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From the Lodge
Well another fine season has drawn to a close here at The Webb Farm. And what a season it was! The mild winter weather allowed more hunters than ever before to enjoy days afield with us. Opening The Roost to expand the opportunities for overnight stays really added a new dynamic to TWF. Many more hunters booked split day hunts this year and we expect the trend to continue.
After a lot of thought and care, we launched a new website! We wanted to make some changes to the site, and after a comprehensive review we decided just to create an entirely new online presence! The new site is much more reflective of what you find when you visit TWF. We have added new photos and a few new sections too. On the new site, you can quickly find links to the Covey Call archive, magazine articles, maps, local weather and a link to licensing at NC Wildlife. Most exciting is an online calendar to help you plan your visit to The Webb Farm!
For those readers who duck hunted with us this season, thank you. The folks at Summer Duck Farm provided us with a great venue and we saw a lot of ducks. We are looking at some new duck hunting possibilities for next season, so stay tuned!
We will update you with a couple of Covey Calls this spring and summer as we ready TWF for next season.
Many of you know that in addition to quail hunting, fishing is one of my other passions in life. My duties at TWF, my law practice, and other everyday life events, have all kept me from wetting a fly in recent years. So, I am happy to report, that is about to change. I am going to spend some serious time this summer on our farm ponds, some lakes, and a few well hidden trout stream gems.
So until next time, thank you for hunting and staying with us. If there is anything we can do for you, please give us a call.
I've....
Bill & Debbie
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A Great Read
From time to time we come across a nice book that we would like to pass along to our readers. In this case, the author, Joe Augustine is one of our guests here at The Webb Farm. His book, Feathered Tales chronicles Joe's adventures as he hunts for a North American upland bird grand slam with his two English setters, Jacy and Ranger. Both Jacy and Ranger have brought their celebrity to The Webb Farm, traveling to hunt here with Joe and his hunting partner, Kurt Beyer (read more about Kurt in A bird dog in Manhattan? Covey Call Vol 1 No 5). You can find Joe's book through Bonasa Press.
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A Double.. The Hard Way!
If you spend enough time at TWF, sooner or later you will see a shot that is simply amazing. Well, just such a shot happened in late March this season. Will Yadusky of Raleigh (pictured below) was able to bag a double with is trusty Mossberg 20 gauge. What's so amazing about that? Will's gun is a bolt action.... without the clip, which makes it a single shot. Even with that handicap, Will was able to down one bird, rack the bolt, load a second shell, close, take aim, pull the trigger, and bag the second!
"I know it is an older gun, but it has a lot of sentimental value, as its been in our family for some time. I'm glad I was able to bring it along on this trip and get a true double, clip or not," laughed Will after the hunt.
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From the Kennel
SunDog Kennels has a few puppies and year old Irish Labradors still available for your next gun dog. These dogs are sired by the foundation of SunDog Kennels, Finn. If you have hunted The Webb Farm, then you know Finn and his superior bloodline. Whether you want a solid hunting buddy or a well behaved and loyal family dog, you wont find better dogs than those from SunDog. If you are looking for a hunting companion of the canine variety, contact Wade today!Wade Meacham Sundog Kennels 910 206 5987
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Plan a Hunt at TWF
It is simple to schedule a hunt with us. Simply check our online calendar for availability and let Bill know when you want to schedule your hunt It is really just that simple!
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What Others are Saying
The coveys can be large and spread out, so after the initial few shots the hunters do well to reload quickly.Bird Hunting Report
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The Webb Farm does not sale or share our mailing lists. Your privacy is important to us.
Besides, don't you get enough SPAM already?
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Another Great Season at
The Webb Farm
The mild winter of 2011-2012 gave us plenty of terrific hunting days at The Webb Farm. Our birds remained healthy and plentiful this season and the hunting has been some of the best ever at TWF.  According to Bill Webb, the absence of wet and cold weather was a nice treat this season. "By this time last year, we had battled a couple weeks of snow and ice, and had experienced much more rain than our current conditions. While a little rain would be nice for the water table and crops, this mild winter weather allowed us to schedule a lot of hunts for our guests.  Our hunters certainly took advantage of the mild weather and spent many days afield with us!"
Coupled with the excellent hunting weather was the opening of The Roost, our major expansion of The Webb Farm Lodge. The additional 4 bedrooms, along with separate dining, den and kitchen areas added a new look and expanded opportunities to host more hunters than before.
While its hard to believe that the 2011-2012 Season has drawn to a close, it has been a great one! Now its off to many months of off-season work to get The Webb Farm ready to host our hunting friends for the 2012-2013 Season. It will be here before we know it.
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New "Webb" Site Launched
www.thewebbfarm.com The Webb Farm has a new home and look on the internet! Just a couple of weeks ago we launched our new web presence at thewebbfarm.com. The new site better reflects the hunting experience here at The Webb Farm. We have added new photo galleries of hunts, The Lodge, updated rates, and have created a reservation calendar. The calendar will allow you to see what days are available for your hunts, so booking your hunt times with Bill will be much easier. We will be adding new photos and updating the calendar weekly, so check us out often to find out the latest scenes. Be sure to bookmark the new URL so you can easily find us too! www.thewebbfarm.com | | The Webb Farm online! |
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A Look Back in Time Great photos found in dusty old boxes give us a look at days gone by at The Webb Farm. When we can, we will share the photos and the stories that accompany them with you. Here is the first Look Back in Time and the story teller is Tom Higgins, noted outdoor writer of the Charlotte Observer.  | | Ralph Webb (l) and Tom Higgins at The Stick Pond on TWF circa 1990 |
Strong winds, bearing a biting chill, marked the March day during the early 1990s. Even so, the urge to go fishing was too overwhelming for me and my friend Ed Clark to resist-especially since we had been invited by Ralph Webb to wet our lines at his ponds near Ellerbe. We drove to the Sandhills from Charlotte, where I was at member of the sports staff at The Observer and Ed was a vice-president at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
I had met Ralph in 1965, when his brother Elsie was opening N.C. Motor Speedway near Rockingham. We had become the closest of friends, sharing a love of sports, politics and, most of all, the outdoors. Ralph passed these passions on to his son Bill, the founder of The Webb Farm Quail Grounds who has been my friend since his boyhood. But back to that long ago fishing trip...
Ralph said his choice for us was a beautiful little body of water the family had nicknamed "The Stick Pond." The monicker traced to the fact that the upper end of the pond was marked by a tangle of fallen trees. These provided great cover for largemouth bass, bream and shellcrackers. They also provided snags for lures and hooks to be broken off when there were errant casts. Ralph had a tease when this happened. "You've caught a 'Stick Bass!'" he would crow.
Ralph, driving a trusty old Jeep, led us to the pond over a winding, sandy road. He had a jon boat with an electric troll motor awaiting at the pond on that beyond-blustery March day. He watched us push off and head up-pond. Ralph, who had a mischievous wit, wished us luck and then shouted ominously, "If you get the boat stuck on one of those sunken trees you're on your own. You will have to go wading to get it free! I won't be wading out there to help. I'll come back and check on you later."
The thought of getting into that frigid water encouraged us to make sure to keep the boat away from the trees. However, we didn't need to get close. Casting small crankbaits, spinners and soft plastic lures, we caught plenty of fish along the shoreline and even out in the middle. We released all but a few shellcrackers, keeping those for table fare.
Meanwhile, the wind built increasingly as the day wore on. I have fished for the parts of seven decades, and in all this time I have seen a farm pond whitecap only once-that day at The Webb Farm.
Finally, Ed, now president of Atlanta Motor Speedway, and I had enjoyed all the fishing in this type of conditions we could stand. We headed to the put-in/take-out spot in a corner of the earthen dam. Our timing was perfect. As we nosed the boat to shore Ralph came driving down the hill through the pines and across the dam. The rich aroma of smoke from Ralph's ever-present pipe was borne on the breeze.
I was telling Ralph about a sizable bass I'd hooked and lost as Ed shot this picture of us. In mid-sentence there was a crash and a splash! The wind had blown one of the trees on the left in the background down and into the water!
"Lucky you weren't under that," Ralph said matter-of-factly.
No kidding.
I'll fondly hold memories of that day, "The Stick Pond," and-most of all, Ralph Webb-for as long as I live. And I'll treasure this photograph forever, too.
Tom Higgins
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The Final Shot
Everyone knows the future of shooting sport is in our youth. The Webb Farm is proud to have hosted many young hunters over the years. "I am specially happy when a guest calls and inquires about bringing a young person for their first quail hunt," said Bill Webb. "I remember being a youngster and my dad and Uncle Elsie gathering me up and loading the old jeep for an afternoon hunt here on the farm. As a kid, those were great times, and I think its important that we continue that tradition, sharing this sport and this place with others." The Webb Farm has seen many young hunters bag their first birds. "My daughters
love the outdoors and enjoy hunting and fishing right here where I grew up, so its satisfying to me to see other young women step up and join the ranks of our male hunters." So if you are a dad, uncle or just have a young person in your life you want to introduce to the shooting sports, think about bringing them to The Webb Farm. You are joining a long list of others who already have made someone smile at the blast of a shotgun and the folding of a bobwhite quail!
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The Legacy of Traditional North Carolina Quail Hunting
522 John Webb Road
Ellerbe, NC 28338 |
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