Go ye to Frog Bayou
Western Arkansas has duck hunting, too
In 1995, I wrote in an article for Arkansas Sportsman magazine titled, “Go West, Young Man, For Ducks!”
It featured an epic 1994 hunt in the Alma bottoms with two area natives, Lee Nigh and Jeff Belcher. It introduced the state to the excellent duck hunting along the Arkansas River Valley of Western Arkansas.
That hunt occurred when duck numbers were beginning the upward trend that presaged a 30-year waterfowl hunting boom.
Duck season was only 30 days in 1994. Now it is 60 days and has been for decades. The daily bag limit in 1994 was three, but only two mallards. Now you can shoot six ducks per day, including up to four mallards.
Nigh still lives in the same house and owns the same automotive repair shop. The place that he leased is now part of the Frog Bayou Wildlife Management Area, which the AGFC established in 2005 to conserve valuable and ecologically sensitive wetlands in the area.
Comprising only 812 mostly open acres, Frog Bayou WMA cannot support the intensive amount of hunting pressure that’s endemic to Bayou Meto WMA, Black River WMA, and the Cache River and White River national wildlife refuges.
Despite its small size, the AGFC devotes considerable resources to enhancing habitat on Frog Bayou WMA. Good wetland habitat is an increasingly rare commodity in the Arkansas River Valley, and that makes Frog Bayou increasingly valuable.
In March 2018, the AGFC drained the WMA and pulverized the remaining vegetation with a special tractor and cleated roller to lay the groundwork for vast amounts of seed-producing wetland plants. The old vegetation decomposed, which put nutrients back in the soil and invigorated all the seeds buried in the soil, including barnyard grass, smartweed, sprangletop and many other plants that produce food for duck.”
Hunting Frog Bayou is generally open, so there is no decoying ducks into secluded holes in the timber. It’s a pass-shooting situation that more closely resembles dove hunting, so come here only if you can tolerate close company and a competitive environment.
After your hunt, enjoy a fantastic barbecue lunch in Alma, smoked by none other than Andi Nigh, Lee Nigh’s wife, at the Valero station at Interstate 40 and U.S. Highway 71.
LAKE DARDANELLE
Exiting I-40 at Clarksville, Knoxville and Russellville takes you to the rich and varied duck hunting on Lake Dardanelle.
Covering 34,300 acres, Lake Dardanelle is the largest impoundment on the McClellan-Kerr Navigation System. Beyond the navigation channel, Lake Dardanelle sprawls across vast shallow areas featuring cattail marshes, tule marshes and assorted islands separated by shallow sand flats, bays and inlets. It attracts every species known to visit Arkansas. If you have the patience, you can fill a limit with six different species in one spot.
It can also be a very good place to hunt Canada geese.
Where you hunt on Dardanelle largely depends on water and weather conditions. Spadra is excellent for mallards and gadwalls that congregate in the side waters. Secluded coves off the main lake and isolated potholes attract a lot of mallards. They serve as refuges for ducks which concentrate on them after the morning feed.
The potholes require walking through thick cover. Hunting the potholes requires sharp eyes and ears. Easing slowly through the brush, you’ll hear mallards and gadwalls babbling softly. You might see a flash as a duck rises and stretches its wings. More often you’ll see ripples from ducks swimming. It’s a snap-shooting affair, and it works best with two people to cover both ends. There’s a lot of quicksand, so do not step into any off-river marsh water. You need a dog to retrieve your ducks.
The Cabin Creek area offers access to the largest and most diverse amount of habitat. If you launch before other hunters arrive, you can hunt mallards and wood ducks in Cabin Creek itself. Or you can find a spot within the vast system of marshes, backwaters and flats that line the river and its side channels.
Hunting is a mixture of pain and pleasure. Reaching the best, most secluded areas often requires pulling and pushing a boat by hand through inches of water across a flat of 100 yards or more. If you find an unoccupied hole, a dozen decoys is generally all you need to catch the eyes of ducks looking for a safe place to land.
Hunting along the sidewaters is similar, but since the terrain is fairly open, you must pull your boat far into the cattails and cover it with a generous amount of camo burlap.
Reaching the best, most secluded areas often requires pulling and pushing a boat by hand through inches of water across a flat of 100 yards or more. If you find an unoccupied hole, a dozen decoys is generally all you need to catch the eyes of ducks looking for a safe place to land.
Hunting along the sidewaters is similar, but since the terrain is fairly open, you must pull your boat far into the cattails and cover it with burlap.
A marsh seat jammed into the mud will ease the strain of standing for long periods. Some areas are shallow enough for you to sit on a milk crate.
Pay attention to water color. The banks, especially in the sidewaters, often drop sharply at the edge of the cattails. If you step off into emerald colored water, you’ll “float your hat.”