It took seven years, but one of us was finally drawn for the Dan Denton Waterfowl Quota Hunt. We were very excited about the hunt and immediately started researching. Unfortunately, no one was really willing to help out with this information. We did get some private messages on a forum, but got more messages to remove our post. This forum seemed to be filled with angry hunters that don’t realize to help out others. The waterfowl biologist was extremely helpful and gave us good information regarding the area, camp sites, and specifics to the pond. Since in Georgia, duck hunters in particular are far from helpful, we will post everything that you need to know about hunting Dan Denton.
There are only two ways to hunt Dan Denton – Quota or Public hunt on Sundays on Pond #3. The public hunt is very crowded and after shooting on Saturdays, a local official said Sundays tend to be slow. He has been recommending ending the public Sunday hunt. We agree with ending the Sunday hunts and going strictly to quota. You apply for quota hunts the same as you do the deer, turkey and other hunts on http://www.georgiawildlife.com. The waterfowl hunts take several years of rejections to be chosen. Once you are finally chosen, you can take up to two hunters with you for a party of three. Pond #1 and Pond #3 both have two parties drawn for it. Pond #2 no longer is open. Both ponds have more than enough room to accommodate each party.
Coming out of Eatonton, you will travel approximately 14 miles on Highway 16. The check in area is on the left hand side before reaching the Oconee River. Pond #1 is also located on this side. Pond #3 is located on the right hand side of the road. The roads are straight across from one another. Gates are closed when the hunts aren’t in progress. Camping areas are located near the Oconee WMA check station about 4 miles away.
You may scout the ponds anytime. On the day of the hunt, you will sign in with a game warden. He did not check our licenses, but warned us that you are required to have a hunting license, HIP, Georgia waterfowl permit, federal waterfowl stamp, and WMA permit. Of course, the Sportsman License covers everything but HIP and federal waterfowl stamp. Although he didn’t check our licenses specifically, he did have our information on the sign in. We would highly recommend not risking carrying incorrect licenses. Once you sign in, you are not permitted to set up or enter the pond areas until 5:00 am. The gates were open and we were able to drive around and drop off all of our gear. We then drove our trucks around so they would be out of sight.
We were drawn for Pond #3. We did not scout Pond #1, so we will avoid the particulars on this pond. Pond #3 is a good size pond with a road all the way around it. You can walk into most areas of the pond. Areas around the willow trees and near the dam are deeper. The water is very clear so you can see the depth during daylight. We used a canoe and launched near the valve on the dam. We went straight across and set up in a grassy area near the willow trees. The other group set up at the end of the pond near Pond #2. The water was very shallow and almost all of the decoys were in less than 2 feet of water. We were able to put out all of our decoys in less than 30 minutes. Per the suggestion of the biologist, we carried both diver and puddle duck decoys.
When driving in, the fog got very thick near the river and the pond was completely socked in until almost 9 am. This made for impossible hunting. The ducks weren’t able to see our decoys and we couldn’t see the ducks. We only saw a few ducks before 9 am. Visibility was cut down to just over 50 yards at times. We could hear a few ducks, but it was incredibly challenging. Finally the fog lifted. One of us got a passing shot at a diver that got up off of our pond. The other group shot once, but we couldn’t see those ducks. Finally a few ducks started coming over the pond that we could see. We killed a ringneck and a little while later, two gadwalls came in and we got both of them. We saw some geese working up and down the river, but they did not respond to our calls. Most likely over hunted local birds. A few ducks passed over high, but had ideas on another area. The weather turned warm and clear. End of shooting time at Dan Denton other than the final day is noon. We picked up and went to sign out. The last group out of each pond was asked to close the gate behind them. The game warden would come back to lock them later. Also, each group is expected to fill out a harvest log when leaving. We filled out ours and checked the other cards. On Pond #1, one goose, two mallards, and one gadwall were killed. On Pond #3, we had the only birds killed.
As far as Georgia waterfowl hunting goes, it was a beautiful location and most likely has more birds there on better duck hunting days. Five plus years of rejections can be frustrating for one hunt, but we did have fun and hope to return some day. As with all Georgia duck hunting, it will just be challenging and often disappointing. We tried to cover as much information as possible. If you need more information regarding hunting at Dan Denton or would like to see more pictures from the area, please reach out to us. The staff at DRD believes that helping other hunters is part of what we should be doing as outdoorsmen. We can be reached at dirtroaddispatch@ymail.com. We look forward to hearing from you and good luck hunting!!!
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