Missouri Duck Hunting
Self Guided Duck Hunts
We never oversell our waterfowl hunt quality. Not every day is a limit day and not all hunters are drake only hunters. Also geese are as much a part of every hunt as the ducks.
Wetlands
Mid-America Hunting Association Missouri duck hunting is over our own enhanced duck attracting wetlands from sturdy duck blinds, wade-in and layout boat areas. Our wetlands that we built are strictly for our exclusive use and require an annual membership fee to hunt. We have 7 wetlands that we built through placement of levees, pump water from a slough or well. They are composed of marsh, crop and wooded areas that exist naturally and enhanced by us to bring in the ducks.
Micro Flyways
Our wetlands are along the historic micro flyways previously identified during the 1890s through 1940s as "market duck hunting" areas within the three sub-basins that make up the lower Missouri River Basin within the Mississippi Flyway.
We have long recognized that not all of Missouri is equal with its wetlands and within each of the three major sub-basins there are specific areas that produce far more birds every year than others. That is where we have our wetlands and their placement combined with the right combination of water and vegetation ensures that when the migration is on we have duck hunting as good as to be found.
Our maintained waterfowl (meaning separate from our fishing waters) wetlands are managed for do it yourself duck hunting through water level control, drainage and planting followed by brush cutting open water shooting pools for blinds posted to accommodate flight patterns. The nearby crop stubble fields will also attract both the dark and light geese that have made for many a post hunt story told of the days when they came in by the thousands.
On the wetlands our duck hunting is from blinds we build and post. For goose, the hunter supplies his own camouflage covering. The self guided duck hunter also supplies his own decoys, calling skill and dogs if desired otherwise the wetlands are flooded to allow chest wader access throughout the blind shooting area. No boats are required to have a good hunt.
Duck Blind Shooting Pool
Shows the water level we identify as "chest wader access".
Our duck hunting is the kind of duck hunting where all that have the skill to decoy and call will be able to hunt and hunt safely without the requirement for expensive high maintenance equipment. This allows the 4-wheelers to stay at home. Bring 2 dozen mixed decoys, three calls and all are set. The blinds even accommodate the dogs.
Details
A line diagram below showing one of our wetlands that is just outside of the large federally managed Swan Lake wetlands within the Grand River Basin in north central Missouri equally accessible from Des Moines, St. Louis and Kansas City. A locally well known layover region for all migrating birds following the Mississippi flyway.
The line diagram is not to scale, it is simply drawn the best we can. Trust the blinds are far enough apart that it will be clear which spread the flight is working and no one can set up too close. And, our average member's age is in the 40's meaning that the common public wetlands issues of skybusting or late blind occupation are greatly attenuated. The real quality control issue is that any one that has at least one season within this Association will find that he truly is not in competition with other hunters and our relaxed, easy going approach to our duck hunting greatly enhances the overall enjoyment of the day.
Not Always Limits
An early season picture from one of our Missouri wetlands. Every hunter can pick when to go duck hunting and duck hunt as often as he wants from blinds, wade-in on your own areas, watershed or irrigation lakes. Flooded crop, timber, marsh or slough. More wetlands habitat variety and locations than can be attained anywhere else.
Various scenes from our wetlands duck hunting showing a variety of conditions as seen through the camera's of members.
Every couple of years the early season will see low water conditions on the remote wetlands where pumping is not available. This is a case and the results from the second weekend in the middle zone of Missouri.
The low water set.
