New guy here. To the forum and TX. Moved here in January from GA and been back and forth alot because of the virus. I have only ever duck hunted in GA and thats mainly for woodies coming by on the fly on the creeks or in the swamps as they head to feed. So duck hunting in TX will be a whole new ball game for me being much more centered on calling them in to your spread. A far cry from hiding with one mojo out which is enough to pull them in the tree line where we were. Id like to get in a lease but dont think it will be in the budget for another couple years. Anyways the title says it all, i know theres tons of WMA in texas but not sure as to which would be best for one guy with no boat or dog. Also Ive read that some places the wma starts lining up the night before?? Open to all suggestions. I am located in downtown Dallas for work so within 2 hrs would be nice. If at all possible. Any help is much appreciated.

Side bar: I know hogs are a huge nuisance out here why are there so many "pay to hunts"? I would think people could easily find land with farmers etc looking for any help they can get?

Get the aph permit, it's what you need to hunt wma's, and they send you a public lands booklet. That's a good place to start.

Also, look at the thread at the top of this page, that'll get you started too.

Given your experience level, it may be worthwhile to consider a guided hunt so you can get a feel for what’s going on. As KTSU mentioned, pick up the APH.

Copy on the APH and I've thought of a guided hunt, even considered having friends who have hunted out here before come out and help. Thanks for the replies.

If you know dove hunters, ask about ponds on their dove lease, a lot dove hunters do not duck hunt.

Just about every public land (APH or controlled by another entity) is accessible on foot and no dog needed. You might have to hoof it a ways because the majority of other people in the area don't have dogs or boats either. Lots of shallow to be found if you do your scouting. One warning - some of the local DFW lakes are heavily silted - when they are low - there are some lakes where the mud is quite dangerous - especially if you're hunting alone.

How much does she love you???

Like other have said definitely get the AHP it opens up lots of land. Be prepared to put some miles on your vehicle and boots scouting is a must. Once season gets started the waterfowl section gets pretty tight lipped on locations. Any hunt day always have backup locations, you will have other hunter who will beat you to your primary spot.

Start with the lake the is closest to you, talk to lake office, park rangers, GW's...Scout it hard, kill all ducks, move to next closest lake and repeat...