F&WC Season Setting (4/18 & 4/19)

[Southern Sportsman]

The meeting was today. The commission did not go with the TWRA proposals.

It looks like for '25-'26:

-Youth season 1st Saturday in April; Season open the following Saturday

- 2 MALE turkeys per season, only one jake

- all hens are FINALLY protected, even the bearded ones

Hat tip to the commission from me.
Turkey discussion starts at 02:56.

 

[tnanh]

Makes youth season 04/05/25 and statewide season 04/12/25. About the same as this year if I looked right.

 

[Southern Sportsman]

Makes youth season 04/05/25 and statewide season 04/12/25. About the same as this year if I looked right.

Yep. And 4/4 ; 4/11 in 2026.

They essentially kept the season delay, but with a few days fluctuation based on how the calendar falls.

 

[Setterman]

Good.

 

[DoubleRidge]

Good...thanks for sharing update.

 

[Buzzard Breath]

Yep. Thanks for the update.

 

[Iglow]

Good, 2 is enough and we should be thankful we got that.

 

[SEC]

What were the twra proposals?

 

[tellico4x4]

Good deal, thanks for sharing!

 

[deerfever]

What were the twra proposals?

Opening day would be the Saturday closest to April 7 and certain counties would be 3 bird limit. Total limit could never exceed 3 birds in any combination. Other counties had a two bird limit.

 

[Wrangler95]

Great,I would be content with 1 gobbler a year but 2 is alot better than3!!

 

[Gravey]

Finally protecting the hens.

 

[megalomaniac]

TY for summary.

Jakes still need to be protected. I would have preferred a later start date as it's really hard for me to kill the old toms (>1.25in spurs) until after April 15th when the majority of adult hens have been bred at least once.

 

[Southern Sportsman]

What were the twra proposals?

The powerpoint slide they show at 2:56:45 is a summary of what the agency proposed. Those proposals would have put the juvy hunt on 3/29 next year and 3/28 in 2026; regular season 4/5 and 4/4 respectively, and a 3 bird limit, which could be any combination of gobblers, jakes, or bearded hens.

I've criticized the commission plenty in the past, but, credit where credit is due. They made the resource first priority and amended the proposals accordingly. I applaud them.

 

[Newt]

Thanks for the summary SS

 

[MidTennFisher]

This sounds good. I'm glad to see bearded hens protected. And I'm glad to see the season dates staying as-is. I'm not fully convinced it helps, but the logic behind the change sure does make a lot of sense to me. It needs to remain in place for a bit longer to really see what the result is.

 

[scn]

This is normally a two day meeting. Day one is where they set their proposals. Day two is when they are officially voted on.

Proposals are subject to being amended. Hopefully these will go as proposed.

 

[REN]

overall great news. Again selfishly I hoped opening day would move back a week but looks like another 2 years of super green and hot :)

 

[Southern Sportsman]

This is normally a two day meeting. Day one is where they set their proposals. Day two is when they are officially voted on.

Proposals are subject to being amended. Hopefully these will go as proposed.

Yes, they will technically vote today to approve the full proclamation, as amended. But the entire commission approved these amendments to the proposed turkey regulations yesterday, so the final vote today should be a formality. The second day is usually just final approval and back patting.

 

[scn]

Yes, they will technically vote today to approve the full proclamation, as amended. But the entire commission approved these amendments to the proposed turkey regulations yesterday, so the final vote today should be a formality. The second day us usually just final approval and back patting.

Usually being the key word.

I have seen some situations where it was obvious deals had been made over dinner the night before that resulted in major amendments. I really hope it goes through as proposed!

 

[Bone Collector]

Finally protecting the hens.

Now all we need them to do is protect the Jake's…

 

[Southern Sportsman]

Now all we need them to do is protect the Jake's…

We are at least protecting them a lot better than we used to. And, jake harvest numbers went way down last year following the 1-jake limit, which the commission is keeping, thankfully.

 

[Southern Sportsman]

Usually being the key word.

I have seen some situations where it was obvious deals had been made over dinner the night before that resulted in major amendments. I really hope it goes through as proposed!

Bill Cox did all he could to fight it (which was expected), but . . . it passed!

Turkey discussion and votes start at 50:00.

 

[mike243]

So will they drop it to 1 when the population still stays low? I don't think low numbers are so much hunting by man as predators. times going to tell though.

 

[scn]

Bill Cox did all he could to fight it (which was expected), but . . . it passed!

Turkey discussion and votes start at 50:00.

Awesome!!

 

[scn]

And thank you for the update!

 

[REN]

not gonna lie, was kinda excited at the possibility of it opening a week earlier then it does now :)

 

[Southern Sportsman]

So will they drop it to 1 when the population still stays low? I don't think low numbers are so much hunting by man as predators. times going to tell though.

I hope it doesn't come to that, and I don't think it will. But if populations were to drop to a certain point, then I suspect they would consider a 1-bird limit and probably a shorter season. Without some of the long-overdue regulation changes the last couple of years, something drastic like a 1-bird limit may have been needed soon. And if east TN populations continue to struggle, a 1-bird limit for those units may be on the table in 2026. Legally and morally, their first priority should be the sustainability of the resource, so if struggling populations justified it, I would fully expect them to consider all options.

 

[knightrider]

Bill sure does like to hear his self talk

 

[REN]

what I found interesting in that is the discussion around not wanting YOUTH to have to wear a jacket and setting dates based on when the best hunting is. IMO thats an odd way to look at season dates that should be based around the biology of the resource. Dont get me wrong, obviously those things intertwine some but just threw me off again that some didnt want youth to early cause it might be to cold for kids hahah.