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Jason Lipoma, Turner warehouse foreman at Rubicon in Geismar.
Local hunter takes rare double-spur, double-beard gobbler on Good Friday
By JOE MACALUSO
Advocate outdoors writer
Jason Lipoma said he didn't know what to think.
It was Friday, Good Friday, a holiday in Louisiana, and there were precious few days remaining in the turkey season to take his second gobbler of the spring season.
His first turkey, an 11" beard and 1-1/4" long spurs trophy, came during late March's opening weekend, and the state's limit is two a season.
Still, he hunts in an Area A location. Area A hunters have the longest season in the state, almost a full month. Area C gets nine days, and that season's been over since April 4. Sunday is the last for Area B hunters.
Lipoma struck out early last Friday. The 34-year-old Turner Industries employee said he didn't panic.
Good that he didn't.
"I raised him for the first time at 10 o'clock (a.m.) and it's rare to get a bird to gobble that late in the morning," Lipoma said.
"I think I worked the same bird on opening day, but there were other turkeys in the area and I didn't have to go to him."
If he had, his unusual story would have run long before Easter: The gobbler was worth the near two hours it took to traverse a couple of ravines, ease through briars and get to a set-up spot for the final calls.
"You know, when a bird calls that late, it's a good sign. It means they'll work to a call, and that's what he did," Lipoma explained.
What he didn't know, couldn't know, was that the 20-pound turkey walking within 25 yards of his set-up spot north of St. Francisville would be a rare trophy, the first one documented in the state, and one to join only six others recorded by the National Wild Turkey Federation.
The turkey had double spurs and a double beard.
"I know the photo doesn't show the two beards. The main one measured 10-5/8" and the second one was 4-3/8" long," he said.
That's not unprecedented: A turkey taken in Louisiana during the 2003 season had three beards.
"I guess I knew something was up when I saw the bird first. His head was as big as a softball," Lipoma said.
Trophy turkeys are measured by their spurs, located on the back of each leg.
When Lipoma looked at his second gobbler of the season, he said he was stunned. There were two spurs on each leg. Each main spur measured 1-1/8" long. The doubles went a half-inch and seven-eighths inches long.
"I called Wildlife and Fisheries, and the biologist, Fred Kimmel, said as far as he knew there was no division for double spurs, so I don't know how they're going to record it for the state records," Lipoma said.
David Moreland maintains the state game records, but is out of the office.
Kimmel responded to Lipoma's query: "I contacted other turkey biologists from around the nation and only a few have ever seen this, despite seeing thousands of turkeys at check stations and trap and release operations.
"There are only a couple of reports of double spurs in the literature. What you have is extremely rare .... There is no hurry on scoring since there is a mandatory 60-day drying period before it can be scored."
That was good enough for Lipoma, for now.
"What I know is that I'm finished for the season, and that's a little disappointing. I love turkey hunting," he said. "But, I'm real excited about this bird. What a way to end the season. I guess Good Friday turned out to be a great Friday."
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