Upper Illinois River Valley Holds Immense Waterfowl Hunting Opportunities

The Illinois River Valley (IRV) is a major migratory stopover location for waterfowl in the Mississippi Flyway. During the spring and fall seasons, millions of waterbirds descend upon the complexes of backwater lakes and wetlands throughout the river valley. The upper IRV, from Peoria north to Hennepin, is home to a rich history of waterfowl hunting including world famous decoy carvers, duck call makers, and the oldest hunting clubs in North America.

While top dollar clubs may be out of the average hunter’s price range, the upper IRV offers several public hunting areas where anyone can go hunt this historic area for waterfowl and hunting history. This article will give some insight on waterfowl hunting public land areas in the upper IRV. Detailed rules, regulations, and contact info for the various sites can be found at Hunt Illinois.

Public land waterfowl hunting in the upper IRV is broken up into daily draw sites and annual allocation sites. Daily draw sites consist of assigned blinds or units accessed by foot or boat. Some daily draw sites offer permits through the Public Duck and Goose Hunting Area Permit lottery system. Annually allocated sites hold blind drawings during Late July and August for annual use of a stake or blind site. Unclaimed stakes or blinds can be claimed daily at the check station or first come first serve, depending on the area. Note regulations for waterfowl hunting vary between sites. Specific information can be found at Hunt Illinois.

Donnelley State Fish and Wildlife Area

Located just north of Hennepin in Putnam County on the east side of the “big bend” in the Illinois River, Donnelley State Fish and Wildlife Area (SFWA) offers a unique hunting opportunity where blinds, rowboats and decoys are furnished by the site. Hunters need only to show up at the daily draw—blinds allocated during a drawing at the site’s check station—with a firearm, shells, waders, appropriate licenses and $10 for the daily usage fee. Donnelley SFWA’s wetland infrastructure allows managers to manipulate water levels during the summer months and grow native stands of duck food such as millet, sedges and smartweeds. Blinds are hidden among dead trees, on buttonbush islands and in stands of moist soil vegetation.

Lake DePue State Fish and Wildlife Area

Located directly across the Illinois River from Donnelley SFWA, Lake DePue SFWA comprises the western bank of the Illinois river’s ‘big bend’ in Bureau County. Hunting takes place from annually assigned blind sites in Spring Lake and Lake DePue. Due to siltation and failing wetland infrastructure, hunters will need to use special surface drive or mud motorboats to access blind locations unless flooding conditions occur. Habitat is largely influenced by the river with small changes to river levels affecting both lakes. Moist soil plants and buttonbush dominate wetlands and can offer good sources of food for waterfowl when river levels inundate the vegetation.

3-I Unit at Lake Depue SFWA

A part of the Lake DePue SFWA wetland complex, the 3-I Unit sits just north of Lake DePue. The 3-I unit is a daily draw site with all blinds allocated through a drawing at the Lake DePue check station. Site staff construct and maintain blinds and rowboats at all hunting sites. Hunters will need to supply their own boat to cross Lake DePue to access the hunting area. The 3I unit is a perched impoundment meaning its levee height can withstand small flooding events. Like Donnelley SFWA, the 3-I unit can provide moist-soil duck food in years when flooding is minimal. The blinds are located along levees and are a short walk from the boat parking area.

Marshall State Fish and Wildlife Area

Marshall SFWA sits on the bluffs and backwater lakes of the IRV from Chillicothe north to Hennepin in Marshall County. Marshall SFWA offers waterfowl hunting at annually assigned blind sites off the river channel and in the backwaters of Bab Slough, Meadow Lake and Wightman Lake. The backwater lakes can be shallow, and a mud motor is recommended to access the blind sites. Most blinds are situated in open water with the remainder located off natural islands or on forested peninsulas of land. Aitchison Waterfowl Refuge, located on the south end of Bab Slough, routinely holds thousands of ducks during waterfowl season.

Sparland State Fish and Wildlife Area

Part of the Marshall SFWA complex, Sparland SFWA is comprised of 1,200 acres of backwater lake directly north of the town of Sparland in Marshall County. Sparland SFWA offers waterfowl hunting at annually assigned staked hunting locations.

Hunters awarded a stake during the blind drawings are allowed to choose to build a permanent blind (must pass site inspection) or hunt from a boat blind located within 10 feet of the assigned stake. Hunters will need to use special surface drive or mud motorboats to access staked locations unless flooding conditions occur. Most stakes are in open water and a short boat ride from the boat ramp at Lacon.

Duck Ranch Unit of Marshall SFWA

Another satellite of the Marshall SFWA, the Duck Ranch Unit is located directly across the river from Henry. The Duck Ranch offers walk-in/boat-in waterfowl hunting in managed impoundments adjacent to the Illinois River. Daily hunting permits for Duck Ranch are allocated through the Public Land Waterfowl Permit Drawing with additional spots available in a daily lottery at Marshall SFWA check station. Duck Ranch hunters are assigned a pond, which they can set up how they desire and according to the conditions. Hunters should bring their own blind or plan to hide among the natural vegetation on the edges of the ponds. Site managers annually draw down water levels during the summer months to promote natural vegetation in the wetlands. The walk to the ponds is ¾ of a mile on sand trails and can be strenuous to most. Hunters may boat to their assigned pond via a short boat ride from the boat ramp at Henry.

Woodford State Fish and Wildlife Area

Woodford SFWA is located directly east of Chillicothe and north of Spring Bay in Woodford County. Woodford SFWA offers waterfowl hunting at annually assigned blind sites in the backwaters of Goose Lake and the east side of the Illinois River channel. Hunting takes place from platform or floating blinds which are annually assigned. Waterfowl hunting at Woodford SFWA is open-water hunting. Blind sites are extremely shallow; use of a mud motorboat is encouraged. The large expanses of Goose Lake and upper Peoria Lake hold large rafts of divers and numerous puddle ducks.

Green Tree Unit of Woodford SFWA

A part of the Woodford SFWA Complex, the Green Tree unit is located along the eastern shore of Goose Lake north of the Woodford SFWA boat ramp. The unit is comprised of three stepped impoundments totaling 300 acres. The Green Tree Unit offers three accessible blinds allocated through a daily drawing at the Woodford SFWA check station. Site staff construct and maintain accessible blinds and rowboats at all sites. The blinds are located along levees in flooded forested wetlands. The expansive forested wetland is known for great flights of wood ducks during the early part of waterfowl season.

With many locations and different ways to hunt waterfowl, the upper IRV is a great area to explore. With numerous backwater lakes, islands and streams, the upper IRV is a major stopover location for waterfowl during spring and fall migrations. State Fish and Wildlife Areas in the upper IRV promote native waterfowl habitat and quality hunting opportunities. Through the information in this article and the rules and regulations on Hunt Illinois huntillinois.org, you should be well on your way to hunting and enjoying these important wetland complexes.

---

Sam Klimas is a district wildlife biologist with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. He joined IDNR in 2020 and gets to work on improving habitat and hunting programs in the upper Illinois River Valley. Klimas received his BS degree from the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point and MS degree at Western Illinois University. He is a wetland enthusiast and avid waterfowl hunter.