By Jim Darnell
Columnist
San Marcos —
The Texas South Zone spring gobbler season opens Saturday — but don’t expect too much.
Back-to-back years of major drought conditions negatively impacted turkey nesting success across much of Texas. That means very few young birds which means fewer gobblers to respond to your call.
Our turkey lease on Cibolo Creek near Panna Maria doesn’t look good. Our trail camera on one of our major corn feeders has revealed only two turkey hens. The big flocks that we saw two years ago have either moved or died. And we have seen no new young birds to replace them.
Usually, while white bass fishing up the Guadalupe above Canyon Lake in March, we see big flocks of turkeys along the river. This spring we haven’t seen one.
I did hear a distant gobbler while launching my boat at Rebecca Creek Monday. So there is a little hope.
One ray of good news is that 2007 produced a bumper crop of birds. That was the wet spring and summer right before it quit raining. We do have some carryover of mature toms in South Texas and the Hill Country from that productive breeding season.
But the best news is for this year’s breeding season. Due to so many timely rains nesting habitat conditions are perfect for above normal breeding activity.
“I expect there will be enough older birds to keep the season interesting,” Jason Hardin, Texas Parks and Wildlife turkey program leader, said. “All of the moisture we have had this winter is setting the stage for an early hatch. If the moisture continues I expect the population to boom in these areas and get us back on track.”
Rio Grande spring turkey hunting season opens in the North Zone Apr. 3 and runs through May 16. Special youth-only weekends are set for Mar. 27-28 and May 22-23. The South Zone opens Mar. 20 and runs through May 2, with youth-only weekends set for Mar. 13-14 and May 8-9.
TPWD estimates about 72,000 hunters take part in Texas’ spring turkey season and take about 25,000 gobblers. Most of the state’s spring turkey hunting activity occurs in South Texas and in the Hill Country.
That’s a lot of turkey hunters.
The spring gobbler season has become increasingly popular through the years in Texas. And I know why.
Calling spring gobblers is a thrilling hunt. When you hit a note on a box call and a big gobbler sounds off a 100 yards away, the hair will crawl on the back of your neck.
It’s loud. It’s awesome.
But it’s not easy.
The odds are in the turkey’s favor. His eight power binocular eyes can detect the slightest movement. Real hens can lure him easily away from your artificial call. Sometimes he doesn’t talk much and you start to move to another station,then there he is. Too late! He saw you.
Although South Texas and the Hill Country hold the largest numbers of turkeys in Texas other regions of our state do have turkeys.
TPWD biologist Ralph Suarez in Ballinger is based along a transitional area between the northern Hill Country, southern Rolling Plains and western cross timbers. He says that they have had near record moisture this winter and that he is seeing a lot of green weeds already. Suarez is predicting an early start to the nesting season, however, he expects the overall number of gobblers to be down this season due to the past two years of drought.
Gene T. Miller, TPWD biologist in Canyon, says that production has been better in his area of the Panhandle than farther south in Texas and he expects to have a decent crop of two-, three- and four-year-old birds in the eastern Panhandle. Miller advises the later you hunt in the season the more productive the hunting should be.
“From what I have seen in the Rolling Plains I tend to agree with Gene,” Hardin said. “We have seen a fair number of jakes over the last two years. There has not had a boom year since 2007, but they have had more moisture than the rest of the Rio range. This year is shaping up to be a boom year. We just need this moisture to continue. All this moisture should lead to great productions.”
East Texas counties ride a completely different horse.
There are no Rio Grande birds in the eastern third of our state. The climate is not arid enough. But good plannng by the TPWD years ago saw the potential to reintroduce the eastern wild turkey back into their historic range in East Texas.
It worked.
A spring eastern turkey season is now open in 43 East Texas counties. It’s a one-gobbler bag limit and runs Apr. 1-30.
TPWD district biologist, Gary Calkins, in Jasper predicts a fairly normal year.
“We did see a fair amount of production in 2009,” Calkins said. “I think hunters will see a fair number of jakes this season.”
He expects nesting to get somewhat of a late start due to the fact that East Texas actually got some real winter weather this year.
Need a place to hunt? TPWD’s public hunting program offers the opportunity to participate in low cost, family oriented, spontaneous hunts for turkeys. Each year, the department publishes maps of more than 1 million acres of public hunting lands. Access for turkey hunting is provided by the Annual Public (APH) Permit. The permit costs $48 and may be purchased wherever hunting licenses are sold.
Regardless of the dismal forecast for most of the state, I plan to be out there Saturday morning, along with thousands of other hunters, hoping that a lone gobbler will pay attention to the enticing hen noises coming from my box call.
Jim Darnell is an ordained minister and host/producer of the syndicated television show, “God’s Great Outdoors.” His column appears every Thursday in the Daily Record.
