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Duck Hunting
Georgia 2024-2025 Waterfowl Hunting Dates
Early Teal Sept. 14-29
Canada Geese Sept. 7-29; Oct. 12-27; Nov. 23 - Dec. 1; Dec. 7 – Jan. 26
Duck Nov. 23 - Dec. 1; Dec. 7 – Jan. 26
Youth/Military Waterfowl Nov. 16-17
Duck Species Daily Bag Limits: 1 Black or Mottled Duck, 2 Canvasback, 1 Fulvous Whistling Duck, 2 Mallards (only 1 mallard may be a hen), 1 Pintail, 2 Redheads, 1 Scaup, 3 Wood Ducks. Possession limit is three times the daily bag limit.
If you haven’t seen the oddest-looking duck in Georgia yet, grab a pair of binoculars or a shotgun and get outdoors. Black-bellied whistling ducks have expanded their range and are now a documented breeding species in several Georgia counties. Often referred to as “tree ducks” due to their peculiar habit of perching on tree branches…
Editor’s Note: The following contributed to this article: Jeff Watkins, a regular member of the Boone & Crockett Club, Gino D’Angelo, assistant professor of deer ecology and management at UGA’s Warnell School and Dale Greene, dean at Warnell. Hunters who are fortunate enough to harvest a big deer or bear in Georgia automatically think…
Georgia duck hunters know the sound all too well… the heart-thumping roar of wings slicing through the crisp, winter air followed by the skidding-splash of feathered bottoms landing on water. Some have even described it as sounding like a plane is taking off right above your head. These are the sounds of ring-necked ducks in…
The reports are good—duck numbers remain high, as they have been for several years in a row now. So Georgia duck hunters may be wondering, when do we get to see high numbers of ducks in the Peach State? The reality is that Georgia isn’t part of a major migration flyway like Arkansas. We’ll never…
In his book, “Life Among the Apaches,” John C. Cremony describes an interesting method used by Apache hunters to take ducks found in water holes across the Southwest. These native hunters would find where ducks were coming to water and throw gourds into the water. After a bit of an adjustment period, the ducks became…
In today’s shooting world, we have an overwhelming choice of guns, ammunition and accessories that are “best,” right? Maybe so, but maybe not. When hunting birds, I like to keep my average of shell-to-bird ratio the best that I can. If I bag a limit of ducks, but it takes me a whole box of shells to…
Known for many superlatives, Lake Seminole has long been ranked only behind the Georgia coast as the best place to duck hunt in Georgia. The ways to hunt ducks at Lake Seminole are as diverse and numerous as is the diversity of the habitat on the 37,500 acres. One of those who know Big Sem’s…
The later the better, that’s how some duck hunters view the often painful wait for birds to show up in Georgia. This year might be one of those rare seasons when waiting will mean missing out on some good duck hunting. Greg Balcom, a WRD senior wildlife biologist and our state waterfowl biologist, is expecting…
One or more poachers have ruined duck-hunting memories that were to be made this Saturday as duck season opens in Georgia. While doing regular checks in Laurens County on Riverbend and Beaverdam WMAs yesterday, Nov. 19, Wildlife Technician Robert Sanders found multiple sites where violators placed corn to attract ducks. "We are having to post…
Clint Shipman won his third—and likely final—Georgia state duck-calling championship by topping a tough field of nine of the state’s elite competition duck callers. The event was held July 27 during GON’s Outdoor Blast at the Gwinnett Center. After a third state title, there is an unwritten but widely followed rule that duck callers don’t…
Duck Recipes
Poor Man’s Peking Duck Upscale Chinese restaurants offer peking puck, a famous dish dating back more than 400 years. The traditional method uses a specific rare duck, and it takes days to prepare. We’ll make our version using a mallard, and it will only take about four hours. 1 mallard plucked, cleaned 1 bunch green…
Roast Duck With Wild Rice Dressing No hindsight ip unit displayed. 1 wood duck, dressed giblets 1 cup cooked wild rice 4 tbsp. butter black pepper seasoning salt 2 oz. jar pimentos 2 oz. jar mushrooms 2 tbsp. chopped bell pepper 1 celery stalk, washed 1 medium onion, chopped 1/4 cup chicken broth 1 apple…
Barbecue Wild Duck Ingredients 2 wild ducks, halved 1 cup ketchup 1/2 cup lemon juice 1/4 cup brown sugar 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1/2 teaspoon paprika 1 teaspoon hot sauce Mix sauce ingredients in saucepan. Heat to a low boil and simmer for about 5 minutes. Place duck halves…