Key in on these hotpots for the best public duck, goose and swan hunting in the Carolinas this season.
Things might be a bit tough this hunting season, given the drought across much of North America’s waterfowl breeding grounds, but hunters in the Carolinas can still expect some success — especially those who are hunting the states’ public lands. Both the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and the S.C. Department of Natural Resources have been preparing their public-hunting areas for the coming migration, with some areas shaping up to be especially good options this season. Here’s what each state’s waterfowl biologist had to say about their respective offerings.
North Carolina
Doug Howell, the Commission’s biologist in charge of waterfowl, is optimistic entering the 2021-22 season, despite what you may have heard from up north. True, annual surveys in the Prairie Pothole region have shown a decline in species such as mallards, but Howell reminds Carolina waterfowlers that the Atlantic Flyway is actually fueled by the Great Lakes region.
“Our birds come from, primarily, Ontario and Quebec and maritime Canada and, to a lesser extent, the Great Lakes states, depending on the species,” Howell said.
That means you can still expect to see plenty of ducks flying south for the winter this year — especially if you’re hunting one of these game lands.
Butner-Falls of the Neuse
The Piedmont has several quality game lands for waterfowlers to consider, with Howell putting Butner-Falls of the Neuse just north of Raleigh and Durham at the top of his list.
“I think some of our best water would be in the Butner-Falls area in terms of opportunity,” Howell said. “We’ve had managed waterfowl impoundments in place there since the early 2000s. It’s centered around the Butner-Falls of the Neuse Game Land.”
A series of four or five different areas with various impoundments offers waterfowlers somewhere to hunt throughout the season. Howell said hunters can expect to find North Carolina’s “big three” — wood ducks, teal, and ringnecks — at Butner-Falls, along with a smattering of other species, including gadwall and shovelers.
“We’ve had some pretty dry conditions early in the year that may have impacted some of their plantings, but it’s certainly not as extreme as we’ve seen in the northern tier of states and the western part of North Carolina,” Howell said.
Per the state’s regulations, waterfowl may only be taken at Butner-Falls of the Neuse on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays; Christmas, New Year’s Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and on opening and closing days of the applicable waterfowl seasons. A special permit is required when hunting waterfowl on posted waterfowl impoundments after Nov. 1.
Goose Creek Complex
Howell said Campbell Creek, Spring Creek and Pamlico Point, parts of the Goose Creek Complex in Pamlico and Beaufort counties near the town of Mesic, are also great places to hunt for waterfowl in North Carolina this season.
“The reason I say that (is) because there’s so much area out there. One impoundment may be poor, and another one be really good at any given time,” Howell said. “So there are opportunities there in terms of what we’re seeing in terms of numbers. It’s not one-size-fits-all.”
The Commission practices a combination of traditional, moist-soil management and targeting native seed producers at Goose Creek. Native vegetation such as wild millet and panic grass is allowed to grow in the moist environment during spring and summer. Pamlico Point, since it is such a large area, is annually flooded to manage for submerged aquatic vegetation, specifically, widgeon grass.
Howell said that in terms in species, hunters can expect a little bit of everything at Goose Creek, even divers just outside the impoundments but still on the Game Land property. Scaup, redheads and the whole gamut of ducks that visit North Carolina in a given migration can typically be found at those impoundments.
Per the state’s regulations for Goose Creek, waterfowl may be taken only on the posted impoundments on Tuesdays and Saturdays before Oct. 1, and on the opening and closing days of the statewide waterfowl seasons. Beginning on the first open waterfowl season day in October and through the end of the waterfowl season, hunting is by permit only on posted impoundments.
Lantern Acres/Gull Rock
A hidden gem of a game land, Howell calls Lantern Acres in Tyrrell and Washington counties near Columbia a “1A” impoundment that is flooded each fall to manage for moist soil. There is one catch, however.
“We always like to tell our hunters that it’s quite a walk to get in there,” Howell said of the roughly half-mile trek along the dyke. “If you want to hunt, you’re going to have to plan on walking a bit, but it can be a very, very good place to duck hunt.”
Waterfowlers can expect to see many species of duck at Lantern Acres, including black ducks. The same can be said for Gull Rock Game Land, too, with an important addition: swans.
“We’re seeing more and more swans winter in that impoundment, so a person who didn’t have a place to go on an agricultural field to hunt swans, that may be an option for them,” Howell said. “It’s also managed for aquatic vegetation; that’s why the swans like it. The bottom is going to be a bit mucky, but it’s accessible. We’ve got a lot of people who have taken advantage of that because they couldn’t find a place to go on their own on private lands.”
Per the state’s regulations for Lantern Acres, waterfowl hunting on posted waterfowl impoundments is by permit only. For Gull Rock, hunting of any species of wildlife on posted waterfowl impoundments is limited to Tuesdays and Saturdays; Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day, and Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and opening and closing days of the applicable waterfowl seasons.
South Carolina
Molly Kneece, SCDNR’s chief waterfowl biologist, is also excited to see what the season holds for hunters in her state. She reminds waterfowlers who are new to South Carolina that they will need a state duck stamp — they’re electronic now — in addition to a federal duck stamp, as well as a valid WMA permit to hunt on the following Wildlife Management Areas.
Sandy Beach
Kneece said Sandy Beach, a Category I, public-draw WMA on the northern shoreline of Lake Moultrie, is showing a good crop of corn, rice and millet, along with other waterfowl delicacies that are naturally found there.
“We are pretty much wall-to-wall crops on that property this year,” Kneece said. “In places where we haven’t planted, there are excellent sources of smartweed, wild millets, panic grasses and things growing there. We’ve really got the table set.”
Kneece said that hunters who draw Sandy Beach can expect to see a range of ducks this season. Ringnecks are the most-commonly harvested duck, followed by wood ducks and teal, with some gadwall mixed in. Depending on the weather, mallards can also be taken.
The cutoff for the Sandy Beach draw is typically in mid- to late October, with the results being announced in November. The WMA can be hunted once a week during the season, only by those who are successful in the lottery process. The waterfowl-hunting portion of Sandy Beach closes to the non-hunting public Nov. 1 and will reopen Feb. 8.
Tyger River
Tyger River is a Category II WMA south of Union in Union County, meaning it is open for hunting on Saturday mornings throughout the waterfowl season. Hunters may not enter the WMA before 5 a.m. on hunt days and must leave by noon.
Per SCDNR regulations, data cards are also required for hunters accessing the Tyger River WMA and must be completed and returned daily upon leaving the area.
The property itself — an impoundment about 85 acres in total with a subsection that is plantable — is owned by the U.S. Forest Service and managed by SCDNR. The department has planted it in corn for 2021-22, with the manager-on-site reporting that the crop was looking “really, really good,” Kneece said.
“They’re excited about what they have on the ground this year,” Kneece said. “They said that they also have a good crop of smartweeds coming through on that property, so it sounds like we’ve got some good habitat on the ground there in the upstate this year.”
Wood ducks are typically the most common duck found in Tyger River, followed by teal. Mallards and black ducks can certainly show up in this WMA, but as with Sandy Beach, that is highly weather-dependent.
Other WMAs
Many waterfowlers probably don’t know that any WMA in South Carolina can be hunted for waterfowl if the area’s small-game season overlaps with waterfowl season.
“If small-game season falls within waterfowl season, you can hunt those properties during waterfowl season,” Kneece said. “Unless you really read into the details of the rules and regs, it’s kind of a lesser-known thing.”
“If you like to put your feet on the ground and go out and scout a site that you know is generally lesser-known and (there’s) not as much pressure fighting people as you might see in these Category 2 areas, you can generally find some good wood duck sites, and if you’re fortunate and the weather is right, you may find a hidden mallard hole that nobody knows about.”
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