Larry Eckart
Well-known member
Guys (and Dani),
This past week two friends of mine gathered with me on the Outer Banks for two days of duck hunting. I drove up from Hilton Head. They came from Collinsville, Illinois and Richmond, Virginia respectively. You know how much planning goes into one of these types of hunts where no one is local.
Looking back I suppose planning only two days to hunt was risky given the many weather variables that can happen in winter. Sometimes you just do what you can do.
My two friends, Ron and Mark, grew up with me at a Lutheran school in Collinsville. We also went to high school together. From that common early experience, life took us in very different directions. Mark is steel worker, in Granite City, Illinois where he has experienced the decline of the steel industry in America. Ron became a chemical engineer. I became a Lutheran pastor. In those divergent paths, it is interesting how the common foundation of growing up together forms a strong bond, easy communication and a basic trust in hunting partners.
Here is a pic of the three of us: I'm on the left, Ron is in the middle and Mark is on the right:
View attachment IMG_1583.jpg
I picked up Mark at the Raleigh airport. We took a leisurely road trip east towards the Outer Banks.
We stopped at Bath, the first town in North Carolina, settled in 1705. Mark was so taken by its quiet, water centered atmosphere that he picked up a billet on a house for sale. We then paid our respects to another type of waterman.
View attachment DSC_4118-1170x780.jpg
It seems to me that every farm house in eastern North Carolina planted a few pecan trees. You see their spidery branches reaching for the sky at every farm. Even as waterfowl have their own silhouette in the sky, so do trees. So does the pecan.
View attachment 728be0535d2e55967a4200159e0f6973.jpg
Then crossing the various estuaries along the upper Pamlico Sound, locally named “rivers,” we stopped and thoroughly enjoyed the Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge. If you had been at Mattamuskeet in the 1960’s or earlier, you would have seen one of the historic wintering grounds for Canada Geese. Much has changed now. Those rascals up in Maryland planted all that corn and started offering better lodging. And Mattamuskeet Lake, the largest fresh water lake in NC, has itself changed drastically. It is shallow, shallow and was once filled with vegetation that waterfowl loved. Now, due to various factors biologists say the lake has little food value.
View attachment IMG_1578.jpg
That is not true about the marshes surrounding Lake Mattamuskeet. The marshes were brimming with birds when we were there. Puddlers everywhere. More pintails than I have ever seen. The “peep-peep” of pintails was all around us. Canadas were there, but not in huge numbers. It seemed there were more snow geese. And swans. The drive provided around the refuge is a great experience to see waterfowl congregations doing what they do best.
View attachment DSC_0073.jpg
Then we proceeded through the wild, wild area of Dare county along route 264. This area holds one of the largest concentrations of black bear east of the Mississippi. It is a wild region, not a good place to break down.
Just before you get to the OBX, Roanoke Island is a tourist trap regarding the “lost colony” from our nation’s early history. But if you go through there on your way to the OBX, stop in at O’Neals Seafood in Wanchese. They sell fresh seafood and offer lunch between 11:00 and 3:00. Great food at cheap prices.
View attachment IMG_1580.jpg
The first day’s hunt had all the promise of a great duck day, as long as we stayed safe. Calm in the morning, gale force winds were forecast by 1:00. This caused our guide to pause a bit in his choice of location: plan for the morning and pick up early or plan for the coming wind? We chose the latter.
Here is a pic of sunrise over the calm water.
View attachment DSC_0083.jpg
Here is another pic of the decoys and the sunrise.
View attachment DSC_0077.jpg
(Since there seems to be a ten photo limit on each post I will continue this story in a reply to my post)
This past week two friends of mine gathered with me on the Outer Banks for two days of duck hunting. I drove up from Hilton Head. They came from Collinsville, Illinois and Richmond, Virginia respectively. You know how much planning goes into one of these types of hunts where no one is local.
Looking back I suppose planning only two days to hunt was risky given the many weather variables that can happen in winter. Sometimes you just do what you can do.
My two friends, Ron and Mark, grew up with me at a Lutheran school in Collinsville. We also went to high school together. From that common early experience, life took us in very different directions. Mark is steel worker, in Granite City, Illinois where he has experienced the decline of the steel industry in America. Ron became a chemical engineer. I became a Lutheran pastor. In those divergent paths, it is interesting how the common foundation of growing up together forms a strong bond, easy communication and a basic trust in hunting partners.
Here is a pic of the three of us: I'm on the left, Ron is in the middle and Mark is on the right:
View attachment IMG_1583.jpg
I picked up Mark at the Raleigh airport. We took a leisurely road trip east towards the Outer Banks.
We stopped at Bath, the first town in North Carolina, settled in 1705. Mark was so taken by its quiet, water centered atmosphere that he picked up a billet on a house for sale. We then paid our respects to another type of waterman.
View attachment DSC_4118-1170x780.jpg
It seems to me that every farm house in eastern North Carolina planted a few pecan trees. You see their spidery branches reaching for the sky at every farm. Even as waterfowl have their own silhouette in the sky, so do trees. So does the pecan.
View attachment 728be0535d2e55967a4200159e0f6973.jpg
Then crossing the various estuaries along the upper Pamlico Sound, locally named “rivers,” we stopped and thoroughly enjoyed the Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge. If you had been at Mattamuskeet in the 1960’s or earlier, you would have seen one of the historic wintering grounds for Canada Geese. Much has changed now. Those rascals up in Maryland planted all that corn and started offering better lodging. And Mattamuskeet Lake, the largest fresh water lake in NC, has itself changed drastically. It is shallow, shallow and was once filled with vegetation that waterfowl loved. Now, due to various factors biologists say the lake has little food value.
View attachment IMG_1578.jpg
That is not true about the marshes surrounding Lake Mattamuskeet. The marshes were brimming with birds when we were there. Puddlers everywhere. More pintails than I have ever seen. The “peep-peep” of pintails was all around us. Canadas were there, but not in huge numbers. It seemed there were more snow geese. And swans. The drive provided around the refuge is a great experience to see waterfowl congregations doing what they do best.
View attachment DSC_0073.jpg
Then we proceeded through the wild, wild area of Dare county along route 264. This area holds one of the largest concentrations of black bear east of the Mississippi. It is a wild region, not a good place to break down.
Just before you get to the OBX, Roanoke Island is a tourist trap regarding the “lost colony” from our nation’s early history. But if you go through there on your way to the OBX, stop in at O’Neals Seafood in Wanchese. They sell fresh seafood and offer lunch between 11:00 and 3:00. Great food at cheap prices.
View attachment IMG_1580.jpg
The first day’s hunt had all the promise of a great duck day, as long as we stayed safe. Calm in the morning, gale force winds were forecast by 1:00. This caused our guide to pause a bit in his choice of location: plan for the morning and pick up early or plan for the coming wind? We chose the latter.
Here is a pic of sunrise over the calm water.
View attachment DSC_0083.jpg
Here is another pic of the decoys and the sunrise.
View attachment DSC_0077.jpg
(Since there seems to be a ten photo limit on each post I will continue this story in a reply to my post)
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