Duck seasons along the Eastern Flyway are among the shortest in the nation. While a few short segments come and go in the fall, it’s not until December, when the final portion of the season arrives, that action really arrives.
For most waterfowlers, December is when the decoys fully make it out of the shed and 4 a.m. alarms are the norm. And while beaver ponds and flooded grain fields can look like Custer’s last stand on some occasions, lakes in the Carolinas are often the first places ducks drop their feet on their annual migratory routes.
Except for wood ducks, the Carolinas’ only resident duck species, most of the feathered take comes from Canadian provinces. November and December are the first months when the major migrations begin to produce large flocks of ducks in the flooded real estate of the South. In addition to the massive coastal sounds for which North Carolina and South Carolina are famous, the first flights find landing zones in the large system of lakes scattered across the central sections of both states.
The Eastern Flyway covers the entire eastern seaboard, but every waterfowl biologist and duck hunter understands there are minor flyways that ducks traditionally funnel through the Carolinas on their way south for the winter. These minor flyways follow the major river basins, which feature reservoirs that often end up hosting the first layover of these feathered foes.
North Carolina has many lakes within its boundaries, but the ones with the most waterfowl opportunities are in the Catawba, Yadkin or Roanoke River basins, which offer prime hunting grounds for ducks along the migratory route. While many may be famous for their excellent bass, crappie, and striper fishing, the duck hunting on these lakes can be exceptional during December when the first few waves arrive.
South Carolina also has excellent waterfowl corridors associated with the Pee Dee, Broad and Savannah river systems, and of course, the Santee Basin, where the 190,000-acre Santee Cooper lakes are located. The Santee system uniquely spans a massive region, providing amazing places — from deep-water timber to shallow swamps covered in rich grass — for ducks to come each fall and winter.
Trey Phillips is co-owner and head waterfowl guide at the Clarendon Club in Summerton, S.C. He said the Santee Cooper ecosystem is ground zero for a massive annual migration of ducks, especially during November and December season.
“We are located just a few miles from the upper lake (Marion), between two national wildlife refuges, and we have over 200 acres of flooded corn ourselves, but we aren’t the only ones either with food for the ducks,” said Phillips (803-460-0797). “There are several thousand acres of flooded grain fields around the Santee Cooper system, planted entirely to attract waterfowl. If it weren’t for all of the impoundments around the lake, they would keep flying south to Florida and Georgia where they have hydrilla and other aquatic vegetation that ducks like to feed on. The impoundments retain many of the ducks in the area and makes the duck hunting better on the lake.”
Food is a necessity when ducks approach their first stopping points, because their energy reserves are often depleted after the long flight south. Reservoirs all over the Carolinas are littered with natural foods in shallow sections and in flooded grain fields around their perimeters, so the December portion of the season is not one to miss.
As it arrives, many ducks area also showing up for the first time, looking for protection and rich food sources.
According to Phillips, the first arrivals will flock to the impoundments with heavy cover to roost under the stars.
“The ducks will roost on the lakes and in ponds with tall corn, but these ducks show up in huge flocks and are looking to feed shortly after arriving when day breaks,” Phillips said.
Ducks will use lakes for feeding, resting, loafing and roosting. The first order of business is a high-energy food source, and of course, the flooded grain fields are easy places to find a stack of food, but many lakes may not have flooded corn nearby, and many hunters don’t always have access to flooded fields. But these lakes will often have plenty of shallow margins fortified with grasses and nutritious aquatic vegetation that’s more than good enough to appear on any duck’s dinner table.
“The best places to hunt on these lakes during the early season are food sources that are usually around the lake edges and in the upper part of the lake,” he said.
Every lake is a little different, depending on where it’s located, but the basic lake structure is similar, with deep water near the dam and center channel and shallow, feeder creeks and the headwater drainages. It’s there that many shallow flats are found, often bursting with emergent vegetation; otherwise known as the duck-feeding zones. These are places to set up a blind. Often, these sections of reservoirs are littered with beavers as well, who can find moving water and turn it into small ponds at the head of each creek. Sometimes, these beaver ponds are huge, with acres of aquatic vegetation full of duck food.
Food is always important for ducks, but often, later in the year when hunting pressure increases, ducks will utilize the deeper, open-water areas for resting in large rafts during the day to avoid pressure that develops around the major food sources.
“A key point to take home (is), ducks will be looking for food hard as soon as they get here and the places on the lakes with the most food will harbor the most birds,” Phillips said.
Go big or go home
Ducks migrate in large flocks when they make their annual trip south, and when they arrive at a suitable stopping place, they will remain in places that have familiar faces. For hunters wanting to mimic something natural, a large flock of decoys is what helps these ducks commit when shedding air on the way down.
Trey Phillips, a life-long duck hunter and co-owner of the Clarendon Club in Summerton, S.C., said a large spread of decoys makes for some good hunting as the December segment of the season arrives.
“Large flocks of ducks show up looking for other large flocks of ducks, especially during the first part of the season in December,” said Phillips (803-460-0797). “They don’t spread out that much this time of year. When one group wants to come, they all seem to want to follow.”
Ducks arrive in large groups and aren’t especially interested in breaking up into smaller flocks. Safety in numbers is one reason behind this behavior, but another is that ducks haven’t yet gone through distress from hunting pressure that can break them up into smaller groups. And ducks that show up in December may not be at their final wintering grounds.
“We traditionally get a good wave of ducks in December, but they don’t stay around very long,” Phillips said. “They will typically come in for a while and then leave when we get another cold snap. New groups normally take their place.
“But the ducks that migrate in are looking for large groups of birds to join and a large decoy spread definitely helps if you are hunting in a flooded impoundment or along the lake.”
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