(photo courtesy of John Koehl)
The 2026 Louisiana turkey hunting season produced a record harvest as more than 4,000 birds were harvested. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Turkey Program Manager, Cody Cedotal, says 4.024 turkeys were harvested during the season that ran from April 3rd to May 3rd.
“We’re excited about that and encouraged by it. We’re hoping that’s a sign of good things to come, and our turkey populations seem to be doing well,” Cedotal said.
The 2026 harvest is 12.5% higher than the 2025 season. The previous turkey season harvest record was 3,695 birds in 2024. 10 years ago, hunters were harvesting less than 2,000 birds. But Cedotal says in 2018 a decision was made to push back the start of the season, and it has paid off.
“We’ve seen some really good hatches across the state, and good reproduction; and that’s led to a gradual increase. Since 2022, we’ve seen a pretty significant jump up of about 20% in the reported harvest, and it’s grown from there,” Cedotal explained.
Cedotal says many hunters again reported increased encounters with jakes (young male turkeys), which is an indicator of good reproduction in some areas.
“If hunters are seeing a lot of juvenile males out there while they’re turkey hunting in a given spring, that usually bodes well for the next spring. Those will be some of the adult birds that will be in the flocks for next spring,” Cedotal noted.
Cedotal says it’s important that we see drier weather, as this is a time when turkey eggs hatch.
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