Photo by Paul Tessier

By Larry Self

As good as the mid-1990s were to Tennessee duck hunters, the turn of the century led to leaner years. It's almost as if we are paying for the high times we've had in Volunteer duck blinds. We haven't been alone in the down times for waterfowlers. Things have been tougher even in the most hallowed grounds of American duck and goose hunting.

When things get tough, they say the tough get going. Instead of waiting on ducks to come to you, it's time to go to them. A new strategy for success may just lie in the smallest of avenues. In Tennessee, looking harder for waterfowl may mean seeking out some smaller waters to find your birds.

To be sure, the traditional spots are good bets under normal circumstances. You'll still get your shots there all season, but for additional opportunities look at smaller waters. As tough as things have been the last three seasons, let's see how some veteran waterfowlers have changed strategies in seeking out ducks off the beaten flyway.

Everybody who shoots a shotgun at ducks knows of the stories from Camden Bottoms and other areas like Gin Creek where some of the best draw blinds are located.

Hopper points out, however, that in addition to the most popular draw hunts, there are numerous less-well-known wildlife management area (WMAs) hunts across Tennessee that feature some waterfowling during the season. The TWRA's 2004 Tennessee Hunting & Trapping Guide is an excellent source for researching which WMAs allow duck hunting and their particular regulations.

Hopper noted that three come to his mind as offering some of the best overlooked hunting.

First on his list of top WMAs with non-draw hunts is the small Bogota WMA located adjacent to the Obion River in Dyer County, approximately eight miles northwest of Dyersburg.

According to Ducks Unlimited, the 500 acres of moist-soil habitat and flooded agricultural crops provide foraging habitat for mallards, gadwalls, pintails, green-winged teal and shovelers. Hopper said it's also home to a good duck-hunting opportunity.

Middle Tennessee hunters are familiar, as are most of Tennessee's duck hunting population, with the opportunities at registered blinds on the Old Hickory WMA, particularly in Unit I and Unit II. Old Hickory's Unit III (from River Mile 267 upstream to the Old Lock 6 at River Mile 281) has some good hunting of its own. Unit III is open the same as the statewide seasons and features hunting from temporary blinds only. Decoys must be picked up each day, but that's a small price to pay for opportunity.

Hopper said the hunting is good on this upstream side of Old Hickory all the way to Cordell Hull Dam. He said Unit III is really good during a freeze-up when outlying areas ice over. The best access to the hunting upstream can be found at the Rome Ferry ramp in Smith County.

Third on his list of available but relatively unpressured WMAs is found at the AEDC WMA in Coffee County.

AEDC is better known for its whitetail hunting than waterfowl, but the chance for duck hunting does present itself each season. Hopper said a wade-in area still exists right off I-24 just outside of Manchester. The area is known as Hunt's Creek and even features some viable flooded timber shooting. Hopper advised hunters to stay clear of the main channel if wading the creek. But the best opportunity will be in the timber on foot.

One last tip that Hopper passed along is to inform hunters that they can hunt from a boat blind on any major riverine system. You can be right up against the bank, but if you get out to hunt from the ground on private land, you'll need permission from the landowner. Check WMA regulations because many that don't have permanent blinds only allow hunting from temporary blinds.

Allman also said there are some really good hunting opportunities on many West Tennessee WMAs. He said it's a matter of doing the research and getting out a map to do your homework. One example he gives of prime hunting on public waters is found along the Obion River. Those willing to do the work will often take a boat in by river and then wade into backwater areas. Some hunters even take in two boats, one for getting there by river and then a smaller one to get back in sloughs.

Traditional hunting strategies change when you start getting off the beaten path.

Allman noted that first of all, rather than a permanent blind, you are much more likely to be sitting in a boat blind anytime you have the comfort of blinds on larger waters like Reelfoot Lake and Kentucky Lake.

Shooting backwater ducks in this manner isn't as easy as it sounds on paper. You have to put your time in scouting. Allman said it requires a lot of pre-work if you're going to get your limit.

Two key areas to keep in your sights are the waters around the Hop-In Refuge. The Gooch WMA and Obion River WMA are well situated. Allman said the river units of the Gooch WMA offer some good backwater gunning and the waters of the Obion outside the refuge are a drawing card to ducks coming and going.

"Get them while they're there!" Allman said. Most of these smaller out-of-the-way places can't take a lot of pressure and you can shoot them out quick. Allman said if you know the area and have new ducks coming in that may not be around long, forget about pressuring them - get your limit and then get out. Last year, he watched around 400 to 500 teal using a backwater hole.

Decoying will differ slightly on these watersheds and backwater spots. Allman said if you can get in with a boat blind, you could utilize two to three dozen magnum decoys. If you wade in, you'll be limited to about a dozen standard-sized decoys.

When you're where the ducks want to be, you won't have to do any real serious calling. Allman said keep it to a minimum if they're coming in regularly and follow normal calling protocol if you don't have a lot of birds hammering you.

You may not shoot or even see a limit of ducks each and every time off these beaten flyways in West Tennessee, but Allman said you wouldn't have to spend the night in a blind in order to get a spot. The key to this kind of success is getting out in the late evening and watching to see where the birds are going so that you can be where they want to be.