A lot of people do not realize that there are some great duck hunting opportunities in Texas. People have heard about the wonderful deer hunting in Texas where the deer often run in large herds across open pastures and the hog hunting in Texas that can even be performed while you are riding in a helicopter. But, many people do not realize that Texas is home to some great water holes where the waterfowl are plentiful.
Duck hunting in Texas can be done on privately owned land or there are places that provide public access to duck hunting. Duck hunters are a special breed and in Texas these hunters embrace the quiet mornings on the edges of waterways scattered throughout the state in their quest to bag their limit of ducks, and to add to their delightful ‘duck hunting’ tales that they share with friends around campfires whenever they are not in the woods hunting.
The Best Duck Hunting in Texas on Private Land
Private access land provides duck hunters with the opportunity to hunt in places that are extremely controlled. This means the hunter will not have a lot of competition on the day they are hunting because these hunts are planned, sometimes they are guided, and the landowner decides how many hunters are allowed to harvest ducks from their property each year. Some landowners even develop the areas around the waterways so the waterfowl will be more likely to be present when the hunters arrive.
Guide services like Blackland Outfitters Guide Service located just north of the Dallas/Fort Worth area who will take you to flooded bottomland creeks, wheat and corn fields teaming with waterfowl, sloughs, lakes, and cattle pools where you can hunt ducks successfully.
You can easily find public access lands on the majority of rivers, and lakes throughout the state, but some of the finest duck hunting is done on small ponds, in cattle pools, and in the wheat and corn fields. You are going to have to get the landowners permission to hunt in the majority of those locations, and guide services help you to find the places you want to hunt in and obtain the legal permission that you need to hunt in those places.
The Best Duck Hunting in Texas on Public Land
Public access to waterways like the Guadalupe River, the Sabine River, the Neches River, the Rio Grande River, and the many lakes in this big state provide duck hunters with the opportunity to hunt their favorite waterfowl.
Public access to duck hunting can be located through the Parks and wildlife service. You can find a public access hunting area in the count you are most interested in hunting in. You will also be able to find all of the important information about when the hunting season for ducks starts in the county you are interested in hunting in, and what species of waterfowl you can take, and how many birds you are allowed to bag each day per hunter.
One of the best places in Texas to find an abundance of water fowl is around the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. There is shallow water bays located all around the refuge and these water bays attract plenty of waterfowl to the area. You will find that the redheads particularly love this section of Texas. It is not uncommon to see a flock of redheads in this area that numbers more than 15,000.
You will find some excellent duck hunting in the shallow water bays located close to Port O’Connor. Port O’Connor is positioned between Corpus and Galveston and there are hundreds of acres of water that is shallow enough for a man or woman, to wade in. These excellent waters are created by the Espiritu Santo Bay, Matagorda Bay, and San the San Antonio Bay waters.
Texans will tell you that when you are searching for a good place to duck hunt you simply need to look for a good place to fish for redfish or for speckled trout. Anywhere that you find good speckled trout or redfish fishing opportunities you will find good opportunities to hunt ducks.
Duck Species you can Find in Texas
The following duck species can be found in the Lone Star state. Not every region of the state is home to every species of duck, so do a little research on the area where you wish to hunt and discover which of these species like to call that part of Texas ‘home’.
- Redheads
- Mallards
- Wood ducks
- Canvasback
- Gadwalls
- Green-winged teal and blue-winged teal
- Mottled ducks
- Common merganser and hooded mergansers
- Ruddy ducks
- Pintails
- Shovelers
- American Wigeons
The later portions of the duck hunting seasons are often the best times in Texas to bag your daily limit. The ducks migrate down south fleeing those cold northern temperatures and Texas beckons to them.
