George H. Dunklin Jr. Bayou Meto WMA

Zone: 010

Counties: Arkansas, Jefferson

2023-24 Closed Seasons

Alligator
Bear

2023-24 Crow: Sept. 1, 2023-Feb. 19, 2024. Open Thursdays through Mondays only. No limit.

2023-24 Deer

Deer Archery: Sept. 23, 2023-Feb. 29, 2024
Deer Muzzleloader (permit hunt): Oct. 21-25, 2023
Deer Modern Gun Special Youth Hunt: Nov. 4-5, 2023
Deer Modern Gun (permit hunt): Nov. 11-15, 2023

WMA Deer Bag Limit: Four deer, no more than two bucks, which may include:

Two bucks with archery,
Four does with archery,
One buck and two does with muzzleloader permit,
One buck and two does with modern gun permit,
Limit during the modern gun youth hunt is one buck (no antler restrictions), two does.

Deer Notes:

15-inch inside spread or 18-inch main beam rule.
No dogs.

2023-24 Dove

Sept. 2-Oct. 22, 2023 and Dec. 8, 2023-Jan. 15, 2024

Mourning Dove and White-Winged Dove
Daily Limit - 15, possession Limit - 45

Eurasian Collared-Dove
No daily or possession limit
Eurasian Collared Doves must remain fully feathered in the field and while being transported from the field.

Dove Notes:

The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission prepares a few fields each year for the opening weekend of dove season so the public has a place to enjoy this exciting form of wingshooting.

Dove fields on WMAs are available on a first-come, first-served basis. WMA acreage put into dove fields is relatively small because most hunters only pursue doves the first few days of the season. However, after opening weekend of dove season, many wildlife species feed in the fields, particularly those that were topsown with winter wheat.

2023-24 Quail

Nov. 1, 2023-Feb. 5, 2024. Daily limit - 6, possession limit -12.

While training bird dogs, you may use handguns or shotguns with blank ammunition. Pen-raised quail may be taken with a Shoot-To-Kill Bird Dog Field Training Permit. This permit is available from your local wildlife officer.

2023-24 Rabbit: Sept. 1, 2023-Feb. 29, 2024. Daily limit - 8, possession limit - 16.

2023-24 Squirrel: May 15, 2023-Feb. 29, 2024. Dogs allowed. Daily limit - 12, possession limit - 48.

2023-24 Waterfowl

Waterfowl Notes:

Waterfowl hunters must be off water by noon.
No boats allowed Nov. 11-17, Nov. 27-Dec. 8 and Dec. 24-26.
Exception 1 – Boats allowed from 4 a.m. until 6:30 p.m. Dec. 2.
Exception 2 – Boats allowed on the following waters:
• Mulberry Access (includes all of the Salt Bayou ditches to the confluence of Little Bayou Meto)
• Buckingham Flats Access (includes Big Bayou Meto)
• Cannon Brake Access (includes Little Bayou Meto only within the Cannon Brake Impoundment)
• Cox Cypress and Grand Cypress lakes
Closed to all access (except in designated campsites, parking areas, boat launch ramps and boat staging areas) from 2 a.m. to 4 a.m., Nov. 18-Jan. 31 and Feb. 3. Boats may only be launched in boat staging areas after 2 a.m. and must remain occupied between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m.
Spinning-wing and mechanically operated decoys not allowed. See Page 43.
No outboard motors larger than 25 horsepower, surface-drive motors larger than 37 horsepower or airboats. Motors with factory exhaust systems only during waterfowl season.
No boats allowed on the Government Cypress Walk-in Waterfowl Impoundment. For a map of the Government Cypress Walk-In Waterfowl Impoundment, visit agfc.com/bayoumeto.
No boats allowed from noon to 4 a.m. Nov. 18-26, Dec. 9-23 and Dec. 27-Jan. 31.
Exception 1 – Boats allowed from noon until 6:30 p.m., Dec. 2 and Jan. 31.
Exception 2 – Boats allowed from noon until 6:30 p.m. on the following waters:
• Mulberry Access (includes all of Salt Bayou ditches to the confluence of Little Bayou Meto).
• Buckingham Flats Access (includes Big Bayou Meto).
• Cannon Brake Access to include Little Bayou Meto only within the Cannon Brake Impoundment.
• Cox Cypress and Grand Cypress lakes.
Waterfowl hunters may not possess shotgun shells containing shot larger than No. 2 and may possess no more than 15 shells unless hunters are in camping, parking or boat-launching areas or during the Special Youth Waterfowl Hunts (Dec. 2, Feb. 3) and Special Military Hunt (Feb. 3).

2024 Turkey: Youth Hunt: April 6-7, 2024. One legal turkey.
Firearms Hunt: April 15-May 5, 2024. One legal turkey.

About the Name: The area has several unofficial names, most of which are still in use by the public. The Bayou Meto Public Shooting Area, Wabbaseka Scatters or just the Scatters are names still commonly used to refer to the WMA. The original name was Bayou Meto Game Restoration Project.

Access: Bayou Meto WMA can be reached off U.S. highways 79, 165, 152, 88 and 276. Access to most of the area is by walk-in and boat only. The Government Cypress Tract is walk-in only.

Age: Acquisition began in 1948.

Area Notes

A free annual General Use Permit (WMP) is required to hunt or trap on WMAs. Permits are available online by clicking "Buy Licenses" at agfc.com or by calling 833-345-0325 or any regional office.
Check antler restrictions for important additional information.
Wrape Plantation Waterfowl Rest Area and Halowell Reservoir are closed to access November 1 and will reopen to access Feb. 16.
For access restrictions that affect all users during waterfowl season, check the waterfowl guidebook.

Camping: There are 52 primitive camp sites scattered over the entire area. Campsite boundaries are marked with signs.

Description: Bayou Meto is one of the largest state-owned wildlife management areas in the nation, encompassing 33,832 acres in Arkansas and Jefferson counties. The topography is generally flat with little more than an 11-foot change in elevation over the entire area. The area has a north-south elongation, with the southernmost extension of the area separated from the main body by a distance of one mile. Sixteen all-weather (graveled) roads are available, totaling 17.4 miles. In addition, 25 secondary (non-graveled) roads are scattered throughout the area, but are only for AGFC employees conducting management and enforcement work. There are eight permanent streams, totaling 30.5 miles, including Five Forks, Wabbaseka Bayou, Government Cypress Slough, Bear Bayou, Dry Bayou, West Bayou, Cross Bayou, Little Bayou Meto and Big Bayou Meto. Twelve intermediate streams, totaling 23 miles in length, form an extensive drainage network which feeds the major permanent waterways. Seventeen ditches totaling 26 miles contribute to the flooding and drainage. The largest and most significant is the Salt Bayou Ditch which extends 8 miles into the WMA. Six lakes, totaling 1,080 acres, are on the area. Halowell Reservoir is the largest, being 600 acres, followed by Grand Cypress lake (280 acres), Cox Cypress (150 acres) and Wrape Lake (80 acres). About 13,000 acres of Bayou Meto are flooded each fall to attract ducks. Two waterfowl rest areas, Halowell Reservoir and the Wrape Plantation, also attract ducks in fall and winter.

Hunting Opportunities: Bayou Meto's green-timber duck hunting is some of the best in the state and constitutes the heaviest recreational use on the area. The opening days of the season can be very crowded with 1,500 to 2,000 hunters using the area each day, with the average of 350 hunters daily during the rest of the season. Duck numbers vary from one year to the next depending on the mast crop and water levels. Deer hunting is good also. During the permit gun hunt, it is not unusual for 40 to 60 bucks to be harvested. Squirrel hunting is usually excellent, but populations fluctuate depending on availability of food. Raccoon hunting is good. Dogs are allowed for squirrel, raccoon and rabbit hunting. Turkeys were stocked on the area from 1941-1968. Turkey hunting is fair to good with spring flooding often limiting hunter activity and reproductive success of the birds.

Location: Bayou Meto WMA can be reached from U.S. highways 79, 165, 152, 88 and 276. There are AGFC signs on each highway.

Management Practices: There are 20 food plots on Bayou Meto WMA. They are managed on a two-year rotation. Openings may be control burned, bush-hogged, disked and/or planted to provide supplemental wildlife foods and nesting and bugging areas for turkeys. Seasonal flooding of bottomland hardwoods offers abundant forage for waterfowl and hunting opportunities.

Ownership: Bayou Meto WMA is owned by the AGFC with four private in-holdings consisting of 380 acres. The in-holdings are posted against trespassing.

Phone: 833-363-7638

Purpose: The management goal on Bayou Meto WMA is to offer quality wintering habitat for migrating waterfowl and resident wildlife while allowing opportunity for hunters. The natural woodlands/wetlands complex of the management area provides diverse habitat. Management activities improve the quality of habitat for all wildlife species inhabiting the WMA.

Restaurants and Other Facilities: Stuttgart is the nearest town offering restaurants and facilities.

Safety: Like other bottomland areas in Arkansas, Bayou Meto has its share of mosquitoes and topography capable of disorienting hunters. The use of insect repellent, a compass or GPS and an area map is advised. Submerged stumps and fallen logs can make boating dangerous, so maintaining a safe speed is important.

Detailed Interactive Map Public Use Maps