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Outer Banks Waterfowl 4740 Elm Ct. Kitty Hawk, NC 27949

              UPDATES       

2/1/08

Ellen got the cold she said she was too busy to catch during the duck season.  It's a humdinger.  Just informed that I am to keep this update concise.  Terse, as it were.  I'll do my best.

The  07/08 WATERFOWL SEASON:  A SYNOPSIS.

I ruled!!  I mean my marsh and blinds were on fire!  No.  Take that Currituck!  Herring Shoal Island (home to the famous Pintail Point blind) kicked your brackish waterfowling butt this year!!

Can you tell that the last few years Currituck has ruled?  How bitter the broth of jealousy I stew in during the last decade.  Second-fiddle to Currituck's gun clubs, holding ponds and storied heritage.

No more!  07/08 was mine!!!!  MOOAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Sorry, but I didn't even try to hold that back.  The guide service harvested 1121 fowl this season.  Our third best ever.  Behind only the 80/81 (1372 fowl) and 81/82 (1422 fowl) seasons.

I'm sure my marsh had good totals back in the late 70's/early 80's, but I wasn't in charge back then.  Since I've been in charge, (85/86), this has been the best year ever.

Typically, my marsh and blinds harvest 175-225 birds/season.  My worst year ever was the 96/97 season when we only downed 101 birds.  I ended up with 423 ducks, geese and swan in 07/08.

With the exception of the very last day of the season, I was skunk free.  (I really wanted to be able to say that I had a TOTALLY skunk-free season.)  I guess it's about the same as bowling a 299 game.  There's some pride in that.

I got to shoot nearly a case and a half of shells (Kent, 3 inch ones and Remington 3 inch, nitro-mag twos, if any potential sponsors are reading) through my Bennelli Nova while wearing my tenaciously warm-1600 grams of thinsulate-Cabella's ice buster waders.

Why, the fowl literally flocked to the sweet music that emanates through my trusty duck calls.  From the full-throated gurgle of my El Maurillo pintail whistle, to my Wingmaster widgeon call, to the Sure-Shot 650 mallard, and finally back to the El Maurillo for the peep of the teal and the eerie whistle of the drake mallard.  Nor will I fail to mention the melodious, wet-fart sound of my Duck Commander gadwall call.  (Are you sponsors never going to call?)

Anyway, the other great facet of this season was all the meat and potatoes quality of the ducks harvested.  In other words, they were virtually all good, big puddle ducks.

Here's a minutia part:  Of the 423 fowl harvested from my marsh and blinds there were 171 widgeon, 71 pintail (nearly all drakes), 70 gadwall, 28 shovellers, 12 teal, 4 blacks, 4 mallards, 3 swan 2 brant, 1 canada goose, 46 bufflehead, 3 redheads, 3 greater scaup, 2 ringnecks, 2 surf scoters, 1 American black scoter, 1 canvas back, 1 common eider, 19 hooded mergansers, and 7 redbreasted merganser.  These totals encompass 20 species, but do not count the dovekie my guys shot at and thankfully missed.  I'd never seen one of those before.

I-the dogless one-also had a good year retrieving.  We only lost 3 ducks all season to the needle grass.   This was the result of good shot-selection, tenacity and the help of my gunning partners.  Good teamwork!

Speaking of teamwork.....The beauty of the guide service lies in the versatality and diversity of its' guides.  In any given week, there were four to five top-dog guides during the 6 day span.

More minutia.  Daily "Top Dog" per day awards per guide:  Vic-17, Les-6, Justin-5, Jeff-5, Mikey Buck-4, Jay-3, Bud-3, Matt-2, Keegan-2 and Matthew-2.

Okay.  Enough for now.  Look for updates to resume in March.  By the way, of the 1121 total fowl for the year there were 4 federal bands collected.  Matthew got one each on a hen and drake pintail.  Les got one on a drake pintail and Jay got one for a green wing teal.

New sweatshirts for this year are available for sale.  Hooded Guide not a God sweats are $35 and pull over Lose the Altitude are $25.  Email any orders to Ellen and they will be shipped out in March

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Thanks for a great year!

Marsh Momma Ellen and Capt. Vic

 

1/14/08

 

This week finally saw a slow down to the blistering pace the rest of the season has seen.  This was largely due to the  temperatures in the mid seventies with near calm winds.  A pretty tough combination to contend with.  Shooting was slowed, but the quality of fowl somewhat overshadowed the weather doldrums.

For the week we did manage to down 125 fowl which consisted mainly of 15 species.  Of these there were 34 pintail (most of which were drakes with one drake sporting a band), 10 widgeon, 10 teal, 4 gadwall, 4 black ducks, 3 shovellers (some of the most mature drakes I've ever seen) 2 mallards, 9 scaup, 25 buffleheads, 9 redheads, 3 ruddys, 1 canvasback, 1 white winged scoter, 5 swan, and 5 red breasted mergansers.

By Saturday, the weather finally turned back to the nasty side and subsequently the gunning improved.  The forecast for this week implies colder temperatures and a front or two so we anticipate more good gunning.

I'm starting to drag as exhaustion sets in, but we only have two weeks left in the 07-08 season.  I can't wait to see what the gods have in store for us.  If you're gunning with us, realize that we supply everything else, but you are in charge of the weather.  Make life better for all of us and bring us some nasty conditions.  thanks, Vic

1/7/08

This week provided our clients with some of the worst days and some of the best days of the season.  Early in the week saw calm days of near 70 degrees.  Tough hunting for everybody but Les and Mikey Buck.  Les shot some redheads, pintail and brant and Mikey got 2 limits of buffleheads on a slow warm Monday.

New Years day was simply dismal.  Thankfully, we only had one party that day.  (Not so thankfully for them.......sorry guys.)

On Wednesday, the weather took a turn for the worse and the hunting a turn for the better.  By Thursday the wind was howling NNW at 20-30 mph and temperatures were in the process of plummeting overnight into the low 20's.  Snow spit on and off all day.

Thursday was easily the best day of the season so far.  The 7 groups who hunted that day harvested 84 fowl!  To give you a feel for what we're shooting, the 84 fowl consisted of 15 widgeon, 12 teal, 11 gadwall, 6 pintail (one banded drake!), one mallard, 1 greater scaup, 1 lesser scaup, 1 redhead, 25 bufflehead, 2 swan, 6 brant and 3 hooded mergansers.  Bullets got burned that day!  My party and I limited out and were picking up decoys by 9 am.  Our total? 15 widgeon, 2 drake gadwall and a big bull pintail.

Friday morning dawned with ice covering Currituck Sound.  Getting out and properly set up was strenuous and time consuming, so our totals fell off some. 

The 6 groups who hunted that day harvested 11 widgeon, 6 shovellers, 5 gadwall, 2 pintail, 1 teal, 3 ruddy ducks, 1 redhead, 1 ringneck and 4 buffleheads.

During the week, 5 different guides were top dog for the day!  Diversity and quality.  I love our guide service!

Further good news is that last week's cold snap has driven new waves of fowl down from the north.  I saw 400 or 500 new gadwall and some big flocks of really mature shovellers around my marsh.  Oregon Inlet's Cat Shoal received ever more new redheads with some blinds being swarmed by 200-500 bird flocks.  Wow!  Currituck Sound received new flocks of diverse divers (scaup, redheads and cans) and big flocks of pintail.  Bring us some nasty weather and we'll burn another pile of bullets.

Here's a suggestion for those coming to hunt.  We hunt over big, open water.  If you use an improved cylinder choke, consider shifting over to a modified.  Save the improved for a tight little 'woodie hole.'

The thinking used when opting to screw in an improved cylinder is that if your aim is off you might still put a few pellets into what you're aiming at.  Conversely, if you aim correctly the pattern is so loose, you still only put a few pellets into your target.

The big problem is that steal doesn't hit hard enough for only a few pellets to consistantly bring down big healthy waterfowl.  Rather, you'll see the bird flinch then fly away injured.  At that point, instead of moving on to your next bird, you'll need to keep after the same target or hope your guide will put your bird down for you.  I really feel it's best to either pummel your target or miss entirely.  Either way, less birds are flying off injured and I believe you'll actually bring more fowl to hand.

Striper action continues only on the Oregon Inlet shoals or all the north to the VA line.  More gas than I want to burn.

Duckin and Goosin, Vic

Hi all,

Here are some pictures Justin took so far this season. 

 

  

1/2/08

With an influx of 60-70 degree weather, the hunting finally cooled off a bit over Christmas week.  Despite the weather, we've all managed to bang down a few birds each day.  So far, the guide service is better than halfway to bettering the 1000 fowl goal that I hoped for us this season.

Real good news is that this week we are getting our first blast of winter weather.  It's hard to believe we've already harvested better than 500 birds and I have not once had to pull on my neoprene gauntlet gloves to pick up decoys.  That'll change tomorrow though.

Les, hunting on the Avon reef last week got to witness the arrival of a few thousand pintails.  Those of us gunning Oregon Inlet have also been keeping our eyes on a new flock of 3-4000 red heads.  We're all impatiently waiting for those big flocks to begin breaking up into smaller more workable bunches.

The Milltail Refuge just on the mainland side of Roanoke Island (Manteo) is reported to be slam full of pintail and ringnecks which we will get a shot at as soon as we get a freeze to force the birds out into the real world.

I also got a report this week that the big bluebills (greaters) have showed up on the other side of the sound near Oriental.  Knowing the boys over there, it shouldn't be long before those birds are driven off.  Hopefully to this side of the sound.

I also got another report on the large body of Canvas Backs.  It seems those birds are making gunners on the Chesapeake Bay very happy.  Hopefully the freezing weather of the next few days will convince the cans to head a bit further south.  Justin, in the Currituck sound last week, got several shots at cans.

I'm getting psyched enough that I've loaded my diver rig into my bigger boat.  Show me a Northwest wind or a blue-bird day and I'll be diver duck hunting.

The ocean rockfish are still a no-show.  Aaron Kelly finally found a little pod off the Nags Head water tower last Saturday, but the heavy hitters in last week's Pirates Cove rockfish tournament would clear the inlet head left and not drop a bait till they had driven 68 miles!!  With the cost of gas and the efficiency of outboard technology, those had to be some expensive fish.

Keep in touch with the web site to see how the season unfolds.  Myself, Ellen and all the guides thank you for your support.  We're one guide on 2 different days from being totally booked.  Wow!

Duckin' and Goosin', Vic

12/26/07

Duck season 07/08 so far is exceeding expectations, especially in and a round the Oregon Inlet area where I have been truly blessed.  First with pintail, then gadwall, and most recently with fat, beautiful widgeon.

Here's a little behavioral science to help you better understand waterfowling in coastal NC.  It's important to know that this area is not a final wintering ground for any duck species.  Rather, we are a staging area.  That means that we get waves of migrating fowl that only stay for a period of time before they move on to the southward.

Typically, literally overnight, you'll notice droves of new birds that hadn't been here before.  Usually only consisting of one or two species, but totaling thousands of birds.  For the first few days you see them in large flocks, then over the next ten days to 2 and 1/2 weeks they'll break up and that's what you hunt predominantly for that time.  Then they move on and, hopefully, a new wave moves in.  In all cases, all other species are sprinkled in.

Each species prefers different areas so unfortunately, only certain guides benefit from each influx of new species of migrating fowl.  Fortunately however, our guide service  is large enough, covers enough area, and has blinds in such diversely differing areas that we-as a whole- benefit with each new wave.

As I mentioned earlier, I have been wonderfully blessed this year.  When the season opened in Nov. I was eat up with pintail.  Then a few weeks later gadwall showed up.  Finally, 3 days prior to the end of the Nov. season, widgeon arrived.  I was afraid they'd move on before the season reopened Dec. 15th.

That fear was needless.  The break allowed the widgeon to get comfortable in their surroundings and fatten up.  As a result, I've been harvesting nice bags of beautifully mature birds.

I don't know how the season will end, but so far it's been a wonderful ride.  It has also not hurt that our clients have been bringing nice north and northeast winds and great attitudes!  Keep it up and we'll keep banging birds.  Our total so far is 433 fowl.

PS  So far the rockfish season has been somewhat a bust.  The only large fish so far have come off the treacherous Oregon Inlet shoals.  If you aren't terrified while fishing those shoals, you just don't understand the situation.  If  you do fish them, BE CAREFUL.

 

All these pictures provided by one of our most favorite clients.  Any of you reading this that have hunted with us and would like to share your photos, please send them as jpg. files and I will post them.  thanks, ellen

 

 

 

 

 

11/29/07

Still doing well duck wise.  Yesterday, Keegan, Bud and I bag 2 widgeon, a teal, a bufflehead and a limit on pintail.  Before light we see four to five hundred newly arrived widgeon.  By the time we pick up our dekes at 9:30 AM, we've messed up on a flock of ten or so widgeon, (fluttering feathers, but no floating fowl), miss some marginally high gadwall, observe four or five hundred pintail in decoyable range while passing on eight to ten groups of pintail that are way close enough to shoot, or paddling around in our decoys.  We also land three blacks that feed in the decoys for 1/2 hour.

To date, the guide service has taken out 30 trips (average 2 men per) and have totalled 177 fowl.  Most all birds downed have been good, big puddlers including 45 pintail (mostly drakes.)  Most 'pins' are just now developing, but overall color is excellent and birds extremely healthy.  We've also taken some of the biggest and best colored drake widgeon I've ever seen.  Also this week, Bud knocked down the first canvasback of the season!  Also, during Thanksgiving weekend, one of our blinds landed a flock of 80 or so greater scaup.  Hopefully, a sign that the divers are on their way.

With only 2 days left, you've pretty much missed our Nov. season, but we still have some room during the third and final segment of duck hunting.

Also, the first big ocean stripers are starting to show up on Oregon Inlet's outer bar.  (Actually, I've only heard of 6 being hooked over 2 different days, but a start is a start.)  Speck fishing in the surf hasn't been as good as last year, but the better fishermen have done quite well.  Trout maestros and brothers Keegan and Trent have already accounted for 10 citations between them with Trent leading the charge 6-4.  I'd tell you exactly where they've been fishing, but..............yeah, right.

 

11/21/07

    So far this has been a whirlwind of a fall—Minus any hurricanes making landfall.  But then we kind of organized our time so as to capitalize on the fun and experiences available this time of year.  Here’s a synopsis from Oct. 1 to present.

    Carve, carve, carve.  Oct 3. Art show on the Eastern Shore of VA.  We do well.  Contemplate driving back home but as we need to be at may cousin's wedding near Fredricksburg MD on the 6^th, we decide to continue that direction and stay with a friend of ours in Chinctoteague, VA.  Party, party party.  Gratefully, we survive.  Drive over to MD and stay with old friends in Silver Spring MD.  Great visit, Ellen and Mike playing guitar, way comfortable bed and a more sane evening.  Continue on to the wedding in the morning.  Cousin Amy is beautiful.  Wedding is wonderful.  Spending time with family we don’t get to see all that often is lots of fun and enriching in all kinds of ways.  Dancing, dancing, dancing.  Drive home the next morning.

          Dump all the show stuff and load the boat for rockfish charter on the 8^th.  (there’s more to that than it sounds)  Crush ‘em.  Home at dark.  Clean fish.  Put away boat and all fishing gear.  Replace void in truck with all my black powder and deer hunting paraphanalia.  (you have no idea!)  Leave next morning to hunt new set of farms 2 hours from home that Ellen lined up for me 2 weeks earlier while talking with a friend of a friend while hanging out at the beach in Nags Head.  Did I marry well or what?!

          New farms are awesome.  By the time I return home around noon on the 12^th, I have a fat doe and a 2 year old 7 point in my coolers.  I also hove the rare experience of having aimed at a “Booner” 12 point with an empty muzzleloader.

          When I finished off the 7 pointer, it startled the deer I now refer to as “Tall-Boy”.  He lopes across the field at 80 yards and stops at 130 yards to look back and try to figure out what all the noise is about.  Tall-Boy’s rack is taller than his neck and head combined, piled atop his head.  All I can see is his face, rack and maybe six inches of throat.  So, jammed up and with nothing to brace on, no way I can keep cross hairs on target.  If the deer would just step ten yards to the left, I’ll have a full broadside…… He doesn’t.  Instead he backs into the woods.  Regret, regret, regret.  Anyway……..

          Back home on the 12^th.  Clean and store all deer hunting stuff.  Replace void in rear of pickup with all things fishing for charter on the 13^th.  Crush the rockfish again.  Fishing the sound around Mann’s Harbor.  Pulling 10 lb. stripers out of the pilings with reels spooled up with 12 lb. test.  Big time fun and way challenging.  Limits in the cooler.

    14th-15th.  De-boning venison and aging it in the coolers.  Catch up on deposits from hunters and subsequent paperwork.  18th is an all day charter that I call kind of wrong.  Trout fish in the am and plan to save the stripers for the afternoon.  Only catch one keeper in the morning, then the winds pick up in the afternoon more than I thought.  Rough as a cob.  Wah.

    19th.  Head to Raleigh and a flight to Sedona, AZ.  Eight days at a friend's magnificent house for free.  Can't beat that!  Hiking.  Grand Canyon.  Ten feet from a 5x4 mulie and a 3x2 mulie and 3 does.  Hoped to see an elk, but no luck.  5000 to 7500 feet above sea level.  Whewp, whewp, gasp.  Back home to 20 feet above sea level on the 28th.

    29th we have company in town till 11/1. Lovely visit.  On 11/2 I get to surf 3xoverhead hurricane surf from Hurricane Noel.  I survive that so I figure, what the hey? and head back to the farm in search of Tall Boy till mid day on the 7th.  I don't get him, but I do see son-of-Tall Boy, an 8 pointer that is almost as tall as Tall Boy.  Hunting with my rifle I could have shot at 330-350 yards but opt to wait for him to turn right and come a little closer and a resulting broad side.  He doesn't.  Regret, regret, regret.  Settle for an extremely handsome 8 pointer.  17" wide and ten inch tines.

    Back home mid day of the 7th.  Dump all the deer stuff.  Spend the 8th and 9th bushing blinds, just in time for duck season to begin on the 10th.................

    10th-17th hunt 5 days.  (Guide service hunts 14, 2 man parties)  My 5 parties harvest 37 fowl.  13 of which are pintail and only 2 are mergansers.  To date I've not even seen one bufflehead.  The 37 fowl comprise 10 separate species.  Not bad for 65-75 degree average temps.  Which brings us to this week.....

    Tomorrow's 11/21 and the first day I'll hunt since the 16th.  I've spent this week repairing my truck (don't ask), making decoy weights, tying up decoys, cleaning guns and otherwise preparing for the Thanksgiving crush.  Hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!  Give me a call.  Even though you missed Nov., we still have some openings left.  There's enough fun to go around. 

Duckin' and Goosin', Vic

    Hey all.  Here are the days we are booked solid.  Dec. 28 and 29.  Jan. 3,4,5,8,9,11,12,18,19 and 26.  We are very close to being booked Jan. 14,15,16,17,22,24 and 25.  Looking forward to seeing you all, ellen