Grand Pass Topped Missouri's Managed-Area Rate Throughout a Decade

IThe steady picks

Every Grand Pass season cleared the combined average

Grand Pass Conservation Area recorded a per-hunter average of 2.72 ducks. That figure covers 46,128 reported hunter trips over ten seasons. In each of those ten seasons it finished ahead of the combined rate for all areas. Its low point came in 2019-2020 with a 1.59 average. That still topped the 1.53 average across all areas that season. No other area with a full ten-season record stayed above the combined rate every year.

Marais Temps Clair sat near the other end with a 0.73 average. BK Leach's average was 0.74. Neither exceeded the combined rate during any season in its ten-season record. Across the full ten-season span, the rate at Grand Pass was about 3.7 times that of Marais Temps Clair.

IIChoosing your areas

Start with Grand Pass and consider Otter Slough and Nodaway Valley next

For applications to these areas, begin with Grand Pass and follow with Otter Slough. Otter Slough's 2.27 per-hunter average came from 48,724 hunter trips. Its rate cleared the combined average in 9 seasons out of 10. Nodaway Valley averaged 2.29 and finished ahead of that rate in 8 seasons. Fountain Grove averaged 2.09 and Four Rivers averaged 2.06. They complete the group that beat the combined average in most seasons.

The highest average in the records belongs to Bob Brown at 2.82. It also surpassed the combined rate in every one of its five seasons. Its five-season record is half as long as Grand Pass's. That earns Bob Brown a place among the picks with a caveat until additional years are available.

How busy an area is tells a different story from its per-hunter average. Duck Creek had the largest hunter total among the areas at 52,933 and a 1.55 average. Ted Shanks had 41,304 hunters with a 1.82 average. Use was heavy at both areas. Each reported a lower per-hunter duck average than the leading areas. Duck Creek cleared the combined rate in just 1 season out of 10. Ten Mile Pond and Eagle Bluffs each did so only once across ten seasons. When either is the nearest option, its history points to fewer ducks on a trip than the leading areas reported.

IIIAcross the highs and lows

Leading areas stayed ahead during weak seasons in the reports

A single exceptional season can make an average look strong. Use the table of consistency below to compare the lowest and highest season for each area and judge whether its average reflects steady results.

The leading areas kept their standing through poor years. The records' weakest season was 2019-2020. Across all areas the average that season was 1.53. Grand Pass came in at 1.59 even then. Nodaway Valley topped the areas reporting that year with 2.26. Nodaway Valley's lowest seasonal average was its 1.69 in 2025-2026. Only Grand Pass had more seasons above the combined rate than Otter Slough. Otter Slough's average dropped to 1.34 in 2018-2019.

The biggest seasonal averages were concentrated in a few areas. Fountain Grove averaged 3.47 in 2022-2023. The records contain no higher average for any area in any season. Grand Pass averaged 3.32 in 2023-2024. Bob Brown's average reached 3.16 in 2016-2017. At the low end, BK Leach dropped to 0.38 in 2025-2026. Schell-Osage's average sank to 0.28 in 2024-2025.

The combined seasonal average ranged between 1.53 for 2019-2020 and 2.19 for 2022-2023. Grand Pass led the reporting areas in five of those ten seasons.

IVReading the limits

Per-hunter averages describe many trips over time

We calculated ducks per hunter by dividing the reported duck total by the reported hunter total. The result averages the whole group across many outings. It provides no certainty about an individual hunter's morning. Draw systems, pool sizes, zones and season dates vary by area. The reports cannot distinguish those influences from the effects of habitat or birds. They also cannot explain why a season's average was high or low.

Records for some areas are brief. Bob Brown has five seasons of data. So do Coon Island and Settle's Ford. Schell-Osage has six seasons and Columbia Bottom has seven. Little River has three seasons. Its 1.43 average is based on 790 hunters.

Before ordering the areas we cleaned the data. The source contained 8,161 rows. We removed 55 that duplicated an area ID paired with a date. A separate 850 rows lacked an area ID. We retained 819 using the area name because no other row matched both that area and that date. The remaining 31 were duplicates and were removed. We also removed ten rows that lacked a hunter count. Coverage is limited to these 18 areas. The reports do not represent every wetland in Missouri. A separate source supplies our ranking of ducks per hunter by state for a state-by-state comparison.

VHow we order them

Give steady results the most weight

We order Missouri's areas first by how many seasons their average exceeded the combined rate. We use the overall average next and place less confidence in shorter records. An area that tops the average throughout a ten-season record is a better bet than one whose higher average depends on one or two standout seasons. Under that rule Grand Pass takes first place. Otter Slough follows in second and Nodaway Valley in third. Bob Brown appears equally strong despite its shorter history. Marais Temps Clair and BK Leach belong at the bottom. For close choices, weigh the zone and draw rules along with your drive time. These figures establish an order among areas but make no promise about a morning.