tell you what, Carly, you are truly a modern day countrywoman.

Full time job, raising two kids, but you're finding time to get these kids outdoors and they█re doing things that you love, but you're kind of passing on this to the next generation.

Well, thank you.

I appreciate you having us out today.

Found an antler shed to add to the haul.

So over 40 mushrooms and an antler shed.

That's a good afternoon in anybody's book.

Good couple hours.

Yeah.

Fantastic.

Thank you so much.

You're welcome.

Now let's check in and see who else has been out having fun in this week's ones that didn't get away.

Check out the size of this red ear sunfish that was caught by Joseph Terrell.

This fish was caught in Lake Barkley.

Nice job.

Check out ten year old Kenyon Brown of Simpson County with this nice gobbler that he harvested during Turkey season.

Eight year old Connor Crabtree took this turkey in Powell County.

This was his first bird ever.

Nice job.

Check out these beautiful crappie that was caught by Carly Brewington in Barron County.

These fish were 17 and 16 inches.

Nice job.

Check out the smile on six year old Hudson Kelly's face as he holds this beautiful white bass that was caught in Buckhorn Lake.

Nice job.

Check out the size of this hybrid bass that was caught by Nathan Leslie at the Falls of the Ohio.

Beautiful fish.

Here at Kentucky Afield, we'd like to wish all the mothers out there a happy Mother's Day.

And remember, hunting and fishing on private property is a privilege.

Always ask permission and thank the landowner.

Until next week, I'm your host, Chad Miles.

I hope to see you in the woods or on the water.

Did you know that Kentucky is home to the largest Elk herd in the eastern U.S., with an elk zone twice the size of Yellowstone National Park.

Look how big it is.

I mean, this is just amazing.

And we enjoy one of the most diverse fisheries in the country.

Just ask Christine.

Very nice.

And by the way, Kentucky is known for being one of the top five states for trophy whitetails each year.

Additionally, more than 100,000 Kentuckians have benefited from our conservation education programs like the Salato Wildlife Education Center, summer conservation camps, and our learn to Hunt and Fish classes.

Or did you know about the 1.6 million acres open to the public?

These are just a few things that Kentucky's Department of Fish and Wildlife have helped preserve.

This is one of several we have on the Kentucky River.

She's got plenty of room in that nest for chicks.

Who pays for conservation in Kentucky?

Well, since the department receives no general fund state tax dollars, we rely on the sportsmen and women of the Commonwealth.

He█s been waiting years for that.

So if you enjoy Kentucky's resources, help us manage them by purchasing a hunting or fishing license today.

You can do so by visiting FW.KY.GOV.