Teal Hunting Opportunities
How to Join a Daily Hunting Draw
Indiana offers high-quality teal hunting opportunities at various Fish & Wildlife areas (FWAs) across the state in early September to overlap with blue-winged teal migration. You can find both blue- and green-winged teal across the state, but green-winged teal generally migrate later in the season.
If you’re looking for a property to teal hunt, keep in mind that finding quality habitat is key. Many FWAs manage their wetlands to provide attractive habitat for teal. Blue- and green-winged teal prefer shallow water habitat with flooded vegetation and mudflats, so Goose Pond, Willow Slough, Hovey Lake, Tri-County, LaSalle, and Jasper-Pulaski FWAs are great locations.
Because there is a high demand to teal hunt on Indiana’s public lands, in-person daily draws are conducted at most of these properties to allocate hunting locations. Here’s what to expect if you go to an early morning draw:
Draws generally begin the morning of the hunt at 5:30 a.m. ET (or 4:30 a.m. CT, depending on what time zone the property is in), but interested hunters should show up at least 15 minutes before that. Once participants arrive at the property office, they go to the main desk and take a numbered card. The staff member explains the current conditions, the number of field units available in the day’s draw, water levels, or any other knowledge hunters may want. A computer program then generates random numbers that determine the draw order, then each group of hunters selects their spot and heads to their unit to enjoy their hunt. Call your local FWA if you have questions about the draw process.
While each FWA operates their hunting draws slightly differently, most follow similar procedures. You can find maps that show the available hunting spots for the day at the majority of properties. For the most up-to-date information, call the FWA prior to their draw. Visit on.IN.gov/waterfowl-teal for more waterfowl hunting information.
