Hunting Early Fall Wood Ducks in Florida

Having flunked the teal hunt that morning, our afternoon was spent desperately running Lake Okeechobee seeking any sign of waterfowl and to avoid simmering in the September heat. The sun proved inescapable, but relief in the duck department came at a bend in an airboat trail, as Travis Futch tilled the mud motor around a clump of floating vegetation in the path, spooking a couple dozen wood ducks to flight in this treeless landscape, far from anywhere one would expect to discover so many. Gambling they’d return eventually, Travis whipped the boat into the reeds as I unpacked my shotgun.

For food or roost, or other reasons I never deduced, these wood ducks simply refused to fully retreat from this otherwise unremarkable cove, even as we banged about the metal hull preparing for a long, steamy sit. The waves of the boat, however, hadn’t finished rolling through the cattails and the anchor barely settled in the muck before a drake dumped in from out of nowhere, nearly landing in the water before backpedaling out of range.

Fortunately, he didn’t warn his buddies of danger. Travis was still loading his gun when I splashed the next arrival. In short order, he caught up, and we had our four-bird, two-man limit in under five minutes. We kicked back and watched for the next half-hour as the rest of the woodies continuously clocked in and out of this cove amid the vastness of Lake O.

Late September serves Florida waterfowlers a tiny taste of duck hunting, with teal species and the iridescent wood duck on the menu. Early migratory teal are about as hit-or-miss as duck hunting can be. Many of them are simply visiting on short layovers for destinations further south, into the Caribbean and South America. Those that do hang out tend to disperse across summer rain-flooded private pastures and fields, in addition to the marshes. But, they remain fidgety here-today, gone-tomorrow prospects.

Wood ducks, though, reside year-round in Florida, so finding a few is a more reliable prospect than with the wandering teal. These are typically younger birds and their parents nested locally, and they prefer socializing in pairs or small groups until later in the year, my Lake O story notwithstanding.

As with teal, they can be bagged around lake marshes and depression ponds, especially with tall trees nearby, but woodies have a wider range across Florida and are less particular in habitat, often found feeding along the banks of deeper rivers and streams, in cypress ponds, in cattail islands in big lakes, and floating down trickling creeks winding through oak hammocks. Many of these features are found on Florida’s extensive public land system, which improves accessibility.

And the beauty of the September wood duck—beyond their vivid coloration—is their relative fidelity to a particular location, provided a food source hasn’t drastically changed or they’ve not suffered too much hunting pressure. It’s a safe bet that if you find a few the weekend before season starts, they’ll be present when it’s go-time.

Still, it’s important to be on the mark—or as close to as possible—with these birds because they are stubborn about feeding and roosting sites, so enticing them to you is a challenge.

For example, while wood ducks are vocal birds with an extensive range of sounds, I don’t find them particularly gullible to calling, unlike mallards and other dabblers. Other hunters swear by factory calls and singing the right tune, but I’ll place my stock in proper scouting.

And unlike teal, which will go all-in on a spread, they’re wishy-washy on decoying this time of year.  If you must use them, stick with just a handful of fakes. I’ve also experienced poor results with spinning wing decoys. I’ve simply watched too many woodies flare at motion dekes to faithfully advise upon using them.

So, unless you’re on the X, prepare for pass-shooting. In such situations, I wouldn’t describe woodies as speedy or acrobatic as their early season buddies the teal, but that doesn’t mean they provide gimme shots, either. Personally, I prefer a full choke and a load of No. 4s for longer shots and to water-swat any cripples. They will absolutely vanish in aquatic vegetation if given a chance. The full choke does reduce the margin of error over a modified, but I’ve found this is worth the sacrifice.




Now, if you’re in a cypress pond or other short-range hunting scenario, you’ll certainly want to open your spread to a modified or even an improved choke with No. 6 shot. They'll bomb in fast, twisting and turning with the best of sporting fowl. This is dark, frantic action as they’ll arrive at first shooting light, if not before. These adventures don’t last long but are exciting while they do.

Speaking of not lasting long, 2024’s Florida’s Special Early Duck season is open for wood ducks for a mere five days from September 21-25. During this time, the daily bag limit is two birds per hunter. Remember that all shotguns must be plugged to accept no more than three rounds, and non-toxic shot is required. Finally, hunters must have a $5 Florida waterfowl permit and $28.50 Federal duck stamp in addition to hunting license and migratory bird permit when hunting waterfowl.

Click here for more information on Florida waterfowling

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