During his two terms, it turns out, Mark Pryor, now the state’s senior senator, has found plenty of time for duck hunts. The path to a third term promises to be a grueling one: He’s the last Democrat of the six lawmakers representing Arkansas, and with a Senate majority potentially at stake, the 2014 race between Pryor and Republican Tom Cotton promises a fray like few in the country.

Arkansas Game & Fish Commission officers face a variety of challenges in a day’s work.

Jethro the Poodle may not have the sleek lines and heroic profile of the Labrador Retrievers, the first string dog of choice for so many hunters through the years, but he gives as good as a Lab, Dietz says, right down to the companionship.

The Labrador Retriever is the pickup truck of American duck hunting — reliable, hard-working, durable and iconic. And they photograph well. But waterfowlers sometimes break with tradition in favor of utility, turning to a number of other breeds almost as photogenic and definitely as loyal and hard working as the noble Lab.

Pat Pitt has owned many retrievers over the years, as he believes nothing adds more enjoyment to waterfowl hunting than a good dog. Of all his canine partners over the decades one stands above the rest, a black male Labrador named Ace.

Mickey Heitmeyer is a waterfowl biologist, a farmer, a business owner, an entrepreneur — and perhaps most importantly, a duck hunter living in southeast Missouri. He also happens to be one of North America’s leading waterfowl and wetland biologists and is widely acknowledged as an expert in wintering waterfowl ecology and the management of bottomland hardwoods — in other words, the duck woods.

Along with War Eagle, other major duck boat manufacturers that call Arkansas home are Xpress Boats of Hot Springs and SeaArk Boats of Monticello. Other Arkansas-based producers include Weldbilt Commercial Boats of Benton and Southfork Custom Boat Manufacturing Inc. of Lonsdale, though that is far from an extensive list.

The design of the modern duck boat can be traced to Arkansas’ innovators and a surplus of aluminum.

Over the years, Rob Roberts has seen all kinds of issues with guns. For him, the bottom line is trying to make the hunting experience better.

Tim Bradley, 54, is an exhibition shooter for Team Benelli USA, touring the country and sometimes going overseas to show off his shooting skills.

The best-equipped hunters know what to wear and what to carry. Here are 13 items any waterfowl enthusiast will find essential.

Click on the links below to discover some of the top duck hunting resources in the state.

White River Guide Service has been in business for over 20 years in St. Charles, Ark. We offer some of the best oxbow lake hunting (timber) and field hunting in Arkansas. We are only 35 miles from Stuttgart, the rice and duck capital of the world. Bass Creek Lodge is our newest addition, also centrally located in St. Charles. Bass Creek Lodge has all the amenities for cooking and sleeping… a home away from home