| Duck Hunting Articles |
John N. Felsher's Duck Hunting Adventures
 | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| Articles and photos on this website are for the viewing pleasure of patrons of this site. All articles and photos on this site are protected by the copyright laws of the United States. Any unauthorized usage is strictly prohibited. If you wish to purchase an article or photo, contact John N. Felsher as listed in the contact section. |
| Articles and photos on this website are free for your viewing pleasure, but it takes money to keep this site up and running. If you would care to help keep this site up and running for the use of all outdoors patrons, you can make a cash contribution. If you care to donate, contact John N. Felsher as listed in the contact section. |
| Protected by Copyright |
| How you can help keep this site operating |
Mallard Pointe Lodge offers many
options for waterfowl hunters
options for waterfowl hunters
Hutson Lambert, Daniel Felsher, Steven Felsher and Alex Lambert
watch for ducks while hunting in a wooded slough owned by
Mallard Pointe Lodge near Brinkley, Ark.
watch for ducks while hunting in a wooded slough owned by
Mallard Pointe Lodge near Brinkley, Ark.
Alex and Hutson
Lambert show off
some ducks they
bagged while
hunting with Nick
Quinn (center) of
Mallard Pointe
Lodge near Brinkley,
Ark.
Lambert show off
some ducks they
bagged while
hunting with Nick
Quinn (center) of
Mallard Pointe
Lodge near Brinkley,
Ark.
Almost unnoticed as we focused on endless “vees” of snow geese
flying over our heads just out of range, a greenhead slipped low through
the trees and buckbrush lining the natural slough.
It did not escape the attention of my then 14-year-old son, Steven.
As the mallard backpedaled its wings to settle into the decoys, Steven
nailed it with a blast of Number 6 Hevi-Shot from his 20-gauge Remington
870 shotgun. He bagged his first greenhead.
At first light, ducks poured into this small slough belonging to Mallard
Pointe Lodge near Brinkley, Ark. Leaden gray skies signaling the approach
of a winter cold front kept birds moving in almost twilight conditions most of
the morning. After dawn, the action slacked off to a steady pace
punctuated by periodic flurries of excitement, but very few minutes passed
when we didn’t see at least one duck checking out our decoys. Always,
wave after wave of cackling snow and blue geese, occasionally interrupted
by the laughing call of a specklebelly goose, tantalized us by staying just
out of range all morning.
“In the past five years, I don’t think I’ve seen as many ducks as we
have now,” said Butch Turner, manager of Mallard Pointe Lodge in
December 2005. “We are covered up with ducks. Everything around us is
dry, but we have lots of water and can pump our own water from our wells.”
Comfortable in our roomy 32-foot by 16-foot wooden blind, more like
a shack, we hid from the elements and the ducks. Besides Steven,
Alexander Lambert and his son, Hutson, joined my other son, Daniel and I
in the blind. Nick Quinn, our guide, did a masterful job of talking to the
birds, convincing enough to decoy so we could pick our shots.
A flurry of birds blitzed our blind around 9:30 a.m. Rocketing low
over the buckbrush, the black specters zooming out of nowhere bombarded
the decoys before attempting to crash-land into our spread.
“Wood ducks!” Quinn said. “Take ’em!”
For about 20 minutes, waves of woodies poured out of the
surrounding flooded forests and headed for our hole. Usually, wood ducks
fly for about 10 minutes at first light and then hunker down in thick brush for
the rest of the day. Seldom do they respond to decoys or calling, but these
wanted to land in the decoys. Daniel bagged his first wood duck, a
handsome drake.
“This hole is a good wood duck roost,” Quinn said. “Something must
have disturbed them for them to get up and fly in mid-morning like that.”
By noon, we packed our gear and headed back to the lodge for
lunch, ending a nearly perfect hunt. We carried out 21 ducks, mostly
mallards, gadwalls, wood ducks and a few wigeons. A few ducks
embarrassed us and kept going, but that’s hunting.
“Our hunters might kill just about any duck species found in
Arkansas,” Turner said. “Mostly, we kill mallards, wood ducks and green-
winged teal, but we also kill pintails, gadwalls, a few wigeons, spoonbills and
divers. About 400 Canada geese live on the property all year long and
they attract more migrants in the winter.”
With nearly 3,000 acres of private land bordering the 7,920-acre
Dagmar Wildlife Management Area between the Cache River and Bayou
DeView, Mallard Pointe Lodge offers plenty places to bag birds. People
can hunt in reclaimed rice fields, flooded timber, lakes or sloughs.
Sportsmen may choose to stand in flooded cypress and tupelo gum
swamps or hunt from pit blinds, floating blinds or shooting shacks.
Besides waterfowl hunts, the lodge offers deer and quail hunting.
People can also spend an afternoon shooting pen-raised pheasants or
other upland birds. Some people hone their skills at the skeet range.
People might also try to spot an elusive ivory-billed woodpecker. In 2004, a
canoeist on Bayou DeView not far from Mallard Pointe Lodge videotaped
an ivorybill. Before that, nobody confirmed an ivory-billing sighting in North
America since 1944.
To accommodate duck hunters and throngs of birdwatchers flocking
to see an ivorybill, Mallard Pointe Lodge built another lodge 150 yards
away from the first facility. The new 10,000-square-foot lodge complete
with a conference center, can sleep 34 people. Between the new lodge
and the original 11,000-square-foot lodge, Mallard Pointe can
accommodate about 60 people at a time. People staying at the lodges
might enjoy pool, shuffleboard or relaxing in front of a stone fireplace while
watching a big-screen television.
In the evenings, guests might sample some of the best steaks or
barbecued ribs they can imagine. Before hunts, guests eat a full breakfast
and enjoy a delicious lunch upon returning from afield.
For more information, call (870) 589-2266 or on the Internet see
mallardpointelodge.com.
flying over our heads just out of range, a greenhead slipped low through
the trees and buckbrush lining the natural slough.
It did not escape the attention of my then 14-year-old son, Steven.
As the mallard backpedaled its wings to settle into the decoys, Steven
nailed it with a blast of Number 6 Hevi-Shot from his 20-gauge Remington
870 shotgun. He bagged his first greenhead.
At first light, ducks poured into this small slough belonging to Mallard
Pointe Lodge near Brinkley, Ark. Leaden gray skies signaling the approach
of a winter cold front kept birds moving in almost twilight conditions most of
the morning. After dawn, the action slacked off to a steady pace
punctuated by periodic flurries of excitement, but very few minutes passed
when we didn’t see at least one duck checking out our decoys. Always,
wave after wave of cackling snow and blue geese, occasionally interrupted
by the laughing call of a specklebelly goose, tantalized us by staying just
out of range all morning.
“In the past five years, I don’t think I’ve seen as many ducks as we
have now,” said Butch Turner, manager of Mallard Pointe Lodge in
December 2005. “We are covered up with ducks. Everything around us is
dry, but we have lots of water and can pump our own water from our wells.”
Comfortable in our roomy 32-foot by 16-foot wooden blind, more like
a shack, we hid from the elements and the ducks. Besides Steven,
Alexander Lambert and his son, Hutson, joined my other son, Daniel and I
in the blind. Nick Quinn, our guide, did a masterful job of talking to the
birds, convincing enough to decoy so we could pick our shots.
A flurry of birds blitzed our blind around 9:30 a.m. Rocketing low
over the buckbrush, the black specters zooming out of nowhere bombarded
the decoys before attempting to crash-land into our spread.
“Wood ducks!” Quinn said. “Take ’em!”
For about 20 minutes, waves of woodies poured out of the
surrounding flooded forests and headed for our hole. Usually, wood ducks
fly for about 10 minutes at first light and then hunker down in thick brush for
the rest of the day. Seldom do they respond to decoys or calling, but these
wanted to land in the decoys. Daniel bagged his first wood duck, a
handsome drake.
“This hole is a good wood duck roost,” Quinn said. “Something must
have disturbed them for them to get up and fly in mid-morning like that.”
By noon, we packed our gear and headed back to the lodge for
lunch, ending a nearly perfect hunt. We carried out 21 ducks, mostly
mallards, gadwalls, wood ducks and a few wigeons. A few ducks
embarrassed us and kept going, but that’s hunting.
“Our hunters might kill just about any duck species found in
Arkansas,” Turner said. “Mostly, we kill mallards, wood ducks and green-
winged teal, but we also kill pintails, gadwalls, a few wigeons, spoonbills and
divers. About 400 Canada geese live on the property all year long and
they attract more migrants in the winter.”
With nearly 3,000 acres of private land bordering the 7,920-acre
Dagmar Wildlife Management Area between the Cache River and Bayou
DeView, Mallard Pointe Lodge offers plenty places to bag birds. People
can hunt in reclaimed rice fields, flooded timber, lakes or sloughs.
Sportsmen may choose to stand in flooded cypress and tupelo gum
swamps or hunt from pit blinds, floating blinds or shooting shacks.
Besides waterfowl hunts, the lodge offers deer and quail hunting.
People can also spend an afternoon shooting pen-raised pheasants or
other upland birds. Some people hone their skills at the skeet range.
People might also try to spot an elusive ivory-billed woodpecker. In 2004, a
canoeist on Bayou DeView not far from Mallard Pointe Lodge videotaped
an ivorybill. Before that, nobody confirmed an ivory-billing sighting in North
America since 1944.
To accommodate duck hunters and throngs of birdwatchers flocking
to see an ivorybill, Mallard Pointe Lodge built another lodge 150 yards
away from the first facility. The new 10,000-square-foot lodge complete
with a conference center, can sleep 34 people. Between the new lodge
and the original 11,000-square-foot lodge, Mallard Pointe can
accommodate about 60 people at a time. People staying at the lodges
might enjoy pool, shuffleboard or relaxing in front of a stone fireplace while
watching a big-screen television.
In the evenings, guests might sample some of the best steaks or
barbecued ribs they can imagine. Before hunts, guests eat a full breakfast
and enjoy a delicious lunch upon returning from afield.
For more information, call (870) 589-2266 or on the Internet see
mallardpointelodge.com.