Spring hunting season to open April 4
By Donnie A. Lucas
With the spring turkey hunting season set to open this weekend, hunters will most likely find an abundance of birds in the county.
“I have seen quite a few birds already strutting and gobbling,” game warden Jacob Mort said. “There have been lots of jakes around, so I am expecting it to be an above average season.”
Social Distancing
Although there are no restrictions on hunting itself during the spring season, Texas Parks & Wildlife is recommending that the latest local laws and best practices be followed for reducing spread of the coronavirus.
The TPWD website has the following guidelines: Hunt only with people living under your roof, bring all the food and drink you’ll need, sleep in a tent or your vehicle, carry plenty of hand sanitizer and use it. If you’ve been sick in the two weeks prior to your hunt, stay home.
Season Dates
The North Zone general Rio Grande spring turkey season opens Saturday, Arpil 4 and runs through May 17. It will be followed by a spring youth-only weekend season on May 24-25 for licensed hunters 16 years of age and under.
Season Outlook
With lots of mature toms across the Rio Grande turkey range, Texas hunters should have a good shot at a long beard this spring, according to wildlife biologists with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
“We can expect a lot of jakes this season, but there are still plenty of toms around too,” said Jason Hardin, Wild Turkey Program Leader with TPWD. “Jakes are far less wary than mature turkeys, making this a good year to take a new turkey hunter out to get that first bird.”
Hunting Rules
Turkey hunters are required to have an Upland Game Bird Endorsement along with a valid Texas hunting license. All turkeys must be tagged with a tag from the hunter’s license immediately upon kill, with the tag fastened in a secure manner.
Both turkey gobblers and bearded hens may be bagged during the spring season, with an annual bag limit of no more than four turkeys in the aggregate for all counties, no more than one of which may be an Eastern turkey.
Proof of sex of a harvest no longer needs to remain attached to the turkey, but the hunter should keep a patch of breast with the beard, and at least one leg with a spur must be attached with the harvested gobbler as proof of sex until the bird reaches its final destination.
Hunters should know that it is against the law to hunt roosting turkeys by any means at any time.
Hunters are required to report harvest of an Eastern turkey electronically to TPWD within 24 hours of harvest.
Reports can be made through the TPWD “My Texas Hunt Harvest” app or online from the TPWD turkey page at www.tpwd.texas.gov/turkey. The app is available for free download from Google Play or the App Store.
Hunters will be issued a confirmation number upon completion of the reporting process.
Harvested turkeys may be field dressed, but must otherwise remain intact until reaching a final destination. Hunters have to tag harvested birds, even those reported electronically.
The harvest reporting app can also be used as a tool for voluntarily reporting and tracking harvests of other resident game species, including Rio Grande turkey.
With “My Texas Hunt Harvest” hunters can log harvested game animals and view harvest history, including dates and locations of every hunt.
