(UPDATED) First tweleve days of Ohio's 2018 fall turkey season is off to (very) slow start

The first twelve days of Ohio’s 2018 fall turkey hunting season is a fowl ball when stacked up against its 2017 counterpart.

And compared to the first twelve days of the 2016 season, this year’s fall turkey-hunting season’s duodenary start.

For 2018 the first twelve-day turkey kill stood at 331 birds. For the same twelve-day period in 2017 that number was 364 birds; not a huge difference.

Where the figures diverge in a big way is the difference between the first twelve days in 2018 and the first twelve days in 2016, which saw a whopping kill of 685 turkeys, both hens and toms since any turkey is fair game during Ohio’s fall turkey-hunting season.

Of the 57 Ohio counties opened to fall turkey hunting season in both 2017 and this year, 20 of them have recorded increases, eight have posted identical tallies, and the rest of the group have seen declines: some markedly so, too.

“In the summaries, you’ll see that the fall harvest total for the first 12 days of the 2016 season is approximately double the 2017 and 2018 totals over the same period,” said Ohio Division of Wildlife biologist, Mark Wiley.

“Fall harvest in 2016 was exceptional, whereas harvest during 2017 and 2018 (first 12 days) were much closer to Ohio’s average. The bulk of that difference lies within southeast and east-central counties, which had evidence of phenomenal poult production and survival in 2016.”

Wiley said too that spikes in fall turkey harvest sometimes occur in years with high reproductive indices. 

Among the counties that have seen first twelve day increases, the 2018 figures (with their respective 2017 numbers in parentheses) are: Belmont – 7 (4); Gallia – 12 (9); Geauga – 13 (4); Harrison – 18 (13); Holmes – 11 (9); and Meigs – 6 (4).

Yet some counties saw first twelve day declines that are dramatic. Among them - with their 2018 figures first and their respective 2017 numbers in parentheses - are: Ashtabula – 10 (18); Coschocton – 18 (26); Guernsey – 12 (14); Jefferson – 3 (7); Lorain - 1 (7); Morrow – zero (4); Stark – 4 (13); Trumbull – 6 (14); and Vinton – 5 (10).

However, the gap is a chasm when the first twelve days of the 2016 season and the first twelve days of the current season are examined side-by-side. Of the 52 counties which had a fall turkey season in 2016 and again this year, fully 44 thus far have experienced declines. Only four counties have so far posted gains with the remainder showing identical first twelve-day kills.

Among the counties with whopping first twelve-day declines from 2016 to 2018 - with the 2018 figure first and their respective 2016 figure in parentheses – are: Ashland – 5 (11); Ashtabula – 10 (21); Coshocton – 18 (25); Gallia – 12 (18); Hocking – 4 (17); Holmes – 11 (30); Jackson – 4 (22); Licking – 9 (15); Mahoning – 3 (10); Meigs – 6 (27); Morgan – 3 (21); Muskingum – 5 (21); Noble – 6 (24); Perry – 4 (23); Pike – 3 (15); Ross – 3 (13); Stark – 4 (11); Tuscarawas – 7 (32); Vinton – 5 (16); and Washington – 6 (21).

The four gainers – with their 2018 first twelve-day number followed by their respective 2016 first twelve-day number – are: Belmont – 11 (10); Lake – 4 (3); Geauga – 13 (10); Summit – 5 (4).

However, said Wiley, Ohio’s fall turkey harvest total is not a reliable indicator of current turkey population status or trend. Variables like hunter effort likely influence fall harvest as much or more than turkey abundance. Hunter effort is challenging to measure for the fall turkey season.

It must be remembered that fall turkey hunting is markedly different from its spring sibling. It is widely understood that in autumn many turkeys are taken opportunistically; by archery deer hunters who have a flock come underneath a tree stand, by waterfowlers jump-shooting a woodland stream and who “spook” a family flock, that sort of thing.

There are some serious fall turkey hunters, though. These are the hunters who embrace using a specially trained bird dog to break up a flock and then immediately come to a stop, keeping the canine close. The hunter then uses hen-style “come back” call methods to lure in the young birds. 

The same can be done by a hunter charging forward.

Also, the total fall turkey-hunting season kill for 2013 through 2017 was: 2013 (1,037); 2014 (1,239); 2015 (1,537); 2016 (2,168); and 2017 (1,060). By comparison, the spring 2018 turkey hunting season saw a total kill of 22,571 bearded birds only.

Ohio’s 2018 fall turkey-hunting season continues through November 25^th. One bird of either sex is permitted.

- By Jeffrey L. Frischkorn

JFrischk@Ameritech.net