(Courtesy of the KY Department of Fish and Wildlife)
The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources offers numerous classes for those wanting to learn more about hunting and fishing.
Unless exempt, Kentucky requires all hunters born after 1974 to earn their certification to be able to hunt legally. Kentucky offers more than 300 hunter education courses throughout the state each year. Classes are available in person or online. Visit Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s Hunter Education webpage for details.
Megan Bagby, who supervises the hunter education program for Kentucky Fish and Wildlife, said now is the time to look for and schedule classes.
“Kentucky’s turkey hunting season begins April 5-6 for youth hunters, followed by the general season April 12 – May 4,” she said. “Registration for the required range day portion of the certification process can fill up before a season opens, so don’t wait to complete your hunter education course. Give yourself time to learn and practice.”
Landowners and tenants who are hunting on their own land are not required to have this training, although it is recommended for all hunters. Kentucky Fish and Wildlife also offers a temporary hunter education exemption permit, which allows residents and nonresidents to hunt for one year without first completing a hunter education course. Youth hunters may only take the course after turning 9 years old but are not required to take the course until turning 12 years old.
Students completing classroom instruction next join instructors at a shooting range to ensure they can handle firearms safely.
Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s Learn to Hunt webpage is a hub for resources about different game species, processing wild game and upcoming classes. Additionally, the department’s Field to Fork programs help hunters learn about hunting.
“Field to Fork programs are unique, start-to-finish workshops that teach adult participants everything they need to know to hunt a specific game species successfully,” Bagby said. “Current offerings include workshops on dove, squirrel, spring turkey and deer hunting.”
Participants learn about basic equipment, game animal biology and regulations. They receive hands-on shooting practice and watch demonstrations of wild game processing. Kentucky hunting licenses are typically required to attend these events.
Kentucky Fish and Wildlife also offers many resources for those wanting to learn more about fishing Kentucky waters. The department’s Learn to Fish webpage helps anglers get started with the basics like gear, techniques and places to fish and links to educational opportunities provided by the agency.
Anglers can find places to fish by searching Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s Waterbodies Search page. In addition, the free Fish Boat KY app for mobile smartphones showcases fishing regulations, educational materials, reports and updates, maps and more. Anglers will need to be sure to purchase their 2025 fishing license for the new license year that began March 1.
Hunting and fishing licenses can be purchased online through the department’s online MyProfile license portal. View the department’s 2025-2026 Fishing and Boating Guide for more information on fishing regulations, fish species and waterbodies.
Woods are ready for spring hunting seasons
Kentucky’s spring hunting seasons kick off with the youth-only turkey season April 5-6, followed by the general season for turkeys April 12-May 4. Spring squirrel season, a popular activity for both novice and experienced hunters, commences May 17 and continues for nearly a month, concluding June 15.
Surveys foreshadow a great turkey season ahead.
“During our winter netting and leg banding research, we caught an unusually high number of jakes, or younger birds,” said Zak Danks, Wild Turkey Program coordinator for the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. “This aligns with the productive poult hatch in 2024, so I expect hunters will see more jakes this spring.”
Danks suggests this should be an especially good season for youth and new hunters looking to bag a bird for the first time. Younger birds are easier for hunters to fool than older birds that have been hunted previously.
Hunters would do well to have a good turkey call and know how to use it. The online Learn to Hunt Turkey webpage on the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife website is a great place to start for tips and resources.
No more than two legal turkeys may be taken per spring season. A legal turkey is defined as a wild turkey that is male or has a visible beard. Hunters may only harvest one bearded turkey per wildlife management area (WMA), and no more than one bird may be taken per day. Turkeys taken by youths during the youth-only season count toward their spring turkey bag limit.
For those without a place to hunt, Kentucky Fish and Wildlife manages dozens of WMAs across the state open to the public for hunting. Find these online at the department’s Wildlife Management Area & Public Lands Search webpage.
Hunters who want to stay in the woods after turkey season have nearly a month in May and June for squirrel season. The department’s online Squirrel Hunting page provides expert advice on hunting, processing and cooking squirrels.
Before heading afield, view the regulations and season dates of each game species by consulting Kentucky Fish and Wildlife’s online 2025 Spring Hunting Guide. It’s important to note that this guide can only be found online.
More information about hunting is available on the department’s website at fw.ky.gov. For questions, please call 1-800-858-1549, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. (ET) weekdays, excluding holidays.
