PolkTX
POLK COUNTY, TEXAS
Claim Your Business
NOT THE POLK COUNTY GOVERNMENT · LOOKING FOR THE COUNTY? POLKTX.GOV
PolkTX · Living Here

Hunting & Fishing

Every season TPWD publishes for Polk County, read off their own county page this morning. Plus where to buy a licence without leaving the county.

Open in Polk County today · 2026-10-07
  • Dove Regular Season through Oct 25
  • White-tailed Deer Archery Only through Nov 6
  • Squirrel General Season through Feb 28, 2027

Next to open: White-tailed Deer, early youth-only season, on Oct 30.

Getting a licence

Three ways, and all three are Texas Parks and Wildlife's — PolkTX does not sell anything.

Online

Through the state’s own sales site. TPWD charge a $5 administrative fee on an online order, and a fully digital licence can only be bought this way.

Buy from TPWD ↗

In the county

8 shops in Polk County are licence deputies, listed below. A paper licence can be bought at any of them or online; you need the paper one for anything that has to be tagged, which in this county means deer and turkey.

See the list ↓

By phone

TPWD headquarters answer licence questions Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm Central.

(800) 792-1112

Corrigan

Burris Farm & Home
815 N HOME ST
(936) 398-2888
Eaton's Hardware
615 N HOME
(936) 398-2575

Livingston

A C Guns
520 W CHURCH ST
(936) 327-2822
Lake Grocery
2825 FM 2457
(936) 967-4296
Richardson Ag & Outdoors, LLC
1899 US HWY 190 E
(936) 329-1295
Wal-Mart S/C #275
1620 W CHURCH ST
(936) 327-6370

Onalaska

Brookshire Brothers #71
14658 US HWY 190 WEST
(936) 646-2414
Cunningham'skickapoobait&Tackl
13050 HWY 190 W
(936) 646-4478

This list is Texas Parks and Wildlife’s own register of licence deputies, read on Oct 6, 2026 and filtered to Polk County ZIP codes. Names and phone numbers are as their system holds them. Ring before you drive: being on the state’s list is not the same as having the stamp you want in the drawer today.

Sources · 2

Read Oct 6, 2026. Refreshed every morning.

2026-2027 Hunting Seasons in Polk County

Read off TPWD's Polk County page on Oct 6, 2026. Their dates, their words.

White-tailed Deer

Open now
Archery Endorsement Required for Archery Hunting
North Zone
Archery Only
Oct 3 – Nov 6
General Season
Nov 7 – Jan 3, 2027
Antlerless Deer: Nov. 7-29, antlerless deer by hunting license tag.
Early Youth-Only Season
Oct 30 – Nov 1
Late Youth-Only Season
Jan 4 – 17, 2027
Muzzleloader
Jan 4 – 17, 2027
What TPWD say about white-tailed deer in this county 4
Bag Limit
4 deer, no more than 2 bucks, and no more than 2 antlerless, all seasons combined.
Antler Restrictions
The bag limit in this county is two legal bucks, but only ONE may have an inside spread of 13 inches or greater. A legal buck deer is defined as a buck deer with: at least one unbranched antler; OR an inside spread of 13 inches or greater (does not apply to a buck that has an unbranched antler). A hunter may also take ONE buck with an inside spread of 13 inches or greater in a different county with antler restrictions, and not to exceed that county's bag limit.
Antlerless Deer
Antlerless deer may be taken by hunting license tag during archery, muzzleloader, and youth-only seasons, except on properties where antlerless MLDP tags have been issued then take is by MLDP tag only. Antlerless deer may also be taken by hunting license tags during designated periods in the General Season, see General Season section below for specific dates.
MLDP
If MLDP buck tags have been issued for a property, harvest is by MLDP tag only and all bucks must be tagged with a MLDP tag. If MLDP antlerless tags have been issued for a property, harvest is by MLDP tag only and all antlerless deer must be tagged with a MLDP antlerless tag. The landowner or designated agent are responsible for providing MLDP tags to the hunters on MLDP properties. All hunters using MLDP tags are required to possess a Resident or Non-resident General hunting license.
TPWD on white-tailed deer ↗

Dove

Open now
Migratory Game Bird Endorsement & HIP Certification Required
Central Zone
Regular Season
Sep 1 – Oct 25 andDec 11 – Jan 14, 2027
Possession Limit: Three times the daily bag limit
Legal Shooting Hours: From one-half hour before sunrise to sunset.
Falconry
Nov 13 – 29
Daily Bag Limit: 3 in the aggregate
Possession Limit: Three times the daily bag limit
TPWD on dove ↗

Squirrel

Open now
East Texas
General Season
Oct 1 – Feb 28, 2027 andMay 1 – 31, 2027
Youth-Only
Sep 25 – 27
What TPWD say about squirrel in this county 2
Daily Bag Limit
10
Possession Limit
20
TPWD on squirrel ↗

Alligator

Core
General Season
Sep 10 – 30
Bag Limit: 1 alligator per unused CITES tag in possession
TPWD on alligator ↗

Duck

Migratory Game Bird Endorsement, HIP Certification & Federal Duck Stamp Required
North Zone
Youth-Only
Nov 7 – 8
Note: Learn More about Youth Only Seasons
Veterans and Active Duty Military
Nov 7 – 8
Regular Season
Nov 14 – 29 andDec 5 – Jan 31, 2027
"Dusky" Duck
Nov 19 – 29 andDec 5 – Jan 31, 2027
Falconry
Feb 1 – 21, 2027
Daily Bag Limit by Falconry: 3 migratory game birds, singly or in the aggregate.
Possession Limit by Falconry: 9 migratory game birds, singly or in the aggregate.
What TPWD say about duck in this county 3
Duck Daily Bag Limit with Gun
6 in the aggregate. Includes mergansers. No more than: 5 mallards (only two may be hens) 3 wood ducks 3 pintail 2 redheads 2 canvasback 1 scaup 1 "dusky" duck (mottled duck, Mexican duck, black duck, and their hybrids are closed the first five days of the season in each zone) All other species not listed: 6
Coot Daily Bag Limit
15 birds
Possession Limit with Gun
Three times the daily bag limit
TPWD on duck ↗

Goose

Migratory Game Bird Endorsement, HIP Certification & Federal Duck Stamp Required
Eastern Zone
Early Canada Geese Season
Sep 12 – 27
Dark Geese
Nov 7 – Jan 31, 2027
Light Geese
Nov 7 – Feb 19, 2027
What TPWD say about goose in this county 2
Daily Bag Limit
5 Early Canada geese; 5 regular dark geese (to include no more than 2 White-fronted geese); 5 light geese in the aggregate.
Possession Limit
Three times the daily bag limit.
TPWD on goose ↗

Quail

Upland Game Bird Endorsement Required
Statewide
Regular Season
Nov 1 – Feb 28, 2027
Daily Bag Limit: 15
Possession Limit: 45
Mearns' (Montezuma) Quail: No open season.
TPWD on quail ↗

Rails, Gallinules and Moorhens

Migratory Game Bird Endorsement & HIP Certification Required
Statewide
Regular Season
Sep 19 – 27 andNov 7 – Jan 6, 2027
Daily Bag Limit: 15 King and Clapper Rails in the aggregate; 25 Sora and Virginia Rails in the aggregate; 15 Moorhens (Common Gallinules) and Purple Gallinules in the aggregate.
Possession Limit: Three times the daily bag limit
Falconry
Feb 1 – 21, 2027
Daily Bag Limit: 3 in the aggregate
Possession Limit: Three times the daily bag limit
TPWD on rails, gallinules and moorhens ↗

Teal

Migratory Game Bird Endorsement, HIP Certification & Federal Duck Stamp Required
Statewide
September Teal Only Season
Sep 19 – 27
Daily Bag Limit: 6 in the aggregate
Possession Limit: Three times the daily bag limit
TPWD on teal ↗

Wild Turkey

Upland Game Bird Endorsement Required
Spring — East Zone
Spring Season
Apr 22 – May 14, 2027
What TPWD say about wild turkey in this county 4
Bag Limit
1 turkey. Gobblers only.
Means and Methods Restriction
Shotgun, archery and crossbows are the only lawful means; no hunting over bait; all turkeys must be reported to the department within 24 hours after they are killed. Harvested turkeys may be field dressed, but must otherwise remain intact until reaching a final destination.
Annual Bag Limit
The annual bag limit for turkey (all subspecies), in the aggregate for all counties, is four (4), only one of which may be from the East Zone.
Mandatory Harvest Reporting Via Mobile App or Online
Report using "Texas Hunt & Fish" app for Android or iOS Report online
TPWD on wild turkey ↗

Woodcock

Migratory Game Bird Endorsement & HIP Certification Required
Statewide
Regular Season
Dec 18 – Jan 31, 2027
Daily Bag Limit: 3
Possession Limit: Three times the daily bag limit
Falconry
Feb 1 – 21, 2027
Daily Bag Limit: 3
Possession Limit: Three times the daily bag limit
TPWD on woodcock ↗
Read the Outdoor Annual before you go

Everything above is quoted from Texas Parks and Wildlife and dated. PolkTX does not interpret it, shorten it, or keep its own copy of the rules — bag limits, antler restrictions, legal shooting hours and means and methods are what a game warden writes a ticket over, and the only version that counts is theirs.

New this year

TPWD's own list of what changed, statewide. Whether a change touches Polk County is a question for the county table above.

Doe Days

  • Doe days expanded in 21 counties from 4 doe days to 16 doe days.

Dove

  • Earlier start (Sept. 1) for the South Zone Dove regular season.
  • Elimination of Special White-winged Dove Days.

Turkey

  • Matagorda and Wharton counties now closed to Wild Turkey hunting.
  • Harvest of unbearded Wild Turkey hens now prohibited.

Means & Methods

  • Definition of muzzleloader modified to allow for use of new muzzleloading technology.
Sources · 1

Read Oct 6, 2026.

Somewhere to hunt

Leases in this county have always been word of mouth. That is the whole reason the board exists.

A hunter without a lease has nowhere to look and a landowner with one spot free can tell four people. The lease board is free to list on and free to read, it never publishes where the land is, and it tells you how to check who actually owns a parcel before you pay anybody — which is the one step that defeats a lease scam.

Leases fill June to August for the autumn, months before any of the seasons above open.

Hunting leases in Polk County → List a lease or a spot

Fishing

Lake Livingston is 83,000 acres of it, and it starts at the end of the county road.

A fishing licence comes from the same three places as a hunting one — the same shops in the list above sell both, and a combination licence covers you for each.

Freshwater rules are statewide rather than by county, so there is no Polk County page to read the way there is for hunting, and PolkTX is not going to keep its own copy of a length limit. What this site does keep is everything about the water itself: the lake level against normal pool, the boat ramps and which ones are usable at the current level, the marinas, and the guides working the lake.

Lake Livingston — level, ramps and conditions → TPWD fishing regulations ↗

Season dates, bag limits and the licence retailer list on this page are read from Texas Parks and Wildlife every morning and were last read on Oct 6, 2026. PolkTX is not Texas Parks and Wildlife and does not sell licences, issue tags, or interpret the regulations. Where this page and the Outdoor Annual disagree, the Outdoor Annual is right.

Sources · 2

13 species, 26 season phases, 31 dated periods. Read Oct 6, 2026.