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TPWD says hunters should see plenty of gobblers in the field this season
We’re on the cusp of another spring turkey season in Texas.
Depending on where you hunt, the show may have already begun.
Texas is a massive state with multiple spring turkey hunting zones — North, South and East. Spring harvest is limited to gobblers and bearded hens in the North and South Zones, gobblers only in the East Zone. The spring regular season dates in 176 Texas counties are as follows: * North Zone (119 counties): March 29 May 11 * South Zone ( 36 counties): March 15 April 27 * Special One Turkey Bag Limit (19 counties): Bastrop, Brewster, Caldwell, Colorado, Comal (east of I35), Fayette, Guadalupe (north of I10), Hays (east of I35), Hill (east of I35), Jackson, Jeff Davis, Lavaca, Lee, Matagorda, McLennan (east of I35), Pecos, Terrell, Travis (east of I35), and Wharton : April 1-30 * East Zone (12 counties) Bowie, Cass, Fannin, Grayson, Jasper, Lamar, Marion, Nacogdoches, Newton, Polk, Red River and Sabine. Note: Those portions of Fannin, Lamar, Red River, and Bowie Counties south of HWY 82 are closed to protect brood stock from recent restocking efforts along the Sulphur River. : April 22 – May 14 * North Zone Youth Only: March 22-23; May 17-18 * South Zone Youth Only: March 8-9; May 3-4
THE BIG SHOW
I call spring turkey hunting a show, because that is exactly what it is. Anyone who has ever played the game is sure to agree.
Witnessing a love sick gobbler at close range — strutting, dancing, spitting and gobbling in a haughty display of self importance — is truly one of Mother Nature’s grandest performances.
Spring is the breeding season for wild turkeys. Each year, hunting seasons are scheduled to occur after the majority of the hens are bred and locked on nests.
Gobblers are still revved up on testosterone at this point and most responsive to calling. Hunters use assorted calls to tap into the birds’ distinctive line of communication. The idea is to make sexy sounds to fool a gobbler into thinking you are a hen that is playing hard to get, and to ultimately lure him into shotgun range — 30 yards or less.
One shot. Lights out. If there is one truth about spring turkey hunting, it is that no two hunts are ever the same. Things are forever changing out there, including the moods of tom turkeys.
There are days when calling a mature gobbler into shotgun range on a crisp spring morning hardly seems like a challenge.
Other days it won’t seem so easy, even when the conditions are seemingly perfect.
Yelps, purrs, clucks and cackles are the most common hen sounds hunters throw at long beards. It’s easy to get excited when a tom turkey takes the bait and hammers back at a seductive yelp with a raspy gobble. Sort of like it is easy to get discouraged when a gobbler goes silent for no apparent reason and seemingly melts into landscape without ever showing himself.
Any spring turkey hunter who says they haven’t experienced the latter is either fudging the truth or they haven’t spent much time in turkey woods.
It happens all the time. Especially during periods when hens are still receptive to breeding, and on public hunting areas that see a lot of hunting pressure.
It is next to impossible to sucker a gobbler when he is 'henned up.' If you suspect a bird is with hens, it is usually best to move on and look for one that isn't, or to wait him out until all the hens are tended.
Another common problem encountered by spring turkey hunters is the stubborn gobbler that answers their calls repeatedly, but refuses to come closer. A bird behaving in this manner may already be entertaining hens. There also is a chance he could be 'hung up' on the opposite side of a creek, fence, fallen log some other obstacle he is unwilling to cross or pass through.
I was turkey hunting on a ranch in Kinney County several years ago when a gobbler sounded off through the scrub brush. I could tell by direction of the sound that the bird was in the vicinity of a windmill, about 200 yards away.
I stopped and called occasionally as I closed the gap. The bird liked what he was hearing. But it was obvious it wasn't moving any closer.
I had moved to within 75 yards of the windmill when I saw the gobbler in the middle of an open road at a fenceline crossing.
He was in full strut. The 12-foot gate was wide open. But for some reason the wary gobbler refused to pass through the gap. Instead, he gobbled repeatedly for another 5-10 minutes before finally losing interest and walking away in the opposite direction.
SEASON OUTLOOK
Texas Parks and Wildlife recently released it 2025 spring turkey season forecast. The outlook is promising.
Texas has lots of turkeys. TPWD estimates the Rio Grande turkey population at around 587,000 birds. Easterns are less plentiful, about 5,000 birds.
TPWD wild turkey program leader Jason Hardin says Rio hunters can expect to see good numbers of two-year-old gobblers and jakes (immature gobblers) the field this season thanks to solid production and recruitment over the last two years.
The biologist pointed out that two year olds are typically the most fun birds to hunt, mainly because they aren’t shy about gobbling and haven’t been educated by other hunters in the past. As good as early season hunting may be, it’s not uncommon to stumble across hot gobblers willing to cooperate later on, Hardin said.
“The middle and later portions of the season usually have fewer hunters in the woods, and you never know when you will strike a tom in the mood to strut and gobble,” Hardin said. “Go early and go often.”
Hardin says spring hunters need to remember it is now a legal requirement to report every turkey harvest to the department within 24 hours of harvest. Harvests can be reported using the Texas Texas Hunt and Fish mobile app or online.
TIPS TO PONDER
* Wild turkeys have incredibly good eyesight. Always wear full camo and stay still as possible. Take advantage of shade and cover.
* Any 12, 16 or 20-gauge shotgun equipped with a full choke is sufficient for killing turkeys. The tight choke restricts the shot pattern so more pellets are likely to find the kill zone.
* Never attempt to shoot a turkey in the body, or while flying or running, even at close range. Aim at the base of the neck.
* Use quality shotshells with plenty of knock down power. No. 6 high velocity turkey loads are ideal.
* Never try to shoulder a shotgun if you can see a turkey's head.
If you can see the turkey's head, it can see you. Wait until the bird's vision is blocked by a bush, tree or its fan before raising the shotgun.
* Spend as much time in the woods as possible. In addition to listening for birds, you should look for sign such as scratching areas, feather drops, fresh droppings, tracks and dusting areas.
* Learn the lay of the land and use it to your advantage. Know where drainages and creeks are, and always set-up in a manner that creates a path of least resistance between you and the gobbler. Location means everything in turkey hunting.
* Turkeys make a variety of sounds when communicating among themselves. Learn to yelp, putt and purr and you can call turkeys successfully.
* A turkey vest or backpack is handy for carrying spare calls, ammunition, food, water, bug spray, a knife and other essentials.
* If you know an area is holding turkeys, but the but the birds aren't gobbling, it can pay off to be patient. Pick a spot and hunker down, calling occasionally.
* A gobbler coming to a call is constantly looking for the source.
Hen decoys can work wonders, particularly on reluctant longbeards. Whenever possible, place the decoy in an opening so it can be seen from a distance.
* Protect yourself from mosquitoes and other vectors by wearing a good insect repellant. The best repellants contain the chemical DEET.
OUTDOORS BRIEFS
‘Rayburn kicks out record weights in Toyota Series event, Harris crushes 82-10 Riley Harris of Orange won the MLF Toyota Series event held March 6-8 on Sam Rayburn with a three-day total of 82 pounds, 10 ounces on 15 bass. He earned $29,930 for the win.
Cody Ross of Livingston took second with 7912,, followed by Dylan Thompson of Del Rio, 76-05; Todd Castledine of Nacogdoches, 74-04; and Dakota Ebare of Brookeland, 72-04. Phillip Hudnall of Bixby, OK., grabbed the co-angler title with a three-day total of 34-0 on 13 fish. He won a new Phoenix bass boat valued at $33,000.
If it sounds like the fishing was lights out, that’s because it was. Sam Rayburn really showed out with parades of mega bags. Over three days the legendary East Texas fishery cranked out five limits topping 30 pounds and more than two dozen over 20 pounds.
Both Harris and Ross topped the previous Sam Rayburn Toyota Series weight record of 77-7 set by Colby Miller of Elmer, LA., in February 2024. Ross dropped the event’s heaviest sack in the final round — 36-02.
Not surprisingly, the majority of the top finishers relied heavily on forward-facing sonar to locate fish and guide their baits.
Harris said he targeted drains in water ranging 5-15 feet using a 6th Sense Ozzie, a Neko-rigged 6th Sense Divine Shakey Worm with a 1/10-ounce weight, and an umbrella rig with three 1/8-ounce heads and two 1/4-ounce heads and 6th Sense Divine swimbaits.
His three-day weight was anchored by a massive 30-09 limit in the the final round.— while Harris iced the win with a 30-09 limit anchored by 11-pound, 3-ounce giant. The 15 bass in winning averaged nearly 5 1/2 pounds each.
It’s been a pretty good year for Harris so far. In February, he and Luke Potter teamed up to win the Texas Team Trail season opener with 41-9 on five bass. They won a $56,984 prize package. In November 2024, Harris landed a 13.79 pounder that is the biggest fall bass reported from Sam Rayburn since 2015.
TEXAS ANGLER SETS WEIGHT RECORD
Longview bass angler Jordon Osborne of Longview set a National Professional Fishing League single-day weight record during the opening round of the NPFL’s 2025 season opener on Santee Cooper in South Carolina with five fish weighing 33 pounds, 1 ounce.
SHARELUNKER COLLECTION SEASON WINDING DOWN
The 2025 Toyota ShareLunker collection season rolls to a close March 31 and Lake O.H. Ivie near San Angelo is on track to become the program’s leading donor for the fifth consecutive year. Bass must weigh upwards 13 pounds and be caught between Jan. 1 and March 31 to qualify.
Through March 12, ‘Ivie had produced three of the eight Toyota Legacy lunkers turned in this season. The most recent is a 13.14 pounder caught on February 27 by Oklahoma angler Brandon Burkhardt.
Lakes J.B. Thomas, Richland Chambers, Ladybird, Alan Henry and Tawakoni have one entry each. Ross Gomez of Lubbock caught the heaviest bass of the season thus far, a 14.78 pounder from Alan Henry.
Interestingly, TPWD fisheries biologists discovered a “PIT” tag in the body cavity of that bass that identified the fish as the same Legacy Lunker Gomez turned in during the 2023 collection season. The fish weighed 13.22 pounds when it was first caught.
CWD IN KAUFMAN CO.
Two white-tailed deer held captive in a Kaufman County breeding facility recently tested positive for chronic wasting disease, according to reports from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. TPWD says a 20-month-old-buck and eight-month-old doe tested positive through ante-mortem testing.
The samples were analyzed at the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory. The National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Iowa confirmed the CWD detection, marking the firstever detection in Kaufman County.
TPWD white-tailed deer program leader Blaise Korzekwa says CWD has now been discovered in 36 breeding facilities in 23 different counties. CWD has also been detected in 135 free ranging deer.
Matt Williams is a freelance writer based in Nacogdoches. Reach him at mattwillwrite4u@yahoo. com.
