SOUTH DAKOTA
South Dakota typically is second to North Dakota in duck production in the continental United States each year, and sometimes pushes past into the top slot.

Much viable duck habitat remains in the state, mostly in East River, where the natural lakes, potholes and sloughs dot the countryside. But the western part of South Dakota has a small amount of duck hunting, often of high quality and quite secluded, at the stock dams on the prairie, and even along the edges of some lakes. In a change of pace from recent years, East River's potholes and sloughs were drenched with water last spring.

Early in the season in October, the top quarry ducks are blue-winged teal and mallards, said Spencer Vaa, waterfowl biologist with the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks in Brookings. "In the fall time there are usually good numbers of both of them," said Vaa. "Then there are always gadwalls, widgeon, shovelers, green-winged teal; then we get the diver ducks a little later. It is similar to what it has been the last few years. It looks pretty good."

According to Vaa, a band from Huron to Aberdeen has looked especially promising in terms of duck habitat this year. Some of the waterfowl coming through the state from Alberta and Saskatchewan to the north in Canada will stop in the sloughs and potholes, providing some worthwhile action.

Tactics that are among the most traditional for duck hunting -- involving the use of decoys in shallow wetlands -- are quite common in northeastern South Dakota. "Some of the best hunting is later in the season in the fields," said Vaa. "They come in to both duck and goose decoys. Guys who are into mallard shooting like the late-season shooting in the fields. There is a lot of decoy hunting, and some people of course jump-shoot. But most put out decoys."

Giant Canada geese are scattered all over South Dakota. Hunters in the areas inhabited by the resident birds, which live full-time in the state and raise their young there, get some nice shooting in with the local geese, but most of action is with migratory birds from Canada that rest in gigantic flotillas on the Missouri River, mostly right near Lake Oahe. The geese typically fly out to feed in grain fields, where they're hunted; they then fly back to the water to rest and spend the night. As they fly to and from the feeding areas, a lot of pass-shooters draw beads on them.

"We have good public hunting on Oahe," said Vaa. "There are 30,000 acres we lease for the public to hunt on -- the Lower Oahe Waterfowl Hunting Area east of Oahe north of Pierre. It is land the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks leases for public hunting.

"It is probably the best public Canada goose hunting in the United States, so that is one thing that hunters who go to the Pierre area use quite a bit; it gets used a lot, and hunters have very good hunting there late in the year. It is a good late-season hunting opportunity for a lot of people."

The amount of opportunity is still among the highest in the nation. And waterfowling is one of the main sports, being something still very traditional in smaller communities during the fall duck and goose flights.

"There is all kinds of good Canada goose hunting all over eastern South Dakota," said Vaa. "And even southwestern South Dakota has good Canada goose hunting. There is a lot of opportunity for people who want to hunt waterfowl in South Dakota -- state game production areas, federal waterfowl hunting areas, and state walk-in areas. And it is still true in South Dakota that if you ask a farmer, and you look like a decent person, you will probably get access."

NEBRASKA
The main waterways of the Cornhusker State act as magnets for ducks during the fall flight, so hunters concentrate much of their efforts along those corridors. As is the case in other states in which most hunting focuses on birds flying in from the north, weather conditions are the pivotal factor on any given day.

One traditional annual hotspot is south-central Nebraska's Rainwater Basin. "They are basins," said Lance Hastings, wildlife biologist with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission at North Platte. "When we have high rainfall, they have water in them, so they are basically shallow wetlands. It all depends on how much rain we have, but they are anywhere from a few inches to 3 to 4 feet."

By early October, the waterfowling in the basin, which attracts both ducks and geese, is often going great guns. The main species are pintails, gadwalls, American widgeon, northern shovelers, and green-winged and blue-winged teal; divers such as redheads and scaup will also be on the scene. Later in the season, mallards and Canadas are the main quarry.

As hunters venture west, much of the waterfowl hunting takes place along the Platte River. This is on private property, so permission to hunt is required.

"Actually, most of the Platte River through the entire state will be good," said Hastings. "You have some of the same species of duck hunting early, and then the same thing in the latter portion of the year -- mostly mallards and Canada geese."