Duck Migration Report: Where and How To Hunt Waterfowl

Gain insight into Ambassadors’ favorite hunting setups and preferred timing to start setting up blinds and calling in birds.

Flyways 101

Each fall, millions of waterfowl migrate south to find warmer regions that offer food and protective habitat, following flyways to their destinations. North America has four waterfowl flyways: the Atlantic, Mississippi, Central, and Pacific.

Referencing the 2025 Waterfowl Population Report and the 2025 Migratory Bird Hunting Activity and Harvest Survey, the prospect is an average to above-average season ahead.

The Atlantic and Mississippi Flyways are likely to yield average harvests for most species. Bright spots would be good teal and sea-duck opportunities in the Atlantic and decent speck hunts in the Mississippi.

The Central and Pacific Flyways are shaping up to be good to very good for the coming season. Teal, gadwall, and shovelers should be good hunting where water is present, and gadwall and wigeon hunting in the Pacific should be solid in core wetland complexes.

Favorite Duck Hunting Setups

Most waterfowlers have their favorite spots to post up, whether it’s flooded timber, flooded crops, dry fields, back eddies, marshlands, or a small pond. Ambassadors share some of the lands they target every season: 

• “My favorite hunt locations setups are prairie marshes, moist soil marshes, and small shallow water sloughs,” says Freelance Duck Hunting’s Elliott Snider. 
• “I really enjoy the wild aspect of getting out into big public marshes—the more isolated, the better,” says Jordan Fromer of Duck Gun Chronicles. 
• “Flooded timber mallards have never not been my favorite,” says photographer and duck expert Wade Shoemaker. “Usually muddy, sloppy snow if I’m being honest.”

Best Duck Hunting Weather

Here, we asked about the conditions that will make these duck hunters call in sick to work. 

• “Clear skies and a SW wind right after a big cold front,” says Rolling Thunder Game Calls’ Spence Halford. 
• “In Minnesota, we get pretty jazzed up about a solid, consistent NW wind,” says Midwest Flyways’ Cal Ness. “Usually it means migrating birds could or will be on the way.”
• “When ducks have become stale during a prolonged warm period, and a massive cold front is on the way, I’ll be in the blind the first three days after the front hits,” says Snider.

The Best Times To Hunt Ducks

Now we get to the good stuff—knowing when the birds are likely to come in and it’s time to post up and get those calls callin’. 

• “In Arkansas, the first week or two of December are my favorite because the leaves are still on the trees and ducks are hunting up the call harder than when they can see everything later in the season and are ‘looking’ for the spread,” says Halford. “In Tennessee, the last week of January is always my favorite because it seems like late season ducks love to be around the Mississippi River. Usually, that’s the coldest temps, and extreme temps always make them extra vulnerable to food sources like corn.”
• “The third week of January,” says Snider. “The reverse migration is in full swing, and this is when we consistently see the largest groups of mallards. It’s the perfect time to be in the field.”
• “This is a tough one,” says Fromer. “I really enjoy all aspects of waterfowl season, from early geese and teal to the opener and even the later parts of the season. But if I had to pick just one, I’d go with the migration during Thanksgiving week.”
• “I’m not sure if I could just pick one week, but if I had to,” says Shoemaker, “it would be the second week of January. I love late season birds and the idea of getting that next push. The other factor would be having more time to let water get in the woods.”

Using the Hunt App in the Field

• “I rely on Compass Mode when determining where in the field I want to set up,” says Shawn Stahl, RNT. “Simply shoot a range to a spot with a rangefinder, point the compass in onX, and drop a pin. I can drive right to it.” 
• “I use Waypoint Radius on every hunt to make sure I know how close I am to roads, houses, or other fields,” says Cal Ness, Midwest Flyways.
• “If you’re hunting public land, Recent Imagery is incredibly helpful for identifying which holes are holding water,” says Fromer.
• “Being able to download maps is invaluable and will always be at the top of my list,” says Shoemaker. 
• “We love to use Optimal Wind to set the decoy spreads. This saves us time in moving decoys later in the hunt. We check it before we pick the spot we are going to hunt. This allows us to pick the right duck hole according to wind direction for that day,” says the Daybreak Outdoors crew.

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