The weather may be heating up this week, but Lake Jacksonville officials are thinking about cool weather sports over the next few weeks.
The 2023 Lake Jacksonville Archery Deer and Duck Blind Drawing will be held in mid-August at the Nichols Park Pavilion. Jacksonville Lakes Superintendent Brett Gilbreth says about this time every two years, the Lakes Department holds the drawing for 21 deer sites and 13 duck blind sites on Lake Jacksonville.
The drawings will be held on Wednesday, August 16th, and Gilbreth says there are some prerequisites for anyone who wants to show apply. “For the deer hunters, you must be 18 years of age or older and possess a valid driver’s license or state ID. You must have a 2022 or 2023 hunting license with the habitat stamp and be a Morgan County resident.
For the duck blind drawings you have to be 18 or older, possess a valid driver’s license or state ID, a FOID card, and a 2022 or 23 hunting license with waterfowl state and federal stamps and you must be a resident of Jacksonville to apply for it.”
Gilbreth says there is no longer a buddy or courtesy ballot. Anyone who wishes to enter one of the draws must be present that evening and every applicant must bring the required items in order to register.
“We’ll start the duck drawing around six PM. Sometimes it gets pushed back depending on how many customers we have. We want to make sure everyone gets registered. Then as soon as that’s wrapped up we will start the deer drawing.
And it’s the same process, we put everybody’s entry card into a hopper and mix it up. Then it’s basically whoever we pull out, we put it right on the table for everyone to see and it’s first come first serve, so as soon as they get picked they get to pick what site they want.”
Gilbreth says the sites are all located around Lake Jacksonville and applicants will be able to get an idea of each site the night of the draws. “They span from gate one, which is down by the spillway, and mainly on the south side of the lake. We will have maps the evening of the draw of each place with the boundaries.
We’ll provide stickers for each of the people so that way their deer stand is registered with us and that way when it comes to the off-season, and if something happens that we’d need to get ahold of them, we can figure out who owns that particular stand.”
The draws will be held at the Nichols Park Pavilion on Wednesday, August 16th. Doors open at 5:00 with the duck blind draw beginning at 6:00 and the deer stand draw at 6:30.
For more information, contact the Jacksonville Lakes Department at 217-479-4644.