Arkansas hunters reflect as duck season comes to a close
HUMPHREY, Ark. – As the duck season comes to a close this week, hunters are reflecting on the season, the highs and the lows.
Every year comes with it challenges, according to the Game and Fish Commission, the total duck population estimate reaching an all-time low, but as the owner of a local duck lodge in Humphrey, every season is different, always hoping to provide the best experience possible.
You can hear the sound of ducks flying in throughout the duck capital of the world, something Hailey Houghton is very familiar with. Her family owns and runs the Dry Bayou Lodge in Humphrey.
“A lot of people this is their livelihood for them, you know duck season brings a large amount of revenue into just this town right here,” Houghton said.
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In Arkansas County, waterfowl hunting is a way of life. Houghton’s family welcomes people from across the state each year.
“This is vacation for a lot of people,” Houghton said.
But the 2023-2024 season brought with it highs and lows.
“It was kind of very dry there at the beginning of the season, we normally rely on what we call the thanksgiving rain, and we didn’t really get a whole lot of that,” Houghton said.
Off to a slow start, but toward the new year, cold weather came in and so did the rain.
“A lot of times weather has a lot to do with the amount of birds that we see, normally we rely on storms up north to get a push of migratory birds down here,” Houghton said.
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The rain turned things around in the nick of time.
“But what the rain does for us, it allows us to stop the fields and pipes, and use that free rainwater, instead of using groundwater, we like to use as much surface water as we can to conserve all of that groundwater,” Houghton said.
“Wetlands are very attractive for ducks and up north, a lot of people kill them on a dry ground, but the reason they come here is for those wetlands and for those habitats,” Houghton said.
The lodge took guests around Humphrey all season, and as Houghton reflects on the past few months, she hopes conservation becomes a priority for everyone.
“I think people really need to realize the importance of conservation and what kind of impact it can have on the amount of migratory birds we see here,” Houghton said.
Houghton says every season is different, and while you can hope for certain things, it’s never promised, saying you have to make the most out of every situation.
“I don’t think there is an ideal duck season it is what you take it as,” Houghton said.
This Wednesday, January 31 is the last day of the season. This coming Saturday is a youth hunt day. The conservation period for geese starts on February 1. For more information you can visit the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission website at AGFC.com.
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