Warm weather helps youth hunters get Ohio turkey season off to fast start
The 30-day spring turkey season opened Saturday in 83 counties, including all of central Ohio. The season lags by a week in five northeastern counties.
A warm spring has pushed foliage ahead of schedule. The effect of early green cover on hunting success probably will be less than the impact of the opening weekend’s weather.
No doubt turkey numbers, which remain short of what hunters became used to not long ago, will have an effect on the season take.
Numbers notwithstanding, youth hunters age 17 and under got the season off to a quick start by checking 1,823 birds during the special two-day hunt last weekend.
Summerlike weather likely helped boost the turnout and push the turkey count well past last year’s total of 1,103. The difference of 703 wild turkeys translates into a 65.3% increase from a year ago. The weekend count also surpassed the three-year youth-season average of 1,475 turkeys checked.
Licking led central Ohio counties with 36 bearded birds checked during the youth hunt, followed by Union with 10, Fairfield with nine, Delaware eight, Pickaway three and Franklin one.
A hunter may take only a single bearded bird during the spring regardless of zone or season segment.
Stamp approval
Anyone age 18 and older who intends to legally hunt waterfowl and migratory birds in Ohio come fall must hold a 2023 Ohio Wetlands Habitat Stamp. The stamps, available for purchase, feature a rendering of three gadwalls by Jeffrey Klinefelter of Michigan.
Stamp sales help raise money for habitat purchases and improvements. Artists compete each year for the chance to appear on a state stamp. Klinefelter, for example, is a six-time winner of the Ohio competition.
More recently, chosen in February from among nine entries for the 2024 stamp was a pair of gliding wigeons painted by Sam Timm of Wisconsin. Timm last won the Ohio competition in 1992.
More than $11 million has been generated for wetlands conservation through sales of the stamps since 1982. Aside from hunters, stamps are purchased by collectors and folks who simply want to help conserve habitat that benefits plants and animals that can’t do without.
Go fish
The inland waters of Ohio hold an array of catchable fish, some especially prized for their feistiness on a line.
A hand-sized bluegill, for instance, punches higher than its weight class when pitted against light tackle. Additionally, bluegill fillets, more than sizzle on the plate after a searing in the skillet.
Locating a mess of big bluegills typically proves at least, if not more, difficult than catching a mess once located. A few other fish sought by inland anglers for their mix of prowess and palatability include saugeye, crappie and largemouth bass.
Based on the number of Fish Ohio pins awarded last year by the Ohio Division of Wildlife for big saugeye, crappie and largemouth, central Ohio holds several impoundments that offer opportunities to make a nice catch.
More Fish Ohio saugeyes, for example, were reported taken at Buckeye Lake than anywhere else in the state. Alum Creek Lake finished fourth among the state’s top 10 impoundments.
Central Ohio did especially well with crappie, placing Hoover Reservoir at No. 2, Alum Creek Lake at No. 3, Buckeye Lake No. 5, Deer Creek Lake No. 8 and Delaware Lake No. 10.
For Fish Ohio largemouth, Alum Creek Lake tied Wingfoot Lake (near Akron) for third among the state’s top 10. Hoover finished sixth.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Youth hunters get Ohio turkey season off to fast start
