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Arkansas · 2026-27 waterfowl

Arkansas Duck & Goose Season 2026-27

Ducks: November 21, 2026 to January 31, 2027. Every date below was read from Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC)’s own published page, linked beside it, inside the Mississippi Flyway framework.

This page covers the 2026-27 season year. Dates were read from the agency sources linked below, last checked September 2, 2026. Seasons change annually and agencies correct their own pages; confirm against the linked agency page before you hunt.
November 21, 2026 to January 31, 2027
Duck season
published
Statewide
Zones
with split segments
Mississippi
Flyway
federal framework
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC)
Source
read 2026-09-01
The main event

Duck season in Arkansas, zone by zone

Ducks, 2026-27

publishedMississippi Flyway

Duck season opens in 37 days, on November 21, 2026.

Arkansas duck seasons 2026-27, as published by Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC)
ZoneSeason segments
StatewideNovember 21, 2026 to November 29, 2026December 10, 2026 to December 23, 2026December 26, 2026 to January 31, 2027

Dates read from Waterfowl Season Dates, Rules and Regulations (Arkansas Game and Fish Commission), accessed 2026-09-01.

Ducks, coots and mergansers share the three-segment statewide season. A special veteran, active-duty military and youth waterfowl hunt falls on Feb 6 to 7, 2027.

September teal: September 19, 2026 to September 27, 2026. September teal season.

Waterfowl hunter setting goose decoys on a tidal flat with a retriever watching
Setting decoys with help. Photo: Rebecca Fabbri/USFWS. “Waterfowl hunter and dog” — Rebecca Fabbri / USFWS Alaska Region — Public domain
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Geese

Goose seasons in Arkansas

Geese, 2026-27

published
Goose seasonDates
Early Canada gooseSeptember 1, 2026 to October 15, 2026
Canada goose, regular seasonNovember 21, 2026 to November 29, 2026December 10, 2026 to December 23, 2026December 26, 2026 to January 31, 2027
White-fronted gooseOctober 31, 2026 to November 8, 2026November 21, 2026 to November 29, 2026December 10, 2026 to December 23, 2026December 26, 2026 to January 31, 2027
Snow, blue and Ross's gooseOctober 31, 2026 to November 8, 2026November 21, 2026 to November 29, 2026December 10, 2026 to December 23, 2026December 26, 2026 to January 31, 2027

Dates read from Waterfowl Season Dates, Rules and Regulations (Arkansas Game and Fish Commission), accessed 2026-09-01.

Light goose conservation order: February 1, 2027 to February 5, 2027, and February 8, 2027 to April 25, 2027. A conservation order is a federal population control measure, not a regular hunting season, and runs under its own rules. Light goose conservation order per AGFC. Details live at Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC).

Canada geese dropping into a refuge wetland with wings set
Canada geese dropping into a refuge marsh. Photo: Jennifer Jewett/USFWS. “Canada Geese” by Jennifer Jewett / USFWS Mountain-Prairie, CC BY 2.0
The structure over the state

How Arkansas’s dates get set: the Mississippi Flyway

Waterfowl seasons are the most federal of all hunting seasons. Migratory birds cross every border, so the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service publishes annual frameworks for each of the four administrative flyways, setting the earliest openers, latest closers and maximum season lengths, and each state then selects its own dates and zones inside its framework.

Arkansas selects its dates inside the Mississippi Flyway framework. The continent's busiest duck corridor, following the Mississippi River system.

Large mixed flock of ducks and geese over water at sunset
A mixed flock of ducks and geese at sunset. Photo: Steve Hillebrand/USFWS. “A mixed flock of ducks and geese fly from a wetland area” — Steve Hillebrand, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — Public domain
Rules

Arkansas waterfowl hunting regulations

Season windows are carried here with their source and read date attached. Everything else a hunter is bound by, including the federal duck stamp and HIP registration every waterfowl hunter needs, is set by Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC)and USFWS, and the regulations page is linked below.

Current Arkansas regulations

Bag limits and species restrictions, shooting hours, duck stamp and HIP requirements, license rules, and youth or veteran season details for Arkansas are set by Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC), are legally binding and change annually. Its current regulations page is linked here.

Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC): current regulations
Father and daughter in waders with a retriever in a duckweed marsh
Father and daughter on Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. Photo: Tim Miller/USFWS. “Waterfowl Hunting (Upper Mississippi River NWFR)” — Tim Miller / USFWS Midwest Region — Public domain

Duck season dates in other states

Arkansas turkey seasonThe other 2026-27 season calendar: spring and fall turkey dates by zone.Arkansas first freezeThe freeze line pushes birds south. When the first hard frost normally lands.Arkansas deer rutThe November you are already out for. When deer actually breed.

Arkansas waterfowl season questions

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Wetland at sunset with a fallen snag and mountains on the horizon
Wood River Wetland, Oregon. The habitat the flyways run on. Photo: Greg Shine/BLM. “Wood River Wetland” — Greg Shine / Bureau of Land Management Oregon and Washington — Public domain

This page covers the 2026-27 season year with data as of September 2, 2026. Every season window is republished from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) page linked beside it, read on the date shown; windows the agency had not yet published are labelled not yet published. Bag limits, legal methods, shooting hours, stamp and license rules are set by Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, whose pages are the final word on the day you hunt. See also the national waterfowl season guide.