Experts are predicting another successful year for Texas wild turkey hunters with the regular season set to begin later this month.
The primary subspecies of turkey in Texas is the Rio Grande turkey, which has the largest population and the broadest range of the three turkey subspecies in the state. The others are Merriam’s and Eastern wild turkeys.
Hunters in the spring season can expect to see a lot of jakes (young males) and two-year-old gobblers across most of the Rio Grande range, Texas Parks and Wildlife Departments experts say.
“Those jakes will also keep things interesting this spring with big groups of young males roaming the turkey woods,” said Jason Hardin, TPWD wild turkey program leader. “East Texas will see a slight bump in jakes as well with fair production and recruitment this past summer. If you had birds in 2020, you can expect to see them again this spring.”
Hunters are required to report harvest of Eastern wild turkeys electronically to TPWD within 24 hours of harvest.
Reports can be made through the My Texas Hunt Harvest App. Hunters still must tag harvested birds. Additional information about harvest reporting, bag limits, and more can be found in the Outdoor Annual. Hunters can access the Outdoor Annual online or via the Outdoor Annual app. Both apps are available for free download from Google Play or the App Store.
The My Texas Hunt Harvest 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.
MORE INFORMATION:
Spring season turkey dates:
Youth Only
>> Rio Grande – North Zone – March 27 – 28, 2021; May 22 – 23, 2021
>> Rio Grande – South Zone -March 13 – 14, 2021; May 8 – 9, 2021
Spring Regular Season
>> Rio Grande – North Zone – April 3 – May 16, 2021
>> Rio Grande – South Zone – March 20 – May 2, 2021
>> Rio Grande – Special 1 Turkey Bag Limit – April 1 – 30, 2021
>> Eastern Turkey – April 22 – May 14, 2021
