Photo by Michael Cary.

When most folks think of duck hunting in Arkansas, one of two images comes to mind: green timber or flooded rice fields. And, true, most of the duck hunting in the Natural State is of these two types. (Most of the duck-hunting publicity, too.)

But there's ample opportunity for another kind of duck hunting in Arkansas, and this one isn't quite so well known. This state has an abundance of big-water hunting spots in the form of large U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lakes and large rivers such as the White, Arkansas, Red, Ouachita and Mississippi. These large waterways and impoundments can provide excellent duck hunting, and they really shine when cold weather comes and freezes the traditional green-timber and flooded-field hotspots solid.

For a good example of what I'm talking about, recall with me a big-water hunt that a friend and I shared several seasons ago:

It was the last week of the season, and a strong Arctic front had a firm and frigid grip on the lower Mississippi River Valley. The north wind was howling at 20 knots, and the cheerful voice of the all-night DJ told us it was 4 degrees above zero when we arrived at the boat landing on the lower Arkansas River at 5:45 a.m. Bill and I agreed that we really didn't have any business going hunting that morning, but we didn't have enough sense to listen to ourselves. We loved to watch 'em fly, and we knew they'd be flying in this brutal weather, heading for the river in search of open water.

We were bundled up like Arctic Ocean seal hunters, but the five-mile downriver run in the open johnboat was still torture. We were almost frozen when we reached the spot we'd decided to hunt that morning, and before we set about putting out our decoys, we raised the sides of the Avery boat blind and fired up the propane camp heater to thaw out a little.

Our chosen spot was a little pocket of open water the size of a basketball court at the downstream end of a half-flooded willow sandbar. The pocket was just off the river and protected from the current by a narrow spit of muddy sand that extended downriver from the willows. The water in the pocket wasn't deep, only about 4 feet, but enough current eddied into it around the sand spit to keep it from freezing in the bitter cold.

In the surrounding willows, where the water wasn't moving, 2 inches of ice had formed, and more little fingers of ice started growing on the sides of the boat as soon as we tied it off in the willows. We knew the shallow fields and reservoirs away from the river had also iced over, which was why we'd come to the river in the first place. The ducks would be here, too, and if we'd guessed right about our hunting spot, we'd be in for a good day.

Evidently we'd guessed right. When daylight came, the ducks came with it, and flock after flock worked our small spread as if they'd never heard gunfire.

It wasn't long before Bill and I were wishing that we'd brought two or three more hunters with us that day. Given enough shells and the inclination to do it, I'm confident that we could have killed 250 ducks that morning. Instead, we tried to prolong the hunt as long as possible -- partly because hunts like that don't happen every day, but also partly because we dreaded that brutal return trip upriver. We took turns, shooting only mallard drakes, taking no more than one bird from each flight. Even so, it was over in less than an hour, and we gave eight greenheads a chilly boat ride back to the landing.

BIG WATERS VS. SMALL
Within an hour or so of almost every point in this state will be found a lake or big river that makes big-water hunting available. The large rivers mentioned above and nearly a dozen huge Corps of Engineers impoundments provide thousands of acres of public-hunting opportunity. No matter where you live, some of this type of water is within day-trip distance. Still, most Arkansas hunters stick with small waters -- flooded fields, flooded timber, dead-timber brakes, marshy areas, farm ponds.

For one thing, equipment needs are lower when you hunt small waters, and access to small waters is usually easier. But another reason to avoid big waters is the same reason for some anglers to shun the same places: That much water is daunting, confusing. Where in the world should you fish? Where in the world should you set out your decoys?

LOOK FOR SHELTER
At most lakes and rivers, a little common-sense detective work, either in a boat on the water or in your La-Z-Boy in the den with a good set of maps, can narrow the field considerably. A big-water site needs to have two elements if it's going to be any good as a hunting spot: protection from the elements, to make it attractive to waterfowl, and some sort of vegetation or other available cover, so you and your party can hide from incoming birds. Fortunately, these two things can often be found in conjunction.

Look for broad, shallow bays or shallow flats at the back end of coves or on the sheltered side of points or islands, preferably bordered by a sandbar or mudbar, with enough nearby vegetation so that you can blend in with your boat blind. In rivers, a slight current is probably OK, but it's better if no current's moving through the area at all, as long as the water doesn't freeze.