9/20/2023 0 Comments Mud river ducks unlimited gun case![]() That reduces the hunting pressure but also makes the flows difficult to hunt. The trouble with floating the creeks is that there aren't very many access points where you can put in. Small waterways that feed into the Tennessee and can be float-hunted include Cotaco Creek, Dry Creek, the Flint River, Greenbriar Cove and the Paint Rock River.įor this type of float-hunting, a trolling motor and dip net are invaluable aides for retrieving downed ducks. Hunters who have never seen it work are just amazed by it."īetween Decatur and Guntersville Dam are several small creeks with duck hunting potential for wingshooters who don't mind long boat rides. "When they see the spreads, they just think, 'Hey, there're our buddies, the snow geese,' and they come right in. "We don't have a lot of snow geese in the area, but the birds migrating in have seen them all down the flyway," Baker said. Decatur-area waterfowl guide Tim Baker reports having ducks decoy to dry crop fields when conditions are right.Įven though the area doesn't see a large number of snow geese, he uses "white rag" spreads and decoys both ducks and geese. If you can gain access to some private land in the Decatur area, you might just find a duck honeyhole. 31 is the dividing line between the refuge and Swan Creek WMA. Since it's illegal to duck hunt on Wheeler NWR, new hunters to the area need to be sure they know where they are. A good bit of the hunting takes place on the river. There's a dewatering area, but no crops are planted in it. The WMA managers say Mallard-Fox Creek WMA, across the river from Swan Creek, does not receive nearly as much hunting pressure, due to its inaccessibility. It is a labor-intensive way to pursue the sport, but you can slog out on the mudflat in waders, hunker down on a stump and shoot passing birds. They include Swan Creek Bay and Beulah Bay.īoth bays are frequently nothing more than mudflats with a shallow layer of water on top. In addition to the dewatering arm, Swan Creek features several large bays just off the river that are magnets for ducks. The hunting isn't restricted to those who have blinds there, and some free-lance duck hunting is allowed as well. The state has a drawing for blind locations and allows 50 semi-permanent blinds to be located on the Swan Creek dewatering area each winter. The harvest on both WMAs consists of mostly mallards, gadwalls and ringnecks. Swan Creek covers 6,850 acres, including a 1,200-acre dewatering unit. No hunting is allowed on the refuge itself, but waterfowling is permitted on two adjoining WMAs - Swan Creek and Mallard-Fox Creek. "But you have to remember that the states above us have done a lot of work too, and unless we get the weather, the birds don't have a reason to come and use our habitat." "We've done a lot of work," McCutcheon said. On top of the annual planting and flooding of crops like corn and millet for ducks, the milfoil and hydrilla beds in Guntersville and Wheeler lakes also provide excellent feeding habitat for waterfowl. ![]() There are state wildlife management areas (WMAs) and national wildlife refuges (NWRs) encompassing thousands of acres of first-class duck habitat along the Tennessee River. Fish and Wildlife Service, and other conservation organizations have done a lot of work over the years to make sure the habitat in North Alabama is in good shape when the birds do get here. The Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (DWFF), Ducks Unlimited, the U.S. They come here when cold, rough weather to the north pushes them here." "The birds don't come to north Alabama just to have somewhere to go," said Keith McCutcheon, the District II wildlife biologist who spent 14 years as the Jackson County waterfowl biologist. ![]()
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