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.
