N-Hyde-N Guide Service

Dillon and Gunner Jones grew up hunting with their father and grandfather around Lake Mattamuskeet and the Pamlico Sound. They've turned that lifetime of local experience into N-Hyde-N Guide Service, a full-service waterfowl hunting operation based on the water's edge in Hyde County, North Carolina.

The location matters. Lake Mattamuskeet is North Carolina's largest natural lake, sitting directly in the Atlantic Flyway between Maine and Florida. Every winter, thousands of Canada geese, snow geese, tundra swans, and 22 species of ducks settle here to overwinter. The 50,000-acre Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge surrounding the lake provides exactly what migrating waterfowl need—marsh, woods, and water, mostly undisturbed.

The hunting pressure here is virtually nonexistent. That density and variety is the difference between a memorable hunt and another generic "check the box" trip.

Species available include: - Geese: Canada, white-fronted, snow, blue, ross - Puddle ducks: teals, ruddy, mallards, widgeons, woodies, gadwall, pintail, shoveler - Diver ducks: canvasback, blackhead, redhead, bluebill, ring-necked, scaups, goldeneye - Sea ducks: mergansers, bufflehead, surf scoters, old squaw, long-tailed duck - Other: coots and swans (permit required)

Swan hunting requires a permit—apply early by October 1, or you won't get one. Limit is one per person per year.

Instead of driving through the night to reach the lake, you stay at their waterfront family lodge. It's clean, comfortable, and positioned so you can literally walk to blinds from the deck. The lodge includes:

• •Waterfront location on Lake Mattamuskeet
• •Internet and cell service
• •Home-cooked sit-down dinner each night
• •Coffee each morning
• •Centrally located to hunt Dare, Hyde, Tyrell, Washington, and Beaufort counties

They accommodate up to eight hunters (4 maximum per boat, 2 minimum) and operate Monday through Saturday. Hunts use private blinds, open water float blinds, and open water duck hunting tactics.

Pricing - $500 per person/per day (includes lodging, dinner, and coffee) - Reservations require 50% deposit (refundable with 30 days notice) - Balance due upon arrival (cash or check)

They provide all boats, blinds, stands, decoys, and retrievers. Bird cleaning facilities and carcass disposal are included. They can recommend taxidermy services.

N-Hyde-N Guide Service 1016 North Lake Road Fairfield, NC 27926

Located about 50 miles west of the Outer Banks and 200 miles east of Raleigh. Closest commercial airports: - Greenville, NC (2 hours) - Norfolk, VA (2.5 hours) - Raleigh-Durham, NC (3.5 hours)

Hyde County itself is one of North Carolina's largest by acreage but has fewer than 5,500 residents. It's known as "the land of many waters"—surrounded by Pamlico Sound, the Alligator and Pungo Rivers, with numerous lakes, ponds, marshes, wetlands, and flooded impoundments. Overhunting and population pressure aren't concerns here.

You're not hunting with a stranger on a transactional guided trip. You're hunting with locals who grew up in this country and want to pass along a tradition. That matters when you're spending money to hunt. The birds are there, the lodging is solid, and you'll feel it when you realize how many waterfowl are actually on the water.