April. It’s everyone’s favorite month, aside from those of us who are equally fond of October. The weather, in general, has tempered and steadied but not yet obtained the sauna-like layering of heat and moisture that’s coming.
Hiking trails are open, campgrounds are uncrowded, grass is green, forests are leafy, turkeys are gobbling, and crappie are spawning.
What’s not to love?
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Let’s start with turkeys.
Turkeys are interesting critters—beautiful in their own way with a layering of iridescent feather coloring that can shift from bronze to green within a single shaft of light and a head that blends reds, blues and grays and harbors a walnut-size brain. The birds’ vision is astounding, as any hunter can attest.
Turkeys in Kentucky are a conservation success story almost without equal. Once, they were plentiful in every corner of the Commonwealth. Then, early in the last century, numbers began to decline. Reasons vary, but the main culprit was habitat loss. Numbers shrank to around 2,000 birds statewide. Conservation efforts were put in place. Habitats improved. Birds responded. Hunting opportunities expanded.
Turkeys are now found statewide. The spring turkey hunting season is set to roughly coincide with the birds’ spring breeding season, which generally peaks in mid- to late April. Gobblers looking for a mate can occasionally be distracted by a hunter who knows how to use a turkey call.
State wildlife officials long ago decided that the spring season would begin on the Saturday in April closest to April 15. This year, that date is April 12. The season will run for 23 consecutive days, closing May 4.
Last year, Kentucky hunters checked 33,465 turkeys, a healthy number, during the spring season. Logan County surrendered the most with 537, but hunters in Muhlenberg County scored a close second, checking 525 birds. For many years, the spring hunt was limited to male birds (gobblers). Hens were off limits. In the field, this designation is made by the presence of a bird’s beard, which is neither hair nor feathers but a keratinous-type filament. But occasionally, a hunter would bag a bird sporting a small beard only to discover it was a hen, leaving the legal status of an otherwise legal hunter in limbo. Game officials finally erased this occasional-but-thorny conflict by tweaking the regulations and making a legal bird “any bearded turkey.” Of the 34,465 birds checked last year, 233 were bearded hens.
If a turkey beard has any purpose other than helping a gobbler attract a mate, the folks who study turkeys don’t know what it is.
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Unlike turkeys, crappie—arguably the most popular panfish in Kentucky and probably the United States—are not limited to a season. Anglers can catch them whenever they can find them.
Kentucky’s unofficial peak crappie season is April. That’s because as water temperatures warm into the high 50s and low 60s, the tasty panfish move from deep water wintering confines to shallow water to spawn. They’re easy to find and generally easy to catch. Water temperatures in the 62- to 68-degree range generally are considered optimal for crappie to spawn. If you’re fishing an area that’s home to white and black crappie (such as Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley), black crappie generally spawn earlier and slightly deeper than their white cousins. Water temperature, along with weather and water levels combine to drive the spawn. Generally, the peak of the spawn runs about 7-10 days, sometimes longer. Don’t miss it.
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A word of caution and advice for those planning an excursion: The Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), created by an executive order and headed by Elon Musk—who was appointed and not elected—has been busy eliminating numerous federal programs and jobs, including some services that visitors to the nation’s parks and other recreation areas enjoy.
The order is a bit vague (you can read it at www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/establishing-and-implementing-the-presidents-department-of-government-efficiency) but essentially is a directive to cut the federal government workforce under the pretense of saving money. Outside the military, no federal workforce appears immune to these seemingly random and careless cuts. Recreational areas—including national parks, national monuments, forests and public land use areas—seem particularly vulnerable, despite their popularity with the public.
Kentucky is home to several federal recreational use areas, including but not limited to Mammoth Cave National Park, Cumberland Gap National Historic Park, Clarks River National Wildlife Refuge, Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, Daniel Boone National Forest, Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Park and the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area.
These areas were often short staffed prior to DOGE. Prepare for cutbacks in personnel and services. Closures might affect some areas. Before planning a trip, particularly an extensive outing, call or do an online check of facility and service availability.
In 2024, Kentucky was home to more than 23,000 federal civilian jobs, many of which were filled by hard-working folks doing public service work for modest pay. I have no specifics on Kentucky cutbacks, except that you should expect some. If so, express any frustration to your political leaders, not the overworked, onsite personnel at the park, forest or campsite you’re trying to access. It’s not their fault.
Readers may contact Gary Garth at editor@kentuckymonthly.com