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John N. Felsher's Duck Hunting Adventures
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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 see mallardpointelodge.com.
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 see mallardpointelodge.com.