[tjmstng68]

Other than "knowing a guy" or being from an area.
How would you go about planning a North AR/South MO flooded timber hunt? Is it even possible without connections?
Would you find a public area online, plan on going down and doing 2-3 days of scouting to hopefully find a decent public place to hunt the remaining days....
Or would one without the connections be forced to book with an outfitter? maybe a couple days with an outfitter and then scouting so that in future years you would maybe be able to put together a hunt on your own....
Any thoughts? Just one of the things I would like to do someday in the future.:quackquack:

 

[BILLYGOAT]

if your interested in a hunt in north arky land huntin rice or flooded timber let me know.i have a guy that will take good care of ya.other then that i really have no idea where a fella would start

 

[tjmstng68]

[rquote=1521820&tid=106084&author=BILLYGOAT]if your interested in a hunt in north arky land huntin rice or flooded timber let me know.i have a guy that will take good care of ya.other then that i really have no idea where a fella would start[/rquote]

Trusted outfitter I assume? What kind of cost is usually associated with these types of hunts?

 

[ad870]

I can give you a few tips since I live down here in arky land.

1. There are not a lot of private timber hunts in NE Arkansas. Some of the outfitters in NE AR that offer them do have timber hunts available but they arn't worth a hoot and when you get here they will tell you that the ducks arn't really using the timber right now and you should consider a field hunt. Farther south it is my understanding that there are some good timber hunts available but no one that I know of to recommend.

2. There are no legal guided timber hunts on public land.

3. Spots are hard to find right now due to the ice storm last year. Many of the boat trails are a mess.

4. Remember that all the WMA's are public land. On the one I hunt you are allowed to leave your decoys in the hole the entire season. That doesn't mean that I own the hole. It is first come first serve. If you do some scouting and find where the birds are then you will probably be able to find a hole in the area. Also understand that most people feel that they do own the hole. Instead of rolling up in a hole at 3 am and waiting out the holes normal occupants I would recomend finding the hole during your scouting and trying to talk to the guys hunting on it as they finish up their hunt for the day. A lot of guys if you tell them that you are half lost and looking for a decent hunt the next morning will invite you to hunt with them or will direct you to an abandoned hole that you didn't know existed. On the other hand you will meet some jerks doing this as well.

5. Bottom line is that OOS hunters flood this place every year and they are all finding a place to hunt somewhere...if you are willing to go out in your boat and do some scouting you can find a place also. Sounds like you are willing to put the days in scouting so you shouldn't have a problem finding a spot to throw out a few dozen dekes.

6. 4 dozen dekes will be plenty.

7. Leave the boat blind at home you won't need it.

8. navigation lights label you as a OOS and will get you a few funny looks. To some extent so do trailer lights but that's a diff. story.

 

[ad870]

I don't know who BillyGoat is talking about in the way of outfitters. There may be a real good private timber hunt available that I'm not aware of. Not trying to implicate his outfitter in anyway just letting you know of how I've heard it go down on private timber hunts around here.

 

[tjmstng68]

Cool guys, I think when the day comes that I get a group of guys together willing to do this. I would like to go down with the intent of the first day atleast just scouting. If we shoot any birds and do all the work ourself I think that is worth more than a guided hunt were we are there to shoot and not much more. As long as its with the right group of guys, the scouting will be half the fun atleast.

This is one reason I love MWT, I grew up with pretty much zero connections to waterfowling at all, now I can get advice from experience guys all over the state and even neighboring states. Not mention the guys I have been able to hunt with that I would have never met otherwise.:cheers:

 

[ad870]

One other piece of advice....if you come down with just one other guy or two at the most you've got a lot better shot at being able to get in on a hunt with some friendly locals in "their" hole. Bring down a whole posse and you're def not going to be made to feel welcome in someone elses hole.

I would say that two guys if they were decent enough dudes could come down here and find some good public hunting and even find some locals to help them out a bit. Just don't go in acting like you own the place and you will more times then not be well received.

We met and hunted with a guy that I only know as Chris from IL who we met this way. Good guy, we found him out scouting and half lost one day and invited him to hunt with us. He emails for duck forecast occasionaly but has never asked us for directions to holes or to hunt with us again. Actually I got in a bind with my boat one time and had to hitch a ride from him.

Good luck on the hunting.

 

[duckslayer]

tj just let me know on that timber hunt, im down!!

 

[smallmouth]

if your looking for a flooded timber hunt let me know ill hook you up send me a u2u if intrested:cheers:

 

[goatkiller]

So if your in, as you say the LOCAL hole first, DO they still have the right to hunt there? Whos hole is it? Not stiring the pot, Just wondering? Thanks

 

[ad870]

first come first serve but don't be surprised if they show up and hunt with you. nobody owns a hole but they do refer to them as their holes. Their decoys are in them...they clean up the hole every year and they do the work to keep the boat runs open. Some guys just have one hole and that is where they are going everyday no matter what.

 

[ducks1]

[rquote=1528741&tid=106084&author=ad870]first come first serve but don't be surprised if they show up and hunt with you. nobody owns a hole but they do refer to them as their holes. Their decoys are in them...they clean up the hole every year and they do the work to keep the boat runs open. Some guys just have one hole and that is where they are going everyday no matter what.[/rquote]nothin wrong with claimen states.. i hate a claim jumper for sure.. :mad2::stickfight::soapbox:

 

[crthrs]

I've hunted the WMA's in NE Arkie several times. The first time you go, you'll need to wait till the sun gets up and then scout. Either that or hunt the canals until folks start coming out and then scout. The folks down there like to get to their holes at the last minute so beating them there is usually not an issue. It's an uncomfortable moment when they get there but they know the rules and are usually pretty good about it and will hunt with you. We have had our issues though but nothing serious.