Chincoteague Island area curiosity.

I tried to book a hunt to gun curtain blinds, as that's as close as I can get to sinkboxes in the US, but the guide service didn't really seem to care one way or another and wouldn't answer questions.

Went to Chincoteague Island instead and had an amazing time. Driving over the causeway there were brant feeding right up next to the road. Went with a guide and gunned a bay one morning, a tidal creek the next day, and a stake blind for brant the final day. Fell in love with the salt marsh - shorebirds, ducks, geese, brant, hawks, we saw a few of the ponies wading out into the water (howling cold, straight north wind at the end of January, and they are standing in the water like no big deal).

The blinds you see from the causeway seem to be mostly the province of the guides or whoever maintains them...and I only saw any of them hunted on one day out of the three we were there. I got the impression that you "could" hunt them, but asking permission first was an understood part of the deal.

I'd like to go back to hunt again, but also to hit the decoy shop(s) and find some of the carvers and visit with them.
 
Rick Pierce said:
I tried to book a hunt to gun curtain blinds, as that's as close as I can get to sinkboxes in the US, but the guide service didn't really seem to care one way or another and wouldn't answer questions.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately it seems this is the norm for those guides. They have their few repeat clients and aren't open to adding more unless the person is invited by the clients. Had a buddy who tried for years to go and finally gave up and then one day met an old man at the ramp and started talking and the following year got an invite to go hunt the curtain blind. He said it was a cool experience but was tough in that pintails were the only thing coming in by the hundreds so shot his one and done, salt water was rough on the equipment since the water splashes in, and cramp shooting, really a one man blind they squeeze two people into.

Even still I think it would be cool to hunt at least once.
 
benp said:
Unfortunately it seems this is the norm for those guides. They have their few repeat clients and aren't open to adding more unless the person is invited by the clients. Had a buddy who tried for years to go and finally gave up and then one day met an old man at the ramp and started talking and the following year got an invite to go hunt the curtain blind. He said it was a cool experience but was tough in that pintails were the only thing coming in by the hundreds so shot his one and done, salt water was rough on the equipment since the water splashes in, and cramp shooting, really a one man blind they squeeze two people into.

Even still I think it would be cool to hunt at least once.
Click to expand...
Yeah. I got a referral, tried to ask a couple questions, and basically got, "we take you out, if the birds are there, you shoot them." When I asked about open dates I got nothing back.

Like I said, it would be cool to try, and it's a unique, regional way to hunt. I love doing stuff like that.
 
I fell into the curtain blind hunt I went on. A good buddy had gotten an invite to go but ended up having to have surgery a month or so before the trip. He gave me his spot. You need wind for those hunts and lots of it. We saw a ton of ducks but only got a few opportunities. The first say I killed my first and only brant as did the guy I was hunting with, that made the trip for me. We killed a few pintails (limit was 2) and one blackhead. The second day we had one opportunity at redheads and killed 2. My buddy has been back every year since, 5 I think. They have had a few great hunts and a couple slow ones but I think they usually kill a few.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top