I went out scouting for turkey this past week and spooked about 20 mallards out of my regular honey hole, so duck depression has fully set in. I figure the only way to really work through it is to start planning for next season. I'm really wanting to set up a trip with a guide, and I'm strongly considering the Outer Banks area. Any chance one of you is a guide or knows a good guide? I'm looking for like a 4 or 5 day hunt, and I can find a local Motel if need be. I'm not too interested in swans right now mostly looking for ducks.
NC Duck Hunting Guide
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You can contact Vic Berg at 252-261-7842. He runs Outer Banks Water Fowl and runs groups out of Englehard, Oregon Inlet, and Currituck.
He has a deal with The Sea Ranch hotel and I believe you get a discount. He runs multiple guides and moves people around day over day so you won't hunt the same blind twice.
It has been rare to be skunked, but there are some great days and some not so great days. Nature of the beast. It isn't like hunting the Mississippi fly way.
I've hunted with Vic for 30 years or so now. Solid guy and will work with you. His wife Helen handles most of the booking so you may speak with her as well.
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He has a deal with The Sea Ranch hotel and I believe you get a discount. He runs multiple guides and moves people around day over day so you won't hunt the same blind twice.
It has been rare to be skunked, but there are some great days and some not so great days. Nature of the beast. It isn't like hunting the Mississippi fly way.
I've hunted with Vic for 30 years or so now. Solid guy and will work with you. His wife Helen handles most of the booking so you may speak with her as well.
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I hunt upstate SC. I can only think of one place worse the desert. Last year I got one... one all season, and it was just a hen ringneck. I'd love to see some cans and redheads rolling in. I'll give them a call. Thanks for the tip.
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B00ger mentioned it, but if you want a 4-5 day trip, think about booking a guide at Reelfoot Lake in West Tennessee. The Mississippi Flyway is much more active than the Atlantic. The difference in the amount of waterfowl you'll see is very much worth the drive.
Yeah, the OB can be fickle with the birds. My dad has Limited out by 8am, and we have also gone all day with a lone buzzing bufflehead. We have sat out there and broken ice off our gear, and we have also stripped down to our Tshirts.
I hear out west the birds are pretty easy to come by, but at the OB the wind and weather had to be playing along.
Vic is a good guy. Old school beach surfer/fisherman/hippie.
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I hear out west the birds are pretty easy to come by, but at the OB the wind and weather had to be playing along.
Vic is a good guy. Old school beach surfer/fisherman/hippie.
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Go west young man!!! As far as Montana and you'll find decent duck hunting, not like we have around here where we shoot Mrs. Johnson's bread fed, back yard pets. NC is known for a lot of things, quality duck hunting ain't one of them....
I've considered going west, it's more of an issue of the total amount of time that I would be gone. The wife doesn't like how I like to spend more time with the lab than her already. Factoring in travel time I would have less time to hunt, not to mention the prices I'm seeing to hire a guide out west.
Bailey...just...no....
The Outer Banks is the original duck hunting spot. It is absolutely known for it. It is part of the Atlantic flyway and gets its birds from Canada just like the rest.
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I don't dispute that but who wants to eat diver ducks?? They eat fish and taste like fish. I want a duck that has been on grain, much better table fare. I hunt Montana on an annual basis and they have as many, if not more ducks than Arkansas....
Again...you are wrong. They have pintail, Gadwall, Widgeon, Mallard. Those are not fish ducks. Been hunting the outerbanks for 30 years. Seen almost all breeds at some point. Shoot as many puddle ducks as divers.
No doubt there may be more out west, I mentioned above that the flyway is changing. But you are speaking falsehoods.
Grasshopper, I speak from experience. I hunt ducks roughly 45 to 60 days per year, locally and distant. I go as far west as Arkansas and Montana and as far south as Alabama and Louisiana and many places in between. How many days did you hunt last year??
Ok, oh great hunter, let's break it down.
1. He asked about the outer banks.
2. He has already said he can't go west due to time and cost.
3. The NC Outerbanks is very well known for waterfowl.
4. The NC Outerbanks is not completely filled up with divers.
Anything else you feel like being pompous, arrogant, and wrong about?
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1. He asked about the outer banks.
2. He has already said he can't go west due to time and cost.
3. The NC Outerbanks is very well known for waterfowl.
4. The NC Outerbanks is not completely filled up with divers.
Anything else you feel like being pompous, arrogant, and wrong about?
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Long_Hunter
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Let me go make some popcorn...
An alternative to the OB...and your already in SC...you need to hit the low country...hunting down near the Santee delta, around and up in the old rice plantations...use the public ramp on south island road and head south from there, just stay in the navigable public waters, but there is plenty of it...here is where you will find the only thing that rivals the old hunt clubs of the OB and Maryland shores...the stuff of waterfowling legend. Around the time of my first retirement, I had the privilege of hunting the Kinloch and Annandale Plantations...unforgettable experiences, and I was hooked on the area. Went back later on our own...more challenging, but again, just fantastic hunting.
And when in Georgetown, hit the Big Tuna (Fresh Yankee served daily), the shrimp and grits are some of the very, very best.
Writing about this makes me want to get another boat, bad...good times.
An alternative to the OB...and your already in SC...you need to hit the low country...hunting down near the Santee delta, around and up in the old rice plantations...use the public ramp on south island road and head south from there, just stay in the navigable public waters, but there is plenty of it...here is where you will find the only thing that rivals the old hunt clubs of the OB and Maryland shores...the stuff of waterfowling legend. Around the time of my first retirement, I had the privilege of hunting the Kinloch and Annandale Plantations...unforgettable experiences, and I was hooked on the area. Went back later on our own...more challenging, but again, just fantastic hunting.
And when in Georgetown, hit the Big Tuna (Fresh Yankee served daily), the shrimp and grits are some of the very, very best.
Writing about this makes me want to get another boat, bad...good times.
Thanks @Long_Hunter but I don't have a boat.
@Bailey Boat I'm a preacher of a small church with a project house, so budget is always an issue. That on top of having a kid with special needs means going out west is not on the table right now. Maybe in a few years, but right now is not the time for it. I know I picked the wrong hobby, but it's too late now. I'm hooked. Even using my Goodwill deeks, unregistered self trained lab, and turkish shotgun I'm having a ball.
@Bailey Boat I'm a preacher of a small church with a project house, so budget is always an issue. That on top of having a kid with special needs means going out west is not on the table right now. Maybe in a few years, but right now is not the time for it. I know I picked the wrong hobby, but it's too late now. I'm hooked. Even using my Goodwill deeks, unregistered self trained lab, and turkish shotgun I'm having a ball.
I totally understand the economics, and the suggestion from @Long Hunter is a very good one for staying somewhat local but you would need a boat of some sort.
The only thing closer that you could hunt without a watercraft would be to find small creeks and streams that run through public game land. The usually hold a few birds that can be harvested by jump shooting.
That's what I have been doing. I focus on some areas around the river where I can walk in or make real nice with the guys who do have boats. The good part is, most the guys I hunt with don't have a dog so I at least bring something to the table. I'll get a boat eventually.
If you weren't in SC I'd invite you to go with me for a day or two but the non res license would be stupid expensive.
If I have a client hunting in SC and I have to get a license I'll holler....
I don't duck hunt a lot, but many of times I have jumped ducks in a pair of waders or hip boats on swampy game land hog hunting. That's a great way to get a duck without a boat.
If you are going to duck hunt in the Carolinas, the coast is the place to be. I have friends who hunt almost every day of duck season, and do rather well on the Waccamaw River. Otherwise the best places are the Mississippi Flyway and west.