Sucking mud, palmettos, clutching thorny vines and other thick vegetation make walking through the swamp exhausting, noisy and nearly impossible. However, we moved along barely making a sound.
Soon after shooting hours began, we spotted an odd-shaped “knot” on the trunk of a cypress tree about 30 yards away. Then, the “knot” barely flicked its tail, looking almost like the Spanish moss draping the trees catching a whiff of breeze.
How did we approach so close to squirrels in a swamp where walking seems almost hopeless and never quiet? We conducted an amphibious sneak attack! Rather than smash our way through underbrush, we glided along in quiet comfort in a canoe.
“Hunting out of a boat is a fun and effective method of hunting squirrels,” says Thomas Harms, the Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division supervising biologist for southwestern Alabama. “Hunting from a canoe is a quiet, easy way to cover a lot of territory and a great way to take children hunting.”
Alabama sportsmen can shoot game from any human-powered craft. With a small boat, hunters can go where many people cannot go. Small children struggle to crash through impenetrable thickets or deep gooey mud. Often, swamp hunters must wade through water too deep for children. Float hunters can cover considerably more acreage than people on foot.
Young children quickly grow bored sitting on cold ground and can never remain still or quiet. In a boat, children and novice hunters sit in relative comfort. Paddling through swamps, youngsters usually see more game or might even spot other swamp creatures while searching for squirrels. At least, they can see changing scenery.
Furthermore, a boat can easily carry additional supplies, snacks and refreshments in an ice chest so hunters can take occasional breaks if they become hungry or thirsty. When hunting from a canoe, bring a dry box to store extra ammunition, clothes, phones, valuables and other supplies or equipment.
Photo by John N. Felsher
Sportsmen can hunt solo or in teams. Double-teaming game makes the best way to hunt with children. The adult sits in the stern, controls the craft and helps spot game with the youngster in the bow ready for action with the gun pointing in a safe direction.
In a canoe or kayak, glide along slowly and quietly next to a treelined shoreline. Scan the trees for any activity that could indicate squirrels. Hunters regularly detect squirrels first with their ears. Periodically, stop paddling to listen for chattering, leaves rustling, branches shaking, objects dropping into the water or other sounds. After locating a squirrel, the paddler positions the craft so the shooter can make an ethical, safe shot.
To avoid paddling long distances across large waterbodies or against swift currents, some sportsmen tow or carry paddle craft in larger boats to smaller tributaries and backwaters where they plan to hunt. Sportsmen poling or paddling small, shallow-draft craft can reach places where few others ever attempt to go.
“People can take large boats close to their hunting places,” Harms says. “Then, they launch canoes or kayaks and paddle into their hunting spots.”
When hunting squirrels from paddled boats, sportsmen might spot other game such as feral hogs. Hunters might also see an occasional rabbit on patches of higher ground. During waterfowl season, sportsmen with the proper licenses, weapons and ammunition could jump ducks or other legal birds while quietly paddling along an Alabama stream. Some sportsmen cast for bass and other fish while watching for squirrels.
One of the best places to hunt from a boat, the Mobile-Tensaw Delta includes nearly 100,000 acres of public hunting land in two wildlife management areas. Several major streams and numerous smaller tributaries run through bottomland hardwoods and cypress swamps.
“The Upper Delta WMA is predominantly bottomland hardwoods with a diverse mix of mast producing trees like oaks as compared to the Lower Delta,” Harms says. “In a place like the Delta, it’s hard to get around on land and next to impossible to get close to a squirrel.”
Alabama paddlers might also try the David K. Nelson WMA near Demopolis or the Black Warrior WMA near Moulton. Sportsmen can drop a small craft into practically any water deep enough to float it and hunt areas that see very little pressure.
The 2025-26 Alabama squirrel and rabbit seasons run concurrently from Sept. 13 through March 1, 2026 with a limit of eight each per person per day. For public hunting lands, see outdooralabama.com/WhereToHunt.
John N. Felsher is a professional freelance writer who lives in Semmes, Ala. He also hosts an outdoors tips show for WAVH FM Talk 106.5 radio station in Mobile, Ala. Contact him at [email protected] or through Facebook.
