Photo by Ken Archer

Let's face it: Arkansas duck hunters are spoiled. Even when our duck hunting is substandard, it's still a lot better than what duck hunters in most other states have to put up with. Arkansas consistently leads the nation in mallard harvest, and is second only to Louisiana in total duck harvest. That's held true even during recent seasons, when warmer weather and other factors have combined to keep many ducks north of Arkansas and reduced hunter success rates.

That's not a shabby record. We have an abundance of high-quality duck hunting areas, both private and public, and although these areas are naturally much more plentiful in the east Arkansas delta, there's decent public duck hunting within a two-hour drive of every resident of the state.

Here's a run-down of a few of the better ones.

ARKANSAS RIVER
The superb duck hunting available along the Arkansas River today is a happy byproduct of the McClellan-Kerr Navigation System, completed in the 1960s and 1970s. The 12 water-control structures on the river within the state's boundaries transformed the Arkansas from a wild, shallow, silt-laden, treacherous and often near-impassable river into a navigable stream made up of a series of deeper, stable pools threaded through by a well-marked navigation channel of known minimum depth.

Not only did this stabilization increase the safety factor for recreational boaters on the river, but the higher water level necessary for carrying barge traffic also inundated many low-lying areas along the river, creating shallow, protected backwater areas teeming with life. The river quickly became known for its good fishing -- and for the excellence of its duck hunting, as well.

Puddle ducks are the Arkansas River's stock in trade, but there are good numbers of divers, too. Mallards are common here, but they don't dominate the scene the way they do in most other parts of the state. Gadwalls, widgeon, teal, pintails, shovelers, wood ducks, black ducks, mergansers, ringnecks, scaup, ruddy ducks, redheads and canvasbacks are all likely customers. You'll even see an occasional common goldeneye, oldsquaw or bufflehead.

This abundance and diversity of species stems at least in part from the fact that the Arkansas River is 1,450 miles long and stretches across the entire Great Plains region, from the east slope of the Rockies all the way to the Mississippi River. Every duck migrating south between the Mississippi and the Continental Divide is eventually going to encounter the Arkansas River. Since the river provides a wet corridor through an arid region, many ducks turn and fly along the river rather than continuing south across the arid plains. Eventually, they wind up in Arkansas.

The nature of the hunting here differs considerably from most Arkansas duck hunting. A seaworthy boat is almost a necessity. Currents can be strong, and the large, open expanses of water make for windy conditions and high waves at times. Many hunters here use bass boats, but a wide, deep-sided 16-foot or 18-foot johnboat will also work well. Regardless of your boat size or type, be careful. Stay in the marked channel until you reach your hunting area, and then proceed at low speed outside the channel. Sandbars, rock jetties and other underwater surprises are common. Be aware, too, that the river channel is used by large barges and other big vessels. Keep your wits about you, and don't get tangled up with a barge.

Some hunters use elaborate pole-frame boat blinds for hunting the Arkansas. Others carry cane, brush or camo netting to camouflage their boats against a brushline or cattail marsh, or to build a blind on an island or on the shoreline. Others don't bother with all that and simply hide themselves in cattails or brush in shallow water or on the shoreline.