"Everyone should read the game lands descriptions to become thoroughly familiar with the area before they go hunting," Howell said. "If you arrive without the proper equipment for the conditions, you're going to have a difficult or impossible hunt. Most of the impoundments have marked hunter crossings. Some require a small boat or wheeled transport of some type if you want to carry lots of decoys. I only carry four decoys when I hunt impoundments. An important piece of equipment most hunters don't bring is a walking stick, especially if you don't have a dog. You get excited chasing a duck and step into a hole or deep mud and your hunt can end. I use a stick to probe the bottom and for balance. Know your ducks, don't shoot at them too far away and don't use a call much, if at all."

Howell said hunters should be also aware of water levels. Last season's drought led the commission to provide details on impoundment conditions. Sometimes a hurricane floods an impoundment or damages dikes. When necessary, such water level information is provided on the commission's Web site.

Dale Davis, the commission's Northern Coastal Management biologist was very excited about Lantern Acres Game Land waterfowl impoundment in Tyrrell County. The fact that it adjoins Pocosin Lakes NWR is one of the reasons. He provided more detail of his favorite impoundments in the northeast.

"The Lantern Acres impoundment was completed in 2007," Davis said. "It was completed through a NAWCA (North American Wetland Conservation Act) grant. Ducks Unlimited and the commission did the engineering. It has two sub-impound­ments, each 100 acres in size, but treated as one unit in the drawing."

Lantern Acres impoundment has canals and a well for a supplemental water source. Some bottom was planted in millet last year, but most is managed for moist soils. Nothing was planted for this year, but some of the millet planted last year has regenerated.

"We acquired Lantern Acres from Farmers Home Administration about 15 years ago," Davis said. "It was a farm that went bankrupt. It had a ditch system, so it was ideal for waterfowl habitat. Since it is close to the refuge, there should be swans and perhaps even snow geese utilizing the impoundment. There are also lots of wood ducks."

Davis also said Lantern Acres and Roanoke River's Conoho Farms impoundment units A and B have good foot access. Hunters who receive permits to hunt Roanoke impoundments can also hunt the swamps beyond the dikes, if water conditions allow.

"Gull Rock is another impoundment some people don't think about, but it can have some good hunting," Davis said. "It's managed on rotation, with three years of aquatics before it is transferred into moist soils management. Some years it's a good place for swans. When nearby private impoundments are hunted, hunts at Gull Rock can be excellent because the birds move to the game land. The impoundment is 300 acres and it's one of the few impoundments where no permit is required and has two-day-per-week hunting.

Like Lantern Acres, Gull Rock benefited from NAWCA funds last year. It should provide even better hunting because of the new work that was done.

"We installed a series of new water-control structures and pumping equipment that allow us to more easily drain and flood the area and re-circulate the water in the impoundment," Davis said. "We can also flood new areas on the other side of the road. We once planted some grain crops but found that a high salt content in the soil prohibits agriculture."

For a complete list and hunt details of commission impoundments, hunters should visit www.ncwildlife.org, and obtain a regulations digest and a Special Hunt Opportunities booklet.