Once all the other hunters walked the dike separating Spring and Hunting Creek impoundments, they were met by the panting hunter in the johnboat. The rest of the party joined him in the shin-deep water by crossing a wooden bridge.

Submergent vegetation caught wader boots and in a few places mud tried to suck waders from feet. Flashlights waved as other hunters already in place gave their positions. The group spread out, two by two, after dividing several dozen decoys.

Dirk Smith and I hid the boat and stood on a hummock. As daylight neared, wings announced the arrival of a flock of teal like the sound of linen sheets ripping in a strong wind.

Gunfire announced shooting time. Every duo of our group got in some shooting. We spread out to cover as much water as possible, knowing that each would respect the other's shooting zones to let ducks come low enough for someone in the group to get a shot.

Competition is a component of impoundment hunting, especially at the most popular game lands like Goose Creek. Getting there early and getting a good spot are keys to success. But so is courtesy. It's not nice to shoot at ducks decoying to someone else's rig or to fire at ducks flying so high there's not much chance of clean kills. Impoundment hunters call out-of-range shooting "skybusting" and nothing makes tempers flare faster.

"If everyone waits until they have good shots, everyone else benefits," Dirk said. "Look, there's one over the decoys."

Dirk downed a ringneck with a 12-gauge, 3 1/2-inch load of steel No. 2 shot for our first duck of the day. It would not be our last.

Dale Davis is the N.C. Wildlife Commission's Coastal Management biologist. He supervises coastal game land crews and the crew that manages Goose Creek Game Land is in New Bern.

"Some Goose Creek impoundments are managed for moist soils and some for aquatic vegetation," Davis said. "We usually stay with aquatic vegetation in an impoundment for about three years before changing it to a moist soils management regime. Widgeon grass, a submergent that grows to the surface as water height increases, is an important waterfowl food. It doesn't form thick mats. But it can cause minor walking problems. We also manage for spike rush, another important waterfowl food."

When an impoundment is converted to moist soils management, it produces millet, barnyard grass and smartweed. Rather than being flooded on a permanent basis, it is flooded after being allowed to dry to let annual vegetation grow.

"The average layman would think the native plants are weeds," he said. "A lot of hunters don't know what they're looking at. We could plant some millet in Campbell's Creek Impoundment and a few hunters ask why we don't. However, it's more cost-effective and more beneficial to waterfowl to manage for natural foods. Moist soil plants are much higher in proteins, so they're better for waterfowl than grain crops."

Aquatic management areas are flooded all year 'round. As plants begin to grow in spring and summer, pumps raise the water level to allow the submergent plants ducks love to eat to grow up near the surface for maximum productivity.