Public Water Ducks

JJWise

Twelve Pointer
Has anyone hunted the lakes on the Croatan for waterfowl, or the smaller moving waters like slocum creek? My wife and I recently moved to Havelock because of the Marines and it's quite a bit different than back home where it's all small farm ponds. We're getting a Boykin Spaniel soon, how would you go about deciding whether a body of water was safe for the dog (from alligators)?
 

fowlplay'n

Twelve Pointer
Pretty safe to assume anywhere you go around havelock could potentially have a gator if temps are high enough for them to be out and about. As far as areas to hunt, there's a public impoundment on the Croatan. Never hunted it but it's something to look into since you're close by. The state also does a draw system for several impoundments and gamelands all over the state. Sometimes you get a good hunt with the draws and sometimes it's nothing more than a great place to watch the sunrise. If a 15 minute wood duck hunt is more your speed just find some local creeks and beaver ponds and knock on some doors for permission.
 

JJWise

Twelve Pointer
If a 15 minute wood duck hunt is more your speed just find some local creeks and beaver ponds and knock on some doors for permission.[/QUOTE]

Those small hunts are probably what I'll be doing mostly. The dog I'm getting is geared toward small waters and that's what I'm more used to. Also, what exactly is a public impoundment? I've seen it on maps and heard others mention it, but I've never heard of one of these before.
 

Soilman

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Anywhere from roughly Greenville south, and inland a good ways is strongly suspect for alligators in warmer weather. As long as it's been cold a few days, and the day of the hunt, I feel fairly safe about letting my dog in the water. If it gets like it's been the past few days here, I keep my dog out of the water. I'm pretty cautious about letting him in the water, and am usually "packing" just in case. Duck hunting on private land around here is pretty tough. Good spots are rarely not spoken for. Here's a tidbit, however. If you can access a creek via a state road/bridge right of way with a small boat, you are legal to paddle and hunt that creek. Just don't step out of the boat until you are back on a right of way.
 

Soilman

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Public impoundment is like what is in the Croatan near Catfish Lake. It is a waterfowl impoundment constructed by NCWRC and ANYBODY is allowed to hunt it on any legal days for that particular gameland.
 

fowlplay'n

Twelve Pointer
An impoundment is a man made area that is intentionally flooded and drained to manage for waterfowl. Most of the public impoundments will be moist soil but some public and several private impoundments are basically corn or soybean fields surrounded by a dike and flooded during the hunting season.
 
Last edited:
Top