The first of Iowa’s two-day youth waterfowl seasons begin Saturday in the north zone, allowing the kids to experience the fun of the hunt, without the pressure of keeping up with the adults, or fighting lousy weather.
“The young hunters get to spend some time outdoors and learn from an experienced waterfowl hunter in a one on one situation, and that’s priceless,” said Orrin Jones, state waterfowl biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
According to the Iowa DNRs weekly waterfowl survey, local ducks are still around, and some migrants have shown up. The DNR produces a weekly waterfowl survey from 19 areas that provide a snapshot of what ducks are here at a given time. The report is available online at https://www.iowadnr.gov/Hunting/Migratory-Game-Birds/Waterfowl-Migration-Survey.
Youth season in the north zone is Sept. 19-20, in the south zone is Sept. 26-27 and in the Missouri River zone is Oct. 3-4. Daily and possession limits for the youth season is the same as for the regular season.
The youth waterfowl season is for residents only, age 15 or younger, who may hunt without purchasing a hunting license, or federal duck stamp, or paying the Iowa habitat or migratory game bird fee. Each youth hunter must be accompanied by an adult 18 years old or older and the adult must have a hunting license and have paid the Iowa wildlife habitat and migratory game bird fees.
Hunters planning to take a young person on this special hunt are reminded that only the youth may participate in the hunt and only ducks, geese, mergansers and coots are legal species. All other regulations in effect for the regular waterfowl seasons apply during the youth hunt.