The Hunting

The clubs primary focus is on duck hunting, but we also have other game to hunt including geese, dove, cranes, snipe, rails, hog hunting, along with outstanding private marsh fishing along Matagorda Bay. Regardless of the game pursued there are two certainties that must be adhered to for excellence in hunting: You must make and maintain great habitat. You must administer and control hunting pressure. At Thunderbird, especially when it comes to ducks, we walk the talk like no other. “You will hunt ponds where the birds want to be.”

Our unprecedented harvest numbers for the past few seasons and their progressive statistics speak for themselves:

2022/2023 Season ≈ 9,500 birds – 21.2 birds/4-man blind
- Club early teal highest record of 1,895 birds
- Club first split highest record of 3,033 birds
- Club second split highest record of 4,349 birds
- Club entire season record of 9,277 birds
- Club highest record of 75% of all groups shot full limits for early teal
- Club highest record of 87% of all groups shot full limits on ducks for the first split
- Club second highest record of 63% of all groups shot full limits on ducks for the second split
- Club highest record of 73% of all groups shot full limits on ducks for the entire season

2021/2022 Season ≈ 7,000 birds – 18 birds/4-man blind
- Club early teal second highest record of 1,470 birds
- Club second split second highest record of 3,317 birds
- Club second highest record of 61% of all groups shot full limits on ducks for early teal
- Club second highest record of 55% of all groups shot full limits on ducks for the second split
- Club second highest record of 61% of all groups shot full limits on ducks for the entire season

2020/2021 Season ≈ 8,000 birds – 18 birds/4-man blind
- Club early teal record of 1,693 birds
- Club first split record of 2,605 birds
- Club second split record of 3,692 birds
- Club record of 74% of all groups shot full limits on ducks for the first split
- Club record of 55% of all groups shot full limits on ducks for the entire season

2019/2020 Season ≈ 7,000 birds @ 4.6 birds/day/hunter or 18.4 birds/4-man blind
- Club record of 77% of all groups shot full limits on ducks for the first split
- Club record of 55% of all groups shot full limits on ducks for the entire season

2018/2019 Season ≈ 5,500 birds @ 4.2 birds/day/hunter or 17 birds/4-man blind
- Club record of 63% of all groups shot full limits on ducks for the first split
- Club record of 42% of all groups shot full limits on ducks for the entire season

2017/2018 Season ≈ 6,000 birds @ 5.2 birds/day/hunter or 20.8 birds/4-man blind
- 70% of all groups shot full limits on ducks for the first split
- 68% of all groups shot full limits on ducks for the entire season

In general, on a busy Saturday, we have an average of 15-20 groups hunting with 50% of our properties rested and not hunted until the weekend. We hunt only one group per pond and on average a pond is hunted once, maybe twice a week. We hunt ducks on Wednesday, Saturday, & Sunday only. Every season we make habitat improvements to enhance our hunting even more, we never stop improving the outdoor experience for our members. We feel the size of the club is perfect, not to large to be impersonal or unable to learn in a season, but large enough to rest waterfowl properly and move members around to hunt concentrations of birds.

Thunderbird supplies a multitude of different duck blinds including pit blinds (fiberglass, metal, & concrete), portable cage blinds (can be moved with ATV), and portable blinds in sleds (to allow setup in remote areas of ponds). The use of portable blinds enables us to hunt the “X” of feeding birds. If you are not hunting the “X” you are not shooting full straps. The club also supplies camouflage materials with “fast grass,” cane, and natural materials. We try to have at least one permenent duck blind camouflaged with two dog porches on out most popular ponds.

A single word sums up Thunderbird…consistent. We adjust and maintain the habitat with our proven management plan through droughts, floods, mild weather, stalled migrations, it just does not matter, we shoot birds season after season, and all on an unguided basis. In fact our duck hunting is better than most guided hunts! So if having a lot of ducks over your decoys is important to you within a well-organized club, then look no further.

For additional information and joining, please contact Todd Steele. Sorry club is full for the 2023-2024 season.