Game & Fish Sets Duck Season at 60 Days

The Arkansas Game & Fish Commission has set the upcoming duck season at 60 days, the 19th consecutive year it has done so.

Duck season dates for 2015-16 are:

• Nov. 21 – Nov. 29
• Dec. 10 – Dec. 23
• Dec. 26 – Jan. 31
• Youth Hunt: Dec. 5 and Feb. 6
• Northwest Canada goose zone season – Sept. 19-28
• Statewide Canada goose season – Sept. 1-15, Nov. 18-Dec. 4 and Dec. 6-Jan. 31
• White-fronted, snow, blue and Ross’s goose seasons – Nov. 18-Dec. 4 and Dec. 6-Jan. 31 (daily bag limit increased from two to three)
• Light goose conservation order – Oct. 10-Nov. 17, Feb. 1-5 and Feb. 7-April 25

The 2015-16 duck bag limits are six ducks consisting of six ducks consisting of: no more than: four mallards (two hens), three wood ducks, two pintails, two redheads, one black duck, two canvasbacks, one mottled duck or three scaup.

According to AGFC Waterfowl Program Coordinator Luke Naylor, Arkansas again had the highest mallard harvest in the nation with just over 530,000 mallards harvested in the 2014-15 season. The next highest mallard harvest in the nation was in Missouri with just over 254,800. No other state in the Mississippi Flyway harvested over 200,000 mallards, he said.

During the 2013-14 waterfowl season, Arkansas hunters harvested almost 423,000 mallards.

In addition, the commission is considering a proposal to ban spinning-wing decoys in two wildlife management areas: the Bayou Meto in Arkansas and Jefferson counties and the Dave Donaldson Black River area in northeastern Arkansas. It will vote on the proposed ban on Sept. 24.