Outdoors
Quail Hunt
14/03/11 20:50
The tradition of hunting Bobwhite Quail in North Carolina has been preserved over the years by practitioners of controlled hunting clubs. As wild native stocks of quail have diminished, these tradition-preserving properties have flourished. Proper hunting practices for wild quail, as described in Robert Ruark’s The Old Man and the Boy instruct us to shoot only one or two birds out of a covey, per year, thus ensuring the continuity of the stock, availing the avid hunter of future sporting pleasure. But the days of State Senator Nathaniel Macon, c.1780’s, a Warren County, NC founding father, are over. He was often heard to utter the words “a man should not live near enough his neighbor to hear his dogs bark”.
So it was today in the shadow of the ghost of Sen. Macon, on a hunting preserve, that I had the pleasure to join my friends, Bill Morris, Warren Davis, and dogs Toby--seen below--and Brandy, first year in the field, for a day of hunting in Carteret County.
A north wind blew in cooler air, and we adapted our approach to hunt to the North through the fields, so the dogs, especially the yearling Brandy, could wind the planted birds. We had a great day, collecting some birds for the table, training for Brandy, and memories for all. Living in Carteret County couldn’t , really, get much better. And I hope Senator Macon might think that too, if he had joined us in the field today.
So it was today in the shadow of the ghost of Sen. Macon, on a hunting preserve, that I had the pleasure to join my friends, Bill Morris, Warren Davis, and dogs Toby--seen below--and Brandy, first year in the field, for a day of hunting in Carteret County.
A north wind blew in cooler air, and we adapted our approach to hunt to the North through the fields, so the dogs, especially the yearling Brandy, could wind the planted birds. We had a great day, collecting some birds for the table, training for Brandy, and memories for all. Living in Carteret County couldn’t , really, get much better. And I hope Senator Macon might think that too, if he had joined us in the field today.
Cobia Dreaming
01/03/11 19:17
Last year all of the fishermen who have a grain of salt in their blood could not stop talking about the epic cobia bite that unfolded before our very eyes, up and down the beach from Emerald Isle to a little north of Cape Lookout. Massive pods of menhaden dotted the waters near shore; many days the black schools of shad looked like rain drops on the hood of your pickup truck, they were so great in number. Jim Strickland, the pro photographer, snapped this pic of a hooked cobia, while a couple of others lurked deeper in the water column, seeing what all the commotion was about.
What got every angler fired up was the fact that swimming through, gobbling up these menhaden, were cobia. And lots of them!
As a charter boat fisherman commented to me, even Ray Charles could catch one of these muscle bound brutes. Hey, I even caught a few my self. Pete Zook, a third generation charter captain, said to me one day that he had never seen such a massive cobia bite on the Crystal Coast. Now that says something of the magnitude of the bite. In the pic below, Bill Morris, and yours truly reel in one of many cobia. Jim Strickland rested up between cobia catches to take this photo.
So the question is, now that temperatures are rising, will they come back? Will the bite be as epic this year as it was in 2010. And when will they show, if it turns out that way.
One of the most impressive things to me was the whale sightings. They would come and gobble up the menhaden just like the cobia, along with the blue fish too. Send your thoughts to info@waterfrontbeaufort.com
What got every angler fired up was the fact that swimming through, gobbling up these menhaden, were cobia. And lots of them!
As a charter boat fisherman commented to me, even Ray Charles could catch one of these muscle bound brutes. Hey, I even caught a few my self. Pete Zook, a third generation charter captain, said to me one day that he had never seen such a massive cobia bite on the Crystal Coast. Now that says something of the magnitude of the bite. In the pic below, Bill Morris, and yours truly reel in one of many cobia. Jim Strickland rested up between cobia catches to take this photo.
So the question is, now that temperatures are rising, will they come back? Will the bite be as epic this year as it was in 2010. And when will they show, if it turns out that way.
One of the most impressive things to me was the whale sightings. They would come and gobble up the menhaden just like the cobia, along with the blue fish too. Send your thoughts to info@waterfrontbeaufort.com
Taylor's Creek Boat Ramp
26/02/11 19:19
The NC Wildlife Boat Ramp in Beaufort on Taylor’s Creek is undergoing renovations, as the NCWRC website states, the facility will be closed from December 27, 2010 until complete. It looks from the pictures below they have done a lot of work, with the base layers in place and looking good. We should be good for the spring season.
Swan Pond Redux
26/02/11 12:29
I went out to the impoundments this morning to get a closer look at the Tundra Swans. We saw many different species of ducks, including teal, widgeon, black ducks, mallards, pintail, and canadian geese. This as well as the tundra swan, We were told by our host that the biologists that had visited earlier identified a few Mute swans, in addition to the tundra swans that are most prevalent. And he added that the Mute swan is appearing in North Carolina in ever increasing numbers of late. See the latest pictures here.
.
An interesting coincidence I had this morning by catching the jet in the background of the Tundra Swan flying overhead.
.
An interesting coincidence I had this morning by catching the jet in the background of the Tundra Swan flying overhead.
Swans Arrived Outside Beaufort
24/02/11 13:28
The Tundra Swans have been around for a couple of weeks, and are staging in a creek that provides them with access to nearby feeding fields. A few canadian geese and other waterfowl are assembled along with the Tundra Swans. This group is on a creek off Highway 70, a few miles outside of Beaufort. They provided a great birdwatching opportunity. To see a few more photos of the swans, click here. Click the link at tundra swans to get more info on swans at the NC Wildlife website.
