Early Teal Season

Before working at Duck Commander, I rarely teal hunted during the early season because water was hard to come by and if you did, you could bet there would be guns all around it. Now it is one of the things I look forward to most about duck season. Blue wings make for some of the best footage of the year. They are one of the only fowl that us Louisianians get first crack at. They typically work well and will spin the decoys several times before fully committing which gives you a chance to get some stellar footage.

I think one myth about teal is that you need an open choke and small shot to do well. My go to for teal season is either 20 ga or 28 ga Benelli SBE3 with Hevi-XII 6’s or Hevi Metal Xtreme in the 3/6 blend. I pair them with a Kicks Hi Flyer full choke. Now I know that seems wild but if it works in November it will work in September. There is no reason to change your approach just because it is a different time of year. Blue wings are no faster than any other fowl if you shoot them correctly.

My advice on blue wings is to always let them spin one more time. Do not shoot swoops. They will work the paint off the decoys if you give them the opportunity. The biggest issue I see during teal season is folks getting impatient. Also remember do not set your decoys as you typically would. Blue wings love to land in the decoys so keep that in mind. You can pretty much set them up in the middle of your hole. The one thing I do move is my spinners and motion decoys. I always put them upwind so the ducks fly over them as little as possible. Also, go as often as you can. Blue wings can show up overnight. They migrate mostly on photoperiod alone so when the days get shorter, they’re coming. Fronts help but they’re not the only driving factor. They also migrate in stages. Adult males go first. Then the family groups of hens and hatchlings go next. Keep that in mind as you’re retrieving your birds and take time to look at what you’re getting. It will let you know where you are in the migration process.