As we head into the home stretch of the 2006-2007 waterfowl season, a quick glance at the NOAA Snow Cover Analysis Map will reveal the whereabouts of most waterfowl across the U.S. – with the bulk of mallards hugging the snow-line from the Texas Panhandle to Southern Ohio.
Hello folks, and as always, welcome to Waterfowler.com.
As the general waterfowl season races to a close, snow goose hunters are already planning late-winter and early spring hunts. Waterfowler.com is preparing the Nation Snow Goose Tracking Homepage for another glorious spring season, and we encourage hunters to participate in the Conservation Action to reduce light-goose populations and help save the tundra.
If you have yet to take advantage of this expanded hunting opportunity, now is the time. The hunting action is fast and furious, and the bag limits are liberal. Whether you are searching for a guide, or looking for fellow WFC members to hunt with, the WFC forums are the key to unlocking an amazing spring adventure.
Speaking of adventures, the WFC staff just returned from our annual SHOT SHOW (Shoot Hunting and Outdoor Tradeshow) excursion. The event, the fourth largest trade show in the U.S., hosts nearly every outdoor and firearms related manufacturer on the planet, showing of their latest and greatest products for outdoor and shooting enthusiasts. Over the next few months, WFC will feature a number of new, innovative products we discovered at the show for waterfowl hunting in our new product section. Be sure to look for updates on the best gear and gadgets for 2007.
WFC invites our members to submit any home-video they may have shot this season for our “Home-Waters” feature in the next issue of Waterfowler.com Video Journal. Submission can be sent in any video format to Waterfowler.com, 112 ½ N. Benton Street, Ste A, Woodstock, IL 60098.
And now, our flyway-by-flyway rundown:
PACIFIC FLWAY
In Oregon, goose numbers are good to excellent in most areas, with hunter success fair on these late-season veterans. Mallard numbers are low, as the bulk have moved further south and divers are good to excellent along the river and in areas with open water. Hunters in Northern California continue to enjoy an incredible season with mallards good to excellent in the Sacramento Valley, and White-fronted goods numbers and hunting as good as it can get. With snow and ice from the Canadian border into New Mexico, the bulk of waterfowl have been pushed to their southern most destinations in the eastern part of the flyway. Hunting in New Mexico is expected to remain outstanding until the end of the season.
CENTRAL FLYWAY
Despite building ice and snow, duck numbers remain high in Oklahoma and Kansas, with concentrations of waterfowl in areas with open water. Mallard hunting was good to excellent throughout the weekend and goose numbers are good to excellent throughout both states. Recent precipitation and the cold front may have salvaged the season for hunters in the Texas Panhandle and Gulf coast. Mallard numbers are fair to good, with all other species excellent for this time of year. Of course, hunters in southwestern Texas struggling with the hardships of drought and low water, duck hunting remain fair to poor at best.
MISSISSIPPI FLYWAY
Hordes of ravenous, field-feeding mallards continue to hug the snow line from Missouri, into Illinois and up to the Ohio Valley. With open water in most of the northern river systems, hardy concentrations of mallards continue to be reported in the middle portions of the flyway. Hunting has improved in Arkansas, Kentucky and Mississippi has improved slightly with the recent cold front, but with the bulk of widgeon, gadwall, teal and other species content and disbursed through Louisiana, hunter success remains low. In Louisiana, hunters finished the season on a high note this weekend with mallard numbers good, and divers, widgeon, teal and gadwall excellent.
ATLANTIC FLYWAY
With duck season closed in most of the northern and central portions of the flyway, and a severe lack of ice snow cover in the north, hunting in the southern portion of the flyway continues to be difficult at best. From Virginia through the Carolinas, mallard, black duck, and pintail numbers remain low, and ring-necked ducks fair. In Georgia, mallards are low, wood ducks good and all others fair. In Florida, hunters continue to struggle with a very difficult season — and scratching out a few birds for the table is nothing short of very hard work.
Until our next report, hunt safe, hunt often and start preparing for the Conservation Action and spring snows!
