Most people don't think of the Florida Panhandle as having a long heritage of duck hunting. But don't be fooled! This region of the Sunshine State draws thousands upon thousands of diving ducks that spend the winter on its clear bays and lakes.

At Panama City, a layout boat may be just the ticket for getting a limit of ducks, dominated by buffleheads. Photo courtesy of Capt. Todd Jones.

From my past experience of gunning on those big uncrowded waters, I know just how plentiful the ducks can be at times.

Most of all, there's something special about those gorgeous bays filled with clean, clear water from the Gulf of Mexico. Along their edges, miles of eelgrass offer an abundance of food for wintering divers.

Whether you're targeting ring-necked ducks in fresh-water lakes from a moss-draped blind -- or hunkering down low in a layout boat on salt water, waiting for redheads and buffleheads to come winging into a massive setup of decoys -- Florida's Panhandle provides plenty of waterfowl action.

Capt. Todd Jones, of Back Bay Adventures out of Panama City, is one of the leading duck-hunting guides in the Panhandle. Capt. Jones specializes in taking diving ducks in that region's big open-water bays.

Depending on the weather conditions, where birds are rafting up or simply a client's preference, gunning may take place out of a pop-up blind, a layout boat or in a makeshift blind right off the bank.

THE WEATHER FACTOR
When hunting in the Panhandle, expect the weather to be unpredictable. One day it might be warm enough for a short sleeve shirt, and the next, the bays get churned up in whitecaps from a cold front pushing through.

"The nastier the weather, the better. And hunting in fog can be good too," Capt. Jones noted. "Some of our best hunts come before and during a cold front, at a time when birds are feeding and on the move. And new birds may come in with the cold weather too.

"In this area, afternoon hunts can be good. And on 'blue bird days,' you just have to tough it out and wait for boat traffic to scare up birds.

"But even on those days of poor hunting conditions," Capt. Jones said, "we've managed to have some excellent diver hunting."

He went on to add that when it comes to Florida's winter weather, one needs to be ready for anything.

"It can be really cold one day, and then the next, you'll be needing insect spray as mosquitoes and no-see-ums emerge from the marsh."

AVAILABLE SPECIES
No matter what your hunting style, a wide variety of species are available on these salty waters. According to Capt. Jones, the most common species taken on the big bays are buffleheads, bluebills, redheads and a few canvasbacks.

However, other species like black scoters, white-winged scoters, goldeneyes and long-tailed ducks aren't all that uncommon.

The guide also mentioned that though it's not an everyday occurrence, an opportunity to knock down a Ross's or snow goose occurs several times a season.

From personal experience hunting with the captain, I can say that a morning spent on a windswept bay with low-flying buffleheads makes for great sport. Small birds with rapid wind beats, buffleheads can often save a hunt or fill out a limit, especially after you've bagged a couple of fat drake redheads.

Hunting buffleheads -- birds we often refer to as "sea doves" -- is sort of like a marine-style dove shoot, especially since these small waterfowl fly fast and erratically.