I've never been on a Southern duck hunt, but I always see flooded timber. I've also seen in LA, guys will put out food plots that flood during hunting season.

My question is, why do these areas flood in the fall/winter?? Up North that's when the water levels are at their lowest (highest in spring after snow melt and rains). Is it intentional flooding? If so, why?

Topography may have a lot to do w/ the Natural water that isn't pumped. You have many lakes & smaller rivers & streams. AR, MS, & La where a big majority of the timber hunting occurs have much more farm land, less lakes & much larger rivers. All the rain from you to New Orleans runs off in the MS river & starts to back up. A lot of areas have control structures that can hold the rain water until after duck season & then release.

They ain't NOTHING like killing mallards in the timber

All the swamp is flooded year round in sc

Love the timber. Ducks love acorns as much as grain. You also have 3 chances to shoot. When they are coming in, when that ass hits the water and when they try to leave.

Same reason they flood corn fields up north

Pump from rivers, drill wells, build levees etc...

^^^ bingo

People flood their fields or property by building small levees and pumping water into the impoundment. Some flooding occurs naturally every year in the fall and winter depending on the location in a flood plain

AGFC also floods public hunting property.

Dog Walker and Owen just hit what I had mentioned in my earlier post. They aren't stealing the water but catching it for a few weeks and releasing it at the end of season. Rice farmers down here do this w/ each crop of rice. Also our natural water that is caught is usually later in the fall and winter. If you did this in your area and had a foot of water backed up it would stay frozen and not do you any good.

My responses to the topic subject: Because mallards and wood ducks love to eat the hell out of some acorns.

this is the reason you coonasses and us in Tn. do not have ducks like we had years ago. The timber has all cut and WMA has taken all good spots. An old man told me last year " would you want steak or balogna". They have steak in Mo. and Ark. All we have cypress ball, cotton salks and weeds. Just glad that I had a chance to hunt in the early 70s when we had ducks in TN. Still have the memories. That is what keeps me still going.

Around my parts they have lakes built buy the corps of engineers( like Grenada lake, Enid , and sardis) and in the winter they open the flood gates and let alot of the water out, therefore flooding low spots around the rivers and creeks in the Mississippi delta. And you better believe If we find a low spot with timber that had alot of acorns close to a river or other water source we will flood the shit out of it in the delta we also have the water aquifer that is 100 fit down, we can pretty much drill anywhere in the delta and get water at 90-110 feet therefor if you have farm land or a timber hole in the delta with a well you can get water in the hole

They flood corn fields here in Indiana and green timber. Thats for sure. Its all private property. I might be going on a timber hunt in NW Mississippi in a week or so. Looking foreward to that hunt.

There ain't no ducks in MS.

i am looking forward to seeing flooded timber as well, good to hear your on board netman any requests from canada when i come? some moose steaks?

We have ditch running through our farm that we dam up every year. Floods two timber holes and half a field with 2-3 feet of water once we catch a good rain. It's local ducks so we only shoot it a few times through the season.

I've hunted up North most of my life, with the occasional trips down South to hunt the timber and rice fields.

I think that flooded timber hunting so strange... Don't get me wrong its great fun, but wierd. Up here (ND, SD, NE) we generally hunt as far from big tress as we can get. We don't see ducks that want to be even close to trees during hunting season. When I go south and hunt in the trees, it goes against everything that makes sense to me as a duck hunter.

I understand flooding your timber if it draws the ducks (I'd do it too), but where would the ducks spend their time if the timber wasn't flooded?

Good question MNGunner.

In IL all of the good clubs flood corn, millet, timber, or just plain weed sead. Water three inches below the ears of corn makes for some good hunting!

I would kill to be shooting ducks right now. I went out on the river today where I duck hunt all fall (in MN) to spear some pike. First thing I had to do was cut a 2'x3' hole through 18" of ice.... The lows here for the weekend are -23 to -28. I really hate you southern dudes.....

Well our timber hole went from two feet deep to 7 1/2 feet in three days with more rain today. We shot ducks yesterday but getting them before the current takes then through the thicket is a challenge.