Mentored Turkey Hunting Opportunities in Northwest Ohio
Written by WKTN Staff on March 26, 2020
FINDLAY, Ohio – Special mentored style turkey hunting opportunities are available to Ohio residents at Killdeer Plains Wildlife Area and the recently-purchased Andreoff Wildlife Area in Hardin County, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.
Registration will be taken for several wild turkey hunting opportunities for youth and adults who have never harvested a wild turkey. Hunts are available for the youth turkey season on April 18 and 19, as well as for one-week hunting sessions April 20-26, April 27-May 3, May 4-10, and May 11-17. Registration is taken on a first come, first serve basis and is open now. To register visit https://apps.ohiodnr.gov/wildlife/educationregistration/.
Permits for youth wild turkey season will be issued to youth hunters only. Two permits are available, and applicants must be 17 years or younger on the date of the hunt to participate. Eight permits are available for the spring turkey season on the two wildlife areas and are available to both youth and adult hunters. Permits allow for one mentee and one nonhunting mentor. Mentees are only eligible to participate once.
All permits will be for a mentor and mentee style hunt. Mentees are responsible for providing their own mentor. Either the mentee or mentor can register. The registrant must specify whether they are the mentee or mentor in the affiliation line during registration. After registering, they will be contacted for their partner’s information. Participants will receive special hunt rules, a permit, and map of the area via email prior to the hunt session.
Participants registering as a mentor and mentee are required to meet the following:
“Learn to” (recruitment) hunts:
.Mentor: A person who is at least 21 years of age and applies for a “learn to” hunt for an opportunity to teach a learner to hunt. Mentors are required to be fully licensed for the species they are applying to hunt and must have purchased an Ohio hunting license and Ohio wild turkey permit for more than three consecutive years.
.Learner (Mentee): A person learning to hunt alongside a mentor.
.To qualify for a wild turkey hunt, learners must not have held an Ohio turkey permit for more than three consecutive years or registered a turkey harvest as a landowner within the last three years.
.To qualify for all other species, learners must not have held an Ohio hunting license or an Ohio apprentice hunting license for more than three consecutive years.
For more information on Ohio’s wildlife resources, call 800-WILDLIFE (945-3543) or visit wildohio.gov.
