Wisconsin’s waterfowl bag limits set for 2026 season

Taylor Finger, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) game bird specialist, told the Natural Resources Board (NRB) that spring waterfowl population surveys show slight increases the past five or six years; however, the reason may be that warmer spring weather may have included migrating birds in the surveys rather than just local populations.

Mallards have declined steadily since the mid-2000s, attributed to the loss of 500,000 acres of Conservation Reserve Program lands that benefit nesting birds. Spring aerial surveys of wood ducks and Canada geese in Wisconsin have been above the long-term average. Wisconsin’s 2026 duck season is based on federal wetland and breeding mallard surveys from 2025, which showed continental duck populations were 4% below the long-term average.

MORE COVERAGE FROM WISCONSIN OUTDOOR NEWS:

Open-water duck hunting rule kicked back to public by Wisconsin Natural Resources Board

Federal judge in Wisconsin suspends Lac du Flambeau fishing limitations placed on non-tribal anglers

Patrick Durkin: Volunteers needed to teach hunter education in Wisconsin

Wisconsin’s 2026 hunting regulations include:

• Early teal: Sept. 1-9 (six teal per day);

• Early goose: Sept. 1-15 (five Canada geese per day and 20 light geese per day);

• Youth waterfowl hunt: Sept. 19-20;

• North Zone ducks: Sept. 26 through Nov. 24;

• South Zone ducks: Oct. 3-11, closed five days, reopens Oct. 17 through Dec. 6;

• Open-water zone (Green Bay and Lake Michigan): Oct. 17 through Dec. 15;

• Canada goose North Zone: Sept. 16 through Dec. 16 (three per day);

• Canada goose South Zone: Sept 16 through Oct 11, closed five days, reopen Oct. 17 through Dec. 6, closed 12 days, reopen Dec. 19 through Jan. 2;

• Canada goose Mississippi River: Oct. 3-11, closed five days, reopen Oct. 17 through Jan. 5;

• Mourning dove:  Sept. 1 through Nov. 29 (15 per day);

• Woodcock: Sept. 19 through Nov. 2 (three per day)

There is a six-duck bag limit for the 60-day season, but no more than: four mallards of which only two may be a hen; three wood ducks; two redheads; two black ducks; three pintails; two canvasbacks; five mergansers (only two hooded mergansers).

The additional bag limit exception is for scaup (greater and lesser scaup, also known as bluebills) where the daily limit varies with zone and date.

The bag limit for scaup is:

• Northern Zone: two per day Sept. 26 through Nov. 9; then one per day Nov. 10-24;

• Southern Zone: one per day Oct. 3-11 and Oct. 17-22; then two per day Oct. 23 through Dec. 6;

• Open-water zone (Green Bay and Lake Michigan):  two per day Oct. 17 through Nov. 30; one per day Dec. 1-15.