Halls Calls

08/26/2026

08/20/2026

I say 143 3/8"-144". What do yall think?

08/20/2026

Flew All the Way from Germany for those Reelfoot Lake Crappie

08/18/2026

Do yall remember when this was a thing?

08/14/2026

State plans authorizing hunters to take Cormorants during waterfowl season

South Carolina is planning to bring back something you don’t see every day: a public hunt for double-crested cormorants, a federally protected migratory bird. The proposed hunt would take place on Lakes Marion and Moultrie in the Santee Cooper system beginning in February 2027 and running through March. Hunters would need a South Carolina hunting license, complete mandatory training and obtain a special cormorant permit. (SCDNR⁠)

This isn’t the first time South Carolina has used hunters to manage cormorants. In 2014, more than 1,200 permitted hunters participated in the state’s first public cormorant management hunt, killing 11,653 birds. The program was later halted after a federal court vacated the depredation orders that provided the legal framework for cormorant control.

Now South Carolina is looking to bring the program back as cormorant numbers and concerns over their impact on forage fish in the Santee Cooper system continue. The birds are protected under federal law, but federal authorization allows states to conduct targeted management. If approved, South Carolina hunters could once again be legally shooting cormorants in February 2027.

Aaron B. Futrell, Author|Owner, Delong Lures

08/14/2026