Tawakoni WMA allows public hunting with a permit

Lake Tawakoni gives Hunt County a public hunting spot close to home. The Tawakoni Wildlife Management Area sits along the lake. TPWD puts it in the public hunting program. The rules stay tight. Hunting is limited to archery gear and shotguns. This is not a state park with one simple entry rule. It is a managed hunt area, and each map page can carry its own limits.

The shotgun rule is plain: use non-toxic shot, or lead no larger than No. 4. Legal game includes white-tailed deer, feral hog, dove, quail, waterfowl, woodcock, rails, gallinules, snipe, squirrel, rabbits, and hares. Many hunts there use the Annual Public Hunting Permit. That permit sits on top of a regular Texas hunting license.

Waterfowl have their own boundary. In the Waterfowl Hunting Area, hunting is limited to the lake surface and land within 100 feet of the water's edge. Waterfowl are the legal species in that area. Youth waterfowl hunts are set apart. TPWD also bars trapping on the WMA, so the permit booklet is part map and part rule sheet.