Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Approves 60-Day Duck Hunt Starting Nov. 23

Duck Hunting, Featured, Hunting | August 15, 2013 by | 0 Comments

Duck hunters will have 60 days to hunt waterfowl in Arkansas in 2013-14, marking the 17th consecutive year the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission has approved a 60-day season. The Commission members decided Thursday in their monthly meeting to accept the recommendation of the migratory biologists, and the season will open statewide on Saturday, Nov. 23. There were no changes in the mallard limit from last years; hunters may still take four mallards daily, and only two may be hens.

AGFC Waterfowl Program Coordinator Luke Naylor presented the Commission with the late migratory season proposals. “Habitat conditions were improved or similar to last year in many areas due to average or above-average annual precipitation, with the exceptions of southeastern Canada, the northeast U.S., and portions of Montana and the Dakotas,” Naylor said.

With more than 529,500 mallards harvested, Arkansas had the third-highest waterfowl harvest and highest mallard harvest in the nation last season. The second-highest mallard harvest was 243,467 in California. No other state’s hunters, in the Mississippi Flyway, harvested more than 200,000 mallards.

Ducks Unlimited recently released information on the spring duck counts from the breeding grounds in the Dakotas and into Canada. While numbers were reportedly slightly less than the modern record of ducks counted in 2012, the fall-off was slight.

The annual youth hunt will again be held following the close of the regular season. Youth hunt is set for Feb. 1-2, with the regular season ending Jan. 26. The two splits for the regular season will come on Dec. 2-4 and Dec. 24-25, when no hunting is allowed.

The 2013-14 duck bag limits is six ducks consisting of no more than: four mallards (two hens), three wood ducks, two pintails, two redheads, one black duck, two canvasbacks, one mottled duck or three scaup.

Federal regulations now allow for a possession limit of three times the daily bag limit. The proposed white-fronted, snow, blue, Ross’ and late Canada goose season is Nov. 14-Jan. 26.

Early migratory bird season dates:

Mourning Dove and Eurasian Collared Dove

Sept. 1-Oct. 20 and Dec. 21-Jan. 9

Teal Season

Sept. 7-22

Rail Season

Sept. 7-Nov. 15

Woodcock Season

Nov. 2-Dec. 16

Common Snipe Season

Nov. 1-Feb. 15

Gallinule Season