The annual MSDucks.com Teal Hunt began in 2004.  Nothing more than a small collection of internet acquaintances that like to talk about duck hunting.  The first annual event was suggested to me by Hardin Phillips, aka Webfoot.  About a dozen folks attended.  There was an absence of teal the following morning - Bigwater and Don Miller were curled up on the levee in an Old Starter-induced fetal position when the only flock seen by anyone that entire morning strafed their decoys and escaped without a shot fired. But the food and fun had been great.

Event guests have come and gone.  Pups became old dogs. Graduations, marriages and divorces, careers starts and changes, child births, mortgages, time and money. You know, life in general.  Deaths, too.

The 8th Annual Ducksouth.com Teal Hunt was practically an invite-only event of friends and friends of friends.  The way it should be. Some of the original guard is still in attendance, or wants to be.  On an otherwise ordinary Monday night in September, folks traveled to Willow Break LLC, near the east bank of the mighty Yazoo River, from 5 states to eat, drink, catch up and swap lies.  It's grown as comfortable as family reunions. Warts and all. 

In 2006 there were actually quite a few birds killed, but it's not about teal hunting.  Never really has been.  It's about people; about duck hunters. It's about those blessed aspects of a hunting lifestyle that enrich our lives beyond the cumulative toll of dead birds. And for that I have grown increasingly grateful.

Timeline: Search results for "MsDucks Teal Hunt"   

Willow Break, LLC, was formed in July 2000 by a group of 15 charter members who shared a common vision of family-oriented outdoors recreation in Mississippi's South Delta.  Convenient to the Greater Jackson Metropolitan area, Willow Break is only a quick 1.25 hours away and provides wildlife-dependent recreation opportunities for the entire year.  In addition to hunting for deer, ducks, wild hogs, doves, and rabbits, there exists a myriad of outdoor recreational opportunities. 

Situated on the east bank of the Yazoo River,  Willow Break encompasses over 3,600 acres that are strategically situated among more than 350,000 nearly-contiguous acres of mature and restored bottomland hardwood forests.  Neighboring properties consist primarily of like-minded private landowners and clubs, but the geographic area encompasses Delta National Forest, Panther Tract and Hillside National Wildlife Refuges, Sunflower, Mahanna, Twin Oaks and Lake George Wildlife Management Areas.

When the property was acquired in 2000, it was merely a diamond in the rough; a giant weedpatch across which one could see nothing for miles but herbaceous weeds. In places, a few seedling hardwoods were beginning to emerge.  The membership has spent considerable resources, not the least of which are time, bringing the property into its utmost potential for wildlife and club members alike.  Wildlife highlights include a pair of American bald eagles that have nested and reared fledglings within clear view of the lodge for each of the past 11 years, and a Louisiana Black Bear (at one time the largest male bear ever captured in Mississippi) that was captured in a hog trap and fitted with a GPS-collar, has since remained on or within a couple miles of Willow Break.

LOCATION: 
About 1.5 hours west of Jackson, Mississippi, 20 minutes north of Vicksburg off Highway 3 in Warren County.

ACREAGE:
3,660 +/- acres total
2,900 +/- acres enrolled in Wetland Reserve Program (WRP)
   350 +/- acres mature bottomland hardwood

DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY & AMENITIES:
Property includes 31 waterfowl impoundments, 21 of which are behind water control structures. Available water for waterfowl hunting totals about 500 acres managed water. More than 1,250 acres flooded when Collins Creek, which bisects the property, gets out of bank. West boundary comprised of 3 miles Yazoo River frontage. Twenty (20) acre fishing lake constructed in 2002.

• 3,500 sq. ft. lodge with huge stome fireplace, cypress ceilings, professional kitchen, large entertaining and dining areas.
• Personally-owned, condominium-style family units 1000+ sq. ft. built to member specifications.  Currently, the family units comprise more than 20,000 sq. ft.
• All-weather access to lodge and family units.
• 20-acre custom built fishing lake stocked with bass, bream and catfish. (Levee project commenced in October 2011 to repair and fortify existing levee, to be stocked in Spring 2012).
• Large fishing pier.
• Bunk house sleeps 16; has kitchen area and double bathrooms.
• Custom-built, covered concrete dog kennels.
• Large covered storage shed with 2,500 sq. ft. enclosed storage building attached.
• Custom-built 2,500 sq. ft. storage building for member ATVs and equipment.
• Heated skinning rack (capable of processing 3 at one time), and stainless steel counter and sink complete with hot water, commercial-utility ice machine and 750+ sq. ft. walk in cooler.
• Outdoor cooking pavilion with grills, fryer.
• Concrete wash rack for ATVs and vehicles.
• 15+ miles of improved or maintained roads and trails including 3+ miles graveled levee, exclusive use and behind locked gates.
• 40+ winter wildlife food plots totaling about 100 acres and annually planted to Pennington Rackmaster Seed mix (5,000 pounds planted annually).
• 30+ deer stands and custom shooting houses, more added annually.
• 20+ duck blinds, including 1,000 sq. ft. blind with double shooting decks, and steel pit blinds with double dog boxes.
• 3 water wells; portable and stationary diesel power units.  Along with relift pumping and collapsible piping, effective irrigation of wildlife crops is ensured.
• 20+ water control structures for waterfowl habitat management.
• 90 wood duck nest boxes annually managed by Delta Wildlife; 30 songbird boxes.
• Scheduled construction projects include family storage units. 
• Habitat managed by certified wildlife biologists, and in cooperation with MDWFP, USFWS, NRCS, Delta Wildlife, Ducks Unlimited and Mississippi State Univerity Department of Wildlife Resources.
• Annual waterfowl plantings include milo, browntop, Japanese, and Chiwapa millets.
• Remaining wetland areas intensively managed for production of waterfowl-beneficial moist-soil plant production.  Wetland and waterfowl habitat management activities funded, in part, through Migratory Bird Habitat Initiative.
• Quality deer management to produce 4.5 year-old bucks - minimum 18-inch inside spread or 22-inch mainbeam or 135 inches gross B&C buck harvest. Antlerless deer harvest 110 pounds minimum to protect yearling bucks, which average about 100 pounds first winter.
• Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP).
• Winter, summer, and year-round wildlife food plantings. Quality management of native browse.
• Annual hunt plan to minimize wildlife disturbance and ensure quality hunting.
• Conservation partnerships with state, federal and private wildlife groups including NRCS, USFWS, Delta Wildlife, MFC, MDWFP and DU.
• Annual dove field prepared. 

For information about Willow Break LLC, or to ask questions about shares seen advertised for sale, contact charter member Ramsey Russell at 601-214-9737.