Embrace The Suck: Freezing Temperatures and Limits Filled
Kitty Hawk, NC in the first week of January is practically a ghost town. No mini golf, go carting, or seasonal beach trips are being had and I love it. Representing four states, eight hunters flew and drove to Kitty Hawk for what will be a damn cold duck hunt on the open waters of Pamlico Sound. With the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse as our backdrop, we almost didn’t get our chance.
Who to invite, will they get along, are they mature enough to avoid Barney Fife, and can they be trusted to my safety standards? Turns out most of this was true, but that’s a story for another day. I have participated in this hunt for the 2 preceding years, and this is the first time I enlisted my own group. Replicating exactly how I have done and suggest others to do, we stayed at Shutters On The Banks. A hotel/motel that is updated, cheap, and strategically right beside a local dive bar.
Our first day out was fine. Half of us hunted a Scissor Rig, a boat with floating beams drilled to place branches to create a floating island, and blinds that can only be explained as permanent tree houses in the ocean covered in branches. Everyone still riding high off the adrenaline and excitement of simply being there. We all killed some birds, but not enough to brag. The real anticipation came from the predicted weather coming in the next day. It was going to be white cap winds, and six degree wind chills. Not only cold, but not exactly safe for commuting to our blinds. As the organizer of the trip, I began to worry the effort and finances for my friends were all but wasted. Knowing the outfitter has 12 groups of clients at a time, I plead my case to let my guys who flew all the way from TX to have a place to hunt. A local pond at this point would have made me happy as the weather forecast continues to look grim. Then, I got the call. We would, indeed, be going out with the head guide… no matter what. “Safely”?
Some of us took a last minute trip to Wally World to layer up. One of my best friends, Archer Price, seriously considered staying in bed. “We wont see anything. Birds don’t fly in this kind of weather.” All I heard was “Im cold”. Yet, four AM came fast and we were on our way to the dock where we loaded up and hit the water. A fleet of hunting rigs followed one another in the dark morning sky with water spraying us in the face, sun rising in the distance, only the single light from the boat ahead of us to follow. We have arrived to what was referred to as Stumpy Point.
Stumpy Point required all hands on deck to set up our scissor rig. We started shoving evergreen branches into the holes to create our own personal floating island. It was apparent our fear of the winter storm ruining our hunt was not valid. Clouds of ducks were all around us to the point where we startedtripping over one another trying to quickly set up. Throwing decoys, stuffing branches, looking into the sky, someone yells “birds birds birds”, throwing decoys, load the gun, throw decoys, floating too far from decoys, get aligned and finally throw anchor. It was chaotic.
We had Blue Bills smothering our decoys to the point where we had tagged out and had them swimming with the decoys. Our guides pup was wide eyed staring the live birds down in our spread. We wanted a chance at Red Heads which we knew were in the area. Head on a swivel, everyone looking in a designated area. Just as fast as I could yell Red Head, I had already shot and killed my first Red Head Drake. Overcome with joy, Archer shot one too. It was shortly after that he said something along the lines of “don’t tell my fiancé, but I can honestly say I was wrong.” Happy he didn’t sleep in, we all decided it was time to pack up and head in.
The diver ducks that come through North Carolina in the winter months are unpredictable. You hope you time the hunt right, but like anything its educated luck. You can be days or weeks off. Luckily, a few of the blinds we hunted this trip, were timed just right. It was cold, windy, and wet. Next year our group will grow as more want to come. Just another opportunity to build friendships, fill the freezer, and continue with a recurring theme: Embrace the suck.