End of Season 2021

2/2/21

Pssshew!  Going in, I was pretty sure we could all achieve a safe fowling season for everybody. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t scared we might not. Everybody on this end is safe and healthy. Once again. Pssschew!

Got, on average 3 to 5 “Covid cancels” per week this season. Our business model was to be totally flexible with our cancelation policy. In the meantime, demand for the service was through the roof. Yada, yada…Ellen was able to rebook almost all of the cancelations within an hour!

2/15/21

987. Number of fowl harvested this year by OBW. First time since the 2009/2010 season that we didn’t surpass a thousand. In our defense, we did work a couple of guys shy of our usual number of crew this year. Seemed the most prudent path. Cut back and hunker down kind of Covid thinking. Real happy for everybody our guys and marsh mama made it happen, work wise.

Not so much the birds though. Still, 987’s a fairly good effort.

I remember the very instant back in mid-August. Don Slater, the TV weather guy’s first mouthing of the phenomena that is ‘La Nina.’

“Expletive Deleted” spat out of my mouth. La Nina’s can be the worst weather for water fowling here in coastal Carolina.  Essentially. The down line effect of the north/central Pacific ocean phenomenon, is that we here in mid east coastal US get steadily pissed on for 3 months!  Unfortunately as well, the pissing on happens for most of November, December and January. Mostly all of a year’s legal duck hunting season.

I remember thinking ‘How bad could it be?

Other weather could happen too…’

‘This bad. Exactly!’ And in answer to my hopeful qualifier, ‘No! It doesn’t have to.’

We, referring to all east coast waterfowlers just endured 3 solid months of La Nina weather.  Warm and rainy, with persistently lightish westerly winds. Till you’re sick of it!!! Literally every low area, swamp or bog on the entire US east coast was, and is, flooded. Light winds allow ducks to loaf on big open water. And swamped EVERY…WHERE… ELSE!...means that mostly the ducks won this year.

Truth be told, our take this season was off by about a quarter to a third of our average. Or, looked at with different math, we were almost exactly between worst and best ever. Which was kind of how the season felt thanks to the La Nina effect.

Note also: There were zero coastal Nor’easters and zero ice ups during the 20/21 waterfowl season. We missed them. Water levels never went low enough for birds to want to come out to feed-OR-frozen out of the swamps so that the birds would be drawn out of their hidey holes and into the coastal bays.

But. I don’t begrudge the ducks their win this season. ‘Well played!’, I say. Can’t wait to match wits with you again next year.

That said, we had a most successful season,

Vic, Ellen and the crew.

P.S.  Check out Brandon’s dog, Bear, on the billboard in Currituck!  He’s going to need an agent!