May have to relocate near Marion , need info - duck hunting?

[G Man]

I could live with out my saltwater fishing but add duck hunting to that list would make it unbearable. I don't need to know of anyones spots,but what areas are good for duck hunting? Only info I could find on North Carolina is on the estern part of the state. Is it too mountainous there? Any help or info would be appriciated. marion, NC

[Phil K.]

Marion is on the Catawba River and near Lake James which is the first man made lake on the Catawba chain. There are quite a few duck hunters in the area. If there is cold weather up north we get some ducks passing through. There is not too much agriculture in the area anymore so they usually do not hang around very long. We usually get a short 4 day Wood Duck season the first week of October and the hunting is pretty good since woodys raise their young in our area. If there are acorns the Woody's hang around for a while and other ducks are more plentiful.

Are you from coastal NC? I am looking for a good guide or hunting area to make a trip out to the NC coast this year with a couple of my buddies.

[G Man]

I appreciate the info. I was starting to get worried. No I am not from coastal NC. I would make a trip to coastal NC if I end up relocating. I have heard of some good hunting and fishing over there. Good luck to you when you make your trip. Hope you drop a few.

[Franchi]

I am from Carteret County and live right on Bouge Sound. This is a little inside tour of the coastal areas.

Fishing

The fishing here is great when the wind will stop blowing to get out. I have had great luck this year with Tuna, Dolphin, Wahoo and King Mackerel. The Drum seem to be late this year as I have not had any great trips to speak of this year. I fish mainly in Bouge Sound, New River and Neuse River for inshore fish. I fish outta Bouge Inlet for my offshore fish. If you are into Offshore fishing then just buy you a grease chart and all the AR's and Rocks are on there with GPS numbers. I have heard the flounder are showing up at the close AR's and last year I had the best Flounder season I have ever had. Been gigging a few times nothing great to speak of 4 one trip and 8 the next. It has rained alot and the wind always blows around here so its though to have that calm day open to fish. If you have any specific fishing questions about N.C. coast I will be glad to answer them. I am a local and have lived here all my life and so has my family and thier families family....LOL

Duck Hunting

The duck hunting here is great. I have been consistantly killing ducks here ever since I was old enough to. Though your not going to kill alot of the good ducks here like Mallards and Teal, the diver duck hunting is above average. New river and Neuse River are great for Blue Bills, Canvas Backs, and Buffel Heads. They seem to be there all season long and tend to fly every weekend. You will need a boat load of decoys to draw these birds in cause the width of these rivers pose lots of area for them to lite. Bouge Sound and White Oak river are my home waters. I usually hunt them during the week when time is a problem. Common and Hooded Mergansers, Teal, Mallards, and Buffel Heads are the common ducks you see in these areas. I find the best areas in these spots just by scouting and looking for them during the season. These places are public and you can put a blind up anywhere you want as far as I know. I have never had any problems and I have been checked a million times on the sounds so its a good idea to have your crap right, cause you will be caught.
Wood Duck hunting here is also great I usually hunt them in the Croatan Forrest. There are many branches and ponds in those game lands and they are uaually full of Woodys. Just scout the areas for those ponds and streams and I bet you will find wood ducks there. I limited out at least 5 times laast year in the Croatan. So belive m the ducks are there you just have to put forth the effort to find them. There are maps of the Croatan at the N.C. Wildlife Website. It also helps if you are a registered land surveyor and have access to all those ariel photos of the area....LOL
The last place I hunt is down east which includes Core Sound, Pamlico Sound and all the areas in between. You kill Red Heads, Blue Bills , Buffel Heads, Mergansers and Teal there. If you are unfimilar with the area it is very teritorial place there and an outsider is apt to be cused if you are in these peoples araes. There are blinds all over the place. If you get in someones area down there they will surley let you know it. I am fortunate that my Mothers family (my grandparents and aunts and uncles) are from Davis which is right between Harkers Island and Stacey so I know all these people I am talking about and I have been hunting there since I could walk. I have about 6 blinds in that area and the Red heads were thick as hell there last year. Its a shame I could only find time to hunt there on weekends. I am not tring to discourage you about this area just be very respectful of these people and they will respect you. Well that about wraps my hunting advice up. If you have any questions about duck hunting any of these areas just ask. I will try to help you as best as I can.

Take Care and Good Luck this Season.