BLACKWATER CARR UNIT
For hunters who want to be absolutely certain of finding birds, this 590-acre tract is located near the FWC Fisheries Research facility near Holt. It's one of the few public areas in the state where it's okay to release pen-raised quail.

Dubbed the BYOB or "bring your own birds" area, the property is open to one permit holder for each of the 16 seven-day hunts. Permit holders must pay a $100 fee and are allowed to invite three other hunters along.

The Carr Unit looks like the rest of Blackwater with mature longleaf pines and a mostly open understory.

BLACKWATER WMA
Elsewhere on Blackwater, roughly 180,000 acres are open to quail hunting each season. The best quail habitat lies south of State Route 4 in the area designated for deer still-hunting.

Hunters need to consult the WMA regulations for open dates and whether a quota hunt permit is required.

APALACHEE WMA
In terms of sheer aesthetics, you won't find a public area that looks any better for quail hunting than Apalachee WMA in Jackson County. Although the area is listed as almost 8,000 acres in size, only the 6,000 acres in Zone A offer good quail habitat.

Nate Bunting is the FWC wildlife biologist covering the area. He said they try to burn most of the area every two years.

"We burn to stimulate the growth of seed-producing plants and to get rid of rank growth on the ground. It's something we can do that really helps quail," he pointed out.

Apalachee WMA has scattered longleaf pines, red oaks, wiregrass and lots of ponds. A good interior road system makes all of the area accessible.

Bunting and fellow staff plant roughly 200 acres each year in bene, sorghum, Egyptian wheat and iron clay cowpeas. Additionally, the FWC leases about the same acreage to local farmers who grow corn, peanuts and soybeans. The only stipulation is that farmers must leave 10 percent of their crops for wildlife.

Like just about everywhere else in the southeast, Apalachee's quail population took a nosedive in the 1980s and '90s. In 1998, the FWC implemented a 12-day quail season on the area. Unlike other areas that require a quota permit, the first 10 hunters who show up at the check station are allowed in.

This fall's open hunt dates will run on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays from Dec. 18 through Jan. 6.