John K. Flores: Teal season shorter, numbers down

The month of September is special. After the hot months of June, July and August, this is the month we usually get our first reprieves from the stifling heat. It’s also the time of year when everything seems to be swimming, flying and moving.
The weather fronts out of the north are beginning to sneak through where morning walks are cooler at sunrise and hunting dogs seem to be a bit friskier. And there’s nothing like a blast and cast, where you shoot a few teal when the first blinks of sunlight rise in the eastern horizon, then following it up with a bit of saltwater fishing along the coast.
Unfortunately, there will be fewer days to enjoy Louisiana’s September teal season. Starting Saturday morning, hunters will have nine days instead of the 16 days they’ve grown accustomed to, to hunt teal this year.
In the spring of 2022, the blue-winged teal breeding population was estimated at 6.485 million birds. Those numbers declined to 5.253 million in 2023 and 4.599 million in 2024.
Blue-winged teal population management strategies set by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service allow for a 16-day season when estimates are above 4.7 million. When estimates fall where they’re between 3.3 and 4.7 million blue-winged teal, hunting days are reduced to nine. And when population numbers decline where they are below 3.3 million, the season is closed during September.
It’s important to note that the USF&WS released its 2025 Breeding Population and Habitat Survey Report two weeks ago that saw blue-winged teal numbers decline again by 4% to 4.432 million. This number is -13% below the long-term average the USF&WS established. Therefore, hunters should expect to see another nine-day season in 2026.
So, despite an overall decline in population estimates, what can hunters expect opening day? A call to Dillon Delaney, a waterfowl outfitter near Klondike, Louisiana, this week seemed positive.
Delaney, 35, and someone who is beginning his 18th year as a guide and waterfowl outfitter, said, “I think it’s going to be a pretty good season. We’ve been holding lots of birds for the past two to three weeks, and we’re seeing some birds move around. I still think we’re going to get another good push of birds before the season is over.”
Damon Hebert is a waterfowl hunter who resides in Holmwood, Louisiana, north of I-10 near Jennings. Hebert has a hunting lease west of Gueydan, where most years he does well hunting teal in September.
Hebert said, “The habitat is good in the few flooded crawfish ponds that are still holding water for teal season. Some farmers are putting water on their rice fields for this coming year’s crawfish ponds, but overall conditions are dry over the area.”
“Pressure on birds will play a big part in keeping them around,” Hebert continued, “but there are really good numbers of birds. Hopefully Mother Nature plays fair. No cool fronts and some precipitation would help.”
Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge biologist, Paul Link, said, “One of my rice farming buddies around Thornwell and I were texting earlier in the week. We both saw more birds around two to three weeks ago than now. He in the rice and me in the marsh.”
In the southeast Capt. Bill Lake, owner operator of Bayou Guide Service, has hunted ducks on his lease south of Gibson and south of the Intracoastal Canal for years. Last year, Hurricane Francine inundated his lease with saltwater and destroyed the subaquatic vegetation that ducks love.
Lake said, “On my lease, I’ve got nothing to attract ducks, not even a strand of grass, but as far as teal, they’re here. While fishing redfish the past few weeks, we’ve seen 40 to 50 teal in big bunches flying along the coast. We’ve seen them around Lost Lake, Bayou Decade and Jug Lake.”
Things to keep in mind; hunters are required to have a basic hunting license, state waterfowl license, federal duck stamp, and HIP Certification to legally hunt ducks. The 2025 teal season runs September 20-28, and hunters may harvest blue-winged, green-winged, and cinnamon teal only. The bag limit is 6 daily with 18 in possession.
Another thing to consider is mosquitos. When weather conditions are warm and humid in the marsh, mosquitos can wreak havoc. Be sure to pack repellent and consider wearing long sleeve shirts and pants when hunting for added protection.
There is plenty of public opportunity to hunt teal on state WMAs. Those interested in hunting teal should go to the LDWF website for specifics.
Where watercraft are required to reach public lands and private leases, be sure to wear your personal floatation devices while you’re underway. Additionally, the operator of a motorboat less than 26 feet with a hand tiller outboard motor over 10 horsepower, designed to have or with an engine cut-off switch, must attach the engine cutoff switch to himself, his clothing, or his PFD (if it’s worn while the motor is running, and the vessel is underway).
The biggest thing to remember on the eve of the 2025 September teal season, is have fun and come home safe.
John K. Flores is the Morgan City Review’s outdoor writer. He can be contacted at gowiththeflo@cox.net.