I sat down above the birds and waited for daylight. It was that magical time most hunters dream of experiencing during the long nights of winter.

It was that time of day when the world comes alive little by little. First, a bird started singing, then another and another.

Frogs in a nearby pond stopped croaking, and the crickets stopped chirping. Then I heard it, a thunderous roar from the treetops.

It was the gobbler waking up his harem. As they flew down, I waited.

My nerves were about to get the better of me when he gobbled again.

He was on the ground now, calling in his girlfriends, and it was time for me to give him a soft call, a little putter or two that should drive him to the point that he would come to my 12 gauge Mossberg.

I called and called and called. The gobbler gathered his harem and disappeared over the next ridge, leaving me yelping on my call.

I moved to cut him off, and he never came by. I moved again, but by now, he was long gone.

I hunted that morning until 10:00 then headed for home, a broken and defeated man.

I walked into my house, and I could see my wife sitting on our deck, drinking her second cup of coffee of the day, and then I saw what she was watching.

The gobbler and his hens had come down to my house and were now picking at the grass peacefully in my back yard. I didn’t get him that day, but at least he will be there tomorrow.

It wasn’t that long ago that the above wild turkey hunt was impossible in East Tennessee. I grew up during that time and did not see my first wild gobbler until I was in my 20’s.

Today, there is a healthy population of birds from Memphis to Mountain City, and some have even said we are living in the “good old days” of wild turkey hunting.

The restocking of wild turkey into their natural habitat across Tennessee has been one of the biggest success stories of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.

From 1951-2000, the TWRA trapped and relocated over 13,000 birds across the state. The result can be seen today with Tennessee having a statewide turkey population of around 300,000 birds.

The turkey population is high enough to allow two hunting seasons for the birds, a spring hunt and a fall hunt.

Last year Tennessee harvested over 29,000 birds, down from a record high of 39,000 in 2010.

Though the amount of turkey being harvested has declined over the last ten years, the east Tennessee population has remained strong, and there has been no better time than now to take a gobbler in this area.

The Spring hunt runs from March 30 to May 12 of this year, and the limits are one gobbler per day and four per season.

You will need a small game license and a big game gun or archery tag to hunt them.

Other regulations apply so be sure to pick up a copy of the Tennessee Wildlife Hunting Guide book at most places that sale Tennessee hunting licenses.

It is safe to say we are living in the “good old days” of Tennessee turkey hunting.

The birds are there, thanks in part to the foresight and management of the TWRA and the Tennessee hunter, so grab your shotgun, your gobbler call and your hunting boots and give this type of Tennessee big game hunting a try.

Your freezer or dinner table will be glad you did.