Odd Ball Tom

Spring turkey season is in full swing across most of Texas. The only exception is the state’s East Zone, where a month-long gobbler only season gets underway April 22 in 12 counties.

Those who don’t share the passion might say spring gobbler hunters are April Fools but make no mistake about it. The bigger fools are those who have never taken the time to play the crazy game on the colorful stages across Texas. It is truly one of of nature’s greatest shows.

I don’t know know how your turkey hunting has gone so far this year, but Jaret Barrett’s spring season has turned out to be one he won’t soon forget.

Barrett is 36-year-old welding fabricator from Waxahachie who cut his spring turkey hunting teeth hunting on his family’s 1,000-acre lease in Eastland County. His late grandfather leased the property more than four decades ago.

“I grew up hunting out there,” Barrett said. “Lot’s of great memories, for sure.”

Barrett has tagged a number of wild turkeys over the years, but none to compare to the stunning gobbler he shot on the afternoon of March 29, opening day for Rio Grandes in the 119 counties that comprise the state’s North Zone.

I call the bird stunning, because that’s exactly what it is.

With its snow-white plumage, pinkish legs and pearl colored claws, the gobbler is about the closest thing to a unicorn Barrett has ever seen. He blasted the bird from about 40 yards with a shotgun. It wore a charcoal- colored beard about 4 1/2 inches long and had whitish spurs about 1/2 inch long. Its eyes are black.

“I’m still surprised,” Barrett said. “It was definitely an experience I’ll never forget. I think back and I can still hardly believe it.”

Bird of a Different Color

The compelling story about the unusual gobbler actually began unfolding the Friday afternoon before opening morning. Barrett and his good friend, Kevin Cline, were riding around the lease when they spotted a large, white bird milling around in the distance.

“At first we thought it was a white crane or something,” Barrett said. “We got closer and put binoculars on it. Then it took off running. We were like… what the heck! That’s the first time either of us had ever seen anything like that before. We were both pretty amazed at that point.”

The two men returned to the area the following morning, but didn’t have much luck. Barrett said they saw a couple of gobblers, but they were occupied with hens and unresponsive to calling.

Following lunch, the hunters went to the opposite end of the ranch and began working their way along a creek. They called intermittently, but windy conditions made it difficult to hear.

Barrett said they had moved about 300 yards when they saw a pair of hens nearby. Moments latter, he spotted two gobblers slipping through a patch of tall weeds. One of them was all white.

Barrett shot the white bird first, then swung and dropped the second one. He said the gobblers were about 40 yards away and estimates they weighed around 17-18 pounds each.

“We got down low and by luck of the draw they just walked right in front of us,” Barrett said. “I wish I had gotten the opportunity to call him in and see him strutting, but it didn’t happen that way. It was really a blessing either way.”

Bird of a different Color

Eager to learn more about the peculiar-looking gobbler he harvested, Barrett took to the Internet to do some research.

One of the first examples he found was a recent story in the Clarion-Ledger newspaper in Jackson, Miss. The story is about Glace Rone, a Mississippi turkey hunter who tagged a snowwhite gobbler on March 15. Rone’s bird had a nine-inch beard and 3/4-inch spurs.

Caleb Hinton, a wildlife biologist with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, told the newspaper he feels pretty sure Rone’s bird is “leucistic.” Such birds are very rare in the wild.

Leucism is different from albinism.

Leucism results from a recessive gene that causes a wide variety of conditions that result in partial loss of pigmentation in an animal. It can result in white, pale, or patchy coloration of the skin, hair or, in the case of Barrett’s gobbler, snowwhite feathers and pearly claws. Albinism means there is no pigment at all.

Texas Parks and Wildlife Department wild turkey program leader Jason Hardin has seen photographs of Barrett’s gobbler. He agreed the bird is extremely rare.

“We see aberrant coloration from time to time with the ‘smoke phase’ (white/ black) being the most common,” Hardin said. “These color phases seem to be localized. Melanistic, erythritic, and albinotic are very uncommon. Complete albinos, characterized by pink eyes, appear in domestic turkeys, but as far as I am aware have not been reported in wild birds.”

So, just rare is a snowwhite wild turkey?

Hardin said there are no rock solid numbers to hang a hat on.

“They are not unheard of, but they aren’t very common at all,” Hardin said. “I’d say one in 10s of thousands.”

Genetics Testing

Barrett plans to submit DNA samples from the odd tom to WildturkeyDNA for further evaluation.

Inspired by the success of Ducks Unlimited’s DuckDNA project, WildturkeyDNA is a new, large-scale research endeavor of wild turkey genetics aimed at getting a better understanding of the bird’s genetic makeup through hunter-harvested wild turkey DNA samples. The program is spearheaded by the Wild Turkey Lab, the National Wild Turkey Federation, Ducks Unlimited, University of Texas at El Paso and the Low Country Game Bird Foundation.

WildturkeyDNA’s Katie Tucker says hunters who harvest birds with odd plumage are encouraged to participate in program by submitting tongue samples for genetic analysis. Testing is performed at UT El Paso at no cost to the hunter. To request a testing kit, check out wildturkeydna.com or call 901-758-3708.

“We’re looking to determine if these birds are heritage (domestic) breeds that are mixing with wild populations, how many pure heritage breed birds there are in the wild or if they are just hybrids between sub-species,” Tucker said. “Once testing is complete we’ll be able to say with confidence whether it is a wild bird or not.”

Outdoors Briefs ShareLunker winds down collection season 14 Legacy entries

The Toyota ShareLunker program closed out the 2025 Legacy Lunker collection season on March 31 with 14 Legacy Class entries.

Lake O.H. Ivie was the leading contributor of big females weighing upwards of 13 pounds for the fifth consecutive season. Near San Angelo, ‘Ivie produced six Legacy Lunkers this year. That’s down from ‘Ivie’s all-time high of 15 in 2023. The lake produced 12 Legacy fish in 2024.

O.H. Ivie came on strong during the home stretch with three Legacy entries between March 27-30. Among them were a 14.56 pounder caught by lady angler Mechelda Criswell, a 13.63 pounder caught by Terry Scott and a 13.66 pounder reeled in by Kevin Robertson.

The Criswell and Scott bass are especially noteworthy. The catches put both on a short list of anglers with more than one Legacy Lunker under their belts.

Criswell landed a 14.08 pounder at O.H. Ivie in February 2023, while Scott boated a 13.63 pounder in 1996 at Lake Conroe.

Lakes Sam Rayburn, Richland Chambers, Tawakoni, J.B. Thomas, Lady Bird, Toledo Bend, Alan Henry and Tyler also produced Legacy Lunkers this year.

Curry backs away from HB 4938

State Rep. Pat Curry (R-Waco) now says he his backing off of legislation aimed at dismantling the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Filed March 13, HB 4938 (if passed) would have shifted TPWD’s functions, funding and responsibilities to three other state agencies — the Texas General Land Office, Department of Agriculture and the Department of Public Safety.

On March 20, Curry posted a statement on the Pat Curry for Texas Facebook page indicating that he no longer intends to move forward with the bill.

The statement says the bill was filed as a mechanism to shine a light on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and to bring the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commissioners to the table to discuss proposed regulations on the deer breeding industry in Texas.

“I felt filing the bill was necessary to get the agency’s attention after discussions over proposed regulations on deer breeders had failed,” he said. “These proposed regulations, all in the name of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), threaten to infringe upon our private property and small business owner rights.”

Curry also stated that he is not a licensed deer breeder and has never profited from the industry.

Thompson/Nelms win Bass Champs at LBJ

Dylan Thompson and Nate Nelms reeled in 28.53 pounds on five bass to top 144 teams in the Bass Champs team event held March 28 on Lake LBJ. They banked $25,700, including contingency bonuses. Jason Olivo and Rickey Morris took second with 27.59, $6,000. Twelve other teams broke the 20-pound mark. Big bass of the event was a 13.04 pounder caught by Colt Dietz and Bryan Scott… Also on March 29, Tom Redington and Chad Mc-Clendon won the Texas Team Trail team event on Toledo Bend with five bass weighing 27.10. They won a new Ranger boat and contingency bonuses totaling $66,745.

Big Bass Galore

Texas is a destination hotspot with bass anglers around the globe. One of the main reasons is big fish, and lots of them.

To date, 97 public waterbodies have produced lake records weighing 13 pounds or more, according to Natalie Goldstrom, Angler Recognition Program coordinator with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Goldstrom added that 79 public lakes have produced Toyota ShareLunker Legacy class fish since the program’s inception in 1986.

Matt Williams is a freelance writer based in Nacogdoches. He can be reached by e-mail, mattwillwrite4u@ yahoo.com.