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No quota hunts at LBL this year

Southern Sportsman

Southern Sportsman

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https://lblquotahunt.hometracker.com/

"There will be no draw hunt this turkey season. At the request of many turkey hunters, we will not conduct a turkey draw hunt this season in order to give all turkey hunters an equal opportunity to enjoy a traditional opening day experience. Many turkey hunters expressed an interest in hunting fresh uneducated birds. We are suspending the turkey draw this season to provide this unique experience. Points accumulated in previous seasons will carry over to next season when we return to normal draw hunts.

Kentucky Turkey Hunt Season April 18-30, 2020
Tennessee Hunt Season April 18-23, 2020 and April 24-30, 2020"

Canceling the quota hunts (including the youth hunt) strikes me as odd, but I can deal with it. But the justification they give is one of the dumbest sentences I've read in a while. If those "many hunters" so badly wanted "an equal opportunity to enjoy a traditional opening day experience" and had such a profound "interest in hunting fresh uneducated birds," why the hell didn't they just apply for the hunt? Lets just appease the whiners.
 
I think it's BS, meaning they are limiting and pushing back the time frame with hopes it will help the population and not trying to appease some make believe hunter complaints. I mean, I agree that's one step they should take to help address the population but they are to chicken yugo to admit it. At least they are living up to the hog epidemic.

The very definition of a limited quota hunt is to enjoy limited pressure hunting. Heck, most of the time a large portion of hunters do not show up plus very few turkeys are even killed during these hunts.

Maybe they are not intentionally pushing back season but I'm confident they are doing this with hopes to curb the population issue.

Per hogs, I believe they have trapped twice as many hogs in 2019 as they did in 2018. IMO, that's not good it just means more hogs exist in the landscape. So, cancel turkey season and tell turkey hunters to go kill hogs. Once we kill out all the hogs then we can turkey hunt again.


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Maybe they are being proactive to help the turkeys. Who knows but they should at least say they are doing it for that reason if that is true. Beats the lets do nothing practice by TWRA.
 
Calling BS on this. I'd like to hear some decent rational on this decision rather than a feel good statement on their website claiming false information. If they would have put this out for public comment there is no way the public response they provided would be accurate.
 
I agree. I've been discussing it with several of my buddies. I definitely think they are just trying to push back the date for killing gobblers in hopes of improving breeding/nesting success. Something I fully support and wish they would so statewide. But I don't understand why they would hide it behind this ridiculous excuse. I'm guessing they are doing it at the urging, or at least with the support of the state agencies and biologists as a sort of test run. It's on the radar of the fish and wildlife commission for sure. But they know if they move to push back season dates statewide, they will have to deal with a lot of pushback. Having a well documented example of success at LBL would help defend the plan. I think it's a move in the right direction. Albeit a small move.
 
I come from an area that is well known for a lot of hogs. I could not believe the amount of hog sign at LBL. More sign than I see in areas here with a lot of hogs. Then I see the removal numbers from LBL......those are pitiful numbers for an area that large with that many hogs, that is as accessible as it is for removing hogs(compared to where I'm at anyway). I've nearly killed that many on one of my 80 acre places.
 
A good friend of mine, who happens to be an excellent turkey hunter who hunts LBL religiously and has for yrs, told me he never heard the first gobble there last season. The hogs have really hurt the birds over there.
They really should of either had a 1 week season or just cancelled it all together and concentrated on trapping the hogs.
However I'm sure they want to sell the hunter's use permit.
I'm gonna sit this year out, good luck to the guys that go.
 
Southern Sportsman":15neqit9 said:
I agree. I've been discussing it with several of my buddies. I definitely think they are just trying to push back the date for killing gobblers in hopes of improving breeding/nesting success. Something I fully support and wish they would so statewide. But I don't understand why they would hide it behind this ridiculous excuse. I'm guessing they are doing it at the urging, or at least with the support of the state agencies and biologists as a sort of test run. It's on the radar of the fish and wildlife commission for sure. But they know if they move to push back season dates statewide, they will have to deal with a lot of pushback. Having a well documented example of success at LBL would help defend the plan. I think it's a move in the right direction. Albeit a small move.
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I agree with all the above. My only thing is if you go by what is being said on this board they are already dealing with a lot of pushback and have been for some years now. Sooner or later they are going to have to grow a pair and do the right thing based on a management concept instead of worrying about the politics. If not, there may not be enough left to manage or even have a season (on the extreme end but could happen).

Some people talk about how plentiful the turkeys are in places they hunt. Most every population of turkeys was stocked in Tennessee. That is why I wish they would even temporarily cut the limits in healthy population pockets. If it is discovered places that need to be restocked we will still have a population to use to restock. I know this sounds extreme but it has happened before in my lifetime and could happen again. I am 56 years old. I didn't even see a wild turkey in Perry county until I was around 12. Maybe LBL is taking the right approach but they should just say it.
 
Justification sounds like BS to me as well. I'm disappointed because this was my year to draw. But I am flat out mad that there is no youth hunt opportunity quota or otherwise. This has been an annual trip with my son for the last 3 years and their last minute notification leaves me no other option to apply for. Poorly handled all the way around.
 
RecurveShooter":2on5bu08 said:
Justification sounds like BS to me as well. I'm disappointed because this was my year to draw. But I am flat out mad that there is no youth hunt opportunity quota or otherwise. This has been an annual trip with my son for the last 3 years and their last minute notification leaves me no other option to apply for. Poorly handled all the way around.
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Off the LBL topic but if it helps you to get your son a place to go...... Georgia has a lot of great quota hunts for youth and adults alike. They also put out some good stats.
 
I spent 5 days bow hunting LBL this last fall (Kentucky side). One day in particular I had 4 different groups of turkeys feed thru for a total of around 40 birds, that was 1 day. In another spot I had a group of 7 gobblers walk past me. I've turkey hunted on LBL every year for probably 5 years. We have never had a problem finding birds and plenty of them.

I would say the population could be slightly down in the areas we have hunted compared to 3 or 4 years ago, but I don't think it's as extreme as some of the stories I've heard about other places. I haven't hunted the Tennessee side in probably 6 or 7 years.

I'm planning to make a phone call this week and try to get a little more information. The statement they provided just doesn't sit well with me.
 
Have the snowflake, everybody gets a trophy folks taken over up there also? :moon:
 
AT Hiker":3lkrquym said:
I think it's BS, meaning they are limiting and pushing back the time frame with hopes it will help the population and not trying to appease some make believe hunter complaints. I mean, I agree that's one step they should take to help address the population but they are to chicken ****** to admit it. At least they are living up to the hog epidemic.

The very definition of a limited quota hunt is to enjoy limited pressure hunting. Heck, most of the time a large portion of hunters do not show up plus very few turkeys are even killed during these hunts.

Maybe they are not intentionally pushing back season but I'm confident they are doing this with hopes to curb the population issue.

Per hogs, I believe they have trapped twice as many hogs in 2019 as they did in 2018. IMO, that's not good it just means more hogs exist in the landscape. So, cancel turkey season and tell turkey hunters to go kill hogs. Once we kill out all the hogs then we can turkey hunt again.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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This and This.
 
I posted in the general forum on this topic as I had a long conversation with a gentleman on the committee that made the decision. He made sure that I knew the quota hunt would be back next year and no points would be lost as a matter of fact he wanted me to be sure and post that . The long and short of it according to him was that several hunters complained about the quota hunters getting first shot at the birds every year and that was not fair because if they scout a bird it may be dead before they got their chance. Yes,logic would tell these complainers that they also can put in for the quota hunts and I expressed this but the 5 dollars fee seemed to be the hold up. The belief that you shouldn't have to pay a fee to be first on public land! The Hunter use permit must give these people a nervous breakdown! I know some of you believe that this may be about a pushback for management, why would you not just tell that if that was the case? I am guessing several would have supported that and you would not be facing the wrath of the calls and emails you are now getting . That was never even mentioned in a long conversation with him. Wouldn't you just make the quota hunts later if this were the case? 2017 89 birds , 2018 42 birds and 2019 79 birds. They almost doubled their kill from 18 to 19 so you activate some form of turkey management? You couldn't do something like that for one year in my opinion and get real data to base anything off of. Alabama has started I believe 5 WMA later and are doing the study for I believe 3to 5 years to see if it makes a difference in nesting and poult production. One year to me wouldn't even give you much to go on so I do not believe this had anything at all to do with the decision. I truly believe that a small group of loud people got their way in this situation . I obviously could be wrong and it could be something else but not at all what I got from the conversation and trust me I questioned every aspect of it. I was really bothered by no quota hunt for the juveniles, no way I take my son on that nonquota, and the fact that no public survey or meeting was held about the subject. I hope that quota hunts are back next year as I was told and it also says in their explanation. I am guessing they are Fielding several calls and emails from guys like me that have been putting in since the 80's for the quota hunts and now know how we feel on the subject also!
 
deerfever":2gj7pwo2 said:
I posted in the general forum on this topic as I had a long conversation with a gentleman on the committee that made the decision. He made sure that I knew the quota hunt would be back next year and no points would be lost as a matter of fact he wanted me to be sure and post that . The long and short of it according to him was that several hunters complained about the quota hunters getting first shot at the birds every year and that was not fair because if they scout a bird it may be dead before they got their chance. Yes,logic would tell these complainers that they also can put in for the quota hunts and I expressed this but the 5 dollars fee seemed to be the hold up. The belief that you shouldn't have to pay a fee to be first on public land! The Hunter use permit must give these people a nervous breakdown! I know some of you believe that this may be about a pushback for management, why would you not just tell that if that was the case? I am guessing several would have supported that and you would not be facing the wrath of the calls and emails you are now getting . That was never even mentioned in a long conversation with him. Wouldn't you just make the quota hunts later if this were the case? 2017 89 birds , 2018 42 birds and 2019 79 birds. They almost doubled their kill from 18 to 19 so you activate some form of turkey management? You couldn't do something like that for one year in my opinion and get real data to base anything off of. Alabama has started I believe 5 WMA later and are doing the study for I believe 3to 5 years to see if it makes a difference in nesting and poult production. One year to me wouldn't even give you much to go on so I do not believe this had anything at all to do with the decision. I truly believe that a small group of loud people got their way in this situation . I obviously could be wrong and it could be something else but not at all what I got from the conversation and trust me I questioned every aspect of it. I was really bothered by no quota hunt for the juveniles, no way I take my son on that nonquota, and the fact that no public survey or meeting was held about the subject. I hope that quota hunts are back next year as I was told and it also says in their explanation. I am guessing they are Fielding several calls and emails from guys like me that have been putting in since the 80's for the quota hunts and now know how we feel on the subject also!
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I would be interested in knowing who you talked to and hearing a little more about that conversation. Feel free to PM me if your willing to discuss that and you would prefer to not do that publicly.
 
TLRanger":2zfoaa68 said:
Boll Weevil":2zfoaa68 said:
Full transparency...I'm an LBL idiot. Are there really that many hogs up there?
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Absolutely!
According to their website they have kill 197 so far this winter.........brought in a helicopter to assist in the control.


https://www.landbetweenthelakes.us/feral-hogs/
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They cannot be hunted there correct?


See you in a tree, Ricky
Tree Saddle Hunters_R_US on Tapatalk
 
Cannot legally hunt them. Not supposed to shoot them while hunting any other game.

They knew they were there several years ago and did nothing to control them. The reason they knew is I and several others told them. Most likely impossible to get rid of all of them now.
 
deerfever":36sqy20h said:
I posted in the general forum on this topic as I had a long conversation with a gentleman on the committee that made the decision. He made sure that I knew the quota hunt would be back next year and no points would be lost as a matter of fact he wanted me to be sure and post that.
Click to expand...

What committee?
 

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