Pennsylvania’s 2024 spring gobbler season begins on Saturday with a half-day hunt for junior hunters and mentored hunters 16 and under. The regular season runs from May 4-31.
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There’s one guarantee that comes with each spring turkey season — matching wits with wily gobblers is what turkey hunting’s all about.
And opportunities will be there — often in large and vocal fashion.
Pennsylvania’s 2024 spring gobbler season begins on Saturday, April 27, with a half-day hunt for junior hunters and mentored hunters 16 and under.
All participants must be accompanied by adults, while hunting hours are from one-half hour before sunrise until noon.
The regular season runs May 4-31, with hunting hours going from one-half hour before sunrise until noon from May 4-18; then from one-half hour before sunrise until one-half-hour after sunset from May 20-31.
Closing day of the season, meanwhile, is May 31. That gives hunters 24 days to chase gobblers, including four Saturdays.
And rest assured, the birds will be out there, thanks to three consecutive years of good reproduction.
The Game Commission’s 2023 summer turkey sighting survey — an annual, long-term measure of productivity — found 2.9 poults per hen statewide. That varied by Wildlife Management Unit (WMU), of course.
But the statewide figure, if down from the record high of 3.1 seen in both 2021 and 2022, was still above average and significantly more than seen in 2019 or 2020.
That should mean plenty of gobblers — jakes, 3-year-olds and, best for most hunters, 2-year-olds. As a general rule, 2-year-olds are more vocal, noisier than both younger, more-timid gobblers and older, warier ones. Having more of them around typically is good for turkey hunters.
“There’s nothing more exciting than sitting in the woods in springtime and calling to a gobbler that answers with his emphatic gobble,” said Mary Jo Casalena, the Game Commission’s turkey biologist. “So take advantage of what’s available, even if you’ve never turkey hunted before. Just being out there is fun and the more time you spend in the turkey woods, learning about these amazing birds, the better hunter you’ll become.”
About 172,000 people, on average, hunt spring turkeys in Pennsylvania every year. Last season, those hunters harvested about 39,500 gobblers. That was up from about 35,700 in 2022 and about 28,100 in 2021.
Casalena said hunters who want to up their odds of taking a gobbler this spring should concentrate on areas with good turkey habitat. That’s typically a 60/40 mix of woods and shrubby areas, with either agriculture or, in big woods areas, openings of emerging vegetation or nut-producing trees that still have nuts remaining from last fall.
Then, she said, look for turkeys in those places. Try to determine how many different gobblers are gobbling, where their typical roost areas are, and what areas they may switch to on rainy, windy, cold mornings.
Only bearded birds may be harvested during the spring season. Hunters should refrain from knowingly harvesting bearded hens because they do nest and raise broods.
There is no requirement for hunters to wear fluorescent orange during the spring turkey season, though wearing it is recommended while moving.
Pennsylvania hunters may purchase a license to harvest a second gobbler in the spring season, with a limit of one gobbler harvested per day. Sales of this license end May 3, one day before the regular statewide season begins.
The $21.97 license ($41.97 for nonresidents) may be purchased online but cannot be printed at home, so purchasing it directly from an issuing agent might be the better option. The same goes for general hunting licenses. General hunting licenses purchased online also are sent by mail, and shipping charges apply.
For more information on spring turkey hunting rules and regulations, pertaining to the youth or regular hunts, check the 2023-24 Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest, which is provided with a hunting license and is available online at pgc.pa.gov.
Game Commissioners
meeting highlights
The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners met last week in Harrisburg, hearing public comment and conducting official business.
Highlights from the meeting:
Wild Pheasant season
could be a reality soon
The opportunity to hunt wild pheasants in Pennsylvania might become a reality for those able to gain access to private property within a Wild Pheasant Recovery Area.
The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners today gave final approval to a measure that allows the Game Commission’s Executive Director annually to decide whether a Wild Pheasant Recovery Area (WPRA) will be open to rooster-only pheasant hunting, and if so, the season length and bag limit that applies.
That’s not to say there will be such a season in the coming year. The decision will be based on data collected within the state’s two WPRAs in the coming months.
But if a season is put in place, it will be open to all hunters eligible to hunt pheasants.
Deer opener to get
additional review
Once again this year, the Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners set the opening day of the firearms deer season as the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
The board long has expressed the belief the Saturday opener better accommodates the majority of hunters and is better for the future of hunting, opinions backed by evidence such as license sales and a scientific survey of hunters.
But President Commissioner Scott Foradora said the board wants to know more about the impacts of the Saturday opener, especially knowing that some hunters would like to see the opener returned to the Monday after Thanksgiving.
Following today’s adoption of 2024-25 hunting seasons and bag limits, Foradora read a statement directing Game Commission staff to work with the Legislature on the issue. The statement appears below:
“With today’s vote, the Board has once again scheduled the start of the firearms deer season to be on a Saturday. We do this, firmly believing that starting the season on a Saturday creates the most opportunity for hunters, and thus helps ensure the future of the sport that we are charged with protecting.
“Nonetheless, we recognize that there are those with a different opinion, who would like to see a return to a Monday opener. And we recognize the passion that many of you feel about this issue. We may disagree, but we have heard your voices.
“As the debate over a Saturday or Monday opener lingers on, it has unfortunately caused considerable disagreement within our hunting ranks. It has fractured and divided us, at a time when we should be united.
“Therefore, I am directing staff within the Game Commission to work with the leadership of the House Game and Fisheries Committee, to once again study and analyze this issue. It is my hope that a comprehensive review can take place, to address some of the concerns that we have heard and ensure that the Board’s decision is truly in the best interest of our hunting community.”
North Branch Land Trust’s
Virtual Auction is now open
The North Branch Land Trust’s Virtual Auction is now open and new items are being added daily — and you do not need to be present to win!
Auction closes Wednesday, May 1, at 7:30 p.m.
North Branch Land Trust’s Annual Dinner & Auction, will be held on Wednesday May 1, at the Westmoreland Club in Wilkes-Barre, and it is the regional conservation organization’s most important annual fundraiser.
Winners can pick up their prizes at the Westmoreland Club on May 1, or at the NBLT offices following the event.
Experiences and Gift Cards can be mailed upon request.
Happy Earth Day!
Join NBLT on Monday, April 22, between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. for an Earth Day Cleanup at Hanover Crossings Marsh, an important wetland home to a variety of plant and wild life that also helps to store stormwater and naturally filter pollution.
However, it is so close to roads and development, that it needs a little TLC. NBLT will provide rubber gloves, trash bags, safety vests, and the all important wet wipes. Participants are encouraged to dress for the weather, the work, and the wet!
Please also consider bringing work gloves and any tools that may assist in cleanup.
Registration is encouraged so that we can provide sufficient supplies.
PFBC sets 2024 daily creel limits for
Lake Erie yellow perch and walleye
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) this week announced that the 2024 creel limit for Lake Erie Yellow Perch will remain at 30 per day and the creel limit for Walleye will remain at six per day.
The PFBC Lake Erie Research Unit evaluates the populations of Yellow Perch and Walleye in Lake Erie annually. If populations reach critically low levels, processes are in place to reduce harvest and rebuild the numbers of Yellow Perch and Walleye in the Lake. All jurisdictions on Lake Erie adhere to this system.
“The 2023 assessment showed that both Yellow Perch and Walleye populations in Pennsylvania waters of Lake Erie remain at levels that don’t necessitate regulation changes,” said Mark Haffley, PFBC Lake Erie Research Unit Leader. “Based on this, the 2024 creel limits are being maintained at the standard limits.”
The Yellow Perch and Walleye populations in Lake Erie are maintained strictly by natural reproduction. Good “hatches” and survival of young fish are necessary to provide fish for sport and commercial fisheries.
The Lake Erie Walleye hatches have been record-setting over the last five years while the Yellow Perch hatches have been poor over the last five years. Both fisheries reflect these trends. Walleye fishing is excellent and Yellow Perch fishing remains below average. Sport fishing is very self-regulating. Anglers tend to fish for species based on the quality of the fishery.
In 2023, 86% of Lake Erie boat anglers targeted Walleye, while only about 1% targeted Yellow Perch.
Based on a 2024 abundance estimate of 72.07 million Walleyes age two or older, the Walleye population has decreased approximately 20% from 2023. It typically takes three years for Walleye within Lake Erie Walleye to fully grow to the 15” minimum size limit.
The PFBC’s objective is to keep harvest limits at conservative levels without being too restrictive to fisheries, but also be able to act promptly if Walleye or perch populations reach critically low levels.