From South American Skies to the Bering Sea

If you’ve been duck hunting for awhile, you probably have a short list of places you’d love to hunt someday. It might be a list scribbled on a notepad, a collection of saved videos, or just a mental list. 

Testing your skills against new species in new environments with new rules is a thrill, and creates memories (and stories) that last for decades. To fuel that fire, we’ve created a list of ten bucket-list destinations many waterfowlers would be thrilled to experience. From the heart of the Mississippi Flyway to the high Andes of Peru, this is your waterfowl wishlist.

1. Las Flores, Argentina

The Land of Species Diversity and High-Volume Decoying

When hunters talk about Argentina, the first thing that comes to mind is volume. The image of flock after flock of ducks committing to the decoys without hesitation is what draws many south. And while the experience of a high-volume shoot is certainly a thrill, the true prize of Argentinian waterfowl hunting is the staggering diversity.

This is a place where a single morning can yield five or six different species of teal, two kinds of pintail, and three unique whistling ducks. The main event for many is the pursuit of the Rosy-Billed Pochard, a big diver. The peak season runs from June through August, making it the perfect off-season adventure for North American hunters looking to extend their season. Add in world-class hunting for doves and perdiz partridge, and you have a mixed-bag paradise that offers more than just numbers with a vibrant, new side of waterfowling you haven’t seen before.

2. Peru

The Two-Part Trophy: Coastal Cinnamon Teal & High-Altitude Torrent Ducks

For the waterfowler who is also a collector, Peru offers two of the most unique trophy hunts in the world. This is a destination of incredible contrasts, providing two completely different and memorable experiences.

First is the coastal hunt, a high-volume shoot for a distinct, darker subspecies of Cinnamon Teal. In the rich coastal estuaries, hunters can experience some of the finest teal hunting on the planet, with fast-paced action over decoys. The second, and far more demanding, adventure takes you high into the Andes Mountains, starting at about 4,900 feet and going to elevations of 14,000 feet. Here, in the clear, rushing rivers, lives the elusive Torrent Duck. This is the opposite of a volume shoot; it is a methodical, wait-and-see or spot-and-stalk style hunt where the prize is a single, unique drake. Bagging a Torrent Duck is a ‘peak’ achievement (pun intended), a true testament to a hunter's dedication and willingness to go to the ends of the earth for a once-in-a-lifetime bird.

3. Baja, Mexico

The Classic Hunt for Pacific Brant and Fresh Seafood

Baja offers a classic waterfowling experience that combines beautiful weather, coastal scenery, and a limit of 10 Pacific Brant per day. This is a hunt that typically takes place from simple ground blinds set up beyond the tide line.

What elevates the Baja experience beyond the hunt itself is the culture and the food. After a morning of watching and shooting brant over the water, afternoons can be spent fishing, quail hunting, and enjoying the freshest seafood you can get. If you like eating crab claws, oysters, and the day’s harvest of brant, you’ll be a happy camper. There should also be opportunities to take some pintails and scoters. A trip to Baja is a great blend of a productive hunt and a relaxing coastal getaway.

4. Laguna Madre, Texas

Where the Continental Population of Redheads Winters

You don’t have to cross a border to find a truly world-class, bucket-list hunt. Stretching along the south Texas coast, the Laguna Madre is a shallow, sprawling estuary that serves as the winter home for up to an incredible 90 percent of the entire continental redhead population. The birds are drawn here by the immense beds of shoalgrass, their preferred food source.

For hunters, this creates a spectacle unlike any other. Scouting to find the flight lines between roosting and feeding areas is key, but when you’re in the right spot, the action can be breathtaking. The go-to tactic here is using large decoy spreads with plenty of color and contrast to grab the attention of passing flocks. For any hunter who loves redheads, seeing the massive flocks of redheads on the Laguna Madre is an incredible experience.

5. California

The Quest for a Late-Season Pintail

There are few sights in waterfowling as graceful as fully-plumed bull pintails, with their long, elegant tail feathers, dropping into a decoy spread. Bull sprigs are a great trophy duck, and the Golden State is a good place to get one. California’s Central Valley and the wildlife areas near the Salton Sea are the primary wintering grounds for these magnificent birds.

This is a hunt that may require some patience and finesse. By the late season in December and January, these pintails have seen it all and are wary. Success may require a change in tactics. If you want to trick these wary birds, go for the ultimate in realism. Many expert hunters will use smaller, ultra-realistic decoy setups, even placing them in pairs to mimic the natural pairing behavior of late-season birds. In the same way you may not want to go overboard on decoys if it compromises realism, you also may want to avoid loud calling. Instead of an aggressive pintail whistle, try using the soft feeding chatter and quiet quacks of a hen mallard to soothe the nerves of these anxious birds.

6. Arkansas

Iconic Green Timber Mallards and Prairie Specklebellies

For decades, Arkansas has been a bucket-list destination for thrilling hunts. The first is the legendary pursuit of mallards in flooded green timber. There is nothing in waterfowling that compares to standing in flooded timber, watching greenheads flutter down through the canopy like falling leaves. It’s widely considered the pinnacle of mallard hunting in North America.

But the Natural State offers another world-class opportunity on its Grand Prairie: hunting for white-fronted geese, or specks. These birds follow highly predictable migration patterns, which helps for a reliable hunting experience. For hunters who love the interactive thrill of working birds with a call, you’ll have a great time being in a blind with several partners, creating a chorus of yodels and feeding chuckles to bring a flock of specks into range.

7. The Upper Mississippi River

Decoying Massive Rafts of Canvasbacks

Thanks to incredible conservation efforts that have restored vital aquatic vegetation like wild celery, the upper pools of the Mississippi River across Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa have returned to their former glory as a world-class destination for diving ducks. In the fall, this area can hold staging rafts of canvasbacks numbering in the hundreds of thousands.

For a hunter, the sight of a massive flock of canvasbacks lifting off the water, with their bright white bodies catching the morning light, is a beautiful and memorable experience. These birds decoy well, but the sheer number of targets can be overwhelming. Pick out a single, mature drake as the flock approaches to ensure you hit the one bird you are aiming at, no more, and no less. Limits are low on canvasbacks, and you won’t want to shoot into a flock and accidentally take down more than your limit.

8. The Great Salt Lake, Utah

The Cinnamon Teal

The landscape surrounding Utah’s Great Salt Lake is a unique and vital habitat that attracts millions of migrating waterfowl each year. For the bucket-list hunter, it offers one of the best opportunities in the world to bag a prime specimen of the brilliantly colored Cinnamon Teal.

While these birds pass through early in the fall, a unique opportunity arises for patient hunters in mid-to-late January. Cinnamon Teal often return to the area’s wetlands before their spring migration, and the drakes are in their most vibrant breeding plumage. 

9. The Aleutian Islands, Alaska

A Rugged Expedition for Sea Ducks

This is where waterfowling crosses over into a true adventure. The remote, windswept Aleutian Islands of Alaska offer a rugged expedition for a roster of sea ducks that most hunters only see in books. This is a hunt for Harlequins, Pacific Common Eiders, Eurasian Wigeon, and beautiful Pacific Brant.

The weather here is unpredictable and the landscape is wild, making it even more important to have a guide to keep you safe and on track. This hunt is as much about experiencing one of the last truly wild frontiers as it is about the birds themselves. For the hunter looking for a genuine adventure and a mixed bag of some of the world's most beautiful waterfowl, the Aleutians are waiting.

10. St. Paul Island, Alaska

Hunting the King Eider

For the waterfowler who has done it all and collected nearly every species, there may still be one final prize that stands apart from the rest: the King Eider. The pursuit of this incredible sea duck takes hunters to one of the most remote and unforgiving places on earth: St. Paul Island, a volcanic rock in the middle of the Bering Sea.

This is the definition of an extreme hunt, often taking place in sub-zero temperatures with massive ocean swells pounding the rocky coastline. The season is short, the conditions are brutal, and the limit is low at four birds per year. This hunt certainly isn't about volume, so come prepared to focus on and enjoy the wild experience. Bagging a King Eider Duck is a testament to a hunter’s passion and dedication, and you’ll come home with a bird that very, very few people will ever even see in the wild.

Time to Stop Dreaming and Start Planning?

From the warm coasts of Mexico to the icy shores of the Bering Sea, these destinations represent the very best of waterfowling. They are more than just places on a map; they are experiences that test your skills, expand your horizons, and create the stories you’ll tell for a lifetime. While they may be "bucket-list" trips, with dedicated planning, they are all within reach.

When you invest in a hunt of a lifetime, every piece of gear matters—especially the equipment that protects your most valuable partner. An international flight or a rugged trip into the backcountry demands a kennel that is durable, dependable, and designed for the safety of your dog.

Our Lucky Kennels are built to give you peace of mind on your adventure. With a 5-star crash-test rating, a one-piece rotomolded design, and smart features like reversible locking doors and strategic ventilation, it’s the travel solution trusted by serious hunters. 

Get your Lucky Duck kennel today!