March means time for turkey season
For Starkville Daily News
JACKSON – For most, March is a time for beautiful spring weather and flowers in bloom.
For Mississippi's estimated 50,000 wild turkey hunters, it also brings something else. The spring turkey season begins on March 15 and ends May 1. For hunters age 15 and under, the youth season begins a week earlier on Thursday.
Bag limits for the spring season are one adult gobbler (or gobbler with at least a 6-inch beard) per day, not to exceed three per spring season. Youth hunters 15 years of age and younger may harvest one gobbler of choice per day, not to exceed three per spring season.
“Turkey hunting is a pretty popular pursuit in Mississippi,” said Adam Butler, the
Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries,
hunters as we do deer or duck hunters, but generally speaking, turkey hunters tend to be a very intense bunch."
To participate in spring turkey season, Mississippi residents, ages 16 through 64, must obtain a hunting license unless hunting on lands titled in their own name. All nonresident hunters, except minors under the age of 16, are required to obtain a hunting license while hunting in the state of Mississippi. In addition to any statewide license requirements, purchase of a Wildlife Management Area
public Wildlife Management Areas. Hunters planning to hunt WMAs or any other public lands are urged to check the area-specific regulations before going afield. Season dates and bag limits on some Wildlife Management Areas may differ from the statewide framework. Hunting on many Wildlife Management Areas is by drawn permit only during the first two weeks of the season; some areas are permit-only throughout the entire season. Other public lands may also require special permits.
For more information regarding Mississippi's spring turkey season, visit www.mdwfp.com or call 601-432-2212. Follow on Facebook at www.facebook. com/mdwfp or on Twitter at www.twitter. The Mississippi Department of Wildlife,
supplemental feeding ban in the six counties within the Chronic Wasting Disease management zone.
It is now unlawful to establish new mineral sites, mineral blocks, salt blocks, or licks. It is also unlawful to add supplements to existing mineral sites.
The intent of the supplemental feeding ban is to minimize the concentration of whitetailed deer in small, centralized locations to reduce the potential for spreading CWD.
The CWD management zone includes the counties Claiborne, Hinds, Issaquena, Sharkey, Warren, and Yazoo.
For more information about Chronic Wasting Disease, visit www.mdwfp.com/cwd or call 601-432-2400. JACKSON – Mississippi Department
biologists are anticipating a productive 2018 fishing season in the southeast region's waters.
Winter catches of trophy bass at Lakes
providing an early indicator of fishing success
sampling during fall 2017 revealed good catch rates for largemouth bass and sunfish in the southeast region state fishing lakes,”
Biologist. Fall sampling in Lake Bogue Homa produced numerous 1-2 pound crappie and many more quality sunfish than in previous years. "With the reduction of the water hyacinth coverage and increased boat accessibility, we expect to see the numbers of all fish being caught increase this spring at Lake Bogue Homa,” said Brown.
Other southeast region waters should provide excellent spring angling opportunities as well. The flathead catfish population in produce lunker catches through the summer.
bass and numerous sunfish species waiting to be caught. In addition, the associated
popular waters producing large crappie and sunfish this spring.
For more information regarding fishing in Mississippi, visit www.mdwfp.com or call 601-432-2200. Effective immediately, the Mississippi
has declared Moon Lake in Coahoma County, a temporary “No-Wake Zone.”
Because of heavy rains and runoff waters, the water level on Moon Lake has reached a point where property and pier structures along the lake shores are easily damaged by the wakes created by boat
piers by the boat wakes.
Any and all boat traffic shall operate in a “dead slow – leave no wake” manner so as not to create any wake on Moon Lake. This NoWake Zone declaration shall continue in full force and effect until the waters shall recede to a level where normal wakes no longer threaten the properties and piers along the shores.
For more information about boating or outdoors in Mississippi, visit website at www. mdwfp.com or call 601-432-2400. JACKSON –The Mississippi Department
Mississippi State University Extension Service are hosting a pond management workshop in Calhoun County.
The workshop will be held at the Calhoun
be served at 6 p.m. by the Calhoun County Extension office in conjunction with the Calhoun County Forestry Association. The meal will be followed by an hour-long presentation that will include topics on pond design, fish stocking, harvest, vegetation control, liming, and fertilization. A question and answer period will follow. Those interested in attending the workshop are asked to register by March 2 by calling the Calhoun County Extension Office at 662412-3177 or emailing Mr. Trent Barnett at trent.barnett@msstate.edu. Early registration will help ensure enough food is prepared for the meal.
“This workshop will allow biologists and private pond owners the opportunity to discuss management options to improve fish populations and habitat,” according to
“This is a great way for us to provide howto information that can help pond owners achieve their goals”.
For more information regarding fishing in Mississippi, visit www.mdwfp.com or call 601-432-2200.
JACKSON – Heavy rainfall during the month of February has resulted in extensive flooding in the south Delta region of Mississippi. Effective March 1, the following Wildlife Management Areas will be closed to public access and use: Mahannah, Riverfront, Shipland, and Twin Oaks. In addition, the U.S. Forest Service is closing roads on Sunflower WMA as water levels rise.
For more information regarding WMAs in Mississippi, visit our website at www.mdwfp. com or call us at 601-432-2400.