Arkansas Waterfowl Hunting Guidebook available online

Oct. 11, 2023

Randy Zellers

Assistant Chief of Communications

LITTLE ROCK — Printed copies of this year’s Arkansas Waterfowl Hunting Guidebook are being produced as always and should be delivered throughout the state in the next few weeks. With every hunter carrying a phone to the field, it’s always great to download your own copy and have it at the ready no matter where you go.

In addition to listing the dates of the regular duck season segments (Nov. 18-26; Dec. 9-23; and Dec. 27-Jan. 31, for those who are interested) the guidebook walks you through bag limits and seasons for all of the migratory game birds legal to hunt in The Natural State. Page 4 also highlights changes hunters should pay particular attention to as they dust off the decoys and plan another year in the marsh and Arkansas’s famous flooded timber. In addition to price increases to nonresident hunters passed in May, regulations passed last year on aftermarket boat motor exhausts and hunting access during the week on some wildlife management areas will go into effect now that the year delay to let hunters adapt to those regulations has passed.

Regulation changes to pay special interest to this season include:

• Hunting on Bell Slough, Ed Gordon Point Remove, Frog Bayou and Galla Creek WMAs and the Dyer Lake Unit of Ozark  Lake WMA is limited to Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday and the last day of regular duck season.
• One day (Feb. 3) is available for the Veteran and Active Military Waterfowl Hunt. Two Special Youth Hunt days remain scheduled (Dec. 2, 2023; Feb. 3, 2024).
• New requirements and fees have been set for nonresident hunting and guiding activities (see pages 12 -14).
• Boats on the following WMAs are required to have motors with only factory exhaust systems in place: Bell Slough, Beryl Anthony Lower Ouachita, Big Lake, Camp Robinson, Cut-Off Creek, Cypress Bayou, Dave Donaldson Black River, Dr. Lester Sitzes III Bois d’Arc, Earl Buss Bayou DeView, Ed Gordon Point Remove, Galla Creek, George H. Dunklin Jr. Bayou Meto, Harris Brake, Henry Gray Hurricane Lake, Petit Jean River, Rex Hancock Black Swamp, Seven Devils, Steve N. Wilson Raft Creek Bottoms, Sheffield Nelson Dagmar, Shirey Bay Rainey Brake and Sulphur River WMAs. The following national wildlife refuges also follow this regulation change: Cache River, Dale Bumpers White River, Felsenthal and Overflow NWRs.
• Unrestricted boating is allowed on a portion of the Cache River as it runs through or adjacent to Rex Hancock Black Swamp WMA (see Page  55).
• A 30-day Nonresident WMA Waterfowl Permit ($200) will be available for hunting on days allowed for nonresident public hunting (see Page 14).