The Situation in Eastern Arkansas for 2025–26

1. Mallards still king, but numbers are soft
Even though the continental mallard count held steady (~6.6 million), it’s still below the long-term average. Eastern Arkansas depends heavily on mallards staging in the Delta and moving through the river bottoms. With fewer young birds in the pipeline (thanks to lower prairie pond counts), you can expect fewer dumb juveniles in the flocks. That means birds may be a bit more educated come November.

2. Habitat is the swing factor
The White and Arkansas rivers always hold ducks… if there’s water. When they spill into adjacent timber and sloughs, hunting can be phenomenal. If fall rains deliver, you’ll have classic flooded timber shoots. If it’s dry, ducks will bypass the woods and stick to managed fields and big reservoirs.

3. Public WMAs are critical
Bayou Meto, White River NWR, and Cache River NWR are still prime. They’ll draw in birds from across the Delta as long as there’s sheet water and food. But pressure will be intense, so scouting and weekday hunts (if you can swing them) will help.

4. Pintails & teal:
With pintail limits bumped up to 3 per day, you might see a little more opportunity in rice and open water fields. Blue-winged teal won’t play a huge role in late November — most will be further south by opener.

If a cold front pushes ducks out of Missouri and the northern Midwest the week prior, you’ll see strong flights along the White and Arkansas. If it’s mild, birds will more than likely hang north and trickle in slowly. If rivers haven’t topped out yet, ducks will pile into whatever shallow water they can find. Expect mixed bags. Mallards are the bread and butter, but gadwall, pintail, and green-wing teal will pad straps in rice country.

Tips for Eastern Arkansas Hunters Scout from the levees & by boat in the weeks before opening morning — watch where birds are dropping in at dawn/dusk. Be mobile. Don’t marry one hole in the timber — shift to rice or reservoir edges if the rivers are low. Play the weather. A big cold front out of Missouri/Illinois in mid-November can light up the opener. If you see it coming, adjust plans to hit flooded timber or rice fields that weekend. Diversify your spreads. Mallards are key, but a few pintail or gadwall decoys in open pockets can help seal the deal. Beat the pressure. On Bayou Meto and White River NWR, weekday hunts or pushing deeper away from main access points can make the difference between empty skies and steady flights.