Taking Teal On Bass Lakes

THOSE BIG, stately greenheads may rule with the masses, but blue-winged teal always ring the bell the loudest with Texas’s early bird waterfowl crowd.

Small, agile and built for speed, teal are always the first ducks to vacate their northern breeding grounds to begin their annual migration southward toward Mexico, Central and South America.

Not all of the small ducks that pour out the Dakotas and Canada in August and September will pass through Texas en route to their wintering grounds, but a whole bunch of them do. That can lead to some world-class shoots on inland waters and coastal prairies. That’s particularly true when the arrival coincides with the 16-day early teal season that thousands of Texas duck hunters look forward to each September.

This year’s teal season is set for September 12 to 27.

It’s impossible to say from one year to the next when earliest flights of teal will arrive. The weather-sensitive birds tend to start pushing south when the first cool breath of autumn air sweeps across northern grasslands. In a normal year, the fast-flying ducks will begin showing up in Texas in late August. Their numbers will continue to build right on through September.

Those numbers can escalate quickly once the birds start winging their way south en masse. It happens quickly. A seemingly lifeless shallow mud flat at mid-week might swarm with birds buzzing a spread by the weekend.

That’s why most dedicated waterfowlers are weather watchers. They know a promising weather forecast when they see one.

All it takes is a subtle temperature drop up north to send teal packing south. It makes all the sweat and swatting mosquitos of a September duck in Texas well worthwhile.

Of course, how long the birds will stick around once they get here, will be heavily influenced by what they find in terms of water conditions and, more importantly, groceries.

(Photo: Canstock)

Teal are dabblers. They feed primarily in the shallows, often in water so skinny that it’ll barely float a decoy.

The birds will eat insects and other invertebrates, but they really like new growth terrestrial vegetation and seeds. They can easily reach the feed in a posture that sometimes puts their heads beneath the surface and their butts in the air.

A second growth rice field spurred to life by timely rains can be a magnet for migrant teal looking for a spot to loaf and recharge. The same holds true of mud flats ripe with vegetation on well known bass lakes such as Cooper, Sam Rayburn, Richland Chambers, Toledo Bend and Palestine.

Big reservoir teal hunting tends to be at its best when significant rain in August or September follows a moderately dry summer. According to Jared Laing of Lindale, that’s when the odds can really be good.

“It’s all about timing,” Laing said. “The hunting can be lights out if you get a lot of new growth vegetation, then get a system that puts some water on top of it. You can have some really good shoots on reservoirs when the water is right.

“That means rising water, not falling water. Some of the best areas will be shallow mud flats with flooded new growth vegetation. It’s just like the coast, just a different setting.”

Laing, a former TPWD waterfowl biologist turned consultant, said succulent terrestrial weeds tend to sprout along shorelines and on expansive flats that are exposed to sunlight during low water periods. Add water to flood the greenery, and it can be a dinner buffet for teal. Flats and shorelines grown up in pink smartweed or barnyard grass can be particularly attractive to bluewings.

“They’ll nibble on submerged aquatic vegetation, but that’s not really what they key in on,” he said. “It’s mostly seeds they’re hunting early on.”

Although an abundance of goodies is always a great ingredient to have in the mix, some years the stars just don’t line up. Rainfall and water levels, both past and present, play key roles in setting the stage. Those two conditions can vary immensely from one lake to the next.

Laing said teal will often sit on shallow flats with limited food just to take a breather before moving on. Strategic positioning where the birds want to be can lead to a full strap in short order.

“Sometimes they just key on big sheet water,” he said. “Even though there isn’t much there for them to eat, they’ll use it to loaf and rest before moving on.”

Laing says public reservoirs all around the state can hold teal, but some lakes tend to be better than others. Relatively shallow reservoirs with lots of expansive flats are historically the best.

“On some lakes you might have a 100 yards of shoreline exposed if the water level drops a foot or two,” he said. “That’s why some of the more productive duck lakes have big, long shallow shorelines.”

A number of lakes across eastern Texas fit that bill, but Laing says those impoundments along the western edge of Pineywoods are among his favorites from one year to the next.

“All of the big reservoirs can have the right stuff, but historically those lakes along the western edge are a little bit better,” he said. “They tend to fluctuate more.”

If you plan to hunt during the early teal season this year, remember that blue-winged, green-winged and cinnamon teal are the only ducks you can shoot. If you’re not sure of the target, don’t pull the trigger. Fines for shooting other ducks out of season can be brisk, besides the embarrassment of getting ticketed. The daily limit on early teal is six per hunter, per day.

Also, remember to purchase a new hunting license and make sure to answer a short list of questions about last year’s migratory bird hunting successes required for HIP (Harvest Information Program). Additionally, you will need the migratory game bird and Federal Duck Stamp endorsements. The migratory game bird stamp costs $7; the Federal stamp is $25.

A person 17 years of age or older must possess a migratory game bird endorsement receipt to hunt any migratory game bird in this state. Waterfowl hunters 16 years of age and over are required to have a Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp (commonly called a Duck Stamp; available at most post offices and TPWD offices).

Finally, remember to carry only steel or other nontoxic shot into the field. Shotshells containing lead shot are not legal for hunting ducks. Shotguns must be plugged to accept no more than three shotshells.

—story by MATT WILLIAMS

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