Minnesota spring turkey season 2012 may have fewer jakes

Minnesota spring turkey season 2012 will be affected by last years cold wet spring.  Cold, wet springs have an impact on the number of hens that end up with successful hatches. Since the spring of 2011 was cold and wet, the turkey population may be down slightly in the spring of 2012 from the number of birds we had several years ago.

Minnesota spring turkey season 2012 starts April 18th

The Minnesota spring turkey season 2012 started April 18th. The good news is Minnesota has a

very large population of wild turkeys. Whether you enjoy hunting the early season before the toms have been educated by hunters or the late season when most of the hens are already on the nest and toms are more receptive to calling, you can plan on having a great time chasing spring gobblers if you invest some time in pre-season scouting.

If you scout areas that have very few jakes from a poor 2011 hatch, consider using a jake turkey decoy.   Bestturkeydecoy.com is a great source.  The body language brings them close, and the realism makes big toms finish.  A jake turkey decoy is always a great tool, but Ohio spring turkey season 2012 may be a season where it becomes the secret weapon in your pack. Mature toms do not like jakes in their home range, and will often rush to fight them, bringing them close for a good shot opportunity.

With a healthy population of turkeys, hunters can expect to have plenty of opportunities to bag a bird this spring, as long as the weather cooperates.

Minnesota spring turkey season 2012 affected by weather

If you can remember the spring of 2011, we had plenty of bad weather during the first few weeks of the season. All the numbers aren’t in from last spring, but I would suspect there were fewer birds harvested in the state as a result. When we have a warm, sunny spring, we tend to harvest more birds than when we have a cold, wet spring.

We certainly won’t be at our peak for turkey numbers in the Minnesota spring turkey season 2012. The population fluctuates some over the years. This year the numbers will probably be down some. The good news is we have many turkeys in this state and there are ample opportunities for turkey hunters across the state to harvest a spring gobbler. We have a high success rate in Minnesota because we have so many birds.

Take a quick peak at some highlights from the Minnesota spring turkey season 2012.

Good luck during the Minnesota spring turkey season 2012.