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afternoon of opener

2K views 16 replies 7 participants last post by  jsm1977 
#1 ·
I have to work the night of the 13th, so I will miss opening morning. Any one have suggestions for a decent afternoon/evening hunt in the north zone?
james
 
#5 ·
You can expect a crowd & alot of sky busting. Most guys will be chasing them off the roost before 1st light. After 1st day very few duck remain in the swamp. The ones that do fly out at 1st light & leave the area completely. I grew up hunting Black river & have not hunted there oct season in 25 yrs. because of the sky busting & crowd. I be on private water 1 st day
good luck & stay safe
 
#7 ·
You have a boat?
Spruce run has restricted areas for hunting. You must be on the water except the far end that's WMA. Parks & water auth. set the rules for the entire water surface & the rest of the land around it. 9.9 hp restictions on motors & a 25 mph wind restriction for boats on the water. The white caps WILL swamp any small crafts some larger ones too
the Delaware, all depends on water level & what section of river. Some places it's tough with the safety zones. With a NJ lic KNOW where the state border is. IT'S NOT THE CENTER OF RIVER. Some islands are in Pa others in NJ
 
#8 ·
I have a 12' v-hull with a 9.5hp Johnson. I have never hunted either place. I took a drive out to Spruce Run a month ago. It was a fairly easy trip. Google maps gives good satellite hybrid maps of the NJ-PA border along the delaware, but looking at a map at home and knowing exactly were you are when your there are two different things. Maybe it will be better going out by the light of day anyways.
 
#9 ·
Hunted spruce run a couple of times along time ago and only got 1 duck and 1 goose. Sometimes you will see an occasional broadbill raft. the only downfall about going there is the bass fisherman and those dam blow boaters<sail boats> they can screw up a good shot ya know. If you do go bring a fishing pole. Atleast if you get no fowl you can still have fish!
 
#10 ·
njplotts said:
You can expect a crowd & alot of sky busting. Most guys will be chasing them off the roost before 1st light. After 1st day very few duck remain in the swamp. The ones that do fly out at 1st light & leave the area completely. I grew up hunting Black river & have not hunted there oct season in 25 yrs. because of the sky busting & crowd. I be on private water 1 st day
good luck & stay safe
my advice would be to go wherever njplotts suggests NOT to go. god bless him, he monitors these sites pretty close, and it's all doom and gloom for anyone who wants to know where to hunt. :toofunny:
 
#12 ·
njplotts said:
well Nick I guess you'll see for yourself what Black River is like on 1st day or weekends.
oh yeah I'll pull you out of the chop when your poke boat gets swamped on spruce run
:toofunny:
pull me out of the chop? i thought we'd be in your boat! you're not going to make me paddle all the way out there in your wake, are you? just . :hammering: your chops, bob. and by the way, when're we goin hunting?
 
#14 ·
Delaware water gap is not too bad, never crowded, and usually a fair amount of birds around, i do suggest some daytime scouting 1st, just to check on water levels and where the channels are, very easy to run aground in the dark, also certain islands belong to Pa, so be sure where you are setting up.
 
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