Spring Turkey Hunt May Be Record Setting in Minnesota

We're into the 3rd wild turkey hunting season and based on early harvest numbers Minnesota could see a new record.  Glen Schmitt from Outdoor News joined me on WJON.  He says as of Tuesday the Minnesota DNR are reporting 10,361 turkeys have been registered.  Schmitt indicates more than 7,000 turkeys were shot during the first season alone.  He says in 2023 only 3,100 were shot during the first season.  The highest wild turkey harvest season ever in Minnesota was in 2020 when 13,996 were harvested for the full season.  Schmitt says that was the pandemic year when more people than ever chose to turkey hunt.  He says we're on a record pace.  The turkey hunt in Minnesota is set to 6 different seasons starting April 17 and ending May 31.

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Schmitt says Central Minnesota's population of wild turkey is high and the population made it through the winter well.  He says 43,000 wild turkey licenses have been sold in Minnesota and people can still buy a license and hunt in one of the later seasons.  Schmitt says the new law allowing for cross bows to be used for turkey hunting may be contributing to the increased popularity.

Central Minnesota is a good habitat for wild turkeys due to a good mixture of farm land and wooden areas.  Schmitt says wild turkeys used to be rare in Central and Northern Minnesota but the state reintroduced them years ago and now they are thriving in those areas.

We are just over a week away from the walleye fishing opener in Minnesota.  Schmitt says fishing for crappies, blue gills and panfish hasn't been great locally lately due to cold, windy and rainy weather.  He says panfish are moving in and out of shallow water and are looking to feed when the sun comes out.  When the sun isn't out Schmitt says he's looking for crappies in 8-10 feet of water.  He says afternoons and evenings are the best times to find fish when the water reaches its peak temperature for the day.

If you'd like to listen to my conversation with Glen Schmitt, it is available below.