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End of the Season: 2021-2022 Waterfowl Recap

Grady Gunn

Just like that, what we had waited the entire last year for has come to a close this season. Waterfowl hunting has had another tough year across the Mississippi flyway, with many hunters blaming a very mild December with low precipitation creating sheet water in agricultural fields in Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Here in Mississippi, we had an average to above average year for dry ground hunting specklebellies. We logged 27 days in the field and successfully harvested 200 Greater White-Front Geese (GWFG). This number is lower than our take in previous years, but we also had fewer hunters in the blind on many of these days than we normally do. GWFG numbers in our area stayed consistent throughout the season, but started dwindling after mid January. Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks conducted aerial surveys in November, December, early and late January. It shows an interesting trend throughout the season as seen below:

For reference, where we hunt is located near the town of Sunflower. Our area held a noticeable population throughout the season, peaking in mid to late December and numbers declining from there until the end of the season.

What interests me is the trend toward the northeast part of the delta towards Quitman and Tallahatchie, which seems to be a common trend on aerial surveys over the past few years. As long as we hold a consistent population around our area throughout the season, the magic can happen. We did get to end our season on a high note, which was a couple of duck hunts! The slough came through nicely for us on both occasions. Outdoor writer David Rainer and my father, Jay Gunn, accompanied me on the first hunt, and on the second hunt it was only Jay and I. We limited out on both Gadwalls and teal both days, with Jay being able to shoot our 200th specklebelly when a group came low over the slough headed to a field to feed.

I know many others didn’t have the season they had hoped for, but I hope to see some change in regulations and seasons in the next few years to help restore waterfowl to a better state. Looking forward to next season, but I’m eager to get out there to turkey hunt and fish this spring!

All Geese are Created Equal, but Not All Taste the Same!

Grady Gunn

“I think we might get to hunt specklebellies in the snow this weekend!”

This was something you never get to hear about being a possibility in the Mississippi Delta. With the wet and mild winters, the only thing we ever got to hunt our beloved specklebellies in, also known as Greater White-Front Geese, was the mud. We were finally afforded this occasion when we went up to the delta on MLK weekend. It was a spitting snow Saturday morning, with a wind chill somewhere in the mid twenties.

Annie doing her thing, before the snow disappeared mid-day

It had always been a dream of ours to hunt in the snow, but it was not all we had imagined. The geese were flying extremely patterned and we could not get them to decoy. Every goose within a mile of us went straight to a congregation, about a half mile north of us and the sheer magnetism of the geese calling from those prevented us from calling in any others. We tried to move set up mid morning on a prayer, but it just didn’t work out Saturday morning. We ended up killing a few in the snow, but it was not the picture perfect hunt we had imagined. However, over the next few days, the weather cleared up and we had some awesome hunts Sunday afternoon into Monday.

Vicky taking down her first specklebelly solo

Vicky downed her first specklebelly all by herself, a feat she had accomplished before, but had never taken the credit of until now. MK took control of the camera, snapping some of the great photos for us, all throughout the weekend. Jay and I called in the geese per usual and enjoyed every moment. We are hopeful to be headed out soon for another trip to the delta, which the end of the season creeping up faster than we’d like. The season comes to a close a little over a week from today and we are eager to finish it out as strongly as possible. With high hopes for 2022, bring on the next season of the year.

All pictures included in this article were taken by the extremely talented Mary Kate Gunn Photography !

Mississippi Quick Hunt 1/6

Grady traveled to Mississippi with Jay and Issac for a quick evening and morning hunt on 1/6 and 1/7 to bust some limits and bring home some nice specklebellies. It was a cold hunt, but proved to be rewarding, especially on the morning of the 7th before their return back to Alabama. Always a good time when you get to catch up with family, and take home some good meat as well!