In my neck of the woods, the world revolves around the fall. The leaves change colors, the helmet and shoulder pads come out, and the woods come alive. The marsh is no different and the preseason showdown for waterfowl is September teal hunting. As I reflect on my favorite aspects of teal hunting I can already hear the wings whistling overhead as flocks of 20 – 50 buzz the spread just before shooting time. Every sleepless night of the offseason leading up to the first, “take em yall!” of the season. If teal season doesn’t get your blood pumping I’m not sure there’s hope for you.

1. It’s the first opportunity to get back in the blind

You may be swatting mosquitoes, batting down wasp nests, and rocking jorts and a cutoff, but who cares? Every hardcore waterfowler loves the first crack at getting back in the blind. We spend the entire off season preparing, organizing gear, hunting down the best deals on shotgun shells, dog training, and just about anything else we can do to keep from going stir-crazy and that opening morning of teal season is well received homecoming. With teal season kicking off in September in most areas, the alarm clock is a welcomed song following months of desolation. Finally, we roll out of bed, fill the thermos and head for the first waterfowl hunt of the year!

2. Dust off the ole 20 gauge for some added action!

Teal season is a great chance for IN-YOUR-FACE-ACTION! Teal season is when I break out the sub-gauge guns and really work on my accuracy before the big ducks head south. This means grab the .410 and lead those blue rockets and go full send! This will pay off in December when you are cold and that group of 100 mallards dumps in on your spread! At that point, it is too late for practice and it’s time to make every shot count! So, leverage teal season as a chance to dial in. Plus, we all know how precious that meat it is [see number 3], so don’t ruin it with a 12 gauge at 10 yards!

3. Some of the tastiest meat you will eat!

There is nothing that goes together better than teal season and football! A strap full of blue wing teal is just what the doctor ordered for a solid appetizer at your next tailgate! I save the big ducks for more elaborate recipes and reserve all the teal for poppers on game-day! Take the breast meat, chunk it up, throw it on a jalapeno, add cream cheese, a pineapple chunk, wrap with bacon, drizzle honey if you’re feeling adventurous and throw it on the grill! I serve with ranch because… ranch makes everything awesome!

4. Great weather for kids

We are all aware that without a fresh interest in waterfowl hunting, this sport will not survive. Passing on the heritage of waterfowl pursuit to the next generation should be our greatest honor. In the early teal season, the temperature is not frigid, there is tons of action with these fast-flying fowl, and you can get away with a pretty easy hide with all of the foliage of fall. So, it may be your own kid’s first time out or a chance to invite the neighbor kid that keeps asking you questions about hunting when you are unloading the truck each week but be sure to pass on this sport to the next generation.

5. See your hard work with the dog

We all leverage the spring training opportunities with our four-legged hunting partners and early teal season is the scrimmage before the big game. This is a chance to get young or seasoned dogs out and have live retrieves. The beauty of teal season is that you still have time to tweak and work on things before waterfowl season kicks off. So, take this outing as a fun opportunity to see all of your hard work with your dog! Shameless plug… it gets hot so make sure you have the Lucky Kennel Fan ready to go to keep the dog cool in transit.