One of the best public duck hunting experiences in the state is a draw hunt on one of the managed waterfowl WMAs across South Carolina. Photo by Phillip Gentry.

It seemed like hours since the briefing at the Bonneau Ferry check station, where biologist Tom Harkins gave us the rundown on what to expect from this morning's adult/youth waterfowl hunt. Then there was the ride in the back of the truck to the blind site we had drawn at the briefing, the vigorous paddling of an old johnboat across the flooded pond to a floating blind. Now we were here with a good 20 minutes to get ready before legal shooting light. All the events of the morning were weighing heavy on my eyelids when the unmistakable squeal of a wood duck hen broke the silence of my pre-dawn meditation.

That sound was followed by a football-sized splash that couldn't have been more than 10 yards from the blind in which we were hidden. The three of us froze, not daring to breathe, much less peek over the side of the blind at our early arrival. Over the next 19 minutes, at least a dozen more splashdowns occurred next to the blind. Time slowed to a standstill.

With 30 seconds left on the clock, I pantomimed to my two sons -- giving my best "first sergeant leading his platoon behind enemy lines" impersonation. Laying out fields of fire using hand signals followed by the gesture to "lock and load," I counted off the last five seconds with my off hand. The three of us rose in unison to greet the day in a hail of steel and feathers.

Public-land duck hunting in South Carolina has a number of faces. The first and foremost of public-land hunting opportunities are the number of draw hunts on managed WMAs across the state. Additional opportunities are available on several "Category II" WMAs that are open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis one or two days a week. Finally, there are "open" public lands. These are public waters and surrounding public access lands where hunting is available more or less according to the statewide regulations. Each area has its own personality, set of rules, and chances for success.

Dean Harrigal is the waterfowl project supervisor for the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. Harrigal oversees the administration of the DNR's public hunts, as well as keeping up with harvest numbers and making seasonal recommendations that fall within the framework established by federal regulations.

Looking at the waterfowl hunting opportunities across the state, Harrigal can cover half the harvest with one species.

"Wood ducks are our bread and butter," Harrigal said. "Historically, woodies comprise 45 to 50 percent of the total harvested ducks in South Carolina."

Harrigal confided the possibility that federal regulations may allow an additional wood duck to be added to the daily limit within the next couple of years. This additional duck would increase the bag limit to three wood ducks per day.

"The problem is that federal biologists can't fly over wood duck nesting areas and get an accurate sampling of woodies like they do for other waterfowl that use Canadian prairies for breeding grounds."

Reviewing the total duck harvest for the 2007 season, 46 percent of the total consisted of wood ducks; the next most harvested species was mallards at 16 percent. Fourteen percent of the harvest was ringnecks and another 14 percent was the combined species of blue-winged and green-winged teal. Gadwalls made up a solid 2 percent, with a host of other species, including northern shovelers, American widgeon, black ducks, pintails, mottled ducks and mergansers weighing in with less than 1 percent of the harvest for each of the respective species.