The Texas Duck Hunting Season is underway and the opening weekend was hot, hot, hot! Duck hunters enjoyed excellent shoots opening weekend with limits being the norm, not the exception. Many hunting guides and hunters reported good numbers of birds all along the middle and upper Texas Coast. The coastal prairies of Garwood, Wharton, Eagle Lake, Hungerford, East Bernard, El Campo and Collegeport saw flight after flight of green-winged teal, blue-winged teal, wigeons, gadwalls and pintails.
The marsh east of Houston enjoyed what many outfitters described as the best duck season opener in years. Some hunting reports as many as nine different species in the bag, including greenwings, bluewings, scaup, gadwalls, wigeons, pintails, mallards, redheads, ringed-necks, wood ducks and even a flight of surf scoters. The drought has caused many birds that usually hang-up in other parts of the state to keep heading south, down to the coast.
Limits of divers were taken in Port O’Connor and Rockport. Hunters reported more gadwalls, pintails and wigeons in the back lakes with swelling tides. Snow geese continue to build along the coast, but few hunters are setting white spreads. Specklebelly numbers are solid, with estimations at 30 to 40 percent juvenile birds in the flock.
Good duck hunting action is all about location and having birds. The duck hunting reports indicate that the birds are definitely here, so the rest is up to the hunters. Prospects for South Zone duck hunters looks good going into mid-November. Remember, look to set up on points and always leave a “hole” in the center of your decoys for birds to land. Best of luck!