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Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Nuese River 12-28-2010 10:20
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – 10-20 Degrees – Open Water
I went out hunting yesterday in the snow and wind, the extreme conditions would move the ducks around, or so I thought. I went to a small creek I hunt only in the most unpleasant weather. In the past, in these conditions, this locations has really payed off. This day was extreme, 21 degree with 24 mph winds, and a wind chill factor of 9 degrees.

The usual time to this spot is about 45 minutes, with the ice and snow it took 3 hours to arrive at the ramp. I put in the boat and set out for my favorite spot on the creek. The wind was whipping, any water that blew into the boat instantly froze. I only put out about a half dozen ringnecks decoys since I was alone and am still have some issues with my outboard. About 30 minutes before legal time another boat came up the creek and went back in a small cove behind me.

At legal time the other boat fired one shot, I saw a single ringneck fly out of the cove and over the trees. About 30 minutes later a bufflehead flew into my spread and it took 3 shots to put it down. A hen buffle at about 35 yards. Dixie made short work of the retrieve and I settled in to wait.

It was so bitterly cold with the wind factored in that it was a struggle to try to stay warm. Because of this, I did not capitalize on the opportunities I had to take more ducks(all buffles). I would be pouring a cup from my thermos, or putting on heavier gloves,etc when single buffles would blow by my boat, approaching from behind me in a small cove that had a outlet to the big water of the Nuese River. They could not stand the 5 foot seas on the big water(as was my plan)but were approaching me from behind(which was not my plan). I expected the ducks to come up the creek, not pass over the trees to my rear and come in from behind.

About 9 am a flock of hoodies came in and I took the drake. I saw the other boat come out of the cove(having not fired a single shot since that first one at shooting time) and head to the ramp. I decided to wimp out about 45 minutes later having not seen another duck

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Roanoke River 12-21-2010 06:42
Cloudy, High Winds – 25-30 Degrees – Ice
Went out for a hunt this morning and it was a epic adventure. The temps were in the upper 20’s, the winds were gale force. We went out into a small creek from a small unimproved ramp and rode to the Roanoke River, the same location as Sat. I had to put the truck in 4-wheel drive due to ice on the shore and in the turnaround. Even in the small creek the water was rough, out in the sound(where we dared not venture) we saw 3 to 4 foot seas with whitecaps. We were having boat trouble at the ramp,the motor was hard to start and my outboard acted like it was running on only one cylinder. It seemed to clear up so we continued on. It was so cold that the boat was building up ice and hard to maintain on plane. But we finally made it to our spot and we decided to put out a small spread to lessen the hassle should we have catastrophic failure later(in light of the numerous mechanical difficulties experienced up to that point).

At legal time a black duck crossed over the creek and moved off to the north of our position. I hit the call and it turned around, coming in over the trees, cupping into the decoys in the low light conditions. I took the duck on the second shot at about 40 yards. Dixie made short work of the easy retrieve, getting back in the boat and shaking salt water all over my gun. No matter where I place my gun, Dixie always goes there to shake off. Approx. 20 minutes later, another black duck came up the creek and landed just out of the spread, my hunting partner for today(my daughter’s brother-in-law)took the duck on the first shot as it took off the water upon his standing up to shoot.

The wind continued to build up force until finally it got so severe, even in our small creek, that it was buffeting our Avery Quickset blind around, even blowing the top open once. The water from the wet dog froze in the boat and my hunting partner lost his footing and fell down in the boat when he stood up to shoot at a passing ringneck. I managed to drop the duck and Dixie once again made short work of the reasonably short retrieve(just outside the decoys). About 30 minutes later another ringneck came into the decoys and I knocked it down. It took off swimming and we both emptied our guns into it in a attempt to stop it’s escape, only to have it continue to swim away. Dixie made a valiant effort to retrieve it, but since she is now 11 years old, she gets tired and disoriented sometimes on long complicated retrieves. She lost the duck and I could tell she needed to come back to the boat. I recalled her with the whistle, and we went to go out in the boat to try to find it.

That’s when we realized we were in real trouble. The dog had shaken off in the boat, freezing water had frozen my shifter stuck. I tried to thaw it with my thermos, I got it freed up for about 5 minutes, but it immediately refroze. I had to disconnect the shifter cable from the motor to manually shift it. I had to use the idle up lever to increase the fuel, once I got the boat moving, I couldn’t lower the idle back down due to the frozen cable. The motor then cut back to one cylinder again and we barely got back to the ramp after a real struggle to recover our decoys in the high wind with the limited control I had over the boat’s speed. The normally 10 minute run took close to 30 minutes and we had to load the boat manually rather than driving it on as usual(actually my buddy had to do the lion’s share of the work as I have some pretty severe physical disabilities).

I dropped my boat off at the shop on my way home with instructions to fix any problems without pricing them first as I need my boat back for duck hunting and the shop usually takes off 2 weeks after Christmas for their annual winter vacation. I hope that doesn’t hurt me too bad, but I trust the guys at the boat shop completely, they would not take advantage of me and I know they will not only do a good job, but they will make it as cheap as they can.

Quite the adventure. Man, am I tired.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Roanoke River 12-19-2010 07:47
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 25-30 Degrees – Ice
We went out for the opener with very high hopes. The severe weather up north, coupled with overcast conditions in the 20’s here seemed optimal. We opted for one of my favorite spots on the Roanoke since the conditions seemed right to push down migrators. For the first time this year, we saw other duck rigs on the road in the early morning hours. I try not to have boat envy, but it seems everyone has a War Eagle but me.

We arrived at the unimproved ramp about 1 1/2 hours before sunrise. We were surprised to find no one there. We quickly launched the boat and as we were leaving the ramp another party arrived. With a War Eagle. We set out up the creek and got to our spot. We broke ice in a few spots, but the small creek seemed mostly clear until you got near the mouth of the creek. We set up in our usual spot and at about 30 minutes before sunrise the other boat passed us and went on out of the creek. We could hear them breaking ice for quite a distance before they broke out into clear water.

At legal time 3 woodies blew over our boat, but we didn’t react in time to get off a shot, but we did manage to flair them as we reacted to their sudden appearance. About 30 minutes later two teal blew into the decoys, we managed to take them both. As the dog was retrieving the first teal, she flared a flock of woodies as they came in over the decoys. As Dixie the wonderdog was retrieving the second teal, she flared a flock of gadwall. Oh well, that’s the breaks.

Then a group of otters came through the decoys. We watched them swim by and were amused by their curiosity about us. One of the otters was huge, not just big, but freakishly tremendous. My buddy looked at me and said, ” I think that is the Loch Ness Otter!”. For some reason we found that very funny and spent the next 30 minutes laughing so hard that we missed a group of woodies that came through from up the creek. It was still funny though. Loch Ness Otter. Still makes me laugh.

Then a flock of ringnecks came in and my buddy knocked one down. Dixie went out and retrieved it and we sat down to await some more ducks. We saw a few swans up high, some Canada geese came through, but we couldn’t shoot at them as we were in the Northeast Hunt Zone. Then we started laughing about the Loch Ness Otter again.

Then two wood ducks came through over the decoys and we emptied our guns in a impressive display of firepower. Impressive other than the fact that both ducks flew away unscathed. I am still baffled. I reloaded the gun and just as I sat back in the seat, a teal came in low, wings cupped into the decoys. I hit it hard at about 20 yards and as I was shooting 3 1/2 inch Black Cloud, it was all but already cooked when it hit the water. Smoked teal.

We sat there until about 11:00 am, then we called it a day. Not the most ducks we have ever taken in a day, but one of the most enjoyable days I can remember in a long time.

Posted By:
hwy345s
Web Member

dare county 12-05-2010 09:56
– – –
lots of fish ducks decoying saw very few swan but only managed 1 buffle head all in all pretty slow last day did get to see the snow at 5 pm [IMG]http://i1176.photobucket.com/albums/x336/hwy345s/008.jpg[/IMG]

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Roanoke River 12-05-2010 07:48
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – 25-30 Degrees – Open Water
I went out with my son and my daughter’s brother-in-law for a hunt this morning and it did not go as expected. I was expecting flocks of migrating big ducks because of the weather. It has been dumping huge accumulations of snow to our north and the weather here has taken a sudden turn to the cold with a strong north wind. This combination is usually a good indication that conditions are right for a migration push. Didn’t happen.

We were out and set up on the Roanoke well before sunrise and were roaring to go. At about 10 minutes before time another boat came up the small creek we were in and went out into the big water, setting up at a blind several hundreds yards away.

We sat there in our creek and did not see a single duck fly down our creek for the first 2 and 1/2 hours after sunrise. We would see ducks above the trees flying, but the guys in the blind opened up on every flock, reguardless of the altitude, so we have no idea whether it might have been better or not. Doesn’t mean that because we saw ducks flying they would have come in on our decoys if left unmolested, but these guys shot at every duck that flew over their blind(which they had to do to get to the creek)and most of the ducks were 150 yards in the air.

We sat there until 10:00am and decided to call it a day. As we were taking down the boat blind, two gadwall buzzed the decoys and set around for another pass. I managed to get my gun uncased, get one shell in the chamber and knock one down as it buzzed through the decoys at Mach II, 3 feet off the water. A excellent shot if I must say so myself.

Now comes the wait for the 3rd season break opener.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Lenoir County 12-02-2010 13:55
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 25-30 Degrees – Open Water
Planned on taking out my boat and going to a location that I have hunted for years that we call “The Wood Duck Hole”. I used to hunt it to great success, almost always taking a limit of woodies, sometimes taking mallards and the occasional goose as well. About 5 or 6 years ago some locals began to hunt the roost which ruined the area. But you can still hunt in the later part of the season, they quit blowing out the roost after it gets cold.

However, the night before my daughter called, she was sick so my grandson stayed at my house overnight. I was needed to take him to preschool the next day so my plans changed.

I did a quick hunt in the small beaverpond across the road from my house. I had to be home at 7:30, so all I had time to do was to walk in and do a pass-shoot type hunt. I know that it is not ‘real’ duck hunting, but I really wanted to see my dog do some retrieves so I did it anyway.

Just at legal time, a woodie came through, but I was unable to take the shot in the low light conditions. It was legal time, but in the thick cypress swamp there was not enough light for target acquisition. A moment later, a drake came in, perfectly backlit in the early morning light and I took him at about 20 yards. Dixie the wonderdog made quick work of the retrieve and we settled in for the next duck. I saw a lot of ducks flying for about 20 minutes after shooting time, then it went completely dead(as it always does when wood duck hunting). A pair of woodies came through at about 7:00am, but I did not see them in time for shot.

One wood duck in the hand is worth two in the swamp.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Roanoke River 11-27-2010 08:18
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – 50-60 Degrees
Went out for a hunt on the Roanoke River this morning, we managed two wood ducks. We did have several flocks of woodies blow through just out of range and had a pair of teal come through the decoys, only to have us empty our gun in a intimidating barrage and then they just flew away.

Then, at about 8:15am a pair of striper fishermen came up the creek and proceeded to fish the area. They stayed near the entrance of our creek and they finally pulled up to leave about the same time we gave up trying to hunt, about 10:00am. We never saw a duck again after they arrived. Not even in the distance. Their arrival was end of our hunt.

I yearn for the days when fishermen winterized their boats in Oct. and stayed out of our way until spring.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Roanoke River 11-20-2010 17:02
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 30-34 Degrees – Open Water
Went out hunting on the Roanoke River and it was interesting.We managed to take 1 wood duck drake,1 shoveler drake and a canvasback. That’s right, a canvasback. We actually took two more wood ducks, but were unable to recover them, even with a dog. One went down in the heavy brush, so far back that the dog could not penetrate deep enough to get to it. The other dove on the dog, and never came up. And we watched hard for it, the duck did not resurface. I have seen ducks dive and grab onto submerged debris before, I am assuming this is what the duck did. They hang on until they drown, and they stay attached to whatever they are hanging onto.

We also saw some mallards, and some teal. We were unable to get a shot at the teal in spite of the fact they actually flew into the decoys! We decided about 9:30 am to pick up since my hunting buddy had to be home by noon. We had no sooner unloaded the guns when a huge flock of teal blew into the decoys. They flared up, circled back and went through again! But we were not able to reload in time to get a shot off.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Lenoir County 11-18-2010 13:23
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 35-40 Degrees
I went out to hunt a small beaverpond near my house. The water is too low to access by canoe, but I decided to walk in and hunt the edge of the small wetland.

I set up two wood duck decoys and awaited sunrise. At legal time, a group of 3 woodies came through and I missed the shot. About 3 or 4 minutes later a group of 2 came through and I knocked down a nice drake woodie. I sat there for about 20 more minutes before a duck came through, but my gun got hung up on my jacket and I missed the shot. I saw ducks in the area, but not where I was.

I saw large numbers of woodies, off to the north of my position about 50 yards. I just wasn’t in the right spot. I will adjust my position when I hunt this spot again next week.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Roanoke River 11-15-2010 14:07
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 30-34 Degrees – Open Water
I went out for a hunt this morning and it was quite a difference between today and Sat. I took a friend of mine that has not really duck hunted before except once or twice.

We went to the Roanoke River to hunt this morning in a spot I found earlier but had never hunted. We got to the river at about 5:00am and set out for our spot. We set out a collection of ringneck, teal and woodie decoys and set up the boat blind. We were in a excellent location for concealment with the sun to our back so we would be in a shadow when the sun came up.

Right at legal time a teal blew through, but it was too dark to fire in the shadows of the small creek we set up in. We sat there until 10:00am and did not fire a shot. Not one. We had some mallards fly over high, and hook to the call,but none would commit. They would circle and then fly off. We had two groups of woodies pass by, but again out of range(a little beyond 50 yards). Some high flying teal and the occasional ringneck, but nothing presented a shot all day.

We will try this spot again in the late season, it looks like it might pay off in divers during rough weather.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Spring Creek Waterfowl Imoundment 11-14-2010 14:07
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – 30-34 Degrees – Open Water
My son,my hunting partner and myself went for a draw hunt at the Spring Creek impoundments of the Goose Creek Game Lands. My hunting partner really likes to put in for these draw hunts, I have never really done it much, opting instead to hunt as far off the beaten path as possible. This time my partner was right.As he usually is.

We arrived at the parking lot to the ramp around 3:30 am and got ready to wait until 4 am(you are not allowed to enter the impoundment until then) and we were off like a shot. We were the first to leave the area and set out paddling for our spot. We arrived quickly and were disturbed to find someone already in the impoundment. This was not as it should be, all 4 of the parties that drew hunts were in the parking lot and we were the first here. These hunters had come in from the creek side(over the levee) and they were in before the legal time. Since all four of the groups that had permits were at the parking lot, this meant this was a unpermitted hunter in the area before the prescribed time. We still got to our spot before them and began to set up. Much to our dismay, the other group set up about a hundred yards away. Welcome to the world of impoundment hunting. This is why I don’t do it much.

We got set up in good time and set out decoys and waited on legal time. As sunrise approached, ducks began to parachute into the area we had chosen by the dozens. Huge flocks of pintails came in, one after the other. At precisely legal time, someone in the imoundment fired and it was on. We limited out on pintails in 20 minutes. 3 hunters, 6 pintails. We sat there for hours, as flock after flock of pintails came in. Nothing but pintails. By the hundreds,they came in steady all morning. At about 10am, a few flocks of teal came through and my partner managed 2 teal.

It was a good day. This was my son’s first duck taken on the wing. And it was a pintail drake. Too bad it was not in full plumage this early in the season. But it was still a pintail, and the biggest pintail we took. It was huge. I cannot tell you how proud I am. Even though he took a second pintail later, it was the first that really counts as memorable. I can still remember him shouting out,”I got one!I got one!” after he hit it, a solid hit at about 30 yards. The duck went down clean, didn’t even twitch after it hit the water. This is perhaps the most awesome shot I have ever witnessed(even though I admit bias in this case).

Posted By:
golferrjl
Web Member

Camp Lejeune, NC 11-11-2010 12:10
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 40-45 Degrees
Observed several flights of both puddle and diver duck on 6 Nov 2010 while deer hunting near the inland waterway.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Nuese River 11-06-2010 15:09
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 35-40 Degrees
I went out for a quick scouting trip with my son Logan, his BLM puppy Shadow(who will be off to the trainer in about 3 weeks)and my CLF Dixie. We put in at a unimproved boat ramp on the Neuse River. In spite of it’s somewhat isolated location, this ramp is utilized by a lot of fishermen in the summer and a few deer hunters(who like to drift the river)in the winter. This morning was no exception, we actually had a deer hunter pull up to launch just as we were leaving the ramp.

The river is down, but navigable. Barely. We hit the water heading upstream from the ramp and then turned off the river into the creek we wanted to scout. With the water down, the creek has become a virtual minefield of stumps,fallen trees and submerged debris. In fact, I hit a submerged stump I had never encountered before and sheared a fin off my prop, as well as putting a inch long crack in my transom. I will take the necessary steps to repair both problems this week.

In spite of this, it was a productive morning. We saw a lot of wood ducks, several flocks of teal. and interestingly, a huge number of turkeys(we are storing that little bit of info for the turkey season). The cold weather we are having(with nights in the high 30’s, low 40’s)are moving in ducks. Migrating ducks that are easier to hunt than locals that know every nook and cranny of the local water.

My hunting partner, my son and myself have a draw hunt for the Spring Creek Waterfowl Impoundment for the Nov opener on the 13th. It is planned for us to head to the impoundment on Thursday to check it out to determine if we are going there or if we are going to one of several excellent locations that I have located in the last few weeks.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Roanoke River 11-03-2010 16:41
Cloudy, Light Rain & Drizzle – 35-40 Degrees
Went out to do a little scouting on the Roanoke River and it was a nice day. My boat is finally starting to run right, for some reason, it has performed flawlessly for the entire summer of fishing, only to start to screw up as the season approached. But it seems to be right now, all lights are 100% and the motor cranked up easily and ran perfectly. I am happy.

I went to scout out a small creek off the Roanoke that I found some years ago but have not hunted. That will change this year as I found ducks in the creek. I saw two flocks of teal flying(four in one flock, five in the other) and jumped up several flocks of ducks in the creek. One was a group of woodies, approx. 10 birds, another was a group of at least twenty teal. That does not include singles and doubles of woodies jumped up as I ran up the creek.

A good day on the water. I pulled out about 8:00am and went to the ramp. I loaded up and hit the road, just as it began to rain. Perfect timing as I rode home in the pouring rain. Could not have been a better day scouting

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Pamlico River 10-30-2010 11:23
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 35-40 Degrees
My son and I went out for a little scouting trip on the Pamlico River. Of course, Dixie the wonderdog and Shadow the spastic pup came along for the trip. We got out to the unimproved ramp in good time and set out to see if there were any ducks around. After a short run up the creek from the ramp, we set up where the creek widened up into a marsh grass flat. A flock of 8 or so came over about 20 yards to the north of our position. After about 10 minutes, 2 woodies came in straight on us, setting wings and coming right on in. Man, that hardly ever happens after the season opens.

We spotted some more ducks off a hundred or so yards to the east, flying south to north. This was all I needed to know, we picked up and eased out in order to limit our impact.

Things are looking up for the Nov. opener.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Cape Fear River 10-27-2010 11:31
Cloudy, High Winds – Over 70 Degrees
Went out to do some scouting outside my normal stomping grounds and went to scout a location on the Cape Fear River. I was looking in that area on Google Earth for some interesting terrian when I found a previously undiscovered boat ramp as well as what looked like a awesome cypress swamp off the river itself.I do this a lot, when I find the property, I then locate the landowner and try get permisson to hunt there. I have some spots that I am the only person allowed to hunt there that I found this way.

I got out there early and set out upstream from the ramp. I jumped up a few woodies and located a nice little backwater-type location (that was dry now due to low water). Will be interesting to check out when the water is higher. Went downstream from the ramp and found the water more navigable and jumped up several large groups of woodies in a small area about a mile from the ramp.

I picked up the boat and went to find the cypress swamp, armed with a satellite photo from Google Earth and a road map. I found the location, but the locked gate on the road and the 15 or so posted signs stuck to the gate and the posts convinced me that it was not worth the phone call to try to get permission. This landowner was serious about tresspassers. He had signs warning what would happen if he caught you on his property. He had signs warning what law enforcement would do. He had signs warning that his land was registered with the state as a turkey sanctuary. Not only was his gate locked, but the hinges were locked to the gate and the gate was locked to the fenceposts on the hinge side. And he had closed circuit security(I think being beamed to a nearby outbuilding). Anyone putting that much effort into keeping people out isn’t going to grant permission to anyone to go in there.

Oh well, it was worth a try.

But all in all, I now have a new location in the mix for this upcoming season on the river itself.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Hyde Co. 10-24-2010 07:09
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 35-40 Degrees
I went out with my son Logan,his new BLM puppy Shadow and my 10 year old CLF Dixie to scout the northern shore of the Pamlico Sound for some sign of ducks. We got to a small, almost completely unused boat ramp I found some years ago but I have only hunted it once.

You will remember this as the place where I had a flock of 100 or more Canada geese coming into my decoys, feet set, only to have a bass fisherman blow into my decoy spread at Mach II in his high speed bass boat to ask directions. The geese were so close, and so noisey, I wasn’t able to hear his 150hp motor approaching. I was angry and told him so. Since that day(several years ago)I have not been back.

We got up at 4 am and set out. We discovered that Shadow the spastic pup had destroyed the floor liner of his kennel in the back of the truck. Fine. Let the little monster have a cold butt. See if I care. Actually I do care, but I am not buying another $32 dollar floor pad until he is through destroying everything he can get his little teeth on.Razor sharp little teeth. We made good time and arrived at the small ramp in the pre-dawn darkness.

After getting the blind ready, we set out. We arrived at the spot in good time and set up the blind.It is a spot were the small tree-choked creek opens up into a large shallow marsh grass flat. At sunrise we had a flock of 3 woodies come through. They went right by us, never saw us. This is good info and a good spot for the season when it reopens. We waited about 20 minutes and a flock of 5 went through, same flight path up the creek we had just exited. In about another 20 minutes, a flock of 8 went right over us. We saw a huge flock of some kind of duck(but was unable to discern the species)about 300 yards away, flying towards the sound.

We pulled up and out in order to put as little disruption on the spot as possible. We are coming back here in Nov.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Neuse River 10-09-2010 10:45
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 40-45 Degrees
Went out for a good Sat. hunt and we decided to hunt local. Most of our coastal spots get covered up by fishermen in the early season, it is not worth the trip to go two hours to shoot one wood duck.

We set up in a small section of flooded timber upstream from Kinston. We saw a few ducks, but not enough to get excited about and we did not fire a shot.

We are seeing only local wood ducks, and they have learned how to avoid being shot at.

We have a permit hunt for Spring Creek Impoundment for Nov 13th, maybe that will be the trick as the migrators might be here by then..

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Neuse River 10-09-2010 10:41
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 45-50 Degrees
Went out on the Neuse near Kinston. Got out and set up in good time, at least 40 minutes before legal shooting time.

At legal time, a pair of woodies blew through and I did not see them in time to fire. I then had a group of 3 come through and I knocked down a nice drake. I saw ducks up high, but nothing to shoot at.

Called it a day at about 9:30 am.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Washington County 10-09-2010 10:37
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 45-50 Degrees
This is my report for the season opener on Oct 6th. My hunting buddy and myself went to hunt a small creek and we set out a pretty good spread for such a small area. After getting the decoys out, we set up and waited for sunrise(about 1 hr).

Much to our surprise, a hunter showed up 5 minutes before shooting time and motored by us in a sneakbox-type boat. He turned off the main creek into a side creek and went about 100 yards from us. He motored around for the next 30 minutes or so and finally, his boat went silent. We started seeing some ducks and then the other hunter opened up and evidently got one, becuase he recranked his motor and ran around for about another 30 minutes. Then he shut off for about 10 minutes and recranked and rode around for about 30 more minutes and motored past us and left.

After the creek finally went silent,(about 9:30 am)we began to see some ducks. Several flocks went by just out of range and then one buzzed the decoys and my partner splashed a wood duck hen. We sat there about another 40 minutes and I managed to knock down a woodie drake on my 3rd shot. About 11 am we called it a day.

[Edited By Scott-Tolar on 2010-10-09 10:38]

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Neuse River 10-02-2010 17:24
– – 50-60 Degrees
My son and I went out to do a little scouting this morning and it was eventful, but not productive.

We found 4 roads that we tried to travel down flooded and closed, one let us get almost to Washinton, NC before we had to turn around and backtrack about 20 miles. Then we had to backtrack again when we encountered it flooded out as well. It was a theme repeated 4 times before we finally managed to get to the Bridgeton boat ramp and launched(about 1 hour after sunrise). We went to a spot I used to hunt quite a bit(the spot I refer to as “the mud flat”) but I quit using due to heavy hunting pressure as more and more hunters took up the sport in the late 80’s and throughout the 90’s. By 2000, I had surrendered it to the invading hoardes.

My son and I set there for nearly an hour and did not see a single duck, other than a boat dock mallard that was hanging around the boat ramp begging for bread crumbs.

However, on the way home there were several positive signs as the roads that were under several feet of water at 4am were clear at 10am.

I am hoping the problem is solved by the Oct. opener. It is ironic that we went from such a extreme drought that hunting was only possible at the coast to so much water that even the coastal waters are inaccessible.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Hyde Co. 09-05-2010 08:09
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – Over 70 Degrees
My son and I went out for the dove opener and it was a good day. Of our entire party of 5 people, there were no limits taken. Plenty of doves were seen, but there weren’t enough parties in the area to keep them moving, or to capitolize on the numbers.

I and my regular hunting buddy managed 9 each(with one lost dove each that would have brought the number to 10). My son managed 2 and the other two good friends in our group managed 3 each.

Dixie the wonderdog did great. She did have one brainfart and break on the shot, but overall her performance was outstanding.

Can’t make Monday at daybreak as I am picking up my son’s new gun from the gunsmith at 10:00am. But I think my son will do better with his new gun than he did with my old 20ga.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Nuese River 06-07-2010 13:07
Sunny & Clear, Morning Fog – Over 70 Degrees
My son and I went out to do a little bream/bass fishing on Sat. He went armed with crickets, myself with my trusty flyrod. We got to the boat ramp at sunrise and set about our business.

The water has dropped quite a bit and the water is much clearer. We both set about our different types of fishing and the results were equally different. While I had a number of very small fish hit at my fly, I fished for 2 1/2 hours and caught one small bream. I changed flies frequently, I seemed to have more attempts at a chartruse surface fly than any other. But again, it was mostly small fish, a lot of hits, but nothing was sticking.

Meantime my son was catching fish on crickets, both more fish and larger. I decided at around 9 am to switch to my ultra-light and fish crickets as well. The change in action was dramatic. I immediately began to catch fish, including a number of larger bream. We then fished hard until about noon when it started to get really hot and the shade became more difficult to find.

The end tally was 25 keepers and a number of baitfish sized bream.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Nuese River 05-23-2010 12:01
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
My son and I went out to do battle with the mighty bream this morning and we went to one of our favorite spots. It is a small, unimproved ramp that on the back of a farmer’s property. We arrived just as the sun was turning the sky orange in the east. It is many miles from the nearest WRC ramp and this is why we like it so much.

The fish were slow, but a little bigger. My son caught one very nice shellcracker, it was not huge, but it was a nice pansized fish of approx 3/4 to 1 lb. I was fishing my new,hand tied flies, the bream seamed to really like something called a Caddis Fly(I think that is how it is spelled). I don’t know what a Caddis Fly is(or even if I have spelled it right), but the bream went to town on it as well as a small red surface bug my friend tied for me.

All in all, we caught about 25 or so bream and no bass. It was a blue bird day and it was nice. We did have more people show up on our creek than I have ever seen, which surprised me. But everyone I encountered was very nice and everyone gave a respectful distance to thier fellow fishermen to allow for solitude for all. But I was still surprised so see 3 boats over the course of the morning.

I guess when you have a 150 hp motor on the back of a bass boat, no place is too far away.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Nuese River 05-21-2010 13:09
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
Went out this morning to do a little fishing. I forgot the crickets and my ultra-light, but I did remember only a couple of miles down the road. I could have turned around to get them, but I decided that I would just use my flyrod and save the bobber fishing for this weekend with my son(he was in school).

I got to the boat ramp at sunrise and launched. I decided to go to a spot I have not fished or hunted in over 20 years. It used to get heavy pressure for both endeavors, just got all hunted and fished out. Nothing has changed.

In the intervening years, the WRC has put in a new ramp and dock at what used to be a privately owned, unimproved ramp. It is a really nice floating dock. I have found that it is easier for a cripple such as myself to launch and recover from a floating dock, so this was encouraging. I launched the boat and decided to fish away from the ramp rather than go down the creek on the gas motor. It was quiet and I was going to keep it that way.

The heavy traffic of yesteryear has increased, no doubt due to it’s proxemity to New Bern and the new ramp and dock. This was on a Thursday, by 9 am there wewe a dozen trucks at the ramp. I caught a few, but not many. On the positive side, the bream I caught were bigger. On the negative side, not a single boated bass all morning.

My son and I are going out Saturday. I am looking for a turnaround as we are going to one of our dependable spots(a unimproved ramp). We have not been catching any fish of any size there, but there are a bunch and a few bass.

I will also have a new batch of hand-tied flies to try out on Saturday. Every year I save my wood duck feathers and I send them to a gentleman in NY state(not NYC, but western NY state). In return, he ties me hand-tied flies to fish with the following year. I sent off my woodie feathers in Feb. and my flies had arrived in the mail yesterday when I returned from fishing. They are some good looking flies, there are some brightly colored surface flies as well as several deer hair mouse flies that are awesome looking. I can’t wait to get them wet.

My son and I will be off to do battle with the wily bass and the enthusiastic bream tomorrow

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Nuese River 05-15-2010 15:11
Sunny & Clear, Morning Fog – Over 70 Degrees
My son and I set out in the predawn darkness to do a little fishing. We decided to go to a creek that we used to fish in quite a lot, but for some reason had not been there in a while. It is a spot that I refer to in my hunting reports as “The Wood Duck Hole”. I have not hunted there much in the last 10 years or so due to locals that have been hunting the roost. The spot used to produce a limit of woodies for every trip as well as a few mallards from time to time not to mention the occasional Canada Goose. But once the roost shooters showed up, it quickly went downhill.

We got to our spot and began to fish. There was too much wind for my flyrod, so I got out my bream rig. We were fishing crickets for bream, and the action was pretty steady for the first hour when I broke my fishing rod. It is a ultra-light that I have owned for about 15 or 20 years, I don’t know why it broke, but it did while I was reeling in a nice shellcracker. It was not the size of the fish that broke the rod, it just broke. Age I guess. I was forced to pull out my flyrod in spite of the wind.

The wind had died down, even though it would kick up from time to time. I pulled out a white surface fly(they are STILL out of my favorite chartruese fly at the Nuese Sport Shop). The fish were hitting on it pretty good and I even caught a small bass(about 1 lb)over the next 2 hours. I decided to change my leader, so while I was at it, I changed my fly to a blood red surface popper.

Best move of the day! I immediately boated a 3 1/2 lb bass and the bream began to go nuts on the new fly. For the next 2 hours the bream hit it hard and steady. I had several bass hit the fly but not stick and I managed to boat another nice bass that was almost a carbon copy of the bass I caught when I first switched over to the new fly.

All in all, the broken ultra-light rod was a blessing in disguise.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Nuese River 05-13-2010 13:38
Cloudy, Occassional Rain Showers – Over 70 Degrees
I set out in the predawn darkness this morning thinking that the wind would preclude any fly fishing today. Dixie the wonderdog was waiting for me in the back yard when I went out the back door to get the truck and boat from where I had hooked it up the previous afternoon. She jumped into the truck and armed with a tube of crickets, I set out to try my luck. I arrived at the boat ramp at sunrise and launched the boat.

Much to my surprise, the wind had died down to utter calm with heavy,overcast skies. The water of the Nuese was slick as glass as I steered my boat away from the dock and set off to the creek I planned to fish. I arrived at my destination to see a few drops of rain hit the water.

I had a premonition. Quickly as I could, I downed my rain gear just as the bottom fell out. For about 15 minutes, the water came down in buckets. I used that time to string up my trusty flyrod. As quickly as it started, the rain abruptly stopped. I discarded my rain gear and got my fly into to the water.

I caught a nice shellcracker on the first cast. The fishing was hard paced and steady, I caught one bream after another, on almost every cast for the first hour and a half. I caught so many bream on my mustard colored Round Dinny(they are still out of chartruese at the Sport Shop), that they finally busted the fly up so bad I had to discard it.

I thought this might be a good time to try out the crickets, so I did so. Again, the action was good, but on crickets I caught mostly smaller fish and fed a lot of small ones that stole the cricket without taking down the float. After about 45 minutes, I switched back to the flyrod.

I tried out a black hair mouse fly to target some bass. I fished it for about 30 minutes, but it was only it by bream not large enough to take it down. I then switched to a white surface fly and the bream action began anew. I fished until about 11:00 am, and then I called it a day.

It was a good day.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Fishing report, Sat. May 1st 05-04-2010 13:30
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – Over 70 Degrees
My son and I went out bream fishing Sat and had a good time. The wind was blowing, it made keeping the boat in the right spot to fish a little tricky at times. Today was a cricket day, way too much wind for the old fly rod. In fact, it remained in the case, I never even strung it up this morning. Besides, when you get right down to it, there is very little in life as fun as bream fishing with crickets. There is just something about watching that float and waiting for it to go down.

The fishing was slower, but steady. Caught approx. 35 or so bream by 11:00 am. It was a mixture of shellcracker,sunfish, and googleye. Most of them remained on the smaller side, but I did catch one really tremendous shellcracker that was approx 1 1/2 lbs.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Nuese River 04-24-2010 15:47
Cloudy, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
Went out on the Nuese near New Bern to try the fish on my trusty flyrod. The fish were still lively, but nowhere near the action of last Thursday. I caught about 25 to 30 bream, mostly small ones. I had no bass hit on my fly today.

Of course, it could be my fly. I was using a chartruese Round Dinny(my go-to bream fly in the spring) on Thursday, two of which I had in my fly box at the time. I lost one to a 5 lb bass, and the other one got hit so hard by so many fish that it knocked a chunk out of the cork and knocked most of the paint off of the fly.

On my way home from my fishing trip on Thursday, I stopped off at the Nuese Sport Shop to replenish my Round Dinny stockpile only to discover they were sold out. I stopped in this morning on my way out only to discover they still out of stock.

So I had to change over to a mustard colored fly Dinny instead. They still hit on it, but I believe the difference between the chartruese and the mustard was the difference in the action today.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Nuese River 04-23-2010 12:48
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
Went out to do a little fly fishing and it was a good day. The bream were on fire on top water(mostly small ones) and the bass were hitting good on the top as well. I landed 3 bass in the boat, had a fourth bass steal my Round Dinny popper when my leader broke and had about 4 more that hit the fly but didn’t stick to it.

The fish are really hitting topwater right now.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Nuese River 01-31-2010 12:03
Cloudy, Snow & Rain Mix – 25-30 Degrees – Open Water
I went out for the season closer and the season went out with a wimper for me. Got skunked. I went near the house to a spot that I got skunked in last time I went there. Seems to be a continuing trend.

I intended to go east of New Bern and target puddle ducks, but the ice storm and frozen roads changed my mind. I got about 30 minutes from the house in the pre-dawn darkness when the road began to ice over and I decided to err on the side of caution. To make a long story short, I wimped out and decided I better hunt close to home.

I launched the boat near my home and still had plenty of time to get out. The wind was high, freezing sleet, snow and ice were blowing sideways as I unloaded the boat at the ramp. the dog and I set out for my old spot. This spot used to be excellent, but it has gone downhill due to heavy pressure in the last few years. But when your options are limited by weather, you have to make the best of it.

I saw a few ducks, but I didn’t fire a shot. I had a flock of 5 geese circle just out of range, but they didn’t commit.

But it was a awesome morning from a epic adventure standpoint. The snow falling was awesome, the boat actually filled with snow and sleet while we were hunting. It made for a beautiful scene, it is not often that we get to hunt in the snow down here. I picked up my decoys and went home at about 11:30am.

Another season is over. Nine months to go till next season.

Posted By:
Sloughslogger
Guest

Upper Cape Fear River Slough 01-29-2010 12:47
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – 35-40 Degrees
This was to be my last hunt of the season since I’d probably need a 4WD tomorrow am.

Saw about 50 woodys blow through but they were on the other side of the sough and out of range. Wrong spot at the wrong time. Ten geese flew right overhead but I’m on the Southern James Bay Hunt Zone; wrong side of the river to take one. Still it was great to finish the year out with a splendid sunrise.

Several weeks ago I took a new guy with me and he shot his first duck. He’s hooked and called me to report he got his limit on woodys and a mallard one day this week.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Nuese River 01-28-2010 11:35
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 30-34 Degrees – Open Water
As the season winds down to it’s final days, the hunting is not improving for me. I decided to go to a spot that I hunted earlier this season to pretty good results. It was the spot that my partner and I bagged our only limit of bluebills this season on the Nuese River.

I got to the ramp at about 5:30 am and was alone when I set out. The water was glass slick in spite of the small craft advisory that was given by NOAA the day before. It seems even NOAA is not right 100% of the time. I would not have gone to this spot unless I have high winds as it only produces ducks when it is too rough on the big water for the ducks. In spite of this, I did not go home completely empty-handed.

At about 7:15 am I had a single ringneck blow through and I knocked him down. I then sat there until about 9:30 when I managed a single ruddy duck that flew in and decoyed. But that was it for the day.

All in all, a beautiful day,bagged two ducks and the dog got wet. A good day, overall.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Nuese River 01-25-2010 13:15
Cloudy, Rain & Thunderstorms – 60-65 Degrees
My son and I went out this morning for a quick wood duck hunt. We had to be home early, so we had to go to a spot near home. I decided to go to a spot that used to provide well for me, but that I had quit hunting due to heavy pressure several years ago. 25 years ago, I had it to myself. I started having to share it starting about 7 or 8 years ago and starting about 3 years ago it got so messed up due to roost shooting, afternoon hunting, sky-busting, etc that I gave up on it. I didn’t have time to go anywhere else, so I gave it a shot.

We got to the ramp about 5:30am and set out for the spot. It was pouring cats and dogs. The winds were blowing 15 to 20 mph with 30 mph bursts. This produced sideways rain and poor visibility on the river. We went slow and careful and arrived at our spot safely.

It was as I feared. We saw some ducks, but they were all high. None would decoy, in fact, none would answer the call. I usually have good sucess calling woodies, but today I struck out. I tried a single that was at the edge of range, 35 to 40 yards, but I missed. I normally pass on shots like that in the timber, but it was such slow going I gave into the temptation. I saw a large number of shell casings in the water, jammed up in the tree limbs and logs, I would say that means that this spot has been blown out. It is a shame. I used to hunt it all season, right up to the last weekend and it was good for a wood duck limit most of the time. You would see several hundred woodies in a single morning. But those days are gone.

But it was a good day. My son and I sat there in the heavy rain, having a adventure and my son now knows that in sideways rain,you will not stay completely dry, no matter how hard you try. We enjoyed it. And on our way out, we found a wobbling mallard decoy jammed up in some tree limbs. It’s anchor line was broken and it got jammed up in the brush. It was one of those expensive armoured Herter’s decoys that have the photographic finish on it so the morning was productive in one way, we brought home a duck from the hunting trip.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Hyde Co. 01-24-2010 12:56
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 35-40 Degrees
We set out for a swan hunt and it was quite a difference from Weds. When my son and I set out from the house, Dixie the wonderdog howled in protest at being left, but I will not put her up against a wounded swan should that situation arise. I don’t want her to get hurt. We got to the field about 30 minutes before sunrise and set up our decoys. In addition to the set-up from last Weds, we now had a group of full body swan decoys to go into the spread. After setting out the decoys we settled into the drainage ditch to wait. It was really muddy down there, with all the rain it was slippery and hard to try to get comfortable. Also there was all the water from the aformentioned rain.

We saw a ton of snow geese, but none paid us any mind. None even gave us a look. They just flew over, going to wherever they were going. We sat there until about 8:00am when we began to see swans flying around. We had some large groups pass by, most gave us a look, but none would decoy as they have in past years. At about 8:30, we had two pass over and begin to circle as we called aggresively. They circled over and began to circle lower. They passed overhead so close that we could hear the wind in thier feathers as they glided over a mere 10 yards above us. We were waiting for one more pass to actually decoy them(part of the fun) when they flared and off they went without us even firing a shot.

We kicked ourselves for this mistake, but it was still early yet. But as flock after flock went over without coming in close enough for a shot, we began to realize the significance of our screw-up. There was a group of about 9 hunters in another nearby field, they were pounding away at any flock that came anywhere close to them. We saw a couple fall down, but they were really up high. To see them fall from that distance, over the trees is a testiment to how high they were.

The swans were gun-shy. They had been shot at so much and so high that they were also decoy shy as well.

Then John(the man that takes us on these annual pilgrimages) noticed that I had made a mistake and mixed snow and swan decoys. He stated that swans and snows like to maintain a little seperation when they feed. After he quickly corrected my mistake, we settled back in.

From now on, we will refer to John as The Swan Commander. Within 20 to 30 minutes, we had a pair come in low and circled. We called and they circled. When they passed by within about 35 yards, we realized they were not going to decoy, in fact, they moved to flare off, they must have seen our movement. My partner and I stood up and knocked down both of the swans. My swan went down in a gliding descent, landing about 100 yards away. He was not dead and there was a concern that he might escape. My son and my partner set out to finish him off as I am a cripple and I can’t run across the field to chase down a wounded swan.The Coup-de-gras was administered and they returned with both swans in tow. They were both fully mature birds and my hunting partner’s swan was huge in size. We took down the only two birds we fired at and we were proud to have done so.

John decided not to fill his tag yet, we just watched the birds and he intends to come back on Weds to hunt. For him it is the hunt that counts, not whether he gets a bird. If he shot one today, he would not have a excuse to return next week. He is a true sportsman and I consider myself lucky to count him as a friend.

We picked up our birds and went home. It was a good day.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Hyde County 01-21-2010 13:51
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
Went out for a swan hunt near Pungo Lake, it was less than opitimal to say the least. The calm conditions, coupled with 70 degree temps seem to have convinced the birds to stay on the lake and not move around.

We got to the field we had permission to hunt and set out the decoys. We had a collection of shilouetes,full body decoys, and Texas-style rag decoys. We got them out and awaited the swans.

Long wait. They never did arrive. We had a large group of about 25 to 30 that passed about 100 yards to the east of us about 10:30am, but they would not decoy. We flagged them, some of the group broke away to come to us, but they fell back into the flock and continued on. They broke away two or three times, but they always returned to the flock. Only birds we saw all day, other than a flock so far off in the distance that they were only visible through binoculars.

We picked up our decoys and set out to do some scouting from the road. Just to see where they were. They weren’t anywhere. We rode a large triangular shaped search pattern, we did not see a single swan in a single field. We saw none in the air. We saw none on the water.

They just weren’t moving. We intend to try again on Saturday. Perhaps the rain and falling temps will get them moving again.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Roanoke River 01-19-2010 11:58
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – 40-45 Degrees
My buddy, my son and I went out to target some puddle ducks in the aftermath of the week and a half freeze out. We were hoping that the cold had driven in new birds without having the frozen water drive them on straight through to SC. We decided to go to a spot off the Roanoke that we have been frozen out of for several weeks.

We got to the unimproved ramp and set out for our favorite spot in the creek. We put out a spread of widgeon, ringnecks, mallards and woodies and awaited legal time. After two weeks of temps in the low 20’s, the 40 degrees of this morning felt like a summer day.

It was slow going, we had some ducks come through before legal time. We then sat there until about 8:30am when two mallards came across the creek up high. I hit the call and they turned and circled overhead. With some concentrated calling, they finally locked wings(on the 4th pass) and they sat down about 50 yards away on the other side of a small point. We watched them swimming about, they would peek around the corner, but they would not swim out into the open water. While we were watching them, a duck blew through the decoys and my partner and myself stood up to shoot at what we thought was a wood duck. My partner pulled the trigger first and he splashed the duck. It was a merganser. While the dog was retrieving it, a woodie came overhead and I smacked it 3 times, knocking feathers off with each shot. It started down into the woods, my partner put a round into it and it went down in the water instead. I have to give him a assist on that. Didn’t keep me from ragging him mercilessly over being a merganser hunter.

Then a second merganser came in and landed in the decoys. We decided to let my son take a try at it. He stood up and as he shouldered his Mossberg 20 gauge, it took off and he hit it flying, putting two shots into it on the wing! It was time for some high fives and congratulations. His first duck on the wing. Made the whole trip worthwhile.

One woodie, two sort-of-ducks and a wet dog. Good day.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Pamlico Sound 01-17-2010 17:30
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 25-30 Degrees – Ice
My partner,son and myself went out to hunt sea ducks on the Pamlico Sound. I had heard good things from the coast earlier in the week and set out with high hopes to shoot some bluebills and buffles(and possibly some scoters as well).

We arrived at the uninproved ramp at about 4:30 am and set out for the big water in good time. We broke ice for the entire creek(about 2 miles) and made it out to the open water of the sound. We got to the spot and began to set out a large spread of bluebills and buffles. We set out a good spread of the old Herter’s foam mags and supermags for the bills and regular sized buffles. We got out the entire spread and began to set the boat in the proper position to hunt. We got the boat properly anchored and began to set up the blind when we noticed our decoys were moving. To our dismay, we discovered that a huge ice flow of Biblical preportions was going through our spread with the outgoing tide! A good 300 yards from shore!

There was nothing else to do but to pick up and move further out to get out of the ice. We got up the blocks and moved. We now were running a little late, but there was nothing else to do. We got them out, a little less organized than our first spread. In fact, it was a totally disorganized spasm of blocks out in the open water.

It was calm. There is no way to properly drive that home, it was so calm the water had the appearance of a mirror, reflecting the morning sunrise. NOAA was predicting 5 to 8 knot winds and waves less than 1 foot. It was dead calm and the water was slick as a sheet of glass. Even NOAA isn’t right all the time I guess.

We sat there and watched hundreds of ducks sitting around us on the sound, stationary and content to sit where they were. We had ducks fly by, but they would not come near the boat blind in such calm conditions. They would flare off about 50 yards out from the boat, just out of range. We sat there and glassed the ducks;bluebills,buffles and scoters until about 10:00am when a single male scoter blew through the decoys and we splashed him. The dog made short work of the retrieve, with the outgoing tide it was a good 40 yard swim. Only duck we took the whole morning.

It was so calm that when I cranked my outboard to pick up the blocks, ducks flared from the sound at over 200 yards! I have never seen that before. That would seem to indicate very wary birds indeed. My buddy and I discussed the need for us to purchase some kind of layout boats for the next season!

Got one scoter and the dog made a good retrieve. The sunrise was spectacular. The mirror-like conditions of the water made have been bad for hunting, but it was perhaps the most beautiful sunrise I have seen this year.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Nuese River 01-13-2010 12:29
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 10-20 Degrees – Ice
I went out for a wood duck hunt on the Nuese River this morning and it was quite a difference from Monday. The water has dropped another 3 feet in 3 days, I was barely able to access the water I wanted to get to. In fact, I had to get out and walk the boat about 50 yards where the water was too low to run my outboard. Took some intestinal fortitude to step out of the boat in the dark in 21 degrees.

Got back to my spot and set up. At legal time, a group of 4 came over and I missed the lead duck, all three shots. I then had a pair of hooded mergansers come in and land in the decoys. I hate mergansers. I don’t like to shoot them, I won’t eat them. I watched them swim around for about 10 minutes and then they swam away. About 30 minutes later, a single came through and I missed him,two shots. I had some ducks blow by me, just didn’t see them in time. Then I managed to splash a woodie drake with the third shot. Sent Dixie the wonderdog after it, she had a brain fart and I spent the next 10 minutes trying to get her to acknowledge my hand signals. Sometimes she just gets contrary and won’t look at me to get directions. She wants to do what she wants to do and she doesn’t want to be told. Finally got the situation handled after some highly descriptive adjectives, and the morning was over.

Wet dog, beautiful sunrise, less than stellar shooting performance. Typical day in the field.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Nuese River 01-11-2010 13:39
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 10-20 Degrees – Ice
Went out for a wood duck hunt this morning and the key was finding open water that was out of the hard current. I went to hunt my old stomping grounds, a area that 30 years ago I had all to myself, but I quit hunting there about 3 years ago due to heavy hunting pressure.

There was a multitude of reasons for giving up this area. One, too many hunters began to suddenly hunt there. Starting about 10 years ago, a few began to show up,no problem. There was room enough for them. Then there were more. Then there were hunters going in every day of the week. Not one hunter, but many hunters on many days, hunting the same stretch of water. Two, roost shooters. The roost is fairly easy to access if you know where it is and once it was found, hunters began to hunt the roost and it scattered the ducks. Three, skybusting. This forced the ducks up too high to hunt. Four, hunters who were gunning from moving boats. Unethical and detrimental to hunting quality to those obeying the rules.

Pressure is down this year in my spot. One reason is that for the reasons above, the hunting got so crappy that the above offenders gave up on the spot. Another appears to be that the last 3 seasons of drought conditions may have convinced some hunters to quit the sport as the easy hunting was not to be had. I think also that the 17 degree weather may have run off the lightweights.

I went to my old trusty spot this morning and had it all to myself. No gunfire from the creek, or from the river itself. I was encouraged to hear woodies squealing in the roost and I awaited legal time. There was enough current to keep the water open, yet it was out of the main current and this made it a ideal spot for weary migrators as well as resident woodies needing concealment. I had a pair of woodies go over about 5 minutes after legal time and I hit the call. They turned as if on rails and came right in. Two shots took down one woodie at about 25 yards. Dixie the wonderdog went off in pursuit and made short work of the wood duck that went down in the creek itself. Upon recovery of the dog, I reloaded just in time to have a group of three come up the creek. I stood up and they flared off to the right of the creek. One shot took down the leader and he went down in the woods directly opposite the boatblind. Off went Dixie across the creek. She crossed over to the other bank and off into the woods on the other side. In no time she was back with the drake. While she was gone, I reloaded and got ready for the next group. Upon getting Dixie back in the boat and the blind reset, I sat there for about 30 minutes. Hearing woodies squealing, I hit the call and got a response. Calling and them answering, I was ready when a group of 4 came up the creek at full speed. One shot at 30 yards took a drake down that went into a fluttering descent into the same woods as the last duck. Off went Dixie and a wood duck limit was achieved.

I did some scouting after the hunt, there are ducks on the river. The ponds and beaverswamps are locked up in ice and I don’t see any change in that over the next few days.

Posted By:
Sloughslogger
Guest

Cape Fear River 01-11-2010 11:23
Cloudy, Winds Calm – 10-20 Degrees – Open Water
This report is for Saturday, 1-9-10.
Set up on an open creek adjacent to the River and a frozen marsh. Saw nothing, not even at a distance. Ducks have moved to bigger open water I guess. I could hear the skybusters at Harris.

Posted By:
PapaBear
Web Member

Suggs Mill WMA 01-11-2010 08:02
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – 25-30 Degrees – Ice
Hunted the Lake at Suggs mill Saturday. Saw some ringnecks and a few mallards headed for the impounds but they were too far for responsible passing shots. I have cussed skybusters too vehemently to become one. I did mange to call in a flock of geese about 9:30 and dropped a nice bird.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Roanke River/Albemarle Sound 01-06-2010 17:30
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – 10-20 Degrees – Ice
Went up to the Roanoke River and wanted to hunt the edge of the big water in a spot that has done well for me in the past. I was surprised to find that it was locked up with ice well into the sound itself!

We left out from the unimproved ramp to discover the creek was frozen. Started out thin, but the closer to the Albemarle Sound we got, the thicker the ice got. By the time we got halfway from the creek to the sound, the ice was 3/4 of a inch thick. Another boat came up the creek and followed in the trail we were clearing through the ice. We busted ice all the way out into the sound and then at least 100 yards into the big water itself!. Once we hit clear water, we hammered down to go for the spot we wanted to set up. The boat behind us hit the hammer too and just as we arrived at the targeted shoreline, they went around us and started setting up about 40 or so yards away. I rode over and looked, they had a blind on the point. This is a new development, there was no blind here last year.

We had no choice but to set up where we were. We were there first, I feel for them and the effort it took for them to build a blind, but it is public water and we had no options for a 14 foot boat on the sound with 20 mph winds. We could not go out in the open water, and like I said, we got there first.

We set up and waited. Chunks of ice were blowing around, one snagged one of my ringneck decoys and pulled it out to the big water. We kept a eye on it, thinking we would go out and get it later after primetime was over.

We had several groups of ducks blow past us, but we were always looking in the wrong direction when they came in and didn’t get off a shot. The guys on the point shot several ringnecks and we watched as the ducks blew out to the sound(they didn’t have a dog). At 7:30 or so, they cranked up thier boat and went out to get thier ducks.

We decided to move to a different point that the wind had cleared while they were moving about. We picked up and moved and set up on a newly freed-up point when we noticed they were picking up thier decoys. If we would have known that, we would have stayed where we were. They only hunted to about 7:30.

We sat there until 10:00, I managed a single black duck. Not much success there.

We set out back to the ramp, the water had refrozen in the creek, it was now thicker than when we came in. The ice beat the crap out of my boat and it’s camo paint job.

But it was still a beautiful day.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Neuse River 01-04-2010 14:19
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 10-20 Degrees – Open Water
Went out for a quick hunt this morning and managed a single woodie. I went to a spot not far from the house that I had not hunted in several years. I was pleasantly surprised to see some ducks, I missed one that I should have gotten.I saw a large number of ducks, up a little high, but flying in big flocks. Obviously migrators.

Temps were in the low 20’s this morning but I was surprised to find that the backwaters were not locked up. However, I saw ice beginning to form on the edges so there is a good chance it will be tomorrow(not that I will hit the same place two days in a row). I will be going to the Roanoke on Weds, we will see how things go then! I think this cold weather is moving in new birds. It is just a matter of being in the right spot when they come through.

I expect the season to pick up in the next few days if the weather holds cold.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Roanoke River 01-03-2010 16:22
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – 10-20 Degrees – Open Water
My hunting partner and I went out for a hunt and it can be summed up in one word. Cold. Well, maybe two words. Very cold. The temp was about 21 degrees, but couple that with 20 mph winds with 30 mph gusts and high humidity, it was bone chilling.

We arrived at the unimproved ramp at about 5:30am and it was immediately obvious our main adversary this day was going to be the temps. That wind cut right through you. I normally would not put on my jacket until after the boat was ready to launch to avoid sweating in my hunting clothes. This leads to getting chilled later when the sweat cools off and you are wearing damp clothes. But today, I tried to get my jacket on in the truck before I got out!

We set out to our spot, I was pleased when my old outboard cranked up easily and off we went. We got to our spot and began to throw out the decoys. In spite of wearing 5mm waders with 1200 grams of Thinsulate in the boots, my feet were already beginning to feel the cold. We set up the boat blind in our customary location and waited the final 15 minutes until legal shooting time.

We had some ducks blow through before legal time, we are not sure of the species. We think they might have been gadwall. We had some ringnecks come in, but we had trouble connecting on them. I managed a ringneck and we began the wait. Every so often we would see ducks, but not in big numbers and not near enough to shoot at. Then we had a pair of mallards come in. My dog had shaken off on my gun and when we stood up to shoot, I discovered the safety was frozen stuck. I didn’t get off a shot. By the time I freed the safety, the opportunity was gone. My partner managed a single on one of the mallards. We sat there for about another 30 minutes and then we had to call it a day at about 10:30. My feet had been painfully cold for at least an hour and we decided it was time to wimp out.

It was very hard to retrieve the decoys in the heavy wind. Even in the small creek we were in, the high winds were whipping up whitecaps. Our decoys had icicles hanging from their bills due to the waves dipping them in the water and instantly freezing when they came out of the water. The temps never rose above freezing.

We had to pull my outboard out of the water in order to get all the way up to shore and I didn’t think about it, but the water froze in the intake lines from the water pump to the engine. I couldn’t get my outboard to pump water up to the engine. I removed the cover and we ran straight back to the ramp and my motor is fine. The extreme cold temps didn’t allow it to overheat. I thawed it out at home and it is pumping fine and my outboard is no worse for the experience. However, it could have been very nasty if the vanes of my waterpump had frozen to the sides of the lower unit. Something for all of us to think about in these extreme cold temps. Our bretheren to the north more than likely would not have made such a rookie mistake, but we rarely face such extreme cold down here in such high winds. I will not pull my outboard out of the water when I go hunting on Monday. Promises to be just as cold and just as windy if the weather report is to be believed.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Pamlico River 12-30-2009 16:40
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 25-30 Degrees – Ice
My son and I went out for a hunt on the Pamlico River and the news is not good. We saw a few buffles, but that was it.

We set out from the small, unimproved ramp at about 5:00am and broke ice from the ramp to the big water(about 3 miles). We thought this might be a good sign, perhaps to negate the negative effects of a full moon. This might force the ducks out to the open water of the river and off the creeks. Good plan. Just lost something in execution.

We had a few buffles blow in, but I passed on them to allow my 12 year old son the first shot. He didn’t bring one down, but he tried. I just had a good time watching him hunt. The water was glass slick and the ducks weren’t moving. Couple that with 27 degree temps, made for a cold morning, but not as cold as it could have been with some wind!

I am going to think about my next move. It has not been a good season this year other than a few good days. I talked to several other groups of hunters, none of them are having any luck on the big water either. The news from Mattemaskeet is excellent, but the numbers of hunters showing up to get in the drawing for no shows makes that a non-starter. There are ducks on the river, but the large number of hunters has them scattered and hard to target. The small beaverpond I hunted on Monday can’t be hunted again until next week if I hope to not run the ducks out of it.

There is some serious contemplation to be done here.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Beaverpond off Nuese River 12-28-2009 11:25
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 35-40 Degrees
My son and I went out for a beaverpond hunt this morning. I took my trusty canoe and my son went in his Creekboat. Hunting such a small location, we took only 3 wood duck decoys and the bare necessities.

Just before legal time we had some woodies blast through. At legal time they began to come in, groups of 2 to 4. I managed a pair of woodies . It was very gratifying, didn’t see or hear another hunter all morning. This was duck hunting. We even had a pair of mallards come through, just out of range that set down about 200 yards farther in the swamp. However, the back of the swamp is inaccessable to us right now as the water is higher than it has been in a long time, but not high as necessary to get to the back of the swamp. The river is still high, but it has dropped just a little as well. The good news is that the ground has become saturated at last allowing the water to collect and not be absorbed immediately.

Planning a diver hunt Weds, I have high hopes for the big water.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Neuse River 12-27-2009 12:17
Sunny & Clear, Morning Fog – 45-50 Degrees
Went out for a hunt at the same location as my last hunt, but I intended to go to the secondary location that I had located on my last trip. I hoped that it would be less pressure on this spot than in the surrounding habitat. Didn’t work out as intended.

My son and I got to the spot early and set out. We didn’t see any other boats at the ramp, but like I said, we set out early(pulled out from the ramp in the boat at about 15 minutes to five). We rode out to the creek in question and set out to the backwaters. We were about 3/4’s of the way up the creek when I noticed that there was a boat behind me about a hundred yards. I run in the dark in foggy conditions so that I don’t have light reflection off the fog, so I turned on my running lights and my headlights.I turned around so that he would see my headlights and know we were in the creek already. To my surprise, he went around me and went on up the creek. Caught me totally by surprise.

I am ashamed to say I lost my temper. I pulled up to where he was setting up and confronted him. Turns out that he didn’t realize what I was doing when I showed him my lights. He also had his young son with him and it was his son’s first hunt. I felt bad and apologized for over-reacting. I am just so used to people that set up inconsideratly that I had over-reacted to a honest misunderstanding. I honestly feel this fellow didn’t mean any inconsideration.

He went in a little farther than I intended to go, but too close for me to set up where I wanted. So I backed up a little in the creek and set up. I saw ducks, but I was not in the location to capitalize on them. Those are the breaks. I also heard gunfire from the creek proper, which meant any ducks coming straight up the creek were fired on before they got to us as well. This resulted to the ducks that passed over us doing high and in escape mode. Ducks were going into the location that we found last week and the other guys did okay and got some ducks.

I am through with this location for now. Too much pressure, too many people. That new boat ramp is way less of a blessing than I thought.

Posted By:
trevorh
Web Member

Camp Lejeune 12-26-2009 09:17
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 45-50 Degrees
Hunted a small swamp for an hour this morning. Saw a few groups of woodies (and Hooded Mergansers), but no takers. I’ve seen a few groups of Bluebills and Buffleheads on New River, but have not seen many puddlers in the area yet.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Neuse River 12-23-2009 11:52
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 25-30 Degrees – Open Water
My son, my partner and myself went out for a hunt this morning on the Neuse River hoping to target some woodies and perhaps even a mallard or two. We went to one of my favorite river hunting spots, it has been a spot that we have had pretty much to ourselves for a few years. We wanted to go to the coast to hunt bluebills and buffles, but my partner needed to be home early in order to catch a plane home for Christmas. So off to hunt woodies it was.

There is a new factor to the equation, the WRC has just purchased and refurbished the boat ramp at this location. What was a hard launch threading the needle through the trees in pitch black darkness to a dirt ramp is now a first rate, well-lit double ramp with a floating dock. While it was a pleasure to launch this morning, with this first rate ramp comes more hunting competition. As we pulled away from the dock, another truck with a very nice 18 or 20 foot duck rig pulled up. We set out at flank speed realizing that we might have competition for our spot. As we rounded the curve, I saw a second truck pull up to the ramp.

We got to our spot and set up. We saw ducks, but they were not flying up the creek channel like we expected, but they were scattered everywhere. It was soon apparent why. Gunfire erupted all around us at legal time, both from up the creek and from the land behind our location. Nobody else went back in to the backwaters like we did, but they all seem to have set up in the same general area to hunt the ducks that go back to the ponds at the back of the creek. This spot is evidently getting hit pretty hard and pretty regularly. It seems that our new ramp is less of a blessing and more of a mitigating factor! We did manage to splash a single woodie and to miss several others. But the trip was not unproductive in every sense of the word.

We noticed the ducks seemed to be heading out over the trees in the newly flooded timber in what seemed to be a common general direction. When we pulled up to leave we went to investigate and found a open area among the flooded oak that had several groups of woodies feeding. It will be a good place to go in the next week or two in order to see if these ducks remain unmolested.

Posted By:
Sloughslogger
Guest

Piedmont River Swamp 12-22-2009 11:21
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 25-30 Degrees – Ice
Went to the river this morning for a quick hunt before work. Splashed two woodys!

The mallards are here! About twenty in one bunch came over and circled the swamp several times but the swamp was frozen and they didn’t’ have anywhere to set down. I had made jerk in the ice for a few decoys but they froze back in a matter of minutes in spite of me making ripples in the water with my legs. Still; it was cool to see them working and have them respond several times when they broke off to go find open water and decided to come back. Eventually they did leave; and they left me with a little more confidence on being able to call them back. As always, it was a very cool morning.

[Edited By Sloughslogger on 2009-12-22 11:22]

[Edited By Sloughslogger on 2009-12-22 14:14]

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Neuse River 12-20-2009 08:00
Cloudy, Light Rain & Drizzle – 40-45 Degrees
I went out with my son and my hunting partner for the December opener and we had a good day. It was real duck hunting, the temps were in the 40’s but felt like in the 20’s with the high winds(20 to 30 mph)and the horizontal rain and drizzle. Even on the small creek we were in off the Neuse, there were whitecaps (albeit small whitecaps).

We set up on the assumption that any ducks out on the Pamlico Sound would have to find sheltered water and we went equipped with bluebill,ringneck and mallard decoys to try to capitalize on them. We set out early in order to make sure that if there were large numbers out hunting we would not get beat to our spot. We have hunted here before during extreme weather, it has paid off in the past.

We got out decoys out and then we saw another boat coming up the creek from the ramp. They saw us and set up about 300 yards away in a small cove. I think they were headed for the same spot we were in, they had to turn around and hunt for a spot to set up. They were very considerate by moving off so far, it was what I would have done. There was no way for them to get out of sight of us, there wasn’t enough creek for that. But they did move off as far as they could and still get to hunt. It was refreshingly sportsmanlike. I have gotten so used to hunters that would set up too close, or set up to short-stop ducks on your spot that this behavour on the behalf of this hunting party seems to warrant notation.

At legal time a single bluebill flew up and landed outside the decoy spread. My son had not taken his first duck yet, so we let it swim up and then my son stood up and smacked it. He made a good hit with his 20 ga. Mossberg at about 20 yards, but when the dog got out there to retrieve it, it suddenly dove on her and did not resurface. Being this was my son’s first duck we really wanted to retrieve it,but to no avail. It never came back up.

A flock of bluebills then flew in behind us, circled and landed about 200 yards away. They swam around for awhile, then they picked up and flew into our decoys and my partner and I both splashed one. We saw another flock set up about 150 yards away in the small cove the other hunters were in.

Then a flock of bluebills came in and went to the other hunting party’s decoy spread and they fired on them. When they did, the flock back in the cove took off and flew over our boat and my partner and I splashed another one each. Four drake bills in the boat.

We sat there in the boat, telling jokes, trying to stay warm and dry until about 10:30 am, then we called it a day.

Wet dog, wet hunters and wet gear. Good day.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Eastern NC 12-17-2009 09:41
Cloudy, High Winds – 35-40 Degrees
I went out on a rather extensive fact-finding expedition on Weds. to find out two things. Were the divers on either the Albemarle or Pamlico Sounds. I found almost no ducks on the Albemarle and only a few on the Pamlico.

The divers are not on the Albemarle at all. However, the news is not all bad. I talked to locals and got the scoop on what is going on on the Pamlico at least. The divers have begun to show up in the last few days, so far just buffles and a few bluebills. But they are coming. In fact, one local told me that a local guide was brushing up his blinds in anticipation of the new arrivals. He did not even guide any parties last season on the Pamlico in the location I was scouting becuase the birds never showed up. In fact, I only hunted there once due to the same problem. But my local source was under the impression that the guide expects big numbers in the next few weeks and was getting ready.

It is expected to be a hard north wind for the next few days at least. That should push in some new birds.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Neuse River 12-14-2009 13:37
Cloudy, Heavy Fog – 40-45 Degrees
I went out to do a little scouting on the Neuse River this morning in anticipation of the last leg of our three part duck season. I went to a location that I found during the low water of this summer that seemed to hold real high-water potential. The water is now up and it warranted a new look. I have never hunted here, but I will remedy that soon.

I set out from the unimproved ramp at about 45 minutes before sunrise. It was heavy fog, vison was practically zero. Armed with my GPS, I set out to find the spot that I had found earlier this year. I first found the small creek entrance by the waypoint on my GPS(would have been difficult without it) and then I found the opening that held the most promise for hunting that I had found earlier(impossible without GPS on such a foggy morning). I set up in a fallen tree and awaited the sunrise.

I was very pleased as wood ducks began to fly through about 10 yards off the water, straight down the creek channel. After watching about 40 to 50 woodies blow through, I set out to further explore the new territory the high water had opened up.

Well up the creek, near the head waters, I found a large open area that could almost be described as a small lake-area. It opened up into a large opening(for such a small creek), at least 100 yards across. I jumped up some ducks in the back area of this “lake” and promptly marked it as well on my GPS for a return hunting trip this season.

trev, you will find black ducks and ringnecks(technically a diver that thinks it is a puddle duck) a lot of times on the Pamlico Sound in particular, but the majority of puddlers are found in fresh water or in the salt water marshes that have availible freshwater nearby. I have shot almost every black duck I have ever shot in NC in either salt or brackish water. I shoot a lot of ringnecks in brackish water as well.

If you get to the rivers, near the sounds where the water is still salt, or at least brackish, you can shoot puddlers. But I have never shot them on the sounds themselves, except outside of impoundments.

[Edited By Scott-Tolar on 2009-12-14 13:39]

Posted By:
trevorh
Web Member

12-13-2009 07:07
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 25-30 Degrees – Open Water
Scott-Tolar, thanks for all the reports and for taking new hunters out.

Saw several rafts of Bluebills and Buffleheads on New River on Sat. Not that many, but they are showing up. Have not seen any puddlers down this way, but I’m obviously not looking in the right areas. Will start looking up in the creeks.

I have never duck hunted in eastern NC. Is it common to find puddlers in salt or brackish water? Or do you go far enough upstream to find fresh water?

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Neuse River 12-12-2009 11:25
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 25-30 Degrees – Open Water
Went out for a scouting trip with my son this morning on the Neuse River and the word is good. The water is high, for the first time in the last 3 seasons and the timber is finally flooded during the hunting season. It has been high for all of November and now the weather forcasts predict rain enough to keep it up for the foreseeable future. While it was sunny and calm today, it is predicted to start raining tonight and continue through Monday.

It was a beautiful morning, 25 degrees and clear. We went into a spot that I have done well in years past, it is not heavily hunted even though I have on a rare occasion encountered another hunter there. It is a long creek that cuts off the main river, it’s mouth is so clogged with logs and debris as to make it practically impassable. However, the secret is to go up the river past the mouth and then cut through the flooded timber to the creek where it is more open. It is a long run up the river, it’s isolation contributes to it’s lack of pressure. The ducks were in there, not only the traditional wood ducks that I expect to see, but mallards as well. They were flying up the creek channel, that will make them easy to pattern when the season re-starts.

We also went to a secondary location in the area where we saw a few ducks. It is a small dead end creek in a sharp curve of the river, actually little more that a backwater swamp. We saw a few ducks in there, but not as many as in our primary objective. I will keep this in mind for the rare occasion when I get to the primary spot and there is someone in it.

Beautiful day and saw some ducks. The only thing missing was the season being open right now.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Roanoke River 12-11-2009 16:01
Cloudy, Light Rain & Drizzle – 35-40 Degrees
I apologize for my belated field report. I am a disabled veteran and I have been having some health issues lately. I have been making the trip out, but I have been knocked on my butt for a day or two afterward. It is easy when you don’t post up in a timely manner to just “write it off” and think you will make it up later. But I have decided to catch up and not take easy way out.

I took out another young man for his first duck hunt on December 2nd, but it was not a dream hunt like his friend had. When I got to the unimproved ramp, I was a little disappointed to see fresh tire tracks in the mud, but we went out and hoped for the best. We set up in the same spot that we had done so well in the previous Sat., but we did not get any ducks. In fact, we only saw a few. I think the people that went in the day before we did must have blown out the spot. Oh well, such is the fate that awaits hunters on public land, sometimes.

On the plus side, I did go out exploring in the area and found a new creek that might be just the answer to the problem of people overhunting my creek.

I went to scout the Newport River on Thursday, and I only saw a single buffle. I have heard the bluebills are starting to arrive, but I don’t think they are on the Newport River. I have never hunted there, but I have felt the area looked good and it’s difficulty to navigate in the upper extremities of the river promised to limit the hunter numbers. But so far it is logic that has not paid off.

I am going out with my son to scout jerk on the Nuese River. I promise to post up a timely report

Posted By:
Sloughslogger
Guest

Upper Cape Fear River 12-03-2009 11:39
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 50-60 Degrees
Went out for a quick wood duck hunt before work today. Very disappointing. We had a LOT of rain in the past 24 hours and the Upper Cape Fear River is above flood stage. I thought it would be a good day to catch the woodys in the green timber but I was wrong. Only saw 1 woody two minutes before I could shoot. I guess with all this rain they can pretty much set down anywhere or they were blown/floated down to Wilmington.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Roanoke River 11-28-2009 14:43
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – 30-34 Degrees – Open Water
I went out for a hunt today and it was awesome! In fact it was [b]AWESOME [/b]! Wet dog, ducks in the boat and a overall excellent day in the field. Dixie the wonderdog brought her “A” game today.

Today I took a young novice hunter with me, his name is Gilbert. He is my daughter’s husband’s sister’s husband. I guess that makes him my son-in-law-in-law. Very pleasant young man with a excellent attitude. He had only been duck hunting once and hadn’t gotten any ducks.

We went out to one of my favorite spots on the Roanoke River. I was careful to explain to Gilbert that I couldn’t guarantee anything, duck hunting is a fickle sport. I just didn’t want him to be disappointed. I need not have been concerned.

We got the decoys out and waited the approx. 20 minutes to legal time. Today I set out a dozen ringnecks, four mallards, and 4 teal as well as two wood ducks. I was encouraged when I saw several flocks of woodies fly over before legal time. At legal time a single greenwing teal blew in and landed in the decoys. I told Gilbert to go ahead and smack it and he did so at about 15 yards. One teal, feet up in the decoys. I sent Dixie out to pick it up and she made short work of the little duck. Once I had recovered the dog and reset up the blind, I had no sooner picked up my gun when a flock of ringnecks blew through, full speed, about 5 feet off the water. I smacked a drake that went down in a cruising descent, landing about 100 yards from the boat. He hit the water and didn’t move. Gilbert couldn’t believe a dog could swim that far and retrieve the duck and he was most impressed, especially when I had to hand signal Dixie in for the closing of the deal. Several flocks blew past us while we were reloading, working the dog, etc., but that is part of the game.

The Gilbert knocked down a second teal as it came in, wings cupped at about 35 yards. In short order Dixie was on her way. We sat there for about 20 minutes and a flock of ringnecks flew by and I managed to knock down a second one. After Dixie recovered it, I remembered to tell Gilbert that if ducks flew into the decoys, he was to take the one on the right and me the one on the left. A few minutes later, two more ringnecks flew into the decoys and we knocked them both down in unison. Gilbert was thrilled, he had never shot decoying ducks, he now had two with thier feet down landing.

We had some ducks fly by, had some mallards that I worked but wouldn’t commit and then I looked to the west of our boat blind to discover a woodie drake swimming up into the decoys. I stood up and smacked him the same instant he turned to make a hasty retreat. About 20 minutes later, I shot another woodie. By then it was 9 am. We sat there for about 30 minutes and decided to call it a day.

Dixie did some excellent work. The end take; Gilbert 3 ducks(two teal and a ringneck), Me 5 ducks(three ringnecks and two woodies). Dixie really stepped up to the plate today, she did well. Gilbert had a good time, I think he is hooked. Soon I will be taking my other son-in-law-in-law, I hope his first real duck hunt is as memorable.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Pungo River 11-25-2009 19:42
Cloudy, Light Rain & Drizzle – 40-45 Degrees
I went out for a hunt today and it did not really turn out like I hoped. I decided to go to the Pungo River today as it is a place that has really produced for me in years past. In the last 10 years or so, I have begun to have a problem with fishermen in this area and I have learned not to hunt there on Saturdays. Those guys will fish right in your decoy spread and tell you they have just as much right to be there as you. But I hoped that there would not be too many fishermen there on a Wed. I long for the good old days when fishermen quit fishing around Labor Day.

When I got to the boat ramp at 5 am, there was a single truck at the ramp, a obvious duck hunter. He had a big water rig based in the huge trailer behind his truck, so I knew he posed no competition to me as I was headed into the small water. I put in my rig and took off to my spot. It is not all that far from the ramp, but it is hard to find and is overlooked by the masses of hunters. I got to my spot, set out a impressive spread of mallards,woodies,teal and ringnecks. I set up the blind and awaited the sunrise. It was overcast and drizzling on and off, it looked good.

I had a trio of woodies come through at legal time at the edge of range. I could have maybe gotten one, but it was a long shot and I passed on it in hopes of decoying them. Didn’t happen. I then had a single come through and again I passed on the 50 yard shot. Then I had a single ringneck come by about 45 minutes later and I took him at 35 yards. Took all three shots to put it down. I then sat there for the next 3 hours and didn’t see a duck.

I had wedged my boat in the sawgrass in a spot that I have used for at least 10 years that make it a natural blind. I throw my anchors out on the right side of my boat and pull myself into shore. As I was freeing my anchors, I made a discovery. A pile of about 6 teal and a ring neck in the brush behind my boat. They looked pretty fresh,I assume that they were killed yesterday. I don’t know if they represent what the hunters in my spot shot and didn’t want to clean, or if it was the ducks they shot over limit, but my guess would be the second one. This spot usually has a lot of teal and ringnecks in it, I was surprised when I saw none. Explains my slow morning.

I don’t think I will go back here unless there is some severe cold weather to move in new birds. And I will be keeping a eye out for the guys hunting my honey hole. If I see them in there in the same natural blind spot that I usually use, I will assume that they are the hunters in question and I will tell them I have my eye on them.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Nuese River 11-22-2009 08:13
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 40-45 Degrees
Went out for a hunt and saw a bunch of ducks. I mean a bunch of them. But I am going to have to adjust my strategy in order to capitalize on them. It has been low water hunting for the last 3 years. Now we have high water for the first time during the season, and it is really high.

I went to one of my favorite creeks on the Nuese this morning. My usual boat ramp is unusable right now due to the high water, but I wanted to go there so I made a decision to make the epic effort. I launched at a ramp that was very far away on another small creek. This ramp is not used to access the river usually as it is 4 miles from the river, and it is a twisting,winding white knuckle ride in the dark strewn with logs,stumps and other debris. In fact, this ramp is a favorite with canoeists and kayakers in the summer.

I launched at 4 am and set out on the nerve racking obsticle course in the dark. After arriving at the river after what seemed forever(in reality about one hour), I still had a 45 minute ride down the river to the creek that was the object of my desire. But the bright spot here was that once I reached the river, it was hammer down and a clear run.

I arrived in the creek at about 5:45 and set out my decoys. The water was very high, the woods were flooded and the current was really fast in there. I got set up in the channel(which I had to find by memory as it was not recognizible in the high water)and set up the boat blind.

I saw a bunch of ducks. They were everywhere(as I was sure they would be). But the problem was that they were everywhere in the sense that there was so much water that they could use so much of this water that they were scattered and I was unable to pattern them. I missed a couple that came by me, missed many more that I did not even get to shoot at as they were coming from every direction and I could not look in every direction at once.

Mostly woodies, in huge flocks flying all around. I saw a flock of bluewings including a fully plumed drake that set down about 50 yards away from me after I called them in and they circled me about 3 times before landing.

To make a long story short, I did not get any ducks. But it was a very informative trip in the sense that now I know I need to set up so that I can limit the amount of open water they can use around me. I am going tomorrow(Monday) in the hopes that I can target some geese in the area.

Posted By:
Sloughslogger
Guest

Eastern Piedmont River 11-21-2009 12:18
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – 45-50 Degrees
Went to the same slough on the river I’ve hunter the past several years. Saw lots of wood ducks. Splashed one and watched about 50 fly just out of range. I didn’t want to burn this hole out so I only took the one woody. Several mallards passed over but would not commit to the spread. It was a good morning.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Nuese River 11-19-2009 11:11
Cloudy, Rain & Thunderstorms – 45-50 Degrees
I went out for a hunt this morning knowing I would have to come out by 8:00 am in order to handle a prior commitment. It was raining hard when I left the house and went to a small beaverswamp a few miles from my house. I have not scouted it this year as it did not have enough water in it to float my canoe until the big rain last week.

I put in my trusty canoe and paddled in a short distance. I did not feel comfortable going way back into the swamp alone as I could dislocate my leg and be in real trouble without either my son or my hunting buddy to help me. I located a nice opening with some nearby concealment and set out 2 woodies and two mallard decoys. I then set up the canoe in the underbrush leaving Dixie in it as there was no dry ground to set her on. I then got my gear ready and looked at my watch. Shooting time in 15 minutes.

Right at legal time,(and in the pouring rain) several big flocks of woodies passed through(10 or more birds). I did not fire at them as I don’t like to educate that many ducks to my presence when hunting small water like this. If I hunt it light, shooting only singles and small groups, I can hunt it all season for quick morning hunts like today. Then I heard some woodies squealing and I set to the call. They turned and came in, a group of three. I smacked one with my second shot and missed my third shot at the escaping two.

I then had a single woodie blow through at mach II and I missed it. Then a group of four woodies passed by behind me and again I hit the call. They took a question mark shaped flight path and I smacked one as they passed over my dekes with wings set. The woodie went down like it flew into a sheet of glass. I love Black Cloud!

I saw a couple of small groups of mallards, but none that passed within range. The rain finally slacked off as I was loading the canoe back on the truck.

Two wood ducks. Wet dog. Wet gear. Wet hunter. Good day.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Spring Creek Impoundment 11-18-2009 12:22
Sunny & Clear, Morning Fog – 40-45 Degrees
My partner and myself went out for a draw hunt in the Spring Creek Impoundment near Aurora. The word had been good about duck numbers and we were hopeful for a good day to help us recover from our poor day afield Saturday.

On Saturday hunters in the impoundments at Spring Creek and Campbell Creek did very well with several groups limiting out and most groups averaging 3 to 4 ducks each. Of the groups that limited, they included large numbers of blue wing teal ! That’s right, blue wings!

We were there just before 4 am(you can’t enter the impoundments before that time)and were a little dissapointed to find the parking lot holding 4 trucks. Then we discovered that one of the groups(of two guys) were actually hunting Hunter’s Creek Impoundment so there were only 3 groups in ours. Two guys in one group, one guy in the other. Looked like it might be a good day to be here!

We were the last to go in(I am a disabled veteran and could not go very fast)but we were pleasantly surprised to get our traditional spot! So far we were batting 1000! We were very pleased to find that the WRC has really done some work in the impoundment, cleaning it out and getting rid of the nusiance vegetation that was choking out the good vegetation. There was plenty of open water and we set out a large spread of teal,ringnecks,mallards and widgeon. My partner set up on a small island of vegetation about 20 yards west of my position as the water was very high and the vegetation that was still above water was too sparce to hide two hunters.

Just as legal time passed, a flock of widgeon passed by. My partner and myself set to whistling for them and they turned and passed by without landing. I managed to splash a large drake and Dixie the wonder dog made short work of the retrieve. A few minutes later, a flock of bluewings went by and my partner hit one that went down in a cruising descent that carried it very far away. He got into his canoe and made a valiant attempt to recover it but was unsuccessful. Then the game warden paddled up in a kayak to check my gun and license. While he was checking me, a flock of about 20 widgeon blew in. The GW let me grab my gun and take a try, but they did not come close enough for a valid attempt as we were standing in the open while he checked my equipment. Not his fault, he was just doing his job and he was very pleasant and completed his task as quickly as he could.

It was all we shot. We heard sporadic shooting in our impoundment and Cambell Creek, but not very much. We pulled up our blocks at 11:00 am and pulled out. We stopped at the ramp at Campbell Creek to see how they did. There was a very nice lady biologist that works for the state that was doing a harvest survey as we pulled in to the parking lot and she took down our harvest numbers(our 1 sad widgeon). She told us the take was equally poor in the CC impoundment with one group taking 2 ducks and another taking 1 duck. With our widgeon, two other ducks taken in SC and the 3 taken in CC, that brought the total take in all 3 impoundments to 6 ducks.

But it was a beautiful day. We saw a fair number of ducks(mostly in the distance) and the dog got to get wet.

But I still hope to get more ducks Saturday.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Roanoke River 11-15-2009 12:18
Cloudy, High Winds – 45-50 Degrees
My son, my hunting buddy and myself went out for the Nov. opener and our efforts ending in disapointment. I have to accept full responsibility for this. I wanted to go to the Roanoke River, to a small creek with a unimproved dirt ramp at the end of a long dirt road. This is a spot that produces mallards,widgeon,gadwall as well as a LOT of teal and ringnecks. With the hard north winds and heavy rains, this area would be covered up with migrators.

My hunting buddy was less enthusiastic. Not about the spot, but about his fears that the area would be flooded out with all the heavy rain. The aformentioned dirt road winds through a swamp and it is low area all around. I was undetered, besides I told him, in the unlikely (in my opinion) event it was flooded out, I had a back up location that had at least three good spots to go to. He relented and off we went.

We arrived at the dirt road to find it completely under water, not just near the ramp, but the entire 5 mile stretch of road. I started to try to go it anyway, but chickened out as I realized if the water got too deep down the road(it was only about a inch deep at the edge of the asphalt), I would not be able to turn around and would have to back out 5 miles in the dark with the road hidden by water. No problem, I have the back-up spot.

It took us about 20 minutes to get to the back up spot. When we arrived(still in time to get set up before legal time)I was a little concerned to see two groups of hunters had already put in there with the second hunter just leaving as we arrived. Not a problem I thought, I have 3 good spots down here. Our first choice was occupied. Then our second choice was occupied. Then our third choice was occupied(with the hunters coming in from a second ramp several miles away). Then a spot that was nearby and would still possibly have a decent position on the river was occupied.

We went the opposite direction and set up and hoped for the best. We saw some teal,mallards and woodies in good numbers and listened to the hunters in our preferred spots doing quite well. In our spot we were not within range of the ducks passing over as they were above treetop level and we watched group after group head into the good spots and then heard the resulting gunfire a few moments later.

My buddy and I have a draw hunt at Spring Creek on Tuesday. We are hopeful for a turn around on our luck.

But like I said in the beginning, my buddy called this one right, I was wrong.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Neuse River 11-07-2009 12:00
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 30-34 Degrees – Open Water
Went out on a scouting trip on the Nuese, same area as Weds, different set of creeks. Saw a lot of wood ducks. Checked out a small creek I located several years ago as well and found wood ducks in it as well.

However, there was a disturbing new development. Deer hunters in boats. Close to a half dozen at the small unimproved boat ramp I was at. More at the Wildlife Resources Commission ramp about 4 miles away.

There was fairly constant rifle fire from about 6:30 am forward. Sometimes unnervingly close(within 1000 yards) and some far away(miles away). But extrodinarily constant. When I got to the ramp a man was loading his boat with a nice 6 point. While I was preparing my boat for travel after removing it from the water, 3 teens in a jon boat pulled up with a deer across the front of their boat. While I was loading, a rifle began to fire at what sounded like less than 100 yards away in the woods, 4 shots. Must have crippled it and had trouble putting it down. 4 shots in about 5 minutes. I hurriedly finished my loading and hit the road.

I saw one deer hunter Weds. Actually two, a father and son team. They had a nice little cow horn and were headed out about the same time as me, but they were using another boat ramp. Today it sounded like there were dozens of hunters in the area.

I will not hunt this spot on Sat. until after deer season ends.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Nuese River 11-04-2009 13:52
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 45-50 Degrees
Went out for a scouting trip this morning and had excellent results. I located large numbers of wood ducks in a creek off the Nuese River. This is now at least 4 good areas that I have located that should produce well for me in the November season. I payed for it in hassle, I knocked off the transponder to my depth finder on a log and I knocked the rivets for my duck blind off the side of my boat when I sideswiped a limb. But both situations have already been repaired at this time and I feel pretty good about this morning’s outing. The river is prop-busting low, so be careful out there.

Of course this is subject to change, both in water level reports as well as duck locations. If the water comes up, the ducks will move to the backwaters and out of these creeks. If other hunters hunt in these areas before I get back to them in the hunting rotation, then the ducks will be gone when I get there.

But as of right now, I know where some ducks are.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Nuese River 10-28-2009 17:03
Cloudy, High Winds – Over 70 Degrees
Went out on the Nuese River this morning and had a eventful day. First of all, it was raining in buckets when I left the house at 5 am. Luckily it had resided to a drizzle by the time I arrived at the ramp and was completely abated by the time I launched the boat. I took off from the ramp attempted to go to a small creek I like to hunt in. It quickly became apparent that the river was so low that I could not travel the distance from the ramp to my chosen destination as there were too many obstructions and sand bars to make that distance feasable in the dark(close to 5 miles). I chose a secondary location and set up waiting for first light to check it out as a possible location. I saw a few ducks, but the trip turned out to be more productive than I thought it would at first.

About 8 am I took off in the opposite direction from that in which I usually traveled and set out to look around. About 3 miles in that direction(downstream and deeper water)I passed a private boat ramp. I saw the owner out at his shelter and I pulled up to talk to him. After a moment or two, he invited me up to have some boiled peanuts that he had just finished cooking. As we talked on, he began to fill me in on the area that we were in as he had lived there all his life(he was in his 60’s). He told me the locations of the ponds that held ducks off the river. He told me about creeks that were full of ducks every winter. He gave me the name of a landowner that might let me hunt her property which had a huge beaverpond on it that he told me held huge numbers of ducks. He was extremely helpful to me and I can’t wait to go back to this area armed with this information.

There are still some nice people left in the world.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Neuse River 10-24-2009 14:36
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – 60-65 Degrees
My son and I went out to do a little scouting this morning and we hit the motherlode. We saw over 100 wood ducks with a smattering of mallards. We were checking out a small creek off the Neuse and the ducks were really in there. We jumped up a single flock of over 50, another of at least 25 to 30 and then at least 20(or more) in smaller groups of anywhere from a single to groups of 5 or 6. Also jumped up a few mallards as singles and doubles on the creek.

This spot is going in the lottery for the Nov. opener.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Craven Co. 10-10-2009 11:42
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – Over 70 Degrees
Went out to hunt the “Wood Duck Hole”, a small creek off the Nuese in Craven Co. We have to go to New Bern and east in order to find water as the river in Kinston and up the river is so low that there are not any ducks to hunt if you could find enough water to float your boat!

We were at the small unimproved ramp at 5:30 am and at the spot by 6:00 am. We quickly set out a very small spread of decoys(2 mallards, 3 woodies). The wobbler was not necessary as the wind was blowing Mach II.

We were in the boat about 20 minutes before legal shooting time when woodies began to blow out of the small creek to our left. That is the location of the roost. We saw between 25 and 30 birds in less than 5 minutes. I told my son that if we were seeing that many birds in the dark, wait till they starting flying at first light! This was his first shooting hunt, I was hoping he would take a nice bird. The words were barely out of my mouth when shooting erupted from in the roost. At least 15 minutes or more before legal time. That is why all the birds left before shooting time, a roost shooter ran them off before we could at least hunt the birds he flared. Evidently he had come in across the land on the back side of the roost. He fired 4 or 5 volleys of fire in less than 10 minutes, then silence. We didn’t get to shoot today. We had a flock of geese come over at about 7:30 am. They were too high, but they banked to circle around. They didn’t get a chance. The roost shooter opened up on them out of range and they flew off to the east.

We sat there until 11:00 am, hoping for some ducks to come down the creek, but we were not successful. We got skunked. But my son and I had a good time, some laughs in the boat blind(I told him of the time I accidently picked up my wood duck call and tried to blow a mallard hi-ball at a passing flock, it sounded like I was trying to play “Who let the dogs out” on a kazoo). It was still a good day. But I don’t know if I will be returning to the Wood Duck Hole this year.

[Edited By Scott-Tolar on 2009-10-10 11:44]

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Nuese River 10-09-2009 11:36
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 60-65 Degrees
Went out on the Nuese River in a different location from Weds(at least 15 miles away) to an area that I am very familiar with for fishing, but only have limited experience with for hunting. This area has been hit or miss with me over the years. Some good hunts, lots of bad hunts. I have shot more mallards here than any other location until recently, but I have had more strikeouts here as well.

I am trying to not hunt the area that I am going to tomorrow as I am taking my son there and I want him to get his first duck. I want the ducks in that area flying low and slow. So I was undecided what I was going to do until I was actually in the truck this morning. Would I go near to where we were hunting Saturday(and risk messing up my son’s first shooting duck hunt), or take a blind shot in the dark?

I closed my eyes and pulled the trigger. But there was a method to my madness, I went to a different location on the river than usual. I thought there was a good chance this gamble might pay off as it was the opposite direction from where everyone else goes to hunt, and it was in a hard to find location. In fact I had ridden by this spot fishing for several years before I found it. But I had never hunted it.

I set up 4 woodies and 4 mallards and put my Ure-A-Duck wobbler in the middle of the set(as there was no wind and the water was slick as glass). I then picked a spot that looked like it would give me good concealment and set up my boat blind. Then it was a matter of waiting for sunrise.

As was the case with Weds, I set up on the wrong side of the creek. The ducks were coming from the direction that I could not see well in(later in the season when the leaves are gone off the trees that will not be the case)but by the time I would see them, it was a hard shot. I missed two ducks and then a wood duck came up the creek from the good direction. I smacked the drake at about 30 yards and sent Dixie out to retrieve it. The duck was putting up a good fight, but Dixie was victorious.

The duck first tried to make the other shore, but Dixie cut her off. Then it was a diving game. The duck made several good breaks, but Dixie was on her as soon as she surfaced. Then the duck dove and so did the dog. This is only the second time in my lifetime I have seen dog dive for a duck and come up with it. She went under and came up with the duck in her mouth. It was good work.

That was the only duck I took this morning. The ducks only flew for about 20 minutes, fast and furious. Then it was over. I sat there until 11:00 am and decided to call it a day(I was hoping for a late flying mallard).

But on the positive side, I did see several flocks of teal. One flock was a big one, between 30 and 40 birds. But they were crossing the creek, not running up it and were about 100 yards downstream from my location. Even if I had been there, they were going so fast it would have been a near impossible shot to take.

Good day, epic retrieve.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Trent River 10-08-2009 12:55
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – 50-60 Degrees
Went out for a quick hunt this morning, I had to be off the water by 9 am in order to be home in time to take care of my grandson. I went to the location on the Trent River that my son and I scouted out last week. Last week we saw woodies and jumped up a flock of mallards in this area.

I got out there in pretty good fashion, I was early to the ramp and launched the boat very professionally(too bad there was not a audience to appreciate my technique). I then started up the creek slowly in the fog. It was a nerve-wracking, high-intensity thrill ride filled with stumps,floating submerged logs and fallen trees that would suddenly loom up out of the fog(which was pretty heavy). However, I managed to arrive at my designated location thanks to my GPS and in good time to get out my decoys.

I sat in this spot for about 30 minutes after legal time. Didn’t see a duck within range. Not one. I saw a few high flyers, but nothing like what I expect to see in Oct. I was at a loss, this area was holding ducks last week. I don’t know if someone else had also found the spot and hunted it yesterday, or if the ducks moved on thier own.

I decided to do something I almost never do, I decided to pick up and move my rig. I normally pick out a spot and once I get out decoys and set up, I stay in that location. I might move my boat to the other side of the river if that is where the ducks are flying, but I don’t move my decoys usually. I know that adaptability is a good thing, but I have a tendency to believe that I am one flock of ducks from turning this hunt around and that flock is going to be here in about 10 minutes.

I left the boat blind up and quickly picked up my decoys. I only had out a few(three woodies, two mallards and a Ure-A-Duck wobbler woodie). I set out up the creek to my secondary location. As I passed under a semi-fallen tree, my boat blind snagged a dead limb, flipping it into the boat and beaning me right between the eyes. I don’t mean between the eyes in a figurative sense, it actually hit me right between the eyes. Knocked me back in the seat. Saw a flash of light.

After saying some words that can’t be repeated on a family friendly website, I resumed my trip upstream while rubbing my forehead. I set out my decoys in the secondary location and sat back to wait for my labors to pay off.

Didn’t happen. Didn’t fire a shot all morning. Did not see a single duck except a few high flyers. This is a situation normally only seen in the late season when the ducks you see are battle scarred veterans. I saw no sign of anyone else hunting here, so I don’t know what happened.

There is always tomorrow.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Nuese River 10-07-2009 13:34
Cloudy, High Winds – 60-65 Degrees
Went out for the season opener, we were in the right location, just not the right spot. The ducks in “The Wood Duck Hole” were coming from behind our location, a flight path we have rarely seen here. In fact, I can count the number of ducks that come from that path during a season on one hand, this morning, almost every duck came from that direction. By the time we would see them, it was too late to shoot. Over the course of the morning, 25 to 30 birds came over us well within range, but not within sight until too late to recover and shoot.

In spite of this logistical SNAFU, we managed to splash 3 woodies and one lesser Canada goose. The goose was a collabrative effort, it took both of us to take it down as it was kind of high, but at the edge of range. We both blazed away at it and we brought it down in a cruising descent that had the goose swimming away from us at about 50 yards. We pulled up the anchor and chased it down.

Wet dog, tired hunters. Good day.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Craven Co. 10-03-2009 17:31
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – Over 70 Degrees
Went scouting in Craven Co. for another spot for the 4 day October opener. It has not been real good so far. I have checked out several beaverswamps in the last 2 weeks, they don’t have enough water in them to be accessible by canoe and even if they were, they have had water in them such a short amount of time that the ducks are not using them anyway.

Last week I located ducks at a location that my buddy, son and myself refer to as the “Wood Duck Hole”. It was not huge numbers, but some ducks. All woodies. This morning my son and I went scouting in Craven Co. at a small creek I located several years ago but have not hunted up to this point.

When I found it, in Feb. some years ago, I jumped up some ducks in this creek and marked the locations on my GPS. I went back this morning to check it out and to do a pre-season shakedown on the blind, hunting equipment, etc. We got to the first location on the GPS and set up about a hour before legal sunrise. We had some woodies come through and two even landed right out in front of the boat. We only stayed in this location for about 15 or 20 minutes after sunrise as I wanted to check out the other location as well. We took down the boat blind and set out upstream, and we were happy to find a flock of mallards set up in that location.

There was also a swamp I marked in the area that we went to check out(again marked on GPS), but there was not enough water in it to be of any interest.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Nuese River 09-27-2009 07:20
Cloudy, Light Rain & Drizzle – Over 70 Degrees
Went out to do some scouting on the Nuese river near the Pamlico Sound. I went to a small creek that we use alot to access sea duck hunting in the late season. While I was encouraged by the fact that there was plently of water in the creek(in fact the unimproved ramp was partially submerged), there were no ducks in the area. My son and I checked it out pretty extensively, we only saw one duck, a lone mallard drake.

I will continue to check out locations leading up to the Oct. opener.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Nuese River 09-23-2009 16:48
Cloudy, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
Went out to do a little scouting this morning and I found some woodies, but no other species. I went to a location off the Nuese that we (my buddy,my son and myself) refer to as the “Wood duck hole”. I saw a dozen or so woodies in the 20 minutes after sunrise, all flying low and slow down the main channel of the creek. That will change soon enough after the season opens. I then went downstream to a small island in the creek and I saw more woodies, both flying and on the water. I marked this location on the GPS as well as a possible secondary location.

I then went by to check with a local landowner that has given me permission to hunt in his beaverswamps(he has 2 on his property). It looked really good. However, I cannot hunt there until late Dec. as he is a avid(and I mean avidly hardcore) deer hunter and he wants to keep activity down in the area until he is through deer hunting. I am sure he will have a good season as his land was optimal for both deer and ducks. I hope he has a good season.

This weekend my son and I will do some scouting closer to the coast. It rained all day yesterday and is raining right now outside my window. I hope it keeps it up until the river comes up. I stopped by at Contentnea Creek this morning and the water is so low that the floating dock is sitting on the bottom of the creek!

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Washington, NC 09-20-2009 12:50
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – Over 70 Degrees
My son and I went out with my regular hunting buddy and another friend for a last dove hunt for the year. While we did see some doves, they were veterans by now. Not only were many missing thier tailfeathers, they had learned to evade even the most subtle movement. I usually don’t hunt doves past the first weekend after the season starts, now I have verification of that strategy’s legitimacy.

The guns are now cleaned and put away, my old SxS is away until next season. My son’s Mossberg is away until the Oct. opener for ducks. I am now fixing to begin my scouting for the upcoming duck hunting.

This new undertaking is complicated by the fact that the water is low. In spite of the frequent rain this summer, it seems no matter how much it rains it is immediately absorbed by the soil and nothing is retained either in the river, or the swamps. I am going to head east in order to find water.

I am going to check out a creek off the Nuese that my buddy and I refer to as “The wood duck hole”. It was a reliable spot for many years, but not so much for the last few. A couple of guys had located the roost and would go out on the Oct. opener, as well as the Nov. opener and blow it out. After that, the ducks were gone.

Last year they did not blow out the roost. I was told the two hunters were Marines(as was I once)and that the land the roost was located on belonged to the father of the wife of one of them. Now he has completed his tour of service and moved back up north. So I am going to check it out and hope that he doesn’t plan to come down to NC to hunt this year.

I also have a couple of spots out near the coast I plan to check out in the next few weeks.

[Edited By Scott-Tolar on 2009-09-20 12:51]

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Washington, NC 09-13-2009 16:03
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – Over 70 Degrees
Went out for a dove hunt on private land near Washington, NC. We got there just at sunrise and set up in a freshly harvested corn field and hunted until about 1 pm. My partner managed a limit, I managed 6 and my son got 1 dove(his first). I tried to allow my son to take the first shot and I was very pleased with his technique as well as his attitude. His gun safety was on target and he was very safe in his gun handling, a trait I think is more important that his marksmanship or number of birds taken.The temps were moderate(in the mid-80’s) and the partly cloudy conditions made the hunt very pleasant.

Dixie the wonderdog was much more steady today, she followed hand signals better and was more undercontrol than our 2 previous trips. She has a tendency to get a little out of control after a summer without any retrieving, and dove hunting is a type of hunting where one can let his dog get a little lax in behavour if one didn’t stay on guard against it. But I made her remain steady until sent for the birds and she came under control. Very good day. She retrieved all but one of her birds on complete blinds and did very well.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Craven Co. 09-07-2009 13:09
Cloudy, Rain & Thunderstorms – Over 70 Degrees
Went dove hunting this morning in Craven Co. It was overcast when I left the house at 4:45 am and set out to be in the field by legal shooting time(at 6:15 am). By the time I hit New Bern, it had begun to rain. By 5:45 am it was pouring. My son and I set up and waited for legal time in hopes that it would slack off and the doves would fly. I would have just sat out the rain in the truck, but we had to be home by noon,(my wife said he could not stay out all day and come home exhausted like Sat. because he has school tomorrow). It has been my experience that doves don’t fly well in the heavy rain, but when it stops, or at least slows down to a drizzle, the shooting can be fantastic.

We sat in the pouring rain until about 10:30, and just as the rain began to slack off and the doves began to fly, we had to go. I got two doves while getting our gear together to leave and I began to hear shooting all around us. By the time I got to the truck, the rain had all but stopped and the birds were flying everywhere. Over the entire time between 6:30 am and 10:30, I had heard less than a half dozen shots. In the time it took to walk back to the truck,(about 30 minutes) I heard 50 to 60 shots and witnessed birds dropping all around the field. Oh, well, that is the breaks. Perhaps there will still be some birds there on Sat. For those who could stay until the afternoon, the hunting should be great.

Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor

Lower Roanoke River Game Land Dove Field 09-06-2009 12:56
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
Went out for our draw hunt on the Lower Roanoke River Game Land dove field hunt and it was a spectacular day. It was my son’s first hunt while shooting and he did well. He did not bag any birds, but he winged 3 that were finished off by other hunters. He is shooting a Mossberg 500 youth model, he even managed two hits on the same bird. He almost put it down, if there had not been any other hunters in the area, it would have landed about 75 yards away and we could have sent the dog after it. But after he hit it, it went down in a cruising descent that allowed another hunter to smoke it as it came in to land. He was quite a trooper, I am very proud of him. He pulled his weight in the field and tried hard.

That out of the way, it was a good day in the field. The dove area was very well prepared with corn,sunflower and milo. All the hunters on the field behaved as sportsmen, everyone spread out equally over the field and showed consideration to those who set up early to get a good spot. The day started out slow, but it began to pick up around 3 pm and then there were doves everywhere. Thousands of birds headed into this field to feed and the action was excellent. My partner and I managed about 7 or 8 from lunch to 3 pm, and limited out between 3 and 4 pm.

The dog did some excellent work, including some retrieves I did not expect her to complete. We had to work hard to keep her hydrated as the temps soared up into the 90’s. Dixie did her job with enthusiasm and I was pleased with her work.