Photo By Phillip Jordan

Throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, last season's spring turkey hunters realized excellent success.

Two-year-old toms, considered by many sportsmen as the most vocal of wild turkeys, comprised a significant portion of the bag. Near-record harvests were taken in New Jersey, Maryland and Delaware.

Expectations are high for this year's spring hunt as well. Read on to see where the hotspots were last season, what's expected for this season, along with a bunch of other spring turkey-related facts and figures.

NEW JERSEY
The 2006 spring season was a very successful one for Garden State turkey hunters. New Jersey sportsmen tallied a harvest of 3,524 birds, an increase of nearly 8 percent over the prior year. Their '06 take was also the third-highest harvest since 1981.

According to the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife (DFW), most turkey-hunting areas produced increases in harvest. New Jersey is divided into 22 zones or areas for management purposes. In southern New Jersey, Area 16 saw an increase from 123 birds taken in 2005 to 160 birds in 2006. Area 20 saw an increase from 600 to 714 gobblers harvested. Turkey hunting Area 2 was the notable area in northern New Jersey, with an increase from 110 birds in 2005 to 198 birds in 2006.

Of those turkey-hunting areas that saw a decline in harvest totals, none was significant.

Starting last season, hunters were given the option of applying for wild turkey permits via the DFW's Web site at NjWildlife.com. Application fees can be charged to a credit card. Only when applicants are successful are their credit cards charged with the permit fee. Hunters are reminded that they can still apply for wild turkey permits the traditional way, through the mail. However, you may apply via only one method, not both.

Two lotteries are held each year. Leftover licenses are made available on a first-come, first-served basis. The status of leftover licenses, as well as that of electronic lottery submissions, can be viewed on the agency's Web site.