Teal time

September hunting signals welcome arrival of new waterfowl season

By Keith Sutton

LITTLE ROCK — When we think of Arkansas duck hunting, we’re often reminded of numb toes, frozen fingers and rosy cheeks. You won’t be cold, however, during a September teal hunt. An earlyseason foray for blue-winged and green-winged teal is typically a short-sleeve affair where perspiration runs freely and mosquitoes substitute for snowflakes.

For most Arkansas waterfowlers, the thought of hunting ducks at the tag end of summer seems as realistic as a Republic majority in the state Legislature. Each year, the season comes and goes without much notice. Some waterfowlers simply don’t like hunting ducks in hot weather. Some worry about snakes or claim there simply aren’t enough birds to make hunting worthwhile. One Arkansas Game and Fish Commission survey revealed that only 17 percent of the state’s duck hunters huntduring early teal season.

Too hot? September mornings in Arkansas are cool and comfortable. Snakes? Yeah, they’re out there, but they’re not looking for hunters to bite. Not enough teal? Not so. Plenty of teal are visiting the Natural State this month, and hunting them is fun, exciting and easy.

This year’s teal season runs September 13-28, with a bag limit of four ducks daily. Shooting hours during teal season are sunrise to sunset (local time). If you haven’t tried teal hunting yet, you should. Teal properly cooked are the most delectable of all waterfowl on the table, and targeting teal specifically is a great way to add spice to your hunting season.

Teal Facts

Blue-winged teal arrive in Arkansas before other migrant waterfowl, sometimes as early as mid-July. They are common on shallow ponds and pools, flooded fields and along riversby early September, and often are found along the marshy borders of slow-moving streams such as the bayous, sloughs and Delta Rivers of eastern and southern Arkansas. This is the species most likely to be seen while hunting this month.

Although some green-winged teal arrive in Arkansas from their breeding grounds by late August, large numbers seldom are encountered until mid-October. They are legal game during teal season, but much less likely to be seen than blue wings. They occur statewide but are most common in lowland areas. Most are found feeding on mud flats, but where mud flats are lacking, they’re usually found in shallow marshes or flooded croplands.

Guns & Loads

Teal are rather easy to decoy. Most shots are close - 20 to 30 yards - so an open-choke shotgun works better than a tightchoke, especially with steel shot, which is required for hunting them. Steel-shot patterns are tighter than lead. Improved cylinder is a good choke choice for decoying teal, but when pass shooting, many waterfowlers prefer a modified choke. Highvelocity shotshells with No. 6 or No. 4 steel shot are preferred.

To improve your odds for success, try some practice rounds at a local skeet field, or better yet, shoot a few rounds of sporting clays, the clay-bird game that simulates most hunting situations. Practice your shooting with the gun unmounted (away from your shoulder) as you call for the target. Failure to mount the gun quickly and properly is one of the worst habits the average teal hunter falls into. Teal are among the fastest game birds and often pop into shotgun range when the hunter least expects it. Pour a cup of coffee, break out a sandwich or step out of the blind on a nature call, and it’s the teal’s cue to come rocketing out of nowhere, sizzle across your decoys and disappear before you can lay hands on a gun.

Decoys

Being trusting, nonsuspicious ducks, teal decoy well without calling. That’s good news for hunters like me who are less than proficient at blowing a call.

When hunting small waters such as ponds, a half dozen to a dozen decoys usually are enough to draw birds in. When hunting larger waters - big rivers or lakes, for example - it’s best to carry at least two or three dozen decoys to gain the birds’ attention. Mallard decoys work OK, but small-bodied teal decoys are easier to carryand work even better.

The pattern of your decoy set is vital in attracting teal and luring them where you want them to land. Most patterns have an opening or pocket facing downwind where the decoying birds should land. These patterns often are described as C, V and J patterns, after their shape as seen from above. The opening or pocket should be well within shotgun range and encourage the most ideal angle of approach. Decoyed teal land into the wind, which should be coming from the back of the blind, encouraging the normally difficult-to-hit teal to come in straight toward the gunners.

Camouflage

Blinds seldom are necessary for teal hunting, and may, in fact, arouse suspicion in the birds, making them difficult to coax in. Most hunters wear camouflage clothing that blends with the surroundings, and move as little as possible. 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. As tough as it can be to do at times, don’t look up and give them a chance to spy a shiny face. If you’re weak-willed, try a face mask or some judiciously applied camo face paint. Hide well, and more teal will come your way.

Hunting Hot Spots

The biggest chunk of good teal habitat in the state is the Arkansas River Valley, from Fort Smith on the west to the Mississippi River on the east. The river is bordered by thousands of acres of shallow backwaters where teal congregate in huge numbers. Scout prior to hunting and you should have no trouble pinpointing concentrations of teal throughout the river’s length.

Sandbars provide good spots for hunting Arkansas River teal. Scout for those beneath major flyways, using binoculars to watch for birds using or passing through the area. The best have 1) a southern exposure with a fairly tall growth of shorelinewillows to break the north wind; 2) an expanse of shallow (2 to 3 feet deep) water where teal can feed and eat grit; and 3) are out of the current so teal don’t have to struggle to stay put. Most bigriver teal hunters shoot from a boat hidden in bushes or other cover, or hidden in natural cover on the sandbars or along the river.

Although the Arkansas River offers some of the best teal hunting in the Natural State, there are many other small and large streams worth trying as well. In southwest Arkansas, hunters can ply the waters of Sulphur River and Mercer Bayou on Sulphur River Wildlife Management Area 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 Earl Buss/Bayou de View WMA near Hogue and Dagmar WMA near Brinkley, both in east Arkansas. The Cache River, world renowned for its quality waterfowling, flows through two public hunting areas - Cache River National Wildlife Refuge and 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 St.Francis Sunken Lands WMA near Marked Tree. Be sure to consult a regulations guide prior to hunting to be sure the WMAs you plan to hunt are open for teal.

There are many more large and small hot spots scattered around the state. I’ve killed teal in mid-field mud puddles the farmer plowed around and while wading the 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 shotgun shells 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.

Three Rivers, Pages 120, 121 on 09/21/2008