The Eagle Flats/Eagle Lake complex is located in Hancock County. It covers 1,265 acres and can be reached a mile south of Forest City on Highway 69, and then four miles west on 320th Street. About a third of the area is marshy wetlands with grassy upland habitat making up the rest of the area.

The Hancock County Conservation Board manages the Eagle Creek State Park on the western side of the lake. Access to the lake is from the north end.

For more information, contact the Rice Lake Management Unit at (641) 324-2431 or the state park at (641) 923-2720.

OWEGO WETLANDS COMPLEX
"The Woodbury County Conservation Board and the DNR have been buying up lands and developing them into wetlands in recent years," said wildlife biologist Ed Weiner. "There are woodies early on and every other kind of duck as they move through the area during the season until the water freezes up."

Tucked alongside the Missouri River, the Owego Wetland Complex includes the Owego Wetlands area's 1,311 acres of marshy ground along with other public properties.

During the last few years, conditions have been less than ideal.

"The Missouri River can be good if we have water," Weiner said. "The river has been highly channelized in my area and a lot of the wetlands have been left high and dry due to the drought we've had over the last seven or eight years. From 1993 through 1998, we had good rains, but then it started to get tough. Over the last few years, birds have been drifting on over to the Platte River and following that river on down instead of using the Missouri River. There are always more ducks in the Riverton area, so we're working on the WRPs in the Sioux City area." According to Weiner, on a good year, the Missouri River will hold from 60,000 to 80,000 birds, but that hasn't been the case for several years.

The Owego Wetland Complex just might be a sleeper this year since hunters have been looking elsewhere. The spring rain is expected to make the duck habitat a bit more hospitable to migrants. There's a cattail marsh and good road access into the area. Most shooters will wade the area rather than bottom out with a boat. The water, when it's up, is only about 3 feet deep, and it does freeze early.

The Owego Wetland Complex is 15 miles south of Sioux City.

For additional information, contact the Woodbury County Conservation Board at (712) 258-0838 or the Missouri River Unit at (712) 423-2426.

WELCH LAKE COMPLEX
"Dickinson County is fortunate to have a lot of complexes with great waterfowl hunting," said area wildlife biologist Chris La Rue. "One that a lot of people see is the Welch Lake Complex that is nearly 1,000 acres right off Highway 86 or just north of West Lake Okoboji. The area is primarily a walk-in spot with a lot of both smaller and larger potholes."

Just about everything that likes water and flies hits Dickinson County at one time or another during the fall, La Rue said. Welch Lake, along with the Spring Run Wetland Complex, Jemmerson Slough, Swan Lake/ Christopherson Slough Complex and a host of other excellent waterfowling destinations, provide intense action when flights move in. Birds are willing to bounce around the area's waterways and fields and it just takes going afield to find out where they're settling in for the day.

Welch Lake borders a large waterfowl production area and provides a shallow, weedy lake for ducks to feed and roost on. There isn't much boating activity on the lake and there's plenty of room for shooters to move around on foot.

The Welch Lake Complex is located 2 1/2 miles west of Spirit Lake on Highway 9, then two miles north on Highway 86 and a mile and a half east on 130th St.

The Welch Lake Complex is known primarily for ducks, but it's also worth keeping an eye on for geese.

For more information, contact the Big Sioux Unit at (712) 336-3524.

SPRING RUN WETLAND COMPLEX
This waterfowl paradise covers over 3,100 acres in Dickinson County and is well worth a visit.