OPENING DAY FINDS OHIO SPRING TURKEY HUNTERS HARVESTING
"GOOD NUMBERS OF HEAVY GOBBLERS"COLUMBUS, OH - Hunters harvested 3,528 bearded wild turkeys on
Monday, the opening day of Ohio's spring turkey hunting season, which is
open statewide through May 25, according to the Ohio Department of Natural
Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.
"Our wildlife officers and check station operators report good
numbers of heavy gobblers with long spurs and beards being checked in around
the state," said Dave Swanson, wild turkey project leader for the ODNR
Division of Wildlife. "This was the fourth best opening day since turkey
hunting started in 1966."
Ashtabula County led the state on Monday with 181 wild turkeys
taken. Other top counties included Harrison with 126, Athens with 125,
Guernsey with 118, Meigs with 109, Jackson with 105, Coshocton and Richland
with 104 each and Columbiana with 103.
This is the fourth year that spring turkey hunting has been open
statewide. In 1999, the spring hunt was open in only 57 counties.
The preliminary opening day figure was 126 birds, or four percent,
less than last year's opening day number of 3,654 turkeys.
The ODNR Division of Wildlife estimates that more than 95,000 people
will hunt turkeys during the four-week season which opened Monday and runs
through May 25. Legal hunting hours are one-half hour before sunrise until
noon daily.
A special youth-only turkey hunt was open last Saturday and Sunday
on public hunting areas only for hunters age 17 and younger. Young hunters
killed 421 birds statewide.
Only bearded (male) gobblers may be taken during the spring hunting
season. Hunters are required to take their turkey to an official check
station for permanent tagging by 2 p.m. on the day the turkey was harvested.
Hunters with the proper permits may take a limit of two bearded gobblers
during the four-week season, but not more than one wild turkey per day.
About 220,000 wild turkeys are present in Ohio this year.
Preliminary Turkey Season Opening Day Results
2003 Totals Followed by (2002) Totals Adams - 76 (105); Allen - 1 (1); Ashland - 81 (67); Ashtabula - 181
(136); Athens - 125 (92); Auglaize - 7 (4); Belmont - 43 (107); Brown - 74
(94); Butler - 4 (4); Carroll - 76 (68); Champaign - 15 (13); Clark - 5 (9
); Clermont - 81 (88); Clinton - 7 (10); Columbiana - 103 (13); Coshocton -
104 (134); Crawford - 13 (7); Cuyahoga - 0 (1); Darke - 3 (3); Defiance - 14
(13); Delaware - 7 (13); Erie - 4 (0); Fairfield - 33 (34); Fayette - 7 (8);
Franklin - 3 (0); Fulton - 7 (2); Gallia - 79 (93 ); Geauga - 57 (82);
Greene - 4 (2); Guernsey - 118 (156); Hamilton - 6 (8); Hancock - 5 (2);
Hardin - 8 (8); Harrison - 126 (136); Henry - 2 (3); Highland - 66 (60);
Hocking - 66 (82); Holmes - 78 (58); Huron - 37(13); Jackson - 105 (112);
Jefferson - 68 (84); Knox - 73 (65); Lake - 32 (23); Lawrence - 46 (52);
Licking - 77 (120); Logan - 20 (16); Lorain - 20 (14); Lucas - 3 (3);
Madison - 1 (0); Mahoning - 36 (29); Marion - 4 (4); Medina - 19 (10);
Meigs - 109 (87); Mercer - 0 (0); Miami - 1 (1); Monroe - 56 (95);
Montgomery - 1 (1); Morgan - 64 (96); Morrow - 49 (42); Muskingum - 65
(136); Noble - 56 (66); Ottawa - 1 (1); Paulding - 14 (8); Perry - 68 (96);
Pickaway - 10 (5); Pike - 60 (48); Portage - 16 (26); Preble - 10 (5);
Putnam - 2 (5); Richland - 104 (78); Ross - 69 (64 ); Sandusky - 4 (2);
Scioto - 55 (60); Seneca - 30 (16); Shelby -4 (2); Stark - 63 (46); Summit -
8 (4); Trumbull - 75 (78); Tuscarawas - 92 (105); Union - 2 (0); Van Wert -
0 (0); Vinton - 43 (41); Warren - 8 (14); Washington - 77 (110); Wayne - 32
(15); Williams - 29 (24); Wood - 0 (0); Wyandot - 11 (14) Totals - 3,528
(3,654 )
Source: ODNR
|