By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
The right amount of people for opening day is how Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Manager Jason Wagner described the setting for opening day of teal season on Sept. 9. Wagner said 64 hunters checked into the Bottoms on the GoOutdoorsKS mobile app, though given some issues with the app, the number was likely closer to 100 hunters on opening day.
"I felt like it was one of the better teal openers we've had in a long, long time," Wagner said. "I was surprised it wasn't overly crowded like I was expecting. I was expecting a lot of people in a small space."
Wagner recalled more than 800 hunters at the Bottoms for opening day in 2020 when more of the land was covered by water. Given the limited amount of water present now, Wagner said the 100 or so hunters on opening day still had plenty of room to find ducks.
"It was just really nice," he said. "People behaved themselves. There wasn't that competition for your spot, competition to shoot your birds. It was a very pleasant opener."
With a limit of six ducks per hunter, Wagner said the opening day crowd averaged more than five ducks per hunter. Two weeks later, that average is still better than four ducks a hunter. Teal season comes to a close on Sept. 24.
"Most of the people were out of the marsh by 8 in the morning," said Wagner. "That's a good sign when it's that early in the morning and most people have already shot their limit. There's plenty of opportunity."