Ill lend some insight and this comes from nearly 30 years hunting turkeys in the southern most extremity of Florida
Even at the high rates that Guides Services charge for a Osceola hunt { Me included} , This is not intended to be a sales pitch , but I think many of the members here would appreciate some insight to the critical situation here in Florida regarding turkey hunting
1)
Public Property WMA's , not private ...... Did you guys know that ....there was only about 700 gobblers killed in the state of Florida on state owned management areas last year !! yes 700 !! thats it
and about half of those were Easterns?/Hybrids --- For comparison purposes -- the State of Alaska killed more Dall Ram Sheep a $
20,000 hunt mind you than Florida turkey hunters killed turkeys on public --
2) Quality Leases {Lykes -Mormons} in the south/central Florida area are $6,000 - $10,000 range and you have to share that with the other lease members , and you can only kill 2 gobblers total
3) Much of the prime turkey habitat is most times Cattle operations , Those cattle are worth a fortune , and many of cattle ranchers cant be bothered with showing a few folks around to get a slam - what happens is that family and close friends end up with exclusive rights - sometimes the ranch foreman is allowed to have a hunt or two - Most ranch operators are fearful of gates being left open , property damaged , and guests unwittingly trespassing into another ranch
4) Large Corp's own much of the rest and they wont allow anybody on the property for liability purposes , or they keep it to themselves - If you guys only knew what kind of turkeys and deer Walt Disney Resort has its crazy
5) Another big problem is state agencies like South Florida Water Management District /St Johns/ National Park Service/ State Park service etc... owning hundreds of thousands of acres of property and not allowing any hunting what so ever -
6) Florida is quickly changing into California , with the camp jellystone mentality - the stakeholder meetings are being dominated by Horseriders , Campers , Audubon society , even Off Road enthusiasts -- as the state starts to populate more in the future these people will wrestle control of the FWC away from hunters -- we will be on the run at that time , but for know ....hunting licence fees are paying the salaries of the BOD of the FWC and the Game Wardens and Biologists
7) The high price point has brought in unsavory types , guides with zero property , or that guide folks on trespass hunts using WMA's as a access point {fence jump}to private property -Sell Quota permits - Or straight trespass drop off /pick up via airboat - truck - The FWC has a special cyber unit BTW and they keep a look out for these "guides" soliciting via social sites , and the officers are very good at what they do
That about sums it up on the demand situation in Florida , turkey hunting in the 1970's and 1980's was more underground , the biggest change came when the syndicated tv shows like Realtree-Bill Jordan cam about in the early 1990's this brought more people to turkey hunting - There are a estimated 30,000 turkey hunters in Florida - an the average skill level is improving each year
When the economy improves there will be more pressure placed on the crazy system in Florida , Public property WILL get more crowded , Private leases and Guides will go up to make it worth their while - look for Osceola hunts to climb up to the 3,000 -4,000 within a decade
I predict that in the next 10 years we will be forced to go to no-jake 6 inch beard rule to keep the breeding stock high - at least south of state road 70 or at least on public WMA's- the only exception would be exempt hunters - youth - retired- military -disabled
I could care less about folks hunting up north of me , with the line raised the way it is , it takes hunting pressure of the southern and central parts of the state - I hope the line moves into the Georgia for all its worth -
