Broadening your choice of hunting locations is what L.P. Brezny suggests, after taking a waterfowl trip to the Mississippi Delta himself.

Adam and I packed the long box pickup with his dog, a dog crate, commercial five-gun cases, and all the extras required on an extended duck hunt. For the most part, if it was something made for duck hunting, we had it packed into that truck.

Rolling south, the first state of interest we came through was Mississippi. The hunt was in effect working backward from south to north, so we began driving straight down I-55.

Along the way, we stopped near the town of Greenwood, Mississippi, and entered the Malmaison WMA refuge. This refuge, which sits almost on top of I-55, was a classic example of the typical state of Mississippi’s waterfowl habitat.

In general, the state of Mississippi is a poster child for public hunting, and receives non-resident hunters with wide-open arms. It was interesting to note that the landings and dirt service roads were in good shape and that there was no evidence of the masses cutting up the place, as is so common on some public waterfowl landings, I am sorry to say. After working Adam’s dog a bit, it was time to roll south once again as daylight was burning up fast.

One thing I could not understand was just how much water and open land was open to waterfowl hunters along that southbound route toward New Orleans. With a regional map, and some general info off the internet or a local bait shop, if a duck hunter could not get on water and under ducks someplace, the best thing he or she could do would be to take up golf.

The following day, we hit the “Big Easy” and hooked up with our contact and buddy, Kelly Haydel. Kelly had a plan that involved gunning the low Mississippi Delta region alongside an old local guide and duck hunter Ryan Lambert. Ryan owns Cajun Fishing Adventures, which was located about 40 klicks southeast of the city along the west side of the Mississippi River and the big, wide open Delta river bottoms.

Early the next morning, we found ourselves being transported by a massive 27-foot jon boat across the shipping lanes of the Mississippi Delta. I was to learn very quickly that if you’re new to the Delta, it is best to spend at least one run into the swamps with a qualified guide. Hunters cross into this massive waterfowl habitat every day, but at times thing can go very wrong for the uninformed, or those that have not planned their route well.

While public access is an easy find, and at times you’re setting sail right alongside a massive oil tanker off loading, or cargo ship moving upriver to the main ports, that is only a barebones start. Here, tides and even offshore winds can play such hell with water depths that even experienced Cajun hunters can misjudge and get hung up for hours while waiting for higher water on the hundreds of square miles of mud flats. It happened to us on the first day out.

Hunting the Delta consisted of shooting mostly divers out on the wide-open flats. Pintails were prevalent, as were cans and redhead ducks as well. I harvested a pintail.

In general terms, I would not hesitate to haul my 17-foot Grumman guide boat into this area for a duck hunt. I observed Cajun hunters going into the Delta with all types of watercraft, but be advised, the shipping lanes do require radar-equipped watercraft prior to sunrise so as to not get caught up in high wake, or the bow of a super tanker. If that means a late start on the pre-dawn ducks, so be it; better than dying in gator-infested saltwater. Based on a score of 1 to 10, I regarded the Mississippi Delta a positive experience, and in terms of freelance hunting, the end of the big river scored a solid 10.

Lake Tennessee

With birds brought to bag, it was time to turn tail and roll back north toward Tennessee. Waiting for us at a local duck camp was Ed Sutten. If there is anything to be known about hunting Lake Tennessee, Ed knows the whole deal.

Reaching Ed’s place, a well-kept duck camp deep in the Tennessee hills and within minutes of the flooded timber associated with parts of the lake, it was time to unload and stack up for the morning hunt. Ed has a large barn/shop area where he parked his three power boats, fully camouflaged and set up for waterfowl hunting.

Well before first light, we were up and rolling for the boat landing. The rig we would take on the water this morning was a large, 17-foot or so glass duck boat built for a high-power motor. Powered by a Gator mud motor, we were water-ready for a ride in the flooded timber, to be sure. I had a hunch this was going to be a mallard shoot, and I was spot on when I observed about six dozen mallard blocks in a well-maintained hole at first light.

Again, as when we hunted the Delta, I would have no trouble slipping my Grumman into the water at the landing we used, or any number of them strung along miles of the massive lake. Adam indicated that when conditions were right, even floating open rivers and jump shooting had possibilities as well.

While I will not paint a picture of some outstanding bird shooting at Lake Tennessee, being conditions all along the Mississippi flyway were less-than-stellar. Despite super-high water everyplace, and less-than-favorable bird numbers in grid counts, I can say that we shot ducks, had a safe and eventful hunt, and learned a good deal about the basic rules when bringing together a freelance waterfowl hunt across the South. Today, with the ease of the internet, getting information about a duck hunter’s ride across the country in any direction is just a keystroke away.

Want to learn about new areas to expand your hunting opportunities? You’ll find suggestions in the fall issues of MidWest Outdoors, available by subscribing on our website.