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Spring Turkey Season in Southwest Florida: Dates, Limits and Public Land

By Eric Vincent · October 1, 2026

Florida splits its spring turkey season at State Road 70. Lee, Collier and Charlotte counties are on the southern side, which opens earlier than the northern half of the state.

Season dates

FWC lists these for 2026-2027 (FWC, retrieved Oct. 1, 2026):

  • South of S.R. 70: youth turkey hunt Feb. 26 to March 1, regular spring season March 6 to April 11.
  • North of S.R. 70: youth hunt March 12-15, spring season March 20 to April 25.

Only gobblers and bearded turkeys may be taken. The daily bag limit is 2 turkeys, and the season and possession limit is 2 for all spring seasons combined. Shotguns, rifles, pre-charged pneumatic air guns, handguns, muzzleloaders, crossbows and bows are all listed as legal methods (FWC, retrieved Oct. 1, 2026).

Youth hunters 15 and under may take a turkey on the youth hunt if an adult 18 or older supervises. The adult may call, but cannot shoot or shoot at a turkey.

What it costs

A hunting license is required, and so is a turkey permit. FWC lists the annual turkey permit at $10.00 for residents and $125.00 for non-residents, who must also hold a non-resident annual hunting license (FWC, retrieved Oct. 1, 2026). Public land adds a management area permit, covered in our license cost guide.

Where the public land is

FWC notes that statewide season dates do not apply on wildlife management areas (FWC, retrieved Oct. 1, 2026). Each WMA has its own turkey rules in its regulations brochure.

  • Dinner Island Ranch WMA lists turkey among the animals hunted, and FWC says turkey hunts are held on four weekends between February and April. FWC places it in Hendry County, 29 miles southwest of Clewiston (FWC, retrieved Oct. 1, 2026). It is a drive from Fort Myers, not a local spot.
  • Big Cypress WMA covers over 728,000 acres of Big Cypress National Preserve, which spans parts of Collier, Dade and Monroe counties (FWC, retrieved Oct. 1, 2026). The National Park Service says game commonly pursued there includes white-tailed deer, wild turkey and wild hog, and that hunting is managed together with FWC (NPS, retrieved Oct. 1, 2026).
  • Fred C. Babcock/Cecil M. Webb WMA, near Punta Gorda, is described by FWC with archery, general gun, small game, quail and raccoon and opossum seasons. I did not find a turkey season described on the pages I fetched, so check its brochure before assuming one (FWC, retrieved Oct. 1, 2026).

Quota permits

Some spring turkey hunts on select WMAs need a quota permit, and FWC says applications open Nov. 1 (FWC, retrieved Oct. 1, 2026). The posted schedule for the quota spring turkey hunt shows Phase I applications Nov. 1 to Nov. 30, 2026, Phase II Dec. 4 to Dec. 14, and Phase III leftovers starting Dec. 17. Those dates are for the 2026-2027 cycle only.

What I could not confirm

I could not read the WMA regulations brochures themselves. FWC serves them through a search tool that did not load for me. That means I cannot tell you which of these areas require quota permits for turkey, what their daily limits are, or their check-in rules. Pull the brochure for your exact area from FWC’s WMA Finder before you plan a trip.

FWC is also running a three-year turkey research project at Okaloacoochee Slough WMA in Hendry County, started in spring 2023, to study gobbling and nesting against season dates (FWC, retrieved Oct. 1, 2026). Season dates can move as that work reports.

FWC’s pages call the bird the wild turkey. This post does not make claims about subspecies because the fetched pages do not.

Sources