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Duck season

2,591 Views | 41 Replies | Last: 15 hrs ago by DuckDown2013
aggieraf02
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8:57p, 1/10/26
Is anyone having a decent year? I averaged 150-175 birds a year in prior years and I haven't even gone through one box of shells this year. WTF is happening?

I may have 8 or 9 birds total this year.
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FSGuide
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9:07p, 1/10/26
Pretty bad year all over it seems like. There's a big thread on it here in the OB
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CS78
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In reply to aggieraf02 • 9:36p, 1/10/26
You aren't alone. People all across the country are reporting their worst seasons ever. Some sporadic good reports along the LA and TX coast.

Lots of people questioning the numbers being reported by the government and the logic of maintaining liberal seasons and limits.
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SGrem
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9:44p, 1/10/26
https://www.kennedy.senate.gov/public/press-releases?ID=7ACE786F-AC54-42C5-970E-29D6EA345FF8
Www.gowithgrem.com
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SanAntoneAg
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9:59p, 1/10/26
AG
Not many on the upper Laguna compared to past years.
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StayGolden05
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10:24p, 1/10/26
AG
Shortstopping the migration with flooded standing corn has completely screwed southern duck hunting. There aren't ducks to speak of south of Missouri and until it freezes hard up north there might not be a push. Kennedy is working on the first part. It truly sucks!
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CS78
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10:42p, 1/10/26
Ive said this before but the problem I have with that argument is, those fields are pretty much exclusively holding mallards. Where are the other 10 species that we used to shoot?
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BrownDeerAggie
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6:20a, 1/11/26
AG
I am in Wisconsin and we still have some ducks around here. Been here 16 years. This is the first time to see ducks up here this late in winter. They are normally long gone by Thanksgiving.
Psalm 42:1
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CS78
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In reply to BrownDeerAggie • 8:43a, 1/11/26
What all species are you seeing?
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ttha_aggie_09
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In reply to CS78 • 8:59a, 1/11/26
AG
CS78 said:
Ive said this before but the problem I have with that argument is, those fields are pretty much exclusively holding mallards. Where are the other 10 species that we used to shoot?
I never see mallards and the only species I have seen a significant drop off in the last 12 years or so of hunting on our club is Gadwall. 2-3 years ago Spoonies/shoveler were noticeably absent as well but they've been back.

The biggest change I have noticed is how BWT are common on straps th entire first split. I don't remember have 1/2 or more of my strap consisting of BWT the weekend after thanksgiving. That seems to be the expectation the last couple of years.

GWT also seem to be pushing down much later in the season. I didn't see large groups of them until December. I also find it interesting the number of fulvous that were shot the first couple of weeks of season considering that duck is usually in Mexico in October.

Strange pattern the last couple of years for sure….
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Jbob04
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9:04a, 1/11/26
AG
Rough season for us in central Texas
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SunrayAg
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9:16a, 1/11/26
AG
I just got back from SE Arkansas.

The duck numbers were terrible. The guides said they were not moving down because it hadn't been cold enough up north. I think our group got 16 ducks in 2 days. Loaded up on speckled belly geese though.
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Scotty88
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10:18a, 1/11/26
AG
Had 9 hunts on South Texas coast this season. Shot four or five man limits on every hunt except opening day.

I can't complain. We caught weather and tide right for a few hunts. Some hunts we had to be patient and scratch 'em. Straight shooting helps when the bird numbers are thin too!

Early n season we had the usual redheads, but sprigs, wigeon , teal, spoonies and gadwalls have been solid as well. Killed a few mottled ducks. Redheads seemed to have moved out from where we have been hunting the second split. Which is weird.
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CEPhD
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10:35a, 1/11/26
AG
It's been a really warm winter.
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RAB87
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11:05a, 1/11/26
AG
I'm skeptical that flooded corn is the driver. That shouldn't be impacting all species. Also, there would be plenty of hunting social media showing massive waterfowl concentrations on flooded corn. As others have noted, an unusually warm winter likely weighs in. However, my hypothesis is that the biggest factor is habitat loss. Look at the Katy Prairie for example. Used to be the snow goose Mecca. Now it's all suburbs and the only waterfowl left are the ones painted on the water tower next to I-10. I believe this kind of habitat loss is the root of all the earth's environmental problems, including the heartbreaking decline of ducks.
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StinkyPinky
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In reply to BrownDeerAggie • 11:44a, 1/11/26
AG
BrownDeerAggie said:
I am in Wisconsin and we still have some ducks around here. Been here 16 years. This is the first time to see ducks up here this late in winter. They are normally long gone by Thanksgiving.
I'm in Minnesota and same comment!
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CS78
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In reply to StinkyPinky • 11:52a, 1/11/26
Are yall seeing anything besides mallards, goldeneye, and mergansers?
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Backcountry Birds
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12:30p, 1/11/26
I own a small duck marsh in Missouri. We grow native smartweed and a little millet, no flooding of corn. We had a terrible season like everyone else.

Missouri has undoubtedly done more waterfowl habitat work than any other other state in the past 20 years, while most states have lost habitat (especially Texas rice, Lousiana Coast and Arkansas flooded timber) therefore Missouri now holds a higher percentage of ducks than it used to, but that's not at all what's broadly reducing duck numbers nationwide.

The southern mantra that Missouri should reduce duck habitat is pretty ridiculous. Habitat has been largely reduced up and down the flyway but southern folks instead of looking in the mirror on the habitat loss and over hunting have been trying to blame the one state that actually has improved and expanded habitat. Missouri should be viewed as the model to emulate and not the boogyman.

Loss of breeding habitat in the prairie pothole region, years of drought and an extreme increase in hunting effectiveness and hunting pressure, combined with reduced habitat has led to ducks being both reduced on the landscape and more concentrated than ever. Those ducks you do find are largely more educated or holed up on refuges in massive numbers where they aren't pressured.

All the pseduo-science saying duck hunting has minimal impact on duck populations is ridiculous. It is the most prevalent factor in taking ducks off the landscape and changing behaviors.

We need to reduce hunting pressure tremendously for a few years and pray the prairie pothole catch some rain and rebound.

I think a 30 day duck season, no shooting ducks after 15 Jan(typically ducks are paired up by then) and ending commercialization (duck guides) for a few years would be the most logical steps.

Reducing habitat (in Missouri or anywhere else) is the dumbest solution one could come up with.
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TarponChaser
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12:45p, 1/11/26
I'd be more inclined to buy into Sen. Kennedy's claims if a whole bunch of outfitters throughout the Midwest weren't talking about having a rough year with numbers being way down.
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CS78
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In reply to Backcountry Birds • 1:35p, 1/11/26
Fully agree. Everywhere you look people are pointing the finger at each other for why they dont have ducks. Watched a Kansas wildlife and fisheries meeting yesterday where they blamed all their problems on out of staters. OOS hunters are a problem but if the birds were there, those problems would all of a sudden disappear.

And then they wrapped it all up with recommending another liberal season along with adopting the three pintail limit. Not a person questioned it. Zero self-reflection to what the real problem might be.

Also agree on the southern states dropping the ball on habitat improvement. You see what other states have done and it's sad. Almost every lake in Kansas has no-go refuge areas. NO boats, no fishing, nothing on a portion of most lakes during fall/ winter. Oklahoma has wetland impoundments on pretty much every lake. These are things that drastically help to hold birds in an area. What has Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi done? Pretty much nothing!
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RAB87
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In reply to Backcountry Birds • 2:55p, 1/11/26
AG
Great insights.
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aggieraf02
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5:01p, 1/11/26
You boys got me looking and I found this video.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1KfRPbVdcu/?mibextid=wwXIfr

I couldn't agree more with this no boy. Especially the heated baiting. How in the sam hell is that legal?

Aggieraf
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StayGolden05
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1:26p, 1/12/26
AG
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1FsLbb9xqo/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Ol Katy prairie OG says habitat & weather also. The bottom line is waterfowl hunting for we enthusiasts has certainly taken a hard turn over the last 25 years with a nosedive over the last 10. I've already decided there'll be no more duck clubs or leases for me and I will use those dollars to travel north on 2-3 big hunts a year with my dogs & kids.
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schmellba99
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In reply to RAB87 • 4:03p, 1/12/26
AG
RAB87 said:
I'm skeptical that flooded corn is the driver. That shouldn't be impacting all species. Also, there would be plenty of hunting social media showing massive waterfowl concentrations on flooded corn. As others have noted, an unusually warm winter likely weighs in. However, my hypothesis is that the biggest factor is habitat loss. Look at the Katy Prairie for example. Used to be the snow goose Mecca. Now it's all suburbs and the only waterfowl left are the ones painted on the water tower next to I-10. I believe this kind of habitat loss is the root of all the earth's environmental problems, including the heartbreaking decline of ducks.

It's not just flooded corn, but the entire CRP programs up north that are keeping birds north. Turns out that they don't care all that much about temps - they concregate where food is plentiful, and right now the plains and lower midwest are flush with food, good nesting habitat and a lack of cold enough weather to cover the food/nesting habitats and force them further south.

Same reason we have hardly any geese on the Texas coast anymore - no reason for most of them to make it all the way down here when they can stop halfway and have everything they need to survive and thrive during the winter months.

I posted an article about this probably 15 years ago now - it was a noticeable issue then, especially with the goose migration. At that time there was a single county in Arkansas that wintered more snow geese than the entire Texas coast did, and that was mostly a function of the fact that there was abundant food where historically there wasn't before. I want to say at that time there were less than 250k geese counted along the Texas coast when we once had numbers in the multiples of millions.

Doesn't help either that we have steadily chewed up the prairies to build master planned communities and the rice farming industry down here is a shell of what it once was either. But that doesn't have nearly the impact that the changes up north have had that keep the birds from making it this far south to begin with.

EDIT - here is the article

https://www.chron.com/news/article/fewer-geese-making-texas-their-winter-home-5126404.php
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CS78
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In reply to schmellba99 • 4:09p, 1/12/26
Good points but the people in those states are reporting their worst seasons ever too. The problem is bigger than- the birds are somewhere else.
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schmellba99
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4:12p, 1/12/26
AG
Here is the old thread about it

https://texags.com/forums/34/topics/2438094
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water turkey
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In reply to ttha_aggie_09 • 6:21p, 1/13/26
ttha_aggie_09 said:
CS78 said:
Ive said this before but the problem I have with that argument is, those fields are pretty much exclusively holding mallards. Where are the other 10 species that we used to shoot?
I never see mallards and the only species I have seen a significant drop off in the last 12 years or so of hunting on our club is Gadwall. 2-3 years ago Spoonies/shoveler were noticeably absent as well but they've been back.

The biggest change I have noticed is how BWT are common on straps th entire first split. I don't remember have 1/2 or more of my strap consisting of BWT the weekend after thanksgiving. That seems to be the expectation the last couple of years.

GWT also seem to be pushing down much later in the season. I didn't see large groups of them until December. I also find it interesting the number of fulvous that were shot the first couple of weeks of season considering that duck is usually in Mexico in October.

Strange pattern the last couple of years for sure….


I read that BWT are about to become the most harvested duck in Texas…..during the REGULAR season.
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water turkey
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In reply to StayGolden05 • 6:29p, 1/13/26
StayGolden05 said:
Shortstopping the migration with flooded standing corn has completely screwed southern duck hunting. There aren't ducks to speak of south of Missouri and until it freezes hard up north there might not be a push. Kennedy is working on the first part. It truly sucks!


I don't think a couple of hundred thousand acres of flooded corn in Missouri makes any difference in the grand scheme of things. Maybe to guys in northern Arkansas. Warmer winters, landscape changes (development, laser leveling of fields, etc) and dry breeding grounds are more significant issues. Remember, the duck population is 15 million birds less than 10 years ago.

It's a bunch of different factors but it sucks right now. We really need some snow in the prairie pothole region and aren't getting it.
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tlh3842
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In reply to StayGolden05 • 6:34p, 1/13/26
AG
StayGolden05 said:
Shortstopping the migration with flooded standing corn has completely screwed southern duck hunting. There aren't ducks to speak of south of Missouri and until it freezes hard up north there might not be a push. Kennedy is working on the first part. It truly sucks!

Didnt take long at all, classic. Good ol social media bleed over into Texags
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ttha_aggie_09
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In reply to water turkey • 6:43p, 1/13/26
AG
BWT were 75-80% of my strap the first split so I don't doubt it
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StayGolden05
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In reply to tlh3842 • 7:19p, 1/13/26
AG
Very insightful input. Warm legal bait, weather, pressure, and population are all factors as were discussed after your cherry pick. Classic knee jerk TexAgs reply.
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TFAAGG
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7:23p, 1/13/26
AG
Texas has experienced marginal increase in winter temps over the last ~25 years. I believe this has greatly impacts the migration trends.
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StayGolden05
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In reply to water turkey • 7:31p, 1/13/26
AG
Definitely lots of factors. I saw a post by a pretty respectable waterfowl guy talking about quality of clothing and mud motors playing a part in it the other day. If anyone knew with certainty there could be a definitive solution. The places I've hunted in NE Arkansas for a long time are without a doubt impacted by the corn and hunting pressure. Weather, population density, and habitat loss is what's made the biggest difference here in Tx, I believe.
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aggieland09
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8:23a, 1/15/26
AG
I'm in central Texas and I've had my worst year ever. I also note that I have seen a constant decline over the past 8 years. Every year seems worse. I wonder if the migration has shifted away from the legal season where there is not much overlap.
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trip98
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In reply to aggieland09 • 9:14a, 1/15/26
AG
aggieland09 said:
I'm in central Texas and I've had my worst year ever. I also note that I have seen a constant decline over the past 8 years. Every year seems worse. I wonder if the migration has shifted away from the legal season where there is not much overlap.

same down here with us that hunt around Winnie. last year and this year take the cake. The previous years early teal saved the day.

I'm trying to think back how many winters we've had where kansas has frozen over a ton by mid to late December. Without it freezing the water up there they don't have much incentive to keep moving.
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