Photo by Robert Sloan.

Louisiana's coastal region is home to some of the finest duck hunting to be found anywhere in North America. Receiving most of the Mississippi Flyway's migrants as well as getting a lot of trade over from the Central Flyway to the West, the Louisiana coastline is loaded with ducks during the fall and winter.

However, one point occasions some sharp debate -- a divide, if you will: Hunters from the east coastal zone believe their area to be the best in the state, while their counterparts to the west are quite sure that their section is the preeminent one. On top of it all, each camp is certain that the tools they use to get the job done are superior as well.

Arguments support both positions. On one hand, the eastern coast has some of the largest concentrations of mallards anywhere, and the open water near the Gulf hosts world-class diver-shooting action; on the other, hunters on the western coast take massive numbers of teal, gadwalls and pintails, and perennially find very consistent shooting.

How to choose? Well, that's your call: We'll take a look at both regions -- and then you can decide on which side is the Bayou State's duck capital.

THE WEST
"Over here in southwestern corner of the state, our hunting is great," said Capt. Buddy Oakes of the Hackberry Rod and Gun Club, "and to tell the truth, since the hurricane blew through, it seems to have gotten better. There is excellent hunting throughout the state especially on the coast, but you just can't beat this area. We may be biased, but we like to think it's tops."

According to Oakes, look for most of the action during the big duck season to occur after each successive cold front blasts new ducks into the area around Lake Calcasieu, the Sabine National Wildlife Refuge and along the Cameron Prairie. On the prairie, the best hunting doesn't happen when you might expect.

Most hunters much prefer days with lots of sunshine. I know that many people think of duck and goose hunting as best in terrible weather, but if we have a good wind and clear skies, they decoy much better around here. When you have high clouds, the hunting is tough on the prairies. If you only have limited days to choose, pick a clear one or if you want ducks in the prairie or marsh rain is good because it gets them moving. Again, high, cloudy days are tough.

"Hunting is good here when a lot of people think it's going to be slow. That surprise a lot of hunters," Oakes said.

Early on, the size of the decoy spread doesn't matter that much, but it's important to vary them, and have some pintails in the mix. "Pintails are light-colored, and they are a duck we have a lot of," said avid waterfowler Frank Moore, who hunts the open waters of Sabine Lake and the surrounding marsh. "They tend to get the attention of ducks real good and when you finish them off with gadwall, teal and a few geese in the spread you can do really good in the prairie or marsh."

Moore proposed something else that you might want to consider when hunting the marsh: adding confidence decoys. "I always put out a great blue heron decoy," he said. "Those herons are smart birds, and ducks know that if everything is cool with them, it should be safe. Also, I sometimes throw in coots for good measure. There are lots of coots at times."

The bays in the region offer some good hunting opportunities as well. A decoy spread in a marsh pond might consist of two dozen decoys (maybe three or four times that if the pond is big); in open water, the starting number is six dozen, and some hunters put out as many as 200 decoys at a time.

Waterfowlers should think about using as many magnum-sized decoys as possible. Besides mimicking nature, you have to get the ducks' attention, and big decoys can do that. When a duck's flying around over open water, which is often choppy, it may have a hard time seeing regular-sized decoys or a small spread. Think big to find success.

Some hunters, myself included, mix in a half-dozen or so snow goose decoys to help attract the ducks' attention. White shows up well on the chocolate-colored Louisiana bays, and occasionally helps draw in a few bonus geese. Many hunters set their decoys in a large cove, leave a landing area, and extend one long leg of the spread out into open water to attract cruising ducks. This is highly effective, especially if you have a couple of mechanical duck decoys with rotating wings in your spread.