Posted By:
Little Red Retriever
Web Member
Pamlico Sound 12-17-2012 10:05
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 50-60 Degrees
12/15/2012: Wind out of east at 5 kts….open water layout shooting….slow…..not much of a flight managed 4 birds between two gunners…..
[Edited By Little Red Retriever on 2012-12-17 10:06]
Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor
Onslow County 12-15-2012 16:10
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 30-34 Degrees – Open Water
It looked like I was going to miss another hunting day, but at the last second I was able to go. Not as well prepared as I would have liked, but I threw some decoys in the boat,grabbed the dog and the son and headed out for the big water on the coast. I got to the ramp late, but still managed to get all the decoys out and the blind set up 2 minutes before legal shooting time.
I wanted to set up on a point off of a small bay, but I was suprised to find a blind there. Must have built it last summer. I have hunted that point for 25 years, now there is a blind on it. I decided to move down, even though the blind was empty. Won’t do that again, we watched ducks fly by the point all morning, we didn’t get to pull a trigger. No one showed up at the blind.
We saw tens of thousands of bills, but none came by us. We still had a great morning, my son said it was the second most ducks he had ever seen in one day. We sat in awe, watching flocks that consisted of hundreds of birds, ducks so thick that they looked like clouds of smoke cruising in the sky in ever shifting patterns.
I am excited, can’t wait to get back out there.
Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor
Albemarle Sound 11-15-2012 12:52
Cloudy, Winds Calm – 40-45 Degrees
Went out to hunt a spot on the Albemarle sound this morning and we saw some ducks, missed some opportunities and only managed to splash a single wood duck with two hunters.
We saw some mallards,gadwall, teal and woodies, we were just unable to capitalize on them. Will set up in a different location next time.
Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor
Field Report, Nov 14, 2012 11-15-2012 12:48
Cloudy, High Winds – 40-45 Degrees
Went out to hunt a spot on the Pamlico River and we had a interesting, but not overly productive day. We arrived at the boat ramp in good time and set off for our spot via GPS. It is a long water run of about 30 minutes which seemed longer thanks to the high winds whipping up 2 foot whitecaps. Made for a wet ride in my 14 foot side console boat.
We got set up and we saw some ducks. We saw some high migrators, some ducks flying out of range and we managed to splash two ruddy ducks and a bufflehead. Not exactly trophy ducks, but the dog got wet and is happy.
On our way out we saw some ducks nearby in a seperate location. Will hit it next week.
Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor
Eastern NC 10-22-2012 06:38
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
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I went out with my son and dogs to do a little scouting on Sat, we saw some migrating flocks and the habitat looked good. However, it appears the trout are in, boats all over the place and on the ride home I saw scores of boats headed to the coastal water.
Doesn’t look good for us.
Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor
Nuese River 10-07-2012 08:04
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
My son and I went out for a hunt off the Nuese River in a spot we call “The Wood Duck Hole” for the final day of the Oct short season. We were going to hunt on the Roanoke, but we found out the stripers were running so that would mean the likelyhood of being wrapped up with striper fishermen at that location.
I hurt my back and blew my knee on Thursday so the wood duck hole was a easy hunt, but a bit of a crap shoot. Can be good, can be devastatingly bad. Also, I just got my boat back after a catastrophic failure on Thurs, I wanted a milk run for the intial shake down. The arm that sync’d the timing and throttle sheared off, spinning around and destroying the timing base plate, cracking the stator and destroying the linkage. In spite of the damage, my guys at Stapleford Marine got me back in the game for Sat, onlying missing one day of the season.
We got out in good time got loaded up and set up in our spot. Boat ran like a champ. But we did not see many ducks. We had a couple slip by us as my son and I talked and joked in the boat, but the numbers were not what we wanted. But we had a good time and as my son put it, ” A good morning of manly male bonding in the forest”.
Doesn’t get better than that.
Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor
Roanoke River 10-05-2012 06:28
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
Went out to hunt the second day of the Oct short season and it was not a good day. I scouted this location a week ago, I saw ducks, no large numbers, but enough to scratch out a wood duck limit.
The guy that was supposed to go with me was a no-show. I called his cell phone and got no answer. Finally I had to go without him. Because I am a disabled veteran I am not supposed to go alone(a requirement from my wife), but I had to go alone today. I arrived at the ramp at 5 am, and launched the boat. So far so good.
At legal time a procession of boats began coming up the creek. Seems the stripers were running. I saw woodies, but without the fishing boats in the area there was no flight path, they were scattered. I then heard a unusual noise on such a small creek.
It sounded like a M-1 Abrams tank was coming up the creek. I was so baffled by the noise that I was watching the curve in the creek rather than for ducks and one got by me, totally my fault. Suddenly a massive 28 foot commercial crabbing boat came around the corner. It was huge. I can’t believe they launched that big boy at this unimproved ramp that required that I put my truck in 4 wheel drive just to launch my little boat. It was producing a 4 foot wake, the captain did not see me until it was too late(a testiment to my good camo job and spot) and he waked me. Not his fault, he did not see me until it was too late. He was very nice, he apologized. It did not make me angry, accidents happen. The wake however picked my boat up and set it on top of some cypress knees. It is so hot I did not wear my waders. Took me a hour to get my boat back in the water. While I was doing this, several woodies and a flock of 20 or so mallards went right over me. Got back in the water after pulling my back and blowing out my right knee.
The reed fell out of my Duck Commander wood duck call during the earlier festivities and I lost it. I was seeing some woodies, but was unable to call them. Finally, at 10am I called it a day.
Rode back to the boat ramp, the boat suddenly shut off at the ramp and would not restart. The arm that advances the timing and syncs the throttle sheared off. I was unable to drive my boat on the trailer, it had to be loaded the old fashioned way. In my physical condition after freeing my boat from the cypress knees, this was a daunting task that was complicated by the fact that one of the fishermen had left his truck in the middle of the ramp. Luckily, the captain of the commercial boat came back in right then and he and his buddy helped me load my boat. He was a nice guy.
My boat is at the shop. We found all the necessary parts to get it going, not a easy task for a 40 year old outboard. I am out of the running for the 3rd day of the 4 day season, but I will be back at it for the closer on Sat. I will be sitting at home recovering today anyway. Perhaps this was a blessing in disguise, but if it is, it is a very effective disguise becuase I am having trouble seeing it.
The captain of the commercial boat loaded up and left, that was the biggest boat I have ever seen on a trailer that didn’t have a semi-tractor pulling it.
I will hope to turn around this day on Sat.
Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor
Pamlico River 10-03-2012 17:29
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
My hunting buddy and I went out for the season opener, a 17 year tradition for us. We went to one of our favorite spots off the Pamlico River, it used to be excellent all season, but with the increase in popularity of winter trout fishing, you have to pick times when the fish are not biting or you will have a dozen trout fishermen trolling through your decoys.
I scouted it last week, I saw ducks and more importantly, almost no fishermen in the area. We got to the ramp at 5am, we were out to the spot and set up with decoys deployed and blind up about 30 minutes before legal time. About 5:45 am, we heard a duck boat heading up the creek(the small motor betraying the stealthy nature of a small skulling type boat on such big water). It went on past us, we sat there in the dark, inconspicuous and quiet.
We didn’t see many ducks, we managed to knock down 3 woodies, not the best opener on record. But it was a day in the field, the dogs got wet, we got some work in on the new pup and Miss Dixie got one duck I was sure was unretrievable. She earned herself a steak bisquit for that. In spite of her advanced age, she put in the work to get the job done on a long retrieve on a cripple that got up on shore and ran into some of the heaviest brush I have ever seen in a salt marsh.
3 ducks, wet dogs, happy hunters. A good day. Tomorrow holds the promise of a good hunt.
Posted By:
Sloughslogger
Guest
Piedmont Gamelands Impoundment 10-03-2012 15:00
Cloudy, Heavy Fog – Over 70 Degrees
Good hunt today on the short opener with good company. Two co-workers and a 14 year-old managed to find 3 woodrows. A good time was had by all.
Posted By:
Scott-Tolar
Field Editor
Beaufort County 09-04-2012 18:41
Cloudy, Rain & Thunderstorms – Over 70 Degrees
Went out for the traditional Labor Day dove hunt, it was interesting. We saw doves, we shot doves, dogs retrieved doves. Good day.
We got out about 30 minutes before legal time, got set up and waited. The doves came in fast and furious, by 9am I had 7. This is where it got interesting. It had been heavily overcast with thunder and lightening. At 9 o’clock I looked up and saw torrential rain coming in the distance. I called out to my son and we broke for the truck as fast as a old cripple and a 15-year-old can get there. I twisted my ankle in the ditch, further complicating things, but we still managed to get in the truck before the main rain hit. We went up the road to a barn on the property to wait out the rain. My hunting buddies were there within moments, one buddy threw out his back falling in the deep ditch.
We spent 2 hours in the barn, eating peanut butter and cheese crackers and trading insults. Logan’s dog got aggravated and began to bark in his kennel. He wanted to hunt, rain or not.
About 11am, the rain slacked up, didn’t stop, but slowed enough to hunt. We all went back out to a different location, closer to the barn(and shelter if necessary) and without the killer ditch. Finished up our limits and were on the road by 12:30.
Like I said, it was interesting.
