Louisiana To Prohibit Adult Turkey Hunters From Shooting Jakes

Under Louisiana’s new turkey hunting regulations, only youth hunters will be allowed to take jakes next season. (Photo by Shutterstock)

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has issued a new regulation that will prohibit the harvesting of jakes by adult hunters starting in 2025.

According to Louisiana 2024-25 Hunting & WMA Regulations, adult hunters are limited to "one adult gobbler per day (two turkey limit per season). An adult gobbler is defined by having one of the following: wing feathers that have white barring all the way to the tip; tail feathers that are the same length; beard that is longer than 6-inches; or a spur that is at least 1/2-inch long. Properly licensed youth that is under the age of 18 may take one juvenile turkey (jake), with a beard less than 6-inches, per season"

Cody Cedotal, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries small game/wild turkey program manager, told Realtree.com that Louisiana’s wild turkey populations are healthy and increasing in numbers across most regions of the state based on harvest data and reproduction surveys from recent years, and the new rule is designed to increase those numbers even more.

“A season delay enacted in 2018 to allow for additional breeding opportunity coupled with improved conditions for nesting and brood rearing are reasons for the increasing populations. This latest change to restrict the harvest of juvenile males (jakes) is meant to serve as an additional conservative measure to improve turkey hunting opportunities in the future,” Cedotal said.