The third year of Iowa’s experimental early teal season begins September 3 and according to state waterfowl experts, several factors are in place for hunters to be successful.
“We had a good hatch of blue wing teal and had a wet summer so most of our wetlands have water. Now it’s up to the weather and the migration, but it looks promising,” said Orrin Jones, state waterfowl biologist for the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
Hunters should note the season dates have changed from previous years. The North and South zones are open from Sept. 3-11. The Missouri River zone is open from Sept. 3-18.
“This is an experimental season and with experiments you try different things. Our hunters requested a gap between teal season and the early regular season so we will try this and see how the hunters and ducks respond,” Jones said.
Teal are the only species that may be harvested during the teal season. Iowa hunters are correctly identifying teal before taking the shot and are complying with the later shooting hours – sunrise to sunset.
“Teal are a great species to introduce novice and young hunters to waterfowl hunting because they decoy easy and are pretty naïve giving hunters multiple opportunities, plus the weather is usually good. And for kids, there’s just a lot of activity in the marshes to see,” Jones said.
The daily limit of teal is six with a possession limit of 18. Nontoxic shot is required and guns must be restricted to hold no more than three shells.