Hunting the Rainwater Basin: Nebraska's Premier Duck Hunting Destination

The Rainwater Basin in south-central Nebraska is one of the most critical waterfowl migration staging areas in North America. Every spring, millions of ducks and geese funnel through this relatively small cluster of wetlands on their journey north. And in the fall, they stop here again on the way back south. For waterfowl hunters, the Rainwater Basin is a destination that belongs on your bucket list.

Why the Rainwater Basin Matters

The Rainwater Basin is a collection of playa wetlands — shallow, clay-bottomed basins that fill with rainwater and snowmelt — scattered across a 4,200 square mile area in the counties south of the Platte River. At one time, over 4,000 individual wetlands existed in this region. Today, agricultural drainage has reduced that number to about 400, with only a fraction holding water in any given year.

This concentration of remaining wetlands creates a migration bottleneck. Ducks and geese that might otherwise spread across thousands of wetlands are forced into the ones that remain, creating spectacular concentrations of waterfowl. During peak migration, individual basins can hold tens of thousands of mallards, pintails, and green-winged teal.

Public WMAs in the Basin

Nebraska Game and Parks manages dozens of Waterfowl Production Areas and WMAs throughout the Rainwater Basin. These public wetlands are specifically managed for waterfowl and provide free hunting access.

Key areas include Harvard WMA, Massie WMA, Funk WMA, and Smith WMA — all located in Clay, Adams, and Kearney counties. These basins vary in size from 40-acre cattail marshes to 300-acre open-water wetlands. The diversity of wetland types means you can find a spot that matches your hunting style and equipment.

Many Rainwater Basin WMAs have designated parking areas and walk-in access points. Some have permanent blind locations, while others allow hunters to set up anywhere along the wetland edge. Arrive early on weekend mornings — popular basins fill up quickly during peak migration.

Scouting Techniques

Scouting is everything in the Rainwater Basin. Wetland conditions change rapidly — a basin that held 10,000 mallards last Tuesday might be dry by Saturday. Conversely, a rain event can fill a basin overnight and attract birds within hours.

Drive the roads in the evening. Waterfowl return to roosting wetlands at dusk, and you can identify which basins are holding water and birds from the road. Look for birds trading between wetlands and agricultural fields — this flight pattern tells you where birds are roosting and where they are feeding.

Morning flights reveal feeding patterns. Get out before dawn and watch where birds leave the roost wetlands and which direction they fly. Follow their flight line to find the feeding fields — usually picked corn or bean stubble within a few miles of the roost.

Layout Blind vs. Pit Blind

Most Rainwater Basin duck hunting is done from layout blinds positioned at the water's edge or in shallow water along the shoreline. Layout blinds are low-profile and effective, especially when combined with natural vegetation for concealment. Brush them in with the surrounding cattails, grass, or stubble to match the cover.

Pit blinds — either permanent or dug fresh — are common on the edges of larger basins. A pit dug into a mud flat or field edge at the wetland margin puts you below the surface and nearly invisible. The downside is the work: digging a pit in clay soil is hard labor, and water seepage is a constant battle.

For field hunting over grain stubble, which is a productive tactic for mallards and geese that are feeding in the agricultural fields surrounding the basins, layout blinds in the stubble are the standard approach. Full-body decoys and layout blinds in a harvested cornfield can produce limits of mallards when you are set up on the X.

Decoy Spreads for Big Water

On the larger Rainwater Basin wetlands, a big spread is often necessary. Birds that are accustomed to seeing thousands of their kind on the water are not going to commit to six decoys. Start with two to three dozen mallard floaters arranged in a J-hook or U-shape that creates a natural landing zone in the opening of the spread, directly in front of your blind.

Add motion: spinning-wing decoys are effective early in the season before birds become educated, and jerk strings that twitch a few decoys create realistic ripple and movement that pulls passing flocks for a closer look.

On smaller basins where pressure is lighter, scale down your spread. A dozen decoys in a small cattail marsh can be deadly when the birds want intimacy over spectacle.

The Rainwater Basin is a national treasure for waterfowl and waterfowl hunters. Hunt it with respect — pack out everything you bring in, follow all regulations, and appreciate the fact that you are hunting one of the most important wetland complexes in the Central Flyway.