Interviews and self-administered questionnaires were used to gather data to characterize waterfowl hunters and harvest on Sam Rayburn Reservoir in east Texas during the 1986-87 season. Interviewed hunters and those submitting questionnaires averaged 0.94 and 1.31 ducks per trip, respectively (P = 0.003). Hunters per party, hours per trip, shots per trip, and shots per duck bagged averaged 2.19, 2.96, 5.63, and 5.07, respectively. These values and ducks harvested per trip (1.18) varied significantly across the season (P < 0.050). Based on interviews, an estimated 7,971 ducks were bagged. Wood ducks (Aix sponsa), mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), lesser scaup (Aythya affinis), ring-necked ducks (A. collaris), gadwalls (Anas strepera), American wigeon (A. americana), and green-winged teal (A. acuta) dominated the harvest in that order. Proportions of the species in the bag varied significantly (P = 0.015) across the season.
