The first week of September last year, I drove through more than 200 miles of eastern Arkansas to scout for ducks. The temperature hit 84 degrees by midafternoon — not the type of day one might consider ideal when looking for waterfowl in Arkansas. But I had no trouble finding concentrations of teal that sometimes numbered in the thousands.
A drive through Bald Knob National Wildlife Refuge in White County turned up the largest numbers. The fields there were flooded, and all hosted sizable flocks of blue-winged teal. On one field alone, I counted more than 2,000 of these beautiful birds. And there were small numbers of green-winged teal as well.
On a friend’s farm in Cross County, I found more teal. I jumped several dozen on a pond, and flushed another flock on a slough just off the L’Anguille River. On the drive home, I saw more bluewings in the Dagmar Wildlife Management Area near Hazen. And when I drove through some of the recreation areas on the
Arkansas River near Little Rock, I spied many flocks of teal on sandbars or flying in flocks that numbered from four birds to four dozen. Fact is, almost everywhere I checked, if there was suitable habitat for teal, these miniature ducks were present in impressive numbers.
As it turns out, I didn’t get to hunt at all during the 2015 teal season. (Life throws you curve balls sometimes.) I wanted to tell you about my scouting expedition, nevertheless, because I want to impress upon you the fact that teal may be much more plentiful in our state than you realized. And if you’re a waterfowling enthusiast like me, you may want to plan a hunting trip to partake of this unseasonable bounty of ducks.
Our special teal season has a lot to offer. It’s a chance to get back out there after a summer with no hunting. Sharpen your shooting eye. Give your retriever its first real workout since winter. Work out the kinks before regular duck season begins in November.
This year’s teal season runs Sept. 10-25, with a limit of six (blue-winged, green-winged and cinnamon teal combined). To get the full scoop, check the migratory bird regulations guide available at sporting goods dealers statewide, or visit the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s website at www.agfc.com.
Hunting techniques
You probably won’t need a blind for teal hunting. In fact, blinds may arouse suspicion in the birds, making them difficult to coax in. Most hunters simply wear camouflage clothing to blend into the hunting environment. Flop down atop a beaver house, hunker among cattails, stand against a tree in the shadows or squat among cypress knees in a slough.
When teal are directly overhead, stay absolutely still. Don’t look up and give them a chance to spy a shiny face. If you’re weak-willed, try a face mask like those used by turkey hunters or some judiciously applied camo face paint. Hide well, and more teal will come your way.
One nice thing about teal is the fact that they decoy well without calling. For hunters like me who aren’t good callers, that’s great news.
When hunting small waters such as ponds, a half dozen to a dozen decoys are usually enough to draw birds in. When hunting larger waters, carry two or three dozen decoys to gain the birds’ attention. Mallard decoys work OK, but small-bodied teal decoys are easier to carry and work even better.
River hunts
Hunters should scout prior to outings to pinpoint teal concentrations, and in The Natural State, rivers and streams are among the best places to start. Scout for sandbars and other locales beneath major flyways, using binoculars to watch for birds using or passing through the area. Most big-river teal hunters shoot from a boat hidden in bushes or other cover, or from a hiding place in natural cover.
Many hunters agree that the state’s best teal hunting is along the 300-plus miles of the Arkansas River. The river is bordered by thousands of acres of shallow backwater areas where teal congregate in huge numbers. That part of the river from Pine Bluff downstream usually provides the best hunting, but hunters who scout should have no trouble pinpointing huntable teal concentrations throughout the river’s length.
Many other streams are worth trying as well. In southwest Arkansas, hunters can ply the waters of the Sulphur River and Mercer Bayou on the
Sulphur River WMA south of Texarkana. Two WMAs — Dave Donaldson/Black River and Shirey Bay-Rainey Brake—provide good shooting along northeast Arkansas’ Black River. Flooded green timber along Bayou de View is open to hunters on the Earl Buss/Bayou de View WMA near Hogue and the Dagmar WMA near Brinkley, both in east Arkansas. The Cache River, world renowned for its quality waterfowling, flows through two public hunting areas — the Cache River NWR and the Rex Hancock/Black Swamp WMA in the eastern Delta. And the St. Francis River, one of east Arkansas’ largest streams, is accessible to teal hunters via the St. Francis Sunken Lands WMA near Marked Tree.
Be sure to consult a regulations guide prior to hunting to be sure the public lands you plan to hunt are open for teal.
Big lake bounty
Some of Arkansas’ U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lakes can provide exceptional teal-hunting opportunities, too. Several have adjacent wildlife management areas where you can hunt, including Dardanelle, Greeson, Beaver, Blue Mountain, Bull Shoals, Greers Ferry, Millwood, Nimrod, Ozark and Norfork. If you use good judgment, however, and stay well away from developed sites such as marinas and homes, you can hunt practically anywhere on the Corps lakes without problems. At times, when water levels, weather and other conditions are just right, hunting can be spectacular.
There are many more hot spots scattered around the state. I’ve killed teal in midfield mud puddles the farmer plowed around and while wading shallow backwaters around river oxbows. Preseason scouting will help you zero in on areas with the most potential for good hunting.
No matter where you hunt, you’ll probably burn a few shells before you can consistently connect with teal. Even the most skilled Arkansas hunters know to take along plenty of shotshells and patience.
That’s part of the fun of hunting these fast little gamebirds. No matter how you hunt them or where or when, teal always offer plenty of challenges.