North Carolina’s Waterfowl Opener By Scott Crabtree This is an account of an actual hunt that while it did occur a few years back, is typical of our style of hunting here in the foothills of NC. And while it may not reflect well on a very good friend’s marksmanship, I assure you that if he were choosing the account, I’ve had my share of similar struggles, but on this day, I was on, but more of that later. Here in NC we get a teaser of a short early waterfowl season in the form of 4 days of fast action the first week of October. Now beginning the first day of September, we do start a long season for Canadian Geese. But this season is directed squarely at reducing the number of nuisance resident geese that currently terrorize the regions community parks and ball fields. For reasons I’m sure most true waterfowlers can appreciate, it is hard for me to get excited about hunting a bird that spends more time on golf courses, office parks, and football fields than it does in the ‘wild’. Consequently, when I think of waterfowl, Canadians don’t even register. So, we focus on ducks and this time of year our quarry is primarily made up of resident wood ducks and mallards. Opening day here in the piedmont of North Carolina for most serious duck hunters begins around 12:00-1:00 A.M. the night before. That is assuming you don’t count the previous 3 weeks spent, replacing decoys, repairing rigs, deciding which new gadget to try this year, etc. To start, you’ve got to get the equipment in order. There’s no guarantee you’re going to be able to beat everyone to your favorite spot so flexibility is an always a consideration. I hunt primarily out of a kayak so space and weight are of prime concern. This year, I’ve chosen a varied setup composed of wood ducks and multi-positioned mallards. I’ll also have some quiver H2O; at work to give a little motion to the spread. And to ‘kick it up a notch’ I’ve added a swimming mallard. Andy, my duck hunting mentor, and one of my duck hunting partners, has always used these decoys with good success. Plus it gives you something to focus on and dream about on the slow days when nothing else is going on. I’d scouted a couple of places the week prior and got a bit more information from the local duck hunter grapevine. It looked like the typical high competition race for the best spots would be the norm. The weather forecast was for continued dry weather in front of an approaching low pressure system. Water level in the lakes and rivers was low, so setting up in good cover on the main channels would be very difficult. Armed with this information my plan was to setup in the back of a small tributary of the Catawba River. This area has always been an excellent spot for wood ducks and I was not disappointed on my scouting trip to the area. In addition, I would have a significant advantage over most of the motorized duck craft typical of our area. I’m one of the few, if not the only ‘consistent’ hunter in the area that hunts out of a kayak.

Not to be confused with the white water models so prevalent in our mountain streams designed to be under water as much as on top, mine is a wonderfully equipped, touring model that is easy to paddle and maneuver. Capable of carrying two people, dog, and hunting equipment for a full days hunt, it will easily glide over as little as 3 inches of water. Therein lies it’s true advantage. Due to earlier storms and current water levels, my spot was virtually impossible to reach……..except by kayak. A large fallen tree completely blocks the mouth of the creek, except for a low spot near the middle, about 3 inches below surface. Should you be able to somehow traverse this log, (maybe in a canoe), another tree awaits, a bit further upstream. Only this one bisects the surface of the creek as well, allowing only a 2x3 foot window on the far bank for passage, under the tree. Even in a kayak one has to lean back or forward, almost flat, to get through. Getting here would simply be impossible by boat, even by canoe. During my earlier scouting trip a few days before, I’d made the 1.5 mile trip down stream without two much trouble. Even the return trip upstream was easier than I’d anticipated. But making the trip with equipment, dog, and another hunter, in the middle of the night on opening morning, was something I was not looking forward to. Luckily, I noticed a group of fisherman on the bank directly across the river from the mouth of the creek. With a little small talk and a few key bits of information, I had the plan in place to allow us easy access saving both time and effort. Under the revised plan, I was to meet Brent around 3:30 A.M. and travel to the launch point, putting us in the spot at 5:00. The down side of the new plan was that we did have to carry the kayak and equipment about 300 yards, but we were glad to do it in order to avoid the 1.5 mile paddle upstream. With the exception of a slight stumble and taking on a couple of gallons of water in my waders, we made it to our spot with no problems. By 5:45 we had all of the decoys in place. Our spread included 3 resting mallards, 2 feeding mallards and 3 mallard butts located in the back of a small flat created by a big bend in the creek. With 5 wood ducks strategically located near the edge of the channel, we left a wide open landing spot for any unsuspecting ducks easy access to come join the fun. With about an hour and a half before shooting time, excellent cover was readily available for putting the finishing touches on our make shift blinds. We waited until just before day light to add the ‘motion’ to the spread. Lights, action, guns ready…………. For those of you who have never hunted wood ducks, they are early risers. It is not unusual for them to show-up before the legal shooting hour. They also, don’t typically buzz the decoys, choosing instead to literally fall out of the sky crashing through limbs and brush. Very few times

will you get an approach shot. Most successful shots at wood ducks are taken by jumping the wood ducks off of the surface. They also have a knack for just ‘appearing’ out of nowhere either coming in very low and fast, or more commonly, swimming into the decoys. We were prepared for either scenario. Brent was setup between the landing spot in the middle of the decoys and the main creek channel so he would have easy access to anything swimming in. I was set-up further back on the other edge of the landing spot with good access to the flat.

A LOT of work, but we were now ready. With a heavy overcast, and intermittent drizzle, we would be fortunate to have a ‘late’ arrival. At about ten minutes past the shooting hour, as if directed on cue, a group of 5-7 wood ducks, swooped in out of nowhere, gliding exactly in the middle of our landing spot. They quickly whirled around paddling in the middle of the decoys and began swimming toward the back of the flat. Fearing they would swim into cover or out of range, I chose to jump the first group. Firing twice, I took a nice drake on an away shot, landing him in the middle of the creek. Jet quickly marked and dove in after the downed bird. My early shot was a passing shot on a mature drake that flew around the back of the flat out of site. After only a few minutes a group of 4 wood ducks simply appeared in the flat to my right and swam through the mallard decoys and in to the main channel approaching the wood duck decoys. Wanting to give Brent a chance, I waited until the ducks were squarely between us. As they swam toward the open channel and up stream, we both jumped the birds. Unfortunately the birds flew up behind the cover from Brent. Two went down stream and two went around to his right. I dropped a young hen, and Brent finally had some action but the birds kept flying. Jet was again quickly on the downed bird and now with my two wood duck limit in hand I began to relax. About that same time, a young wood duck hen flew in and landed just 4 feet in front of me, with only a small willow shrub separating us. Glad to not be tempted by such a close shot, I waited for the hen to swim Brent’s direction. Luckily, she cooperated, but as is the case many times during early season, a lot of shooting but no bird. With good visibility and little activity from anything other than the early wood ducks, I decided to explore around just a bit to see what if anything had happened with my first shot. I was surprised to find a beautiful mature wood duck folded nicely in the marsh grass about 30 feet from my blind. If you’ve been keeping count, that is now 3 wood ducks, but fortunately our party was still short of the legal limit of 4, (2/person).

As we waited out the last few minutes of the morning (now approaching 9:00 A.M.), I spotted another pair of wood ducks that appeared to land downstream. Waiting for another minute or two, insuring that they didn’t plan to swim into our decoy set, we decided to load up and head out, fully satisfied with the mornings hunt. Not wanting to miss an opportunity at a jump shot, Brent was to keep his gun ready, should we see anything else on the way out. Paddling slow and steady out of the creek we could see quite clearly, most of the open channel before us. Unfortunately it held little promise. But as we continued down the main channel, a wood duck hen, flushed out of the trees on the near bank, flying right down the main channel. Brent opened fire. And while I’m not sure if this was a cripple or just a confused hen, at least this time the duck went down, appearing to land at the base of a tree about 50 yards downstream on the far channel. Allowing us to paddle, very close, the duck again flushed from the side and flew down the channel. But this time Brent found his mark and the hen was the last entry into our opening day limit. Leaving the creek with a limit of ducks and an even more valuable memory of a successful hunt, we paddled across the river channel for our ride back home. Granted, hunts like these aren’t going to make the cover of Waterfowler magazine or be the subject of the next bestselling Duck Commander video, but having the satisfaction of putting in the time and work required to have a successful day outdoors, with a good friend and a well-trained dog, I find these the most pleasurable and rewarding hunts of all.