Shelter Creek Black Water

On the mostly sunny day of September 12, 2024, with a comfortably warm temperature and occasional wind, Janet and I [Bob Laney] ventured into the Holly Shelter NC Wildlife Resources Commission Game Land about 25 miles northwest of Wilmington. We paddled our kayaks in Shelter Creek from the NCWRC landing with a dock and ramp. Shelter Creek is a black water body in the classic down east swamp land style. The water is so opaque that at the launch we could not see the ramp located under less than 6 inches of water. The water had cooled a little bit compared to this summer's warmer temperatures. We saw one other vessel there, a fishing boat leaving as we arrived. Shelter Creek is one of two NC WRC boat launches in the Game Land, the other one being the confusingly named Holly Shelter Boat Launch into the South Fork of Cape Fear River. Shelter Creek is the smaller, narrower body of water with a lesser current. While we paddled there was almost no current. Several persons have told me it has good fishing. Along the way, the only wild life we encountered was a single turtle in the middle of the creek. It poked its head out of the water, saw us and ducked back down. It was a fun paddle, and everybody returned safely home.