http://dnr.state.il.us/waterfowl/

A lot like last year.

Awesome thanksgiving openner again for the south:mad: Thanks quota zone boys Start booking your duck hunts now.

Awesome thanksgiving openner again for the south:mad: Thanks quota zone boys Start booking your duck hunts now.

When do you think is the optimal opening?

I would go for AT LEAST a week earlier. We are getting passed by a ton of ducks before the season starts. There is no reason in the world the central and southern zone should be alomst a month different.Some areas of Tennessee open before we do:confused: AR, MS, LA open with use or just a couple of days after. Oh well atleast we get 60 days.
Next year Thanksgiving is on the 28th that should be fun:eek:

Are you in the North part of the South zone?

Sounds like an oxymoron...

I'm everywhere:cool: I hunt in IL from Grafton to alexander county, but mostly in the northern half of the southern zone. I just wish my central zone spots where as perductive as my southern zone spots. Unfortunatly this boils down to $$ and politics, as most things do in IL, no more revenue for goose clubs. So "goose" clubs become "ducks" clubs and the later season works better for those pay by the day clubs. One of these years we will get a real winter in So.IL again and we will have about a 2 week ducks season in the south.

I disagree. Late season is best for me. I have no issues with the dates, but I have family up around Godfrey. The ducks move outta there MUCH earlier than down here even though it's only 70 miles. It really all about the freeze and when it comes and how much water locks up. They gotta draw the line someplace, you're just too close to the line.

I agree its all about open water(mother nature and we can't predict her). Its just painful to me to see how many ducks get past us before the season starts. They are alot easier to kill when they are heading south than they are when they are heading back north. Mark my words one of these days we WILL get burned and 95% of the southern zone will be frozen by X-mas. But I guess you just can't make everyone happy

i agree, i think southern zone should start earlier. i always put that on the survey they give you at the end of the season.

We made some serious investments of ice eaters and they really made a difference when we froze up on some of those December days last year. Having the only open water around makes it pretty darn attractive. We got them faily reasonable from Anchor Express and they pop up on eBay every once in a while.

... and the later season works better for those pay by the day clubs.

Has anyone ever tried one of those pay by day clubs? I am thinking of trying one of them this year just to see what it is all about. We usually hunt Carlyle for the first couple weeks but it slows down by mid December.

One nice thing about the season starting when it does is that it gives us deer hunters a chance t0 get out because of 1st shotgun season. After that I like to switch over to waterfowl.

I would go for AT LEAST a week earlier. We are getting passed by a ton of ducks before the season starts. There is no reason in the world the central and southern zone should be alomst a month different.Some areas of Tennessee open before we do:confused: AR, MS, LA open with use or just a couple of days after. Oh well atleast we get 60 days.
Next year Thanksgiving is on the 28th that should be fun:eek:

try again la opens before us,and closes after us because we have a 2 week split in the season for a little rest for the ducks

try again la opens before us,and closes after us because we have a 2 week split in the season for a little rest for the ducks

I think you are missing my point. Those southern states are openning then because there are ducks there. And those ducks have already past us up. By the time our season starts on T-giving I would say 30-40% of the migration is past us. Peak duck migration in S. IL is around the 2nd or 3rd week in Dec. Why not go 30 days on each side of that for your 60 days season.

That is about what we have here in the central zone.
We are done at Christmas.
There are usually a lot of ducks left here after Christmas, let alone down where you are at.
That makes for a LOOOONG winter. :(

What is nice about the late waterfowl season is that everything else hunt-able, is pretty much done by the last couple weeks of southern waterfowl season.

I can see both sides of the coin I also like the late season , but feel we are missing a lot of gadwall, teal, widgeons . I do know from seeing with my own eyes big flights of birds do come back when pushed south from hard weather . I will just be happy being there and deal with the show mother nature gives me. I wish it was September already.

any idea when the federal waterfowl stamps are coming out?

http://dnr.state.il.us/pubaffairs/2007/August/illinois.html

Illinois Department of Natural Resources
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 8, 2007

Illinois Waterfowl Hunting Seasons Announced

USFWS Service Regulations Committee endorses duck and goose hunting seasons

SPRINGFIELD, IL - The Illinois Department of Natural Resources’ (IDNR) proposals for a 60-day duck hunting season statewide, 85-day Canada goose seasons in the North and Central zones, and a 66-day Canada goose season in the South Zone for the 2007-08 waterfowl season, have been endorsed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Regulations Committee. Final approval from the USFWS is expected in September.

“All indications are that duck and goose numbers will be good this fall, and we believe our plans for season dates and bag limits will provide hunters with plenty of opportunity for the upcoming Illinois waterfowl seasons,” said IDNR Acting Director Sam Flood. “Illinois hunters last year harvested the third most ducks since 1981 and second most geese in state history. We are looking forward to hunters getting into the field this fall.”

Illinois Duck Season Recommendations for 2007-08

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service this year is allowing a 60-day duck season with a daily bag limit of six ducks. This marks the 11th consecutive year in which hunters in Illinois have been offered a 60-day duck season. Federal regulations will allow pintails and canvasbacks to be hunted during the regular 60-day duck seasons.

The Illinois duck season dates are as follows:

North Zone - Saturday, Oct. 20 - Tuesday, Dec. 18
Central Zone - Saturday, Oct. 27 - Tuesday, Dec. 25
South Zone - Thursday, Nov. 22 - Sunday, Jan. 20

The daily bag limit is six and may include no more than four mallards (two hens), two scaup, two wood ducks, two redheads, one black duck, one pintail, and two canvasbacks.
The proposed daily bag limit of mergansers is five, only two of which may be hooded mergansers. Possession limits are twice the daily bag limits.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) annual survey of key nesting areas indicated 41.2 million breeding ducks, 14 percent greater than last year and 24 percent above the 1955-2006 long-term average.

WOW 2 canvasbacks. Not to long ago you were not allow any.

All right 16 day teal season. I wish they could run the early goose season the same dates as teal.

WOW 2 canvasbacks. Not to long ago you were not allow any.


It has been 41 years since IL had a 2 canvasback limit season.
Was anyone here hunting duck back in 1966 ????

It has been 41 years since IL had a 2 canvasback limit season.
Was any here hunting duck back in 1966 ????

My Dad was 4 years old in 1966!

I was born in 1966 and shot my first mallard on carlyle in 1970 in the fields off maggot creek north of patoka ramp.Ahhhhhh the 70's on carlyle were the days!!!:cool:

I would prefer the season to open at least a week earlier.

Yes I agree with you. I just hope for a 6 60 season in 2008-2009.

IL, being a loooong state...needs three zones.

Aside from that, I spent about 17 years hunting pblic ground in IL...Diamond Island, Stump, Horeshoue, Glades, Calhoun Point, Red's landing, Carlyle..

Then, I got the opportunity to spend a few years hunting private ground near Carlyle and some days over on public areas in Missouri.

I have not hunted public ground but once or twice over the last 5 years in Illinois.

Fellas, our public grounds are pitifully cared for and the set up for hunting does not take in mind the hunter or the are...with the exception of shoe-horning in as many folks as possible.

Sad state of affairs.

What was the question again? :D

We made some serious investments of ice eaters and they really made a difference when we froze up on some of those December days last year. Having the only open water around makes it pretty darn attractive. We got them faily reasonable from Anchor Express and they pop up on eBay every once in a while.

has neone been seeing ne duck down around baldwin lake im suppose to be goin down there in the morning or friday morning