Thursday, March 29, 2001

Turkey availability is limited

The upcoming annual ritual of gobbling and strutting promises to be one of the more colorful spring pageants in recent years.
   Saturday marks the beginning of spring turkey season in 32 South Texas counties. And in many of these, fields of long-dormant wildflowers will sweeten the availability of longbeards.
   This gobbler-only season runs through May 6. The bag limit for South Texas is four gobblers per license year.
   As usual, prognosticators are hedging on the chances of us bagging a tom this year. "It depends," they say.
   Of course it depends.
   It depends on timing of the mating season, desperation of sex-crazed gobblers, availability of hens, the prevalence of cover and food sources, weather, a hunter's calling skill and aim and our ability to sit still and shut up for long periods of time.
   But if all these factors come together for you, will there be enough gobblers to go around?
   The short answer seems to be yes, but not a resounded affirmation for South Texas, with conditions on specific location and age class of gobblers.
  
   Looking for toms
   For this season, availability of gobblers will depend mostly on where you plan to hunt.
   Feel lucky that you live in South Texas. The body conditions of turkeys throughout much the state are not as good. Prospects look best for Kleberg, Brooks (especially Brooks), Kenedy, northern Hidalgo, Jim Wells, Karnes, Goliad, Gonzales, Dewitt and Guadalupe counties.
   That we have some of the best turkey hunting opportunities in the state is a matter of record. The South Texas plains saw the highest success rate in the state during the 1998-99 season, 48.5 percent. That means nearly half the hunters who took to the field bagged a bird.
   Don't expect that this season.
   However, based on recent hatch history, hunters could enjoy better than average odds of bagging big gobblers, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife biologists. The life span of a turkey generally is about five years. An abundance of mature birds is expected, based on 1997 figures, when the poult to hen ratio exceeded two poults (chicks) per hen. The last banner year for turkey occurred in 1992, when hens produced an average of four poults each.
   On the flip side, younger birds this year could be less than plentiful.
  
   Looking ahead
   But the future looks bright. This year's excellent range conditions should result in good production for coming hunts.
   If South Texas receives normal or better rainfall through June, poult survival should be above average. Range conditions after the hatch and throughout summer are as important as the hatch itself.
   Average spring rains should maintain good range conditions and good nesting habitat. Moisture not only greens up the habitat for hen nutrition and nesting cover, it assures a good crop of insects for young birds. If summer rains follow, young birds will remain healthy enough to survive the year.
   Lush brush also translates to good hunting this year because better conditions mean more hens will nest.
   Hens generally produce eggs by the dozen over a two-week period. Only after all 12 eggs are hatched does incubation begin.
   A hen can continue mating during this period.
   But once on her nest, she's temporarily out of the mating game. As more and more hens tend to their nests, a gobbler's search for mates grows increasingly difficult.
   By mid-season when hens are really scarce, gobblers will answer to even the most inept slat scratcher. That's when advantage leans toward the hunter.
   But don't forget the bug spray and allergy pills, because if a turkey can see an eye blink at 100 yards, he certainly will notice a sneeze or swat from even greater distances.
  
   BEACH CLEANUP: Last Saturday's Big Shell Beach Clean-up rid Padre Island National Seashore of about 50 tons of debris.
   Billy Sandifer, who founded the event, counted 104 volunteers. The organizational backbone of this year's cleanup was the Shore Fishing and Casting Club International. Other notables who contributed either equipment or strong backs to the event's success include Brush Country CCA, the Saltwater-fisheries Enhancement Association, DWD Pizza Co. (Domino's Pizza), H-E-B, Breakaway Tackle, the local National Guard, Tom Nix's Saltwater Angler, Dick Edel, Clay Wernli and many more anonymous volunteer heroes.
   Hope to see you at next year's event.