Having alternative routes and a back-up plan can save the day. These are all part of what you pay for in hiring a professional guide, and his services can spell the difference between a successful day on the water or having a serious problem.

More hunters should take advantage of the opportunities the late hunting season has to offer. With fewer hunters and plenty of birds still around, the only real obstacle is the weather. But with the right equipment, preparation and planning, both you and your dog can easily adapt to extreme weather conditions and continue hunting well into the New Year!

What follows are possibly some of Delaware and Maryland's best bets for late-season shooting. Each state's fish and game departments have information on other areas open to hunting within their respective state. Most departments can also refer you to local reputable guides.

DELAWARE
Delaware's rich waterfowl traditions revolve around Delaware Bay and its watersheds. Late-season First State hunters should seek-out wildlife management areas (WMAs) that offer a variety of wingshooting opportunities.

Little Creek & Ted Harvey WMAs
The Little Creek and Ted Harvey WMAs are two adjacent parcels offering more than 7,400 acres of superb late-season puddle duck and goose hunting. Both of these WMAs are located off state Route 9 and south of Dover Air Force Base.

Little Creek WMA offers 14 blinds over two large impoundments that regularly attract teal, mallards, black ducks, widgeon, gadwalls and the occasional pintail along with some diving ducks, as well as good flights of Canada and snow geese.

Little Creek WMA offers three boat ramps and is open to waterfowling on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays until 2 p.m. Hunters must vacate the area by 3 p.m. As in all of Delaware's state-run blinds, hunters are regulated to three hunters per blind.

The Ted Harvey WMA/Logan Lane Tract also offers 14 blinds over impoundments, along with eight pit blinds in the dove fields that are planted in corn, soybeans and sunflowers. The Ted Harvey WMA also offers hunters three boat ramps. Hunting is permitted on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays until 2 p.m., and hunters need to be out of the area by 3 p.m.