Treks of Greatness, Shades of Grandeur
Guided Duck Hunting in the Delta
By Hank Burdine
“Forever and ever, amen” is the oft-time response when a city slicker asks a hardened old duck hunter how long ducks have been coming to the Delta. Or, as legendary Fighting Bayou duck master Skipper Jernigan relates, “since man’s memory runneth not to the contrary.” If it’s winter, there are going to be ducks in the Delta. The greatest waterfowl flyway on the North American continent is the Mississippi Flyway, carrying a staggering amount of the migrating waterfowl each year from their breeding grounds in the upper regions of North America to the areas of Louisiana along the Gulf Coast. And one of the highest concentrations of ducks and geese funnel each year into the Arkansas and Mississippi Deltas along the Mississippi River. No greater masses of waterfowl come through an area than our Mississippi Delta. Following the ingrained paths of the Mississippi River and its floodways, the historically flooded bottomland hardwood timber, grass fields and sandbars have offered up a smorgasbord of wild grass seeds, acorns, pecans and tubers that is the historic diet of overwintering waterfowl. In other words, in the Delta today, “if you got food, you got ducks.”
ESPERANZA OUTDOORS
South Washington County still holds an abundance of the lakes and wetlands that have been home to overwintering waterfowl since long before the first white men established residence in the area. Along the banks of Lake Washington in close proximity to the old Swan Lake bed stands Linden Plantation. The property, which was the first presidential land grant and homesite in Washington County, was originally purchased in the early 1820s by Frederick Turnbull of Kentucky, who settled there building a two-story log cabin and gave the plantation its name. The second owner was Christopher Hampton of South Carolina, brother to Civil War Calvary General Wade Hampton. Christopher Hampton built the first formal home on the location. In 1898, the property was purchased by P. L. Mann. Mann eventually razed the Hampton home in the early 1900s and began construction on the Greek Revival home which still stands today.
Linden Plantation is currently occupied by the fifth generation of the Mann family, Cameron, Whitney, Banks, and Linden Dinkins. With the goal of creating a sustainable business model from the abundant recreational opportunities found on his family’s land and throughout the Mississippi Delta they called home, Cameron founded Esperanza Outdoors in 1997.
Over the years, the Dinkinses have added to their property and made improvements to the land in order to create
In 2008, chef and avid sportsman Stewart Robinson joined the Esperanza team when he moved back to Mississippi after several years living out of state. He and Dinkins began hunting, fishing, cooking, and exploring together and realized they shared not only a love of the outdoors and entertaining but also a vision to offer what they refer to as a Mississippi Delta “boutique” duck hunting experience. In the fall of 2013, Robinson became a full partner when the Dinkinses decided to transition to a premier guide service, offering a multi-faceted guided hunting experience that encompasses duck, goose, dove, and teal hunting, fishing, and a multi-station, state-of-the-art sporting clays range.
“Whitney and I knew that it was time to transform, but we didn’t want to make the change unless Stewart wanted to be a partner as well,” says Dinkins. “The three of us work hard to convey our vision of the essence of hunting in the Delta. It’s about the whole experience of friends and family enjoying the bounty of nature, great food and fellowship, and the ambiance of this truly magical setting.”
And magical it is. Upon arriving, there is no better way for guests of Esperanza to toast the upcoming hunt than
“Ultimately, our desire is to make each guest a part of the Esperanza family, always at home…and anxious to return,” says Whitney Dinkins. “Warmth and hospitality are the keys to a welcomed stay. I love people and hope to immediately put them at ease and make them feel like part of our family.”
In addition to her work with Esperanza throughout the year, Whitney also runs an event and rental business on the property hosting weddings, dinners, workshops, and retreats.
Needless to say, the Dinkinses and Robinson know how to put on a weekend of unparalleled opulence for their guests as they are immersed in some of the best duck and goose hunting available in the Mississippi Delta. But for Robinson it’s much more. “I want to shatter people’s preconceptions about what the Delta is and who our people are,” he says. “Our goal is certainly to give our clients the most productive hunting experience possible, but we don’t want to send them home with just a cooler filled with meat. We want to baptize them into the Delta. The food, stories, wildlife, and characters of this place are what make it special to us, and that is what we hope to convey to others.”
For more information visit espoutdoors.com
BEAVER DAM HUNTING SERVICES
And that has not changed much today. The old Beaver Dam Ducking Club has been resurrected in the new Beaver Dam Hunting Services. Shooting from historic and legendary blind locations in towering cypress trees and buckbrush sloughs, along with newly added flooded grain fields, owners Mike and his son Lamar Boyd offer nostalgic memory-laden hunts to serious sportsmen from all over the country. Inspired by a friend’s prompting, those first hunts were originally booked for a few morning hunts to mostly local clients. Now, years later, Beaver Dam Hunting Services offers opportunities to serious waterfowl hunters from all across North America. The Boyds have now been providing professionally guided duck hunts since 1982 in what is regarded as one of the premiere waterfowl destinations in North Mississippi and the nation.
Beaver Dam has received coverage in numerous national publications, including Field and Stream, Gray’s Sporting