Weekly migratory bird hunting reports are posted from early September through early February.
High Plains Mallard Management Unit: The cold weather and snow has encouraged new geese to move in to the Panhandle. Playa lakes with water from recent rains are holding mallards, wigeons, gadwalls, teal and a few pintails. Area lakes and reservoirs have been holding divers and puddle ducks due to limited wet playas. Limits of Canadas have been solid over corn and wheat, and with snow on the ground, geese should decoy even better. Ross’ geese and juvenile snows have decoyed best in salt and pepper spreads. Sandhill cranes have been solid over decoys in wheat and corn fields. Prospects are fair to good.
North Zone Duck: The second split of duck season opens Dec. 10; and, though more birds have moved in to the region with the cold air, an absence of water has pushed many birds farther south. The good news is: if you have water, you have birds. Many hunters reported seeing more mallards the last weekend of the first split. The Sulphur River bottom has held fair to good numbers of birds, reported biologist Jared Laing. Many lakes and reservoirs are at record low levels and many boat ramps are inoperable, but ducks are using available water. Divers like scaup, ringed-necks, canvasback and buffleheads remain of big waters like Lake O’Pines, Toledo Bend, Sam Rayburn, Lake Fork and Caddo Lake. The region did get rainfall and snow from the recent cold front. Coastal areas along the boundary line received 1-2 inches of rain which recharged roost ponds on freshwater impoundment. Prospects are good for those with water.
South Zone Duck: Prospects look excellent for the second split opener Dec. 10, if you have water; and, most of the coast received at least an inch of rain early this week as the cold front pushed through Texas. Many more mallards have been spotted on the coast this year, probably due to the absence of water in the northern portions of the state. Ducks are using just about any available freshwater source along the coast, even ponds in the middle of towns and cities. Goose hunters have enjoyed solid decoying action for snows and specklebellies. Again, lack of water has geese concentrated on a few roost ponds along the coast. Ducks, pintails mostly, have readily decoyed over goose decoys in dry rice fields. Many seasoned goose hunters have said they have not seen this kind of action in years. Sandhill cranes are concentrated like geese, and Zone C hunters get their first crack Dec. 24.
Season/Bag Limits: The High Plains Mallard Management Unit runs Oct. 29-30, Nov. 4-Jan. 29, 2012. The North and South zones run Nov. 5-27 and Dec. 10-Jan. 29, 2012.
The daily bag limit shall be 6 ducks, to include no more than the following: 5 mallards (only 2 of which may be hens), 3 wood ducks, 2 scaup (lesser scaup and greater scaup in the aggregate), 2 redheads, 2 pintails, 1 canvasback, 1 dusky duck (mottled duck, Mexican-like duck, black duck and their hybrids are closed the first five days of the season in each zone). All other species: 6.
