Tradition. I would wager that's what that many of us love about the outdoors. That sameness that keeps us coming back. The same familiar duck and deer camps. The same family and friends. The same dogs. The same memories of those who've left us. The same passed down guns and gear. The same dented trucks and worn-fiberglass skiffs and scraped and shot-up decoys. The same meals and snacks. The same old thermos of coffee, perhaps with a hint of something extra to keep you a bit warmer. Season after season. Year after year. Things that make us feel that secure continuity of life, especially when the world around us seems more ever-changing and unpredictable. Things that make us feel a sense of community, family, and connection to this place and our place in it.
One of those traditions, for me and a few buddies, is the opportunity for some permit duck hunts. We started this thing back in college. We've continued it every year since.
Every fall, we'll put our names in the hat. North Carolina's got some great permit-only, public, waterfowl opportunities. For eight bucks (it used to be five) you can draw for a chance to hunt in state managed impoundments with flooded grains or natural vegetation or in open water blinds. They might not be "perfect," but for those of us who may never own our own land, or don't want to cough up the dough to pay for a guided hunt in a private impoundment or join a duck club, eight bucks to hunt somewhere like that isn't too shabby.
Some of these spots are a "free for all," where you'll still have to get there early to beat the crowd of permit-holders to the good spots. Some of these places you'll get an assigned blind, which makes life a little easier, but restricts your freedom to set up exactly where you think the birds will work, and makes things tougher if the birds are a bit "box-shy." Some places you need a boat to get to. They've all got their pros and cons.
For many draws, you'll want something with wheels to haul your gear... oftentimes it's a long walk down the dike, a trudge that'll leave you sweating in your waders even on the coldest of mornings. For a while, we used my childhood red wagon. We may've gotten some looks, but it worked! And even if you've got an assigned blind, it never hurts to scout ahead of time, to know where you're going before you're navigating through the dark and running late.
Of course, you may have to deal with some first-timers, or folks that might stretch their shots a bit too far, those "sky-blasters," or perhaps a young Labrador running around the place, not quite trained, the owner desperately yelling an ignored command . . . but that isn't often the case and, thankfully, most blinds are spaced far enough apart. That sort of thing may even keep the birds trading around the ponds, and may yet allow for some polite education, done the right way, of course.
Up in Northeastern Carolina, we're blessed with some good ones. Lantern Acres, Futch, Texas Plantation, among several others. There's Pamlico Point and Goose Creek further south, and options going on down the coast to White Oak River, and inland at places like Suggs Millpond, and around Falls Lake and even further west into the Piedmont. The permit hunts off Knotts Island, part of the Currituck National Wildlife Refuge, aren't bad either, but it requires a puffy-eyed early check-in and a boat ride. Check out a list of these opportunities, here, and play around with this cool interactive NC Gamelands map, here.
Get out and explore what our great state has to offer. Maybe, too, the State will be able to keep adding to these permit hunt opportunities, places where all of us can get a chance to shoot a duck or two, for just a few bucks. Join the club.
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