Waterfowl

To find public waterfowl hunting land in Illinois, start with the State Fish and Wildlife Areas (SFWAs) that the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) manages along the Illinois River, and plan to enter a lottery. Rice Lake SFWA, in Fulton County near Banner, covers 5,660 acres, and IDNR lists about 2,500 acres as huntable.

Permits, not first-come lines, decide who hunts Ohio's Lake Erie marshes, so the first step to find public waterfowl hunting land in Ohio is learning the lottery.

The most direct way to find public waterfowl hunting land in Iowa is to focus on the state's managed marshes, and Riverton Wildlife Area in the Missouri River bottoms is a popular place to begin. The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (Iowa DNR) manages more than 410,000 acres of Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) that stay open to the public year-round.

One boundary decides whether a duck hunt at Horicon Marsh is legal: the line between the state wildlife area and the federal refuge. To find public waterfowl hunting land in Wisconsin at its most widely known marsh, you need to know which side of that line you're on.

To find public waterfowl hunting land in Kansas, start with Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area near Great Bend and Quivira National Wildlife Refuge near Stafford. Cheyenne Bottoms sits inside a 41,000-acre wetland basin, and the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) manages 19,857 acres of it.

To find public waterfowl hunting land in Texas, start with the coastal marsh Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) managed by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD). The standout is J.D. Murphree WMA near Port Arthur, a 25,852-acre mix of fresh, intermediate, and brackish marsh that hunters reach by boat.

The best times to hunt waterfowl are at first light (the first 90 minutes after legal shooting time), on days following overnight migration fronts (north winds, falling temperatures), and at the back end of major weather systems.

Being ready when the ducks start piling into your decoy spread at first light begins with choosing the right shotgun for the job. Picking the "best" shotgun that fits your shoulders, allows you to swing cleanly, and matches your hunting style will make your next cold morning in the duck blind more enjoyable.

In most cases, yes, hunters can hunt WPAs (Waterfowl Production Areas). However, before you assume you can, keep reading (and do your research on the rules).

A spread of duck decoys sets the stage for a morning hunt: an empty pond, river bend, or field becomes the backdrop, and the way you place each decoy determines how real the scene looks from the air.

When November rolls around, a specific type of hunting fever sets in across the Show-Me State as snow geese travel south from Canada and Alaska. Dedicated waterfowl hunters from across Missouri and out-of-state start prepping to bag out on sky chickens. 

Hunting ducks and geese is only part of the reward. After you knock down some birds, you need to field dress and get them ready to enjoy!