Posted By: Scott-Tolar Field Editor Craven Co. 01-13-2011 11:49 Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 10-20 Degrees – Ice Went out for a hunt near New Bern and it was eventful. Got to the ramp(a WRC ramp for a change)only to find the creek I wanted to hunt locked up with ice. It was too late to regroup and go somewhere else, so I decided to take a chance looking for open water upstream from the ramp(my usual hunting location). First,I had to break ice at the ramp and I had trouble getting the boat off the trailer and positioned next to the dock due to the heavy ice.Second, I had a boat malfunction, not what I needed to happen when I am already starting out late. It seems my shifter cable had gotten water in it and had frozen stuck. I managed to free my cable in reverse only… Continue reading

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… Continue reading

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… Continue reading

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… Continue reading

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… Continue reading

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… Continue reading

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… Continue reading

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… Continue reading