Ready For Georgia Ducks: 2024 Waterfowl Forecast

Seth Farmer and “Sandi” after a successful Laurens County hunt for Seth and some buddies.

Another season of duck hunting will roll around soon, and all duck hunters wonder how the Georgia duck forecast looks.

Duck hunting here is dependent on many factors, and at the forefront is bad weather up North. Wet conditions in the spring and summer is good news in the breeding-ground wetlands, and nasty, cold weather in November and December might send new ducks south to Georgia swamps, rivers and lakes.   

Brent Howse, wildlife biologist down in southwest Georgia’s WRD Region 5, says he expects another average to good year for Georgia duck hunters. If you don’t have a private duck hole, he said the amount of success directly relates to the amount of pre-hunt scouting and preparation a hunter is willing to put in.

Brent said for the 2024-2025 duck season in Georgia there are no major changes to season dates or bag limits.

There is some good duck hunting available on Georgia WMAs, but the best are quota-only, and it will take a double-handful of priority points to get drawn. See the charts below for info on WMA quota duck hunts and youth waterfowl opportunities on Georgia WMAs.

Southwest Georgia: Brent says Lake Seminole and Silver Lake WMA are probably the best duck hunting locations in his region, but they get crowded on weekends, thus he recommends weekday hunting that pinpoints the out-of-the-way nooks and crannies where the ducks seek refuge and get overlooked by the average duck hunter. He says most of the harvest will be woodies with an occasional mallard, teal or redhead mixing in, especially in the late season.

Another good duck hunting spot is Chickasawhatchee WMA (19,700 acres), close to Albany. Brent says that it has not rained much and the wetlands in the WMA have dried up, so he’s hoping for a wet winter to fill the creeks and potholes with water again. But on the plus side, the dry areas give hunters an opportunity to see the landscape better where they can have easier walking to locate acorn-producing trees that will be dropping nuts soon when the rains come. Do your planning and scout areas to get better access to the harder-to-reach spots that might hold ducks.

Coastal Region: Some of Georgia’s best duck hunting is found along the coast in WRD Region 6, says Wildlife Biologist Robert Horan.

Altamaha WMA is typically one of the best public waterfowl locations in Georgia. It is composed of units on the east and west sides of U.S. Highway 17 south of Darien. Altamaha WMA consists of 3,154 acres of managed waterfowl impoundments and some 27,000 acres of bottomland hardwoods and cypress-tupelo swamps. Impoundments built as part of Ducks Unlimited’s MARSH program (Matching Aid to Restore States’ Habitat) provide an excellent wildlife viewing area with several towers. The impoundments are located on the remains of an old rice plantation. Giant cutgrass is the dominant vegetation that buffers the dikes from surrounding Darien and Altamaha rivers. Widgeon grass is commonly found in the ditches that surround the interior of the dikes. Inside the impoundments are grasses and other plants consistent with brackish water marshes that now occupy the old rice fields.

Horan said Japanese millet was planted this year and has grown well and will soon be flooded to draw in the ducks. He said all the dykes and water-control devices have been repaired and are now in good working order, so he’s looking for a good duck hunting season in 2024-25.

The Altamaha WMA waterfowl area consists of three island units—Butler, Champney and Rhett’s. Butler and Champney islands offer quota hunts. Limited standby hunters are allowed on Butler Island for no-shows on the quota hunts, so you might show up and get lucky.

The drawing for blinds takes place at 5 a.m. Robert suggests that if you get drawn for a quota hunt, bring along a small floating canoe or inflatable raft to load up your equipment to make it easier to get across the holes and ditches as you wade to your blind location.

Rhett’s Island is open to duck hunting Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday during the state season and on state holidays. Roberts says the Thanksgiving weekend is one of their best hunts because hunting is open from Thursday to Saturday. Rhett’s Island has no vehicle access and can only be accessed by boat, which has to be pulled up and over the dike for access into the impoundment.

Horan said that the abundant marshlands that stretch 3 miles on either side of I-95 can provide some good hunting if your quota hunt application was unsuccessful. This type of hunting requires pre-hunt scouting, and you must be careful to watch for the outgoing tide so you don’t get stuck on those marsh flats. Never go without a cell phone and let someone know where you are going and when you’ll return.

Other potential WMA duck hunting locations in Region 6 include the creeks and sloughs in Wayne County’s Penholoway Swamp (10,546 acres) and Sansavilla WMA (16,867 acres) and Clayhole Swamp (5,2242 acres) in Glynn County.

During late fall and winter, Horan says that Georgia’s coastal islands are home to an amazing number of wintering waterfowl. Gadwalls, blue-winged teal, green-winged teal, canvasbacks, redheads, ring-necked ducks, scaups, coots and many others are found in the impoundments.

Chance Myers, of Lenox, hunts the coast when he can, but he also likes to go closer to his Cook County home and hunt private ponds and beaver swamps. He shoots mostly woodies with an occasional mallard and likes to get out late in the season when it’s cold up North and the migratory ducks show up. When he’s not duck hunting, Chance works at the Green Point Agriculture Center selling farm supplies.

Chance is also the owner of the COVO Company, which makes the Vendetta shotgun shell packs. It holds 24 shells, and the special magnetic design holds the shells securely as you navigate tricky duck holes where you might take a dip as you struggle to move your decoys and other equipment along in the darkness. He says if you have not “floated a hat” on a cold morning, you’re not a veteran duck hunter! It was one of those slips that prompted him to invent the shotgun shell holder. Check it out at covocompany.com or 229.520.2055.

A nice group of wood ducks make for a good morning hunt in Georgia. Pictured is Chance Meyers (right), who owns the Covo company, which makes a magnetic shell holder worn by his hunting buddy. Photo by Alyssa Kay Photography.

Northwest Georgia: Wildlife Biologist David Gregory says that it can be more of a duck search than a duck hunt in this area of the state. Waterfowl numbers are low, but hunters can still be successful if they do some pre-hunt scouting.

“Probably our flagship duck hunting location is Conasauga River WMA, either on the main river or getting into the small tributaries that run into the river and the associated beaver ponds. But it’s a small WMA (338 acres) and the quota per hunt is only three.”

He said the youth-only duck hunting at Pleasant Valley VPA area can be pretty good, and the Arrowhead WMA, which has 14 small lakes, can hold a few ducks and is available for general hunting on Saturdays during the statewide season. For hunters willing to explore the woods, David says that the beaver ponds on Berry College (14,781 acres), Crockford-Pigeon Mountain WMA (20,657 acres) and McGraw Ford (2,070 acres) occasionally hold some ducks.

Northeast Georgia: In Northeast Georgia, Biologist Ryan Watts says that Redlands WMA, which is huge at 37,500 acres, has some duck possibilities, but hunters will need to get out and explore the creeks and beaver ponds to find the birds, which will be primarily woodies. This WMA is on Oconee National Forest land along the Oconee and Apalachee river corridors with several major creeks, such as Sandy, Harris, Rose and Falling Creek.

Lula Bridge WMA also has some ducks, and it’s open during state duck season and has a youth hunt Nov. 9-10.

Ryan said the Georgia Power reservoirs hold a few ducks but are difficult to hunt. These lakes are highly developed and each has special restrictions on the distance a hunter must be from docks and structures.

East-Central Georgia: In Region 3, biologist I.B. Parnell recommends hunting on the rivers in the region and private ponds for the best possible duck hunting. The Dan Denton waterfowl area at Oconee WMA is always a good bet, and since it’s quota, you will not face a crowd of other hunters. But it’s a tough draw, so you’ll need plenty of priority points to receive a quota permit. He says that the waterfowl impoundments on Fishing Creek WMA can hold some ducks. It’s open on Wednesdays and Saturdays during the state season, and hunting stops at noon.

I.B. said setting up in your boat along the edge of the rivers, like the Ocmulgee or Oconee, at the crack of dawn and waiting for the squealing of the woodies as they navigate up and down the rivers is an exciting chance at some pass shooting. After you drop a few woodies, don’t forget to pack along your fishing reel, too!

Tommy Shover, area manager at Ocmulgee WMA, says that Magnolia and Shellstone creeks have some ducks in the beaver ponds. Magnolia Creek is large enough to float a canoe, allowing you to ease along and do some jump shooting. On Oaky Woods WMA, Area Manager Josh Holmes said walking the banks of Big Grocery Creek often is productive as ducks feed on the acorns that fall in the shallow creek.

Another good duck hunting spot is the Bond Swamp National Wildlife Refuge near Macon. Assistant Refuge Manager Carolyn Johnson said the quota application deadline was Sept. 15, so if you missed it this year, keep it in mind for next season. Lucky quota draw hunters can bring along two other hunters, so it’s a good way to hunt with friends. Carolyn says the hunting can be pretty good along Tobesofkee Creek and the flooded bottoms.

A successful middle Georgia duck hunter is Seth Farmer, of Adrian. Seth is also a taxidermist at Natures Woods Taxidermy (706.362.3883) who I met at the Georgia Wildlife Federation’s outdoor show in Perry. Preserving the precious memories of duck hunters is his passion and livelihood, thus he says he is doubly blessed to duck hunt and create waterfowl works of art.

Although many ducks killed in Georgia are local wood ducks or from nearby states, it’s always interesting to know how many migratory ducks drop into Georgia in the late season. Previous duck tag surveys have shown ducks coming to Georgia from areas of Canada and as far away as Alaska.

2024 Duck Numbers

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) announced the 2024 Waterfowl Population Status Report on Aug. 20. This report contains results from surveys and population estimation methods conducted by the USFWS, Canadian Wildlife Service and numerous state and provincial partners.

According to Ducks Unlimited, key takeaways from the 2024 survey include:

• 2024 marks the first documented increase (+5%) in year-to-year total surveyed breeding ducks in the traditional survey area since 2015.

• Mallards increased by 8% and wigeon numbers by 55; however, specific to the Eastern Survey Area, mallards were down 4%.

• An estimated 10% decline in wood duck numbers on the Atlantic Flyway.

• Pintails were down 11% from 2023, but at a level that will provide the opportunity for a three-pintail daily limit in the 2025–26 hunting season under the recently approved interim pintail harvest strategy.

• Blue-winged teal in the traditional survey area dropped 12% from 2023 to an estimated 4.6 million, which will now result in a recommended 9-day early teal season in 2025 for hunters in the Central, Mississippi and Atlantic flyways. USFWS guidelines established in 2014 allow for a 16-day season in the Central, Mississippi and Atlantic flyways when the blue-winged population estimate is above 4.7 million, a 9-day season when the estimate is between 3.3 and 4.7 million, and a closed season below 3.3 million.

• Total pond estimates in the U.S. and Canadian prairies were 5.2 million, a 4% increase from 2023. Although rain in April and May fell too late to benefit early migrants, it improved conditions for late nesters and brood production.

• Northern survey areas saw improved habitat conditions and noteworthy increases in breeding numbers.

• Eastern survey area duck numbers increased in five out of the six major species, but mallards saw a small drop.

The estimate for total ducks is down 4% from the long-term average (since 1955). Mallards are 16% below the long-term average.