Hunting Clubs

Hunting Clubs

By John Criner

Times Outdoors Columnist Basically there are three kinds of hunting clubs, based on the kinds of game primarily hunted — duck clubs, deer clubs, and if very lucky, a combination of both. There are not many duck clubs in the hills and mountains, nor are many deer taken in rice fields. Fortunately for our area, we have many clubs that do both, especially behind the Mississippi River levee. The White River Refuge and many of the WMAs offer excellent opportunity for both fishing and all types of hunting with a lot of folks having camps near by. The term “camp or cabin”, brings smiles and memories to us that are fortunate to have “Our Cabin’. These camps can be very fancy or very basic, with only heat, lights, and the outhouse.

The members and wild game determine the value.

Clubs can be expensive and if there is not much game, it is sometimes better to visit a “commercial” club where a fee is charged for hunting. Usually a trip includes supper, sleeping room, the hunt the next morning, a big breakfast, and game processing. Fees can run from a couple of hundred to a thousand dollars depending on the amenities and most important, how much game is available and taken. A fancy, or silk sheet club with few birds is no bargain. A rough camp with a lot of game is worth the price. Distance is also a factor and determines how long the hunt can last. A trip to Canada requires a week while an Arkansas trip is probably two or three days.

One of the best commercial duck clubs is the Languile River Duck Club that is less than an hour drive near Marianna. Larry Higgins and his son Justin started the club in 1996 on the 3400 acres they farm.

The first hunts were non guided hunts. LRDC is now a full services duck club. The club house was originally an old WW2 barracks that was converted into a feed store. The building was then moved to its present location and built up about 20 feet to protect it from high waters.

The camp has wooden floors and walls with a tin roof. There are many mounts of deer, ducks, and assorted wild critters in the spacious kitchen and den that overlooks a fishing lake. The camp has three bed rooms and can sleep up to 16 hunters along with a spacious bath room. LRDC has a full time staff that cleans and cooks for the hunters. The main meals are the evening feast and a big time hunter’s breakfast.

This is not the place to try to loose weight!

The hunting is 80% field shooting in pits and above water blinds. There are sloughs and creeks with blinds and in some places, just standing in the trees.

Where the ducks are using determines where the hunting is. Hunting parties are usually six to 10 hunters with a guide. The groups are not mixed with strangers, you hunt with friends. Speckled belly geese are a bonus and can be hunted in the afternoon for an additional fee. The price for the total package is $475 per hunt. After duck season the Conservation Order for snow and blue geese is popular with no limits, unplugged guns, shooting from daylight till dark using electric callers.

Usually eight to 10 hunters wearing white in lay-out blinds hunt the fields where the geese are feeding. The guides scout for the birds every day. Their best hunt was 176 birds. LRDC usually only hunts snows on the weekend and the cost is $300 with the lodge. Chad Glass, a West Memphis native, has a farm near Aubrey and is associated with LRDC and much of the goose hunting is on his place.

This club has a very high success rate and reservations are required. The club has a 70+% return rate proving how good the hunting and hospitality is.

There are a few open dates for the remainder of the duck season and for goose hunting. The guides are knowledgeable and friendly and are fun to be with.

This is an old fashioned hunting club with real guides and hunters. When you enter the club house and kick your boots off, you feel COMFORTABLE and a part of the camp!

There are a few openings so call Justin Higgins at 870-897-2799 or Steve at 501-454-0251. The camp can be rented after hunting season for bachelor and wedding parties.

Gun deer season is over and the ducks have been strange. The high rivers and many flooded fields have spread the concentration of birds, which is unusual for this time of year.

Lets hope for some rough weather north of us. That will encourage the birds to come down here and stay where they belong. The Special Youth Modern Gun Hunt is this weekend, Jan.

5-6, 2019. This hunt is for hunters age six to 15. There is still some vacation time for the kids, so put your long-handles on and take that young hunter with you. The seasoned hunters will have more fun than that kid snuggled with you on the way home after the hunt.

Lakeside Taxidermy looks forward to mounting that trophy, and remember, the kids come first at Lakeside. The service is quick, reasonable, and very good.

Send me pictures and tales of your hunts. There is always room for Ask The Game Warden questions.

Let us all have a Wonderful New Year!

Papa Duck Lakeside Taxidermy 870-732-044 or 901482-3430 jhcriner@hotmail.com

John Criner