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Thread: Old sparkleberry swamp

  1. #1
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    Default Old sparkleberry swamp

    I was talking with some older fellers today about how sparkleberry use to be.Can anyone chime in about how it was with their first hand experiences or else lead me in the right way towards some book exerts.I love hearing and reading about past history.If anyone could post any pictures from back also then that would greatly be appreciated.

  2. #2
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    "Sunrise on the Santee", by Julius M. Reynolds

    It talks a lot about Sparkleberry as well as other different areas around the state
    "Truth, is treason, in the empire of lies"


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    Quote Originally Posted by BrowningGold View Post
    "Sunrise on the Santee", by Julius M. Reynolds

    It talks a lot about Sparkleberry as well as other different areas around the state
    What he said.
    "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." John 15:12

    "Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord." Hebrews 12:14

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    Ditto.

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    When we had ducks in SC and before all the impoundments were planted and managed, the Mallards would leave the Refuge at Jacks Creek everyday at daylight and arrive in the Swamp about a half hour later. We usually had about 100-200 thousand big ducks on the refuge at any given time and most of those would show up at Otter Flats, Pine Island, Mill Creek, Snake Creek, Tavern Creek, etc. The timber hunting rivaled anything I've ever seen in Arkansas. In fact, before the 1990's there was not the mass exodus from Sumter, Richland, Orangeburg, and Clarendon Counties to Arkansas every year. Before the Black Duck limit was dropped from 5 to 1, it was relatively easy to kill a 5 Black limit. Of course all of this depended on the water levels, but I rarely remember Sparkleberry being dry. We had to go through a field, open and close a gate and put in at the "old" landing.
    Professor

    PS: In the 50's and 60's Pocalla Swamp in Sumter and Clarendon Counties was just as good (or better) than Sparkleberry!
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    "A Life Afield" by A. Hunter Smith. It is more on the coast(John's Island) but still a great story to read about the author's own hunting experiences growing up.

    I don't read many books at all, but this one was fantastic

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    In your reading you'll find it was baited to hell and back and they shot ducks out of a 55 gal drum strapped 30 foot up in a tree. The original sky busters everyone loves to condemn these days.

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    We normally hunted until we got the limit and then met at the landing for a little chit chat before going home.

    I don't ever remember seeing Reynolds in the swamp.

    There was a hand full of known killers back then.

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  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Glenn View Post
    In your reading you'll find it was baited to hell and back and they shot ducks out of a 55 gal drum strapped 30 foot up in a tree. The original sky busters everyone loves to condemn these days.
    Some of those drums are still up in the trees...I can only imagine shooting ducks out of those. Not sure if I would agree with it being sportin' or not, but I think I'd enjoy it
    "Truth, is treason, in the empire of lies"


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    The mallards stopped coming before all the impoundments and like Glenn said back then all the old guys baited everything. They put out boat loads of corn. Don't think in terms of a few guys baiting here and there it was pretty much everyone that hunted put out bait. The refuge was also planted and managed very well. I don't think we need to worry about getting a big mallard migration in SC anymore, that ship has sailed. Another thing that hurts us is there a lot more corn being planted in Canada now compared to then.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Professor View Post
    When we had ducks in SC and before all the impoundments were planted and managed, the Mallards would leave the Refuge at Jacks Creek everyday at daylight and arrive in the Swamp about a half hour later. We usually had about 100-200 thousand big ducks on the refuge at any given time and most of those would show up at Otter Flats, Pine Island, Mill Creek, Snake Creek, Tavern Creek, etc. The timber hunting rivaled anything I've ever seen in Arkansas. In fact, before the 1990's there was not the mass exodus from Sumter, Richland, Orangeburg, and Clarendon Counties to Arkansas every year. Before the Black Duck limit was dropped from 5 to 1, it was relatively easy to kill a 5 Black limit. Of course all of this depended on the water levels, but I rarely remember Sparkleberry being dry. We had to go through a field, open and close a gate and put in at the "old" landing.
    Professor

    PS: In the 50's and 60's Pocalla Swamp in Sumter and Clarendon Counties was just as good (or better) than Sparkleberry!
    For 15-20 years starting in the mid 50's, my grandfather and two partners had a hole in the Pocalla swamp with three one man blinds. Those three men shot their "pot hole limit" every morning before work. If I remember the stories correctly, the limit was either two or three ducks at the time, but they set their limit one bird each above that. Never more and never less. They shot every day except Sunday, but one of the three didn't go to church, so he would take two friends on Sundays.

    My grandfather kept very detailed records and I have all of those. It came out that they killed 2 mallards to every black and 15% of the birds were banded. I have a cigar box full of his bands.

    They also hosted Mickey Mantle and Ted Williams over the years, who hunted as guests of Bobby Richardson with them.

    When they decided to stop their run, and I can't recall why that was, the guy who would shoot on Sundays took a couple guys in there and they shot over 100 on back to back days.

    In the notes about the hunts there are lots of descriptions of walking out of the swamp to the car and looking back over the swamp at the swarms of mallards. Pretty cool stuff.
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    Great read trkykilr.


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    contact Leo Morse, in Sumter, if you want to hear 1st hand stories. He was a game warden for almost 30 years and Sparkleberry was his stomping ground.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Moose843 View Post
    contact Leo Morse, in Sumter, if you want to hear 1st hand stories. He was a game warden for almost 30 years and Sparkleberry was his stomping ground.
    Leo paddled in on us a few times up there.


    As far as bait everywhere, I saw corn 2 times in 30 years.
    Last edited by Catdaddy; 12-22-2015 at 08:39 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by trkykilr View Post
    For 15-20 years starting in the mid 50's, my grandfather and two partners had a hole in the Pocalla swamp with three one man blinds. Those three men shot their "pot hole limit" every morning before work. If I remember the stories correctly, the limit was either two or three ducks at the time, but they set their limit one bird each above that. Never more and never less. They shot every day except Sunday, but one of the three didn't go to church, so he would take two friends on Sundays.

    My grandfather kept very detailed records and I have all of those. It came out that they killed 2 mallards to every black and 15% of the birds were banded. I have a cigar box full of his bands.

    They also hosted Mickey Mantle and Ted Williams over the years, who hunted as guests of Bobby Richardson with them.

    When they decided to stop their run, and I can't recall why that was, the guy who would shoot on Sundays took a couple guys in there and they shot over 100 on back to back days.

    In the notes about the hunts there are lots of descriptions of walking out of the swamp to the car and looking back over the swamp at the swarms of mallards. Pretty cool stuff.
    That's pretty neat. My Grandfather, the one that was the preacher in Sumter, had bird dogs with Bobby Richardson. He passed away before I could hear any of his old stories.
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    Anyone remember Ol Moonman?

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    Thanks for all the reads...lets keep her going.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Catdaddy View Post
    Leo paddled in on us a few times up there.


    As far as bait everywhere, I saw corn 2 times in 20 years.
    We heard the paddle hit the side of the boat one morning. We didn't shoot early that day. Good thing. It was who we thought it was.
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