The Truth About Hunting Ring-Necked Ducks in the Sunshine State

Ring-necked ducks—from here on referred to as “ringers”—are what you make of them. For a hopeful waterfowler of 18, I was all too happy to pop pandas (oops, another nickname) during my first duck hunt on a private pond nestled between orange groves in Polk County, and continued to enjoy doing so through my 20s during late-night, early-morning trials and hangovers on lakes Toho and Okeechobee.

As you age, you spoil, however, and for some reason splashing blackjacks (!) felt less glamorous, kinda like catching jack crevalle or ladyfish. Maybe this is because they’re too common or not marketed well enough, but when those first-light flights of teal at a Stormwater Treatment Area (STA) are retrieved and have surprisingly mutated into ringers, it’s hard to hide the disappointment.

Why this attitude change happens is silly and stubborn. Ringers are plucky diving ducks that provide wonderful sport and are critical to the local waterfowling scene. They’re fast, agile, respond relatively well to decoying, and most importantly are readily available to the general duck-hunting public, who will otherwise suffer long hours hoping for a prissy pintail or wandering wigeon to grace their spreads.

In fact, Florida ranks No. 1 in the Atlantic Flyway for ringer harvest, and the species is usually first in terms of birds bagged statewide each year, occasionally swapping the lead with blue-winged teal.

Florida’s 2024-25 Rules & Regulations

• Regular Season Dates: Nov. 23-Dec. 1 & Dec. 7 - Jan. 26.
• Youth Waterfowl Hunting Days: Nov. 16 and Feb. 8.
• Veterans and Active Military Waterfowl Days: Feb. 1-2.
• Shooting hours: One-half hour before sunrise until sunset.
• Bag Limits: 6 ducks, including no more than 4 mallards (of which only 2 can be female); 4 sea ducks (of which no more than 3 may be scoters, long-tailed ducks, or eiders and no more than 1 may be a female eider); 3 wood ducks; 2 redheads; 2 black ducks; 2 canvasbacks; 1 pintail; 1 mottled duck (Florida duck); and 1 fulvous whistling-duck. 1 scaup from Nov. 23 - Dec. 1 and Dec. 7 – Jan. 6; 2 scaup from Jan. 7-26 and during Youth and Veteran/Military waterfowl hunt days.
• Must have $5 Florida waterfowl permit and $28.50 Federal duck stamp in addition to hunting license and migratory bird permit when hunting waterfowl.
• No person may take ducks, geese or coots while possessing shot (either shellshots or as loose shot for muzzleloading) other than approved non-toxic shot.
• For more information visit myfwc.com/hunting/regulations/birds/

From a harvest report published by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service in August 2024, Florida hunters killed approximately 82,000 of the nearly 150,000 ringers estimated to have been bagged from the 17 states in the flyway in 2023. The next closest state was South Carolina with just over 20,000 birds.

But, despite their prominence in bag limits, ringers fail to rank among the desired duck species. But Florida hunters know when a season is strong or not and anxiously await cold fronts to push down new birds.

At a glance, ringers can be misidentified with lesser scaup or bluebills. Admittedly, the name "ring-necked" really misses the mark with accurate labeling. True, ringers sport a dull chestnut collar, but the defining attribute that clearly separates them from similarly colored bloobs is the white ring around their beaks, earning them yet another moniker, the ringbill.

Whatever one calls them—and the aliases vary by region—ringers are bagged across the United States, though they rarely linger too long in transit between breeding and wintering grounds. According to DU, most ringers migrate through the Central and Mississippi Flyways to winter inland of the Gulf of Mexico and the southern Atlantic coast. Once there, they occupy various habitats, such as marshes, shallow lakes, estuarine bays and coastal lagoons, which describes Florida perfectly.

To focus on hunting them here, think hydrilla, primarily in the watersheds of the St. Johns, Kissimmee Chain of Lakes and Okeechobee south to the STAs. The basic premise is to toss decoys and blind-up in and around these hydrilla mats and wait until daylight for the action. Predictably, hydrilla management (see: spraying) riles up local duck hunters when it occurs too close to season, to frame this situation kindly.

When the birds first arrive, they often do so in large flocks before dispersing into smaller groups. How long they hang around is often dependent upon the weather and hunting pressure, and, buddy, they will get some pressure on these public lakes.

Early season birds commit well to a spread of ringer decoys, coots and a spinning-wing set-up. Late-season ringers are frantic survivors that can just about identify your brand of decoys and whether your motor requires servicing. They also develop an affliction called “Green Blob-itis,” or a general fear of duck boats concealed by waxy palmetto fronds—a standard blinding practice around here—especially in winter when the surrounding aquatic vegetation and cattails have withered and browned.

As with other diver species, ringers maintain a strong fidelity to certain areas for at least a couple to three days, perhaps longer. This is not to say that a strong wind or full moon or airboats won't suddenly chase them to the next pond, but if you can scout a flock prior to the hunt, you should be sitting pretty (and sitting pretty early, if you want that spot) the next morning.

For shotguns and loads, ringers aren’t any bigger than a teal or wood duck. A 12-gauge with a modified choke and a dollop of #4s is right. Compared to other divers, ringers aren’t terribly difficult to kill but be prepared for follow-up shots as wounded birds will dive and escape under mats of vegetation.

No, the humble ringer doesn’t garner the nationwide respect it probably deserves from duck hunters. Still, they are sporty, handsome birds that play a vital role in Florida waterfowling.

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