Compared to those in other parts of the state, Panhandle gobblers feel light hunting pressure. Again, the open prairie country can be deceiving. Look at properties in this region with winding creek bottoms, maybe some agriculture like wheat fields nearby and tall roost trees, such as cottonwoods, and you should find birds. I’ve had good hunting on ranches near towns such as Aspermont, Estelline, Shamrock, Amarillo and Canadian.

Most of the Panhandle region was in a drought during the 2006 nesting season, so numbers of young turkeys likely will be low. The northeastern counties also were ravaged by wildfires. I saw a few poults on the ranch I hunted near Amarillo, but other ranchers I’ve talked with say they didn’t see any.

EAST TEXAS
TPWD biologist Sean Willis in Lufkin shared some background on the eastern turkeys found in certain East Texas counties. “The stocking of wild-trapped eastern birds in East Texas” -- an area as large as many Eastern states -- “began in earnest in 1987 using what has been referred to as the ‘block stocking’ approach,” he said. “This effort was completed in 1999.

“The status of the population is greatly dependent on the habitat of the particular counties. In some counties the population is stable, in others it is increasing, and in some it may be decreasing due to habitat degradation and/or changes in land-use practices.”

The season for eastern turkeys first opened in 1995 in just one county, Red River, but today the season is open in 43 counties in the Pineywoods and Post Oak Savannah. The total 2005 eastern harvest was 392 birds (first year for a 30-day season. Prior to that year, the season was 2 weeks.) The total 2006 eastern harvest was 299.

Only in East Texas is it mandatory to check your gobbler at a TPWD check station within 24 hours of the kill. Hunting here is by archery gear or shotgun only, and there is no hunting allowed over bait. The limit is one gobbler.

Sean Willis shared more details on East Texas turkeys. “A few of the consistently best counties for hunting easterns in Texas are those counties along the Red River in the northeastern corner of the state,” he reported. “Counties such as Lamar and Fannin are consistently good, but Red River County has by far the highest harvest. However, they have very little public land. The best public land counties are Jasper, Angelina, Sabine and San Augustine. The main public opportunity here is on the national forests.

“Based on the dry conditions during the nesting period, I would expect that nesting success was at least average in 2006.”

CONCLUSION
Overall, the drought of spring and summer 2006 definitely had an impact on turkey numbers across the state. Fewer poults were hatched in the counties most affected by drought; thus, fewer young birds were recruited to the population. But most regions had lots of adult birds prior to the 2006 nesting season, so even considering a loss of some adults from drought conditions and predation, there should be plenty of adult gobblers statewide for spring 2007.