TEAL DEAL

CLINT’S TEXT READ: “SHOOTING TIME WAS 6:38. I SHOT MY SIXTH TEAL AT 6:44.

Take a break from work today and go hunting.” He didn’t have to tell me twice. I grabbed eight decoys and a spinner, waders, and a gun, and bolted for the reservoir. The duck-a-minute flurry was over by the time I arrived, and the shooting had slowed, but I was knee-deep in flooded beans and duck hunting again for the first time in eight months.

September teal seasons give hunters in 25 states the chance to jump-start their seasons as teal leave their breeding grounds and head south. Bluewings hate cold weather, and the first cool nights of August start a migration through North America that ends in Nicaragua or even Brazil for some ducks.

The vast majority of the early teal flight are bluewings, although a few greenwings make the trip too. Bluewings bring some big strengths to teal season: There are a lot of them; this year’s breeding population was 6.5 million birds—27 percent above the long-term average. They’re among the tastiest of gamebirds. And as waterfowl go, teal aren’t particularly bright. That’s a winning combination in a duck. You still have to know what you’re doing, but if you put yourself in the right place at the