Luck proves to be a big part of hunting on St. Clair Flats in Michigan

Detroit Free Press

HARSENS ISLAND, Mich. — Local knowledge helps. But so would a lucky rabbit’s foot.

On three previous days, 506 ducks and 18 Canada geese had been shot by hunters at the St. Clair Flats Wildlife Area that the Department of Natural Resources operates on the southwest corner of this island, which looks like a plug in the bottle at the mouth of the St. Clair River.

The St. Clair River delta is one of the most important waterfowl migration areas in North America. However, about 80 percent of the ducks were killed in about 25 percent of the roughly 65 numbered sites offered to hunters who show up at 5:30 a.m. for a morning lottery that decides who gets to hunt where. (A second drawing is held at 11 a.m. for an afternoon hunt.)

Brothers Sal and Andy Montalbano of nearby Algonac hunt the wildlife area 15-20 times a year. On a cool, windy but sunny morning, they bagged three mallards, the species that comprised more than 90 percent of the take on this day.