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Lake Mattamuskeet

7K views 31 replies 14 participants last post by  ducksnbucks88 
#1 ·
hello all.... i got a invite to hunt a private impoundment about a mile from the lake the last week in november.. ive never been anywhere close to mattamuskeet so i know nothing about the area.. do yall think there will be any birds in the private impoundments this early in the season? all the literature ive read talks about all the birds being on the lake... any input would be greatly appreciated! thanks!
 
#2 ·
Depends on the weather, amount of birds in the area at the time, and how good of location the impoundment is in. One thing is for sure, I've never meet anyone who has yet to kill a duck sitting on the couch.
 
#3 ·
You never know until you go. Unless you have a guaranteed awesome spot elsewhere or its a really long ride, I would go. If nothing else you can drive around and see a pretty neat area, see alot of ducks (hopefully shoot some too) and eat at martelles. Cant beat that
 
#5 ·
Never had the grilled pork chops. Will have to get those the next time I go. Will be eating lunch there on saturday :thumbsup:
 
#6 ·
Are you actually questioning IF you should go or not? I agree with KAhunter, "Unless you have a guaranteed awesome spot elsewhere" Give it a shot. So what if you sit in someone else's impoundment and don't shoot a bunch of birds. What else ya got to do that day?

Good luck. Let us know how it goes.
 
#7 ·
X2
jcz said:
Are you actually questioning IF you should go or not? I agree with KAhunter, "Unless you have a guaranteed awesome spot elsewhere" Give it a shot. So what if you sit in someone else's impoundment and don't shoot a bunch of birds. What else ya got to do that day?

Good luck. Let us know how it goes.
Oh, :hi: I will go if you do not want to, Just saying!
 
#8 ·
im for sure going.. i wont miss a chance to shoot some birds i would never kill at home.. i heard just going to the lake and looking at the tons of ducks and swans makes the trip worth every dime. the way i look at it, 4 bad days in the blind is better than 4 awesome days at work!
 
#9 ·
One of my favorite parts is the drive in from Lake Mattamuskeet causeway,

When we used to go with Hesters, Simmons, or got drawn for hunts always tried to be there the afternoon before and sit on side of road to watch the ducks and geese come in to the ponds. Worth the trip just for that. (almost)

Not many places offer the history and atmosphere of Mattamuskeet.

Have a great hunt.
 
#10 ·
Can anyone inform me on the best decoys to take to lake mattamuskeet??? So far I've got sprigs, black ducks, wigeon, gw teal, ringers, and greentops on the list. These seem to be the general ones I hear from friends that have been on the trip. Its a four hour trip for me one way so driving there just to look at the species of birds there wouldn't make much sense for me. and im going no matter what blind draw i get even if there isnt any water under it so I don't consider this "cyberscouting", i call it not being the idiot that shows up with a bluewing decoy where there are no bluewings. This will probably be my only trip like this for the next 5 plus years, so im just trying to get a general idea of what to expect. Thanks
 
#11 ·
Not many mallards out there. Plenty of teal, wigeon, pintails and blacks. Lots of swans. Also, gadwall, coots, and various other divers. Make sure you bring a jerk string or two in case there's no wind.
 
#12 ·
x2 on the jerk string, can always leave in vehicle if windy.

Nothing wrong with Blue Wing decoys, highly visible and ducks are not as picky as some think.

More white, more visibility in my book, your list looks pretty good, but cut mallards to couple pair or so and set away from others.

Ducks are usually along the shore line, not all out sitting on open water, so do not clump decoys in front of the blind, surrond the blind (in my personal opinion.)

Couple of geese/swans etc might draw attention of passing birds too if you have. Just do not put in with dux.

And BTW it is 7 hour trip for me, but I always went up day before, ate oysters, relaxed, and put the ducks to bed.

Have great trip. :beer:
 
#13 ·
Thanks for the advice y'all. I had planned on not taking too many mallards as well. Do you guys think some wood ducks would be worthwhile to add into the mix? I know there arent many of them there but should i take a pair or two or just leave them all at the house? We'll have the jerk rigs as well. How about mojo's? Since we'll be somewhat "competing" for ducks (not skybusting), do you think the flash from mojos will help make our spread stand out? We really, really, really want some pintails because we have never even held one. That would be like killing a double banded mallard drake to us haha. Any extra spread advice would be helpful. How about blind brush?
thanks everyone
 
#14 ·
I would certainly take mojo if have.

Wood duck decoys are your call, make nice photos if there are no ducks. :lol3:

Blinds are always there, so local birds are used to them, have never taken brush, but did take lightweight camo netting that we draped over ends and top, just make sure it will not be blowing around too much.

My favorite thing to take was the propane stove, eggs, sausage, and bread to make breakfast in the blind.

Good luck on the pintail.
 
#16 ·
Take the robos with you. Some days it's the more the better, but some day's they don't like them as much. The first couple flocks will tell you whether or not to leave them on.
 
#17 ·
I hope 3 mojos are sufficient, we're trying to keep the costs as low as possible while still having a good quality trip. how about the blind numbers? i know 8,9 and maybe it was 16 someone told me were generally great. I also know to stay away from 3 and 4 because those are impoundments and are an exercise routine to get there and back. Once again any advice is greatly appreciated :smile:
 
#18 ·
3 robos should be plenty.

Yeah, as a rule of thumb, the further out in the lake the blind is the better. For instance, 8 is way out on a point and usually is one of the more consistent blinds. They record the kill counts for each blind and have them at the drawing in the morning. Those are the best indicators of which blinds are doing what. Almost all the blinds can be a pain to get to, so just take your time a make multiple trips if you have to.
 
#19 ·
ducksnbucks88 said:
I hope 3 mojos are sufficient, we're trying to keep the costs as low as possible while still having a good quality trip. how about the blind numbers? i know 8,9 and maybe it was 16 someone told me were generally great. I also know to stay away from 3 and 4 because those are impoundments and are an exercise routine to get there and back. Once again any advice is greatly appreciated :smile:
Three and 4 are NOT impoundment blinds, rather shore/marsh blinds. Five and 6 are however. But you will have a long walk to 3 and 4 no doubt. But like TT said, take your time walking. You can get away w/o wearing waders for awhile until you hit the the "hop off" points for 3 and 4. Carrying them will keep you from sweating to death, then freezing once you get settled in the blind.
 
#20 ·
We've got 11 for the first day and 3 for the second. I'll probably keep 11 on the first day and look at the kills out of 3 for the first day and decide whether to switch or not. I'm sorry if im asking too many questions im just slightly anxious because this is the first time I have ever done any kind of public hunting. Always been a private hunter. The water drops more and more every year so if we're gonna keep putting birds on the table then we are gonna have to go try our other resources, like mattamuskeet haha. I hope its a whackin kind of weekend for us when we go :beer:
 
#21 ·
Only two more days!!! Leaving thursday at lunch. But I need some quick help. I know setup with the wind and all that stuff. But what kind of spread do I need to lay out. Like a gang rig or an "X" pattern or what. Ive never hunted big lake areas or anything near it. Like Isaid, ive got 11 friday and 3 saturday. Ive got a dozen sprigs, 6 greenwings, 6 widgeon, 6 blacks, and 6 ringnecks to work with. I can take some mallards if I need to for a "filler"decoy. Please... :help:
 
#22 ·
from my experience 3 has produced much more than 11. I would think twice before swapping 3. (as said before it is not an impoundment blind). but look at the kill sheet the morning of to see which blind is doing what and judge it from there

you'll be fine w/that spread you listed. not sure I'd carry all those sprigs...maybe leave a few in the truck. that mess gets heavy on the way out :thumbsup:
 
#23 ·
Last Friday the best #'s from all the blinds where 7 (5 hoodies, 1 ruddy,1 bufflehead)
Most other blinds were shooting ruddies :huh:
Yesterday only 4 ducks checked total for all the blinds
Still can't for the life of me figure out what all the hype is about the lake
 
#24 ·
Agreed with the above...the blinds are great for coot watching.

Either way, there's a decoy festival down there this weekend. Friday night there's a banquet, Saturday the festival opens. It's a sleeper show and it's a good place to meet some local legends and historians. It's a shame though, that the people that go to hunt Hyde County don't know the rich history of the place...and it's much more than shooting lots of birds. Speedy Tunnell, Harvey Flowers, Leslie Simmons, and Percy Carawan can get you started. And try to find out who Ol' Tom was, too. That'll explain the history the best.

Any way, there's a gunning decoy contest Saturday at 11. Three of the competitors are cormer or current world champion makers. Sunday is the State calling championship, I think. And it's a good place to find an old North Carolina decoy and not one of those stupid "collectible" Ducks Unlimited decoys with the "commemorative" coin...

hydewaterfowl.com
 
#25 ·
I think its still a desire to hunt there just from the name and the past history, even though its not worth the effort other than to mark it off your list and see a bunch of stuff you can't shoot. The birds sure stay away from that penisula these days. Its really gone down hill in the last 10 years, I hunted it a bunch with guys back in the early to mid 90's and we always killed pins, gads, wigeon, teal, snows you name it. They use to have a mounted specklebelly in the ranger office that we got on one of our hunts and donated it to them to have mounted. If all I had to shoot was trash like buffs and ruddies I'd quit tomorrow. Thats a shame.
 
#26 ·
Y'all are gettin my hopes down haha. I just hope we can have a decent hunt out there. And we'll have to check out the festival. Since we gotta quit at lunch That gives us some down time to get us a history lesson. By the way, do your guns have to be unloaded at 12 or do you have to be back at headquarters at 12?
 
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