The Tchefuncte River has left many an angler scratching his head, but it actually offers surprisingly good springtime spawning action.
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) will enforce turkey-tagging regulations during the 2009 turkey season and urges hunters to become familiar with the steps in the process before the season begins.
“The Wildlife Division is very interested in the data that will be collected through the turkey tag reporting procedure now in place,” said Jimmy Anthony, assistant secretary for LDWF’s Office of Wildlife. “Turkey hunters should find the process easy to use, and anyone who hunted deer during the season just completed will be familiar with how the new reporting mechanism works.”
Prior to hunting turkey this season in Louisiana, all hunters, regardless of age or license status, must obtain turkey tags and carry them when hunting. Turkey tags will be issued as follows:
* At the point of sale, when purchasing a turkey license from a license vendor.
* La. Lifetime Hunting license holders: License vendors will issue tags free of charge when the Lifetime Hunting license is presented.
* Resident Senior Hunt/Fish license holder: License vendors will issue tags free of charge when the Resident Senior Hunt/Fish license is presented.
* Resident Seniors (not required to carry a hunt/fish license): License vendors will issue tags free of charge when a Louisiana driver’s license or state-issued picture I.D. is presented.
* Hunters under age 16: License vendors will issue tags free of charge to youth hunters providing a Social Security number and date of birth.
NOTE: Additional to license purchase and turkey tag options at license vendor outlets, LDWF offices issuing licenses and turkey tags include:
Region 2 – 368 Century Tel Drive, Monroe 71203; ph. 318-343-4045
Region 3 – 1995 Shreveport Hwy., Pineville 71360; ph. 318-487-5885
Region 5 – 1213 N. Lakeshore Drive, Lake Charles 70601; ph. 337-491-2575
Region 6 – 5652 Hwy. 182, Opelousas 70570; ph. 337-948-0255
Baton Rouge – 2000 Quail Drive, B.R. 70808; ph. 225-765-2887
When in the field, and immediately upon harvesting a turkey, the hunter must:
* Tag the turkey with the appropriate Carcass Tag from the license before it is moved and document the kill on the Harvest Report Card portion of the turkey tag.
* Record the date of kill and the parish of kill on the Carcass Tag.
When transporting the harvested turkey:
* The tag must remain attached to the turkey while kept at camp, or while it is transported to the domicile of the hunter.
* Possession Tags are printed within the back of the of the 2008-09 Louisiana Hunting Regulations booklet, or can be downloaded via the LDWF Web site, and document the identification of the hunter who harvested the turkey. Correctly completed Possession Tags identify the hunter responsible for the carcass and allow anyone to transport the meat legally.
Within 72 hours of the harvest of each turkey, the hunter must:
* Validate the kill by toll-free phone at 866-484-4805 or via the Internet at
https://www.wildlifelicense.com.
* Record the validation number obtained by phone or Internet on the Harvest
Report Card.
Additionally:
Hunters are advised not to remove the Carcass Tags from the Turkey Harvest Report Card until a turkey is harvested. Single tags are automatically voided if detached from the license prematurely, not placed on a harvested turkey, and then lost by a hunter. Duplicate tags will be available to replace lost tags at a charge to the hunter. Hunters who have harvested a turkey prior to losing their remaining tags will have to remove and discard the duplicate tags to account for the original tags that has been used and validated. Hunters must record validated turkey on the duplicate turkey tag.
Anyone purchasing a license by phone or the Internet will be given both an authorization number and a LDWF identification number that will serve as their temporary license until the actual license arrives by mail. Hunters must tag turkeys using any piece of paper with legibly written authorization number and LDWF identification number, along with the hunters name, address, date and parish where the turkey was taken. This will serve in lieu of the absent carcass tag. Hunters will maintain documentation of any harvested turkey and will validate any harvested turkey as required by law when the hunter’s actual license is received. The hunter will validate the license information from any harvested turkey and will discard the license tags for those validated turkey. NOTE: Hunting license purchases by phone or the Internet will include a handling fee, as will turkey tag requests by Lifetime license holders, Resident Seniors and hunters under age 16.
A complete listing of all rules pertaining to turkey season and tagging is provided in the 2009 Louisiana Turkey Regulations pamphlet, or those same rules can be downloaded via the LDWF Web site at www.wlf.louisiana.gov. To view an instructional video on turkey tagging, click on the link provided on the LDWF Web site home page.
