Florida season officially closed

[roberthyman14]

22 days spent chasing turkeys.  Most of the where are few hours before going to work.  Terrible season for me.  Only setup and called to 4x. Opening weekend is only morning we had a bird close.  Had him about 65 yards and didn't close anymore distance, we watched him drift off and finally get with a group of hens.  Many silent mornings, lots of very windy days, forestry burned a ton of acres this spring and they are still burning.  Our private land had a good group of birds early.  I dont hunt them until last 2 weeks of the season, I do keep tabs on them with cameras though.   They bred hens just before season began and they all disappeared.   Last week 3 big jakes finally came back to the farm.  0 gobbles out of any of them the last week.  Took my babysitter only 1x this season. Had birds on our property owners actually home property.  They beat us to the green field that afternoon.   Got a few half hearted gobbles from them as we watched them feed.  Another camera showed them with a few hens.   Seen a bunch of cool stuff in the woods that you won't see on the couch.  May have thrown dirt in the face of a bobcat 1 morning.  This is the 1st year in a long time that I did not fire a single shot during deer season or turkey season combined.  I'm not as made at the deer as I once was, turkey hunting will humble a person quick.   Talking to a bunch of other folks they have experienced the same. Very few gobbles and once on the ground silence.  Just 1 of those years.  Gotta a bunch of things to get done around home and spend time with the family until planting season starts in July for dove. 

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[joey46]

Seemed like the season flew by.  Buddy and I scored a double on 3/31 thanks to luck, patience and pre-scouting. We decided that one each was enough for this season on this property as others were hunting it also. I did apply for several WMA quotas in the redraw system with the usual zero results. Saw Jakes on every hunt so 2026 looks promising.  Every season is a blessing 🙏.

[Muzzy61]

Season over here in North Florida. Pretty rough year. Timber company clear cut the bulk of our lease this year. I think it differently effected the turkey hunting. I was fortunate enough to take a 2 year old this year, the highlight of the season was my 10 year old grandson taking his first long beard opening morning.
The other bright spot was that we saw a ton of jakes this year so hopefully next year will be strong.

[btodd00]

Me and my family had an awesome Florida season, getting to see my 9yo harvest his first was special and my 17yo getting his first one solo made me feel old. Saw more jakes this season than i ever have

[Dmc1530]

Florida Season was a tough year here on south and central public land. Birds loved the private land and were hammering early in the season. A lot of bully jakes this year and the longbeards got quiet shortly after season opened.

[joey46]

Everyone reporting jakes.  Nice!

[squidd]

Feel everyone's pain!

Hunted three non-permit WMAs with no gobbling heard.

Definitely saw more hunters than turkey.

Did have a close experience with a Bobcat that was the season highlight.

[joey46]

Is he sneaking in on Funky?

[squidd]

He was about to when he first noticed Funky.

Squatted, gave a few good tail flicks, took a few low crouching steps, then finally winded me and took off like a rocket.

[joey46]

Your picture much better but here's one that is starting his sneak on Funky.  I did a low whistle and when he looked waved.  He caught on and hit the road.    Years ago in my pre-Funky days had a big bobcat hit a hen decoy while in Big Cypress.  Cat realized it's mistake quickly.  Nothing beats CaptJJ's picture of the panther in his decoys.  It's on here somewhere.   Florida can be an adventure.  I'm waiting on an alligator or  exotic snake picture in the decoys making a play for Funky.

[joey46]

Here are the Florida numbers for 2025:

WMAs - 2253 in 2025 compared to 1961 in 2024
County Private Land - 9994 in 2025 compared to 9334 in 2024

Grand Total - 12,247 for the 2025 season.  Total for 2024 was 11,295

Add for those that don't comply with the mandatory reporting and it was a decent season.

[joey46]

Add a bobcat picture from a game camera.  This is one big healthy cat in the same area. 

[g8rvet]

No panthers up here.   Just these. This was a big boy about 150 yards from my house 5 years ago.   Got a nice one on a trail cam this year too.


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[joey46]

I'll see your bear and raise you a wolf.  Not really a wolf although he is a super big coyote in the same general area as my previous pictures.   He has never been seen again. 

[joey46]

Maybe he has been around a while. LOL