Anyone know a rail hunting guide in NJ

Josh Schwenger

Josh Schwenger

Active member
I am interested in rail hunting this year but know nothing about it other than you hunt from a rail skiff and they push through an area at high tide. Was hoping to find a guide that I could just get on a boat. I know that Maurice river area was popular. Anyone who knows a guide that would be helpful.
 
Josh. We never used guides for rail hunting. When I lived in south N J , this was our method of rail hunting in early season mild weather. We hunted from the Cape May County causeways. Long pants, long sleeve shirts, sneakers and a good quality flotation belt were worn. For our cartridges a floppy hat .was worn. Then my hunting buddy and I would wade and swim the cuts and creaks holding our shotguns out of the water with one hand. Flushing and shooting clapper rail birds until our shell ran out. A railroad style hat only comfortably holds six or eight shells, plus your I d . Most fun hunts I can remember. Bob.16876153895164629590614531355249.jpg

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Thanks for the reply Bob it at least gives me an area to look into. My friend Shaun suggested we try a large canoe he has and try to shoot seated taking turns paddling. I guess if I wear my PFD and bring my larger Garvey as the support boat we can give it a try.
 
Josh-there are a lot of clapper rails in the salt marshes along Delaware Bay. I've never hunted them but see them frequnetly, and you can hear them also in September yakking it up. You need something that will float on 3-4"s of water to push those meadows, they are pretty thick and don't always flood that much. But the birds are there. Send me a note in August and I will give you a couple of ideas.
 
It depends if you're talking about clappers aka mudhens. Or the more preferable and traditional Sora rail. Sora only eat seeds like rice and yellow flower,( tickseed) and their prevalence is heavily dependent on those crops. Which is heavily dependent on rainfall that year. Last season was a poor year for rice on the Maurice River. Hopefully this year will be better. For guides you can check out the camp family out of Mauricetown, or the Plummer's out of Millville. Both are usually heavily booked up but it's a start.
 
Thanks a lot Jode I tried to find them online but no number or contact I guess my wife can try facebook. I'm sure it's difficult to book but maybe I can try to get in. I'm honestly not sure what I want to hunt I just want to get more experience in the waterfowl world.
 
Josh Schwenger said:
Thanks a lot Jode I tried to find them online but no number or contact I guess my wife can try facebook. I'm sure it's difficult to book but maybe I can try to get in. I'm honestly not sure what I want to hunt I just want to get more experience in the waterfowl world.
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Look for Carl Camp on Facebook and Kim Plummer . Those would be the guys you want to contact. I don't think they really advertise anywhere.
 
No idea if you can find a guide in New Jersey, but a sora rail hunt down there in a rail skiff is a bucket list hunt.

I've hunted rails up here out of boats that are perfectly functions, but not make for poling the grass. With someone good poling the boat, it's a lot of fun.
 
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