# 2013 Duck Hunting Reports



## Gr8outdoors27

I didn't see this year's report topic posted, so I figured I would get it rolling.

Saturday we started out in a wheat field. When I scouted it Friday there was 60-75 geese in it and another 25 in the adjacent field. Apparently they didn't want back in because only six gave us a look. The bright side was ducks showed up that weren't in the field when I scouted it. We ended up with six honkers and six ducks. Picking Drakes was pretty difficult, especially right away in the morning.

Sunday my hunting partner slept in. So I decided to get my pup on some water retrieves. Had a decent teal shoot on a transition slough. Mallards were too busy hopping around in the wheat fields to give me a look.

All in all it appears that there is more birds around in the areas I was hunting than last year at this time. Saturday morning was quite impressive with the numbers of Mallards, Gadwalls, and Pintails that were sky high heading to other locations than our spread.

I was also impressed with my 9.5 month old pup. It took him a little bit to pick up on what I wanted him to do, but it didn't take long for everything to click! It was kind of funny watching him bring a goose back. He didn't know how to handle a bird that size. The first goose he grabbed the leg and drug it back to me. He definitely exceeded my expectations.


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## templey_41

Good looking pup. He will bring you years of happiness and frustration . Thanks for the report. Heading to ND in 5 days can't wait to see the farmers whom have become friends.

My MN opener was good. Got to our public spot at 5am. Had a guy with what we were assuming was his 5 yr old kid, judging by the kid crying, paddle through the slough up until shooting light. No big deal since we were just waiting for the woodies to show. Had our 9 woodies in an hour and went home. Lots of boners around. Two highlights that day 1) my buddies 14 yr old daughter got her first duck that morning. 2) got my custom call for my lil man in the mail that day. If your looking for some great calls looking and sounding try out C&S. Mike will make anything for ya.



Side note, the pics are cut off on your posts and this happens with mine as well. Anyone know how to fix this? Moderators or Chris or the new owner? Buehler?


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## grnhd

Gr8hunter,,,great looking pup. And nice hunt,


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## Blue Plate

Awesome MN opener, limit of teal, woodies and mallards before sunrise. We waited out the geese and shot a limit as well. Plently of shoot in the area we were at as well. Most people were letting the ducks work and giving plenty of room. :thumb:


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## Rick Acker

Full moon got the best of us...Should've hunted water or fished. Sat. pm shot a few ducks and only a couple of geese Sunday morning.


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## Fred_Bear

My ND Duck Opener:

10:00 PM Friday night - Head out to our field that was loaded the night before, 1500 ducks 500 honkers. Drive out to the field and find 2 trucks already there. We talked with the guys for a half hour and they already had 7 guys in the party so it was a no go on grouping up with them, they were super nice though and even gave us a couple beers and another field to check out.

12:00 AM Saturday - get to our backup field and check every approach and light the whole field to look for other vehicles. Good news, no one else is there so we now have a field. Go to the spot where ducks were feeding the night before and set up our spread. Decoys out and time for bed at 1:30 AM.

3:30 AM Saturday - wake up to headlights in the middle of our decoys. Get up to talk to whoever is in the one vehicle and they turn around a high tail it out of the field so I'm thinking good deal, they are heading somewhere else.

5:45 AM Saturday - wake up to THICK fog, can barely see the decoys 20 feet in front of the truck. Get out of the truck and see what looks to be some kind of light in our field. Sure enough it's a group setting up ~300 yards DOWNWIND of us... you gotta be kidding me right! Get in the car and go talk to them, drive up to 3 vehicles with 2 trailers setting up. Talk with 3 of them and couldn't believe what I was hearing. Turns out they were with the guy who showed up at 3:30 and knew we were there but "figured they were far enough away to not interfere with us". Also got the comment, "what, you guys can't share?" I was just disgusted and realized there's no reasoning with these guys so gave them a piece of my mind. Head back to our spread to get blinds put out and trucks outta the field.

6:45 AM - shooting time and we have ducks on us but no chance at seeing color with the thick fog so mostly just watching still and trying to pick out some drakes but no shooting for us yet. Hear the other group of guys unload a couple times and also hear yet ANOTHER group in our field hammering away. This other group actually sounds even closer so now we have 3 different groups hunting the same 1/4 section field, unreal!

7:00 AM - fog starts to lift and we can see better now so we start shooting, get our limit of 10 mallards and 2 pintails in about a half hour. Got with 8 greenies, 2 suzies, and 2 bull sprigs; the greenheads were the brownest I've ever seen, maybe 4 of them had a couple specks of green on the head so it was just picking out the white bellies.

7:30 AM - limited on ducks and don't care to shoot honkers so we go get the truck and pull it out to the field as the other guys are still hunting. Not something I would normally do, but the way these guys handled themselves and treated us it was my way of taking a little revenge on them. We did get to watch them all unload on a couple small flocks of birds at least 50 yards high dropping 1 bird each time while unloading 7 guns, pretty comical if you ask me.

10:00 AM - stop on our way back to talk with the guys that beat us to the first field. They only got 18 ducks for 7 of them in an unbelievable field... WHY? because 2 other groups decided to set up in their field as well, what is wrong with people?!?!

Anyway, sorry for the mini rant, but that's the report I have from my buddy and I's 2013 duck opener. Plenty of birds in the area and we had a good shoot. Can't help but have a sour taste in my mouth from the ethics of other hunters though, would never have expected stuff like that.

I've been beat to fields twice now this year by groups sleeping at the field. Both times we respected the groups that spent the night in the truck and headed to our backup field. Why is it so hard for others to do the same?!?!


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## Rick Acker

All I can do is shake my head after that last post. Can't understand for a second why somebody would set up in a field that somebody is already in. No class, no cooth, no respect for your fellow hunters. Amateur hour at its best. Makes me glad I get to miss that craziness every year due to football. Much better going out in the afternoon on opener and not have to worry about clowns like that. Sorry you had to deal with that.


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## Gooseshredder21

Great opener! 6 man limit of ducks and 22 geese Saturday morning and 5 man limit of ducks and 4 geese Sunday morning


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## ZSteckler12

Went up to the Devils Lake area for opener. Found a un-posted field that had about 500 geese and maybe 100 ducks. It was a field in front of a house, so we went and got permission and they let us hunt it. Next morning comes around and we set up our spread. and the roost was about a mile away maybe 3/4 of a mile. We had ducks flying around our spread before shooting hours so we couldn't shoot. Right when it hit shooting hours we heard a shot. Some idiot shot at the roost that was holding 1000+ birds. The only kind of duck/goose that they could of shot from the road was a coot or maybe a blue wing teal. 1000+ birds go flying in the air and they don't even think about going to a field to feed because someone just busted their roost. That roost had birds flying to 4 different fields so it ruined the hunts for all four of those groups of people. We shot 5 geese and 3 ducks total on opener though for 2 guys. A lot of birds around on the plus side though!


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## clacy

Fred Bear and ZSteckler12, I find it ironic that during the resident only week of waterfowl season you had that kind of trouble with what had to be ND res hunters. If this were to happen next week, people would post the story bashing non-res hunters for not knowing what they are doing. The truth is it does not matter what state you are from, there are ethical hunters and there are slobs everywhere. Unfortunately, the acts of the slobs do a lot more harm to the hunt. If a hunter avoids killing hens, or avoids busting a roost, or avoids a filed with other hunters already set up there, his acts go un-noticed because they do not create an immediate effect. But the acts of the slobs cause immediate effects that can be seen by all hunters in the area. It has always been amazing to to me that this type of behavior does not embarrass those people. This can only be because they are truly too ignorant to even realize what they are doing.
On another note, and this is absolutely true, in the 13 years that our group has been traveling to Nodak to hunt, we have only been in ONE situation where there were other hunters that refused to cooperate, and they were from Nodak. Many other times we have shared fields with res and non-res alike. One of the best goose hunts we have ever had was a field where some kids from Bismark beat us to the field and since we both had permission, we all hunted together. 
Anyway, that's my rant, I look forward to being up there next week.


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## vman

Fred_Bear said:


> My ND Duck Opener:
> 
> 10:00 PM Friday night - Head out to our field that was loaded the night before, 1500 ducks 500 honkers. Drive out to the field and find 2 trucks already there. We talked with the guys for a half hour and they already had 7 guys in the party so it was a no go on grouping up with them, they were super nice though and even gave us a couple beers and another field to check out.
> 
> 12:00 AM Saturday - get to our backup field and check every approach and light the whole field to look for other vehicles. Good news, no one else is there so we now have a field. Go to the spot where ducks were feeding the night before and set up our spread. Decoys out and time for bed at 1:30 AM.
> 
> 3:30 AM Saturday - wake up to headlights in the middle of our decoys. Get up to talk to whoever is in the one vehicle and they turn around a high tail it out of the field so I'm thinking good deal, they are heading somewhere else.
> 
> 5:45 AM Saturday - wake up to THICK fog, can barely see the decoys 20 feet in front of the truck. Get out of the truck and see what looks to be some kind of light in our field. Sure enough it's a group setting up ~300 yards DOWNWIND of us... you gotta be kidding me right! Get in the car and go talk to them, drive up to 3 vehicles with 2 trailers setting up. Talk with 3 of them and couldn't believe what I was hearing. Turns out they were with the guy who showed up at 3:30 and knew we were there but "figured they were far enough away to not interfere with us". Also got the comment, "what, you guys can't share?" I was just disgusted and realized there's no reasoning with these guys so gave them a piece of my mind. Head back to our spread to get blinds put out and trucks outta the field.
> 
> 6:45 AM - shooting time and we have ducks on us but no chance at seeing color with the thick fog so mostly just watching still and trying to pick out some drakes but no shooting for us yet. Hear the other group of guys unload a couple times and also hear yet ANOTHER group in our field hammering away. This other group actually sounds even closer so now we have 3 different groups hunting the same 1/4 section field, unreal!
> 
> 7:00 AM - fog starts to lift and we can see better now so we start shooting, get our limit of 10 mallards and 2 pintails in about a half hour. Got with 8 greenies, 2 suzies, and 2 bull sprigs; the greenheads were the brownest I've ever seen, maybe 4 of them had a couple specks of green on the head so it was just picking out the white bellies.
> 
> 7:30 AM - limited on ducks and don't care to shoot honkers so we go get the truck and pull it out to the field as the other guys are still hunting. Not something I would normally do, but the way these guys handled themselves and treated us it was my way of taking a little revenge on them. We did get to watch them all unload on a couple small flocks of birds at least 50 yards high dropping 1 bird each time while unloading 7 guns, pretty comical if you ask me.
> 
> 10:00 AM - stop on our way back to talk with the guys that beat us to the first field. They only got 18 ducks for 7 of them in an unbelievable field... WHY? because 2 other groups decided to set up in their field as well, what is wrong with people?!?!
> 
> Anyway, sorry for the mini rant, but that's the report I have from my buddy and I's 2013 duck opener. Plenty of birds in the area and we had a good shoot. Can't help but have a sour taste in my mouth from the ethics of other hunters though, would never have expected stuff like that.
> 
> I've been beat to fields twice now this year by groups sleeping at the field. Both times we respected the groups that spent the night in the truck and headed to our backup field. Why is it so hard for others to do the same?!?!


Is sleeping in our trucks pretty standard when hunting good fields?


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## slough

It's pretty common if you want to be the first one there. Problem is guys will probably still show up and set up next to you anyways or the roost will get shot. If it gets to the point where I have to do that to have a place to hunt I won't hunt anymore. A friend of mine got to a field at 11 pm the night before opener and they were already beaten there. No thanks. When I find a good unposted field I try to make sure I have a decent backup plan if I get beat there. Makes fall fishing seem more and more attractive the older I get.


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## vman

Is this mainly in the early season or all season long?


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## slough

The res and NR openers have the most competition but it happens all year, even the August honker season.


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## FLOYD

But hey, like all the visitors say....there's no pressure.

Guys sleeping in fields......guys butting in on guys who are already in a field.......yeah, waterfowl hunting is in fantastic shape these days.

But then again, I had a young college-age fella tell me recently that the young duck hunters are way better hunters than the older crowd.....holy balls I almost spit my pop all over the computer screen when he did that. Wow, you bought 4 spinners and a blind. Way to go. You are an expert, apply at Scheels.


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## CrazyWalsh81

So here is an early season story. My buddy and me were going to huntthe second week of early season and we found a field holding about 50 birds. It was only going to be the two of us so we figured that would do. We sat and watched the field till dark, but didn't see the birds fly before it got too dark so I figured the flew away from us (the only direction we couldn't see at dusk). We noticed a small sports car driving down the field road and I figured either saving money scouting or smoking dope. They didn't slow down to say anything to us in our large truck and trailer, made a turn and we watched them lock up their breaks when they could see the field so i know they were scouting. Didn't mater to us, we were sleeping in the field. We went to town grabed some food and settled in around 11pm with our alarms set for a 4am wake up. 
About 230am, I hear a truck come driving down the road open my eyes to see it drive right by our truck and into the field - again without even stopping. I'm about ready to lose it now if this a big group. We were in tent cots so we packed them up quickly to see what the hell is going on. We drove up next to 3 young (17-19?) year old guys. They said they didn't stop because they didn't want to wake us up....yeah they said that, there truck had pipes and they drove within 15ft of our tents. So we chatted a second and I gave them credit about getting up early and they said they had truck troubles so they hadn't even been to bed yet. 
In the end they were more nervous about talking to us about hunting the field and had no idea what to do. It was their first trip to ND from MN and they said they really had no idea what they were doing for early season set ups. We hunted together and I helped educate them about just stop and talk to the other guys the night before or in the morning. Normally its first come first served and don't drive by a truck parked at a field when you know people are there waiting.

In the end I guess we should have slept right on the hunt spot and not at the entrance to the field...that must have been my fault. Either way that was a first, I have no issues joining up and have done some many times in the past if there isn't too many people and room to hide.

Alot of it can be fixed the night before, I normally will watch the field I'm going to hunt till dark for the reason to see if anyone else is watching it and I might have 2 other options. Just stop and talk to me and we might be able to figure something out.


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## tilley

This in a nutshell is what is wrong today. Sleeping in a field to shoot a flying turd is a sad statement. Unreal. Too bad it has sunk to this level. glad I was able to enjoy some of the better days of water fowling.


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## vman

OK. Sounds like I need to add a Sleeping bag to my checklist. LOL.


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## Sasha and Abby

FYI _ I have been hunting NoDak for 14 years and *HAVE NEVER HAD TO SLEEP IN A FIELD!!!* This is why you *ALWAYS have a SECOND or THIRD CHOICE SETUP!!!* There are too many great places to hunt than to have to worry about that crap. And BTW, I have only had to go to plan B a hand full of times.


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## Rooster14

I think it would be fun to camp out before a shoot think I'm gonna do it


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## CRPD

Oh boy I better cancell lodging for my trip next week as I will need to sleep in the field. Gimme a break. I'm glad this is not a NR issue. Let's all start camping in farmers fields and see how long it takes to get posted.

I've been going to the same area for 18 yrs. I agree that there is much more competiition and harder to get on land now, but we never have issues killing ducks. Back up spots are key so is field hunting in the pm, Yuup burn out the field quickly.

5 yrs ago this site had useful info on it, but today it is simply a place to stir the pot.

I logged on today to just see what the hunting has been like and to get the blood flowing since I'm coming up from IL on fri for our 19th yr. Instead I find the above issues. It is sickening. Good thing I know the truth.

I'm done venting and yes I feel better.

Good luck to everyone and HAVE FUN!


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## NDhunter08

Thank god most of the farmers in my area allow us to post their land so we don't have to sleep out in a field!


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## fieldgeneral

Sleeping in the field is ridiculous! Damn kids.


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## ZSteckler12

fieldgeneral said:


> Sleeping in the field is ridiculous! Damn kids.


It's not just kids!. I have been to a field that full grown men have slept there. That's the problem now everyone thinks it's kids and younger guys that do all of it. Ya I have some idiot friends that they think waterfowl hunting is jumping ponds but the reason why they think it's hunting is because their dad's taught them that. Sorry but it bothers means when ever people blame young hunters.

Good luck and Have some fun


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## Feathers

CRPD said:


> I logged on today to just see what the hunting has been like and to get the blood flowing since I'm coming up from IL on fri for our 19th yr. Instead I find the above issues. It is sickening. Good thing I know the truth.


It is sickening. Funny thing is if these posts were a week later it would all be the non-res fault screwing up the res hunting. This thread would be three pages long of roost busting, unethical, inexperienced, yada yada non-res garbage and probably be locked down by now.

For those of you with real reports thank you! Keep them coming. See ya'll tomorrow.


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## willhunt4food

who says sleeping in a field is just to keep a spot? Ive done it both near fields and water Just as a fun night with the boys. ive also done it for spots farther away than I wanna try and drive early in the morning so I can get a little extra sleep cause I don't have to get up that much earlier to get all the way out there.


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## mallarddux

Looking forward to our annual trip soon - have only talked to a few other NR groups from time to time and it always has worked out. Sorry to hear situations with lack of respect for other waterfowl hunters - anyway, our week is always a good time - gotta like to get out! New pup this year also always makes for good memories.


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## KEN W

Hasn't anyone noticed that these problems are happening on weekends?Most NR that come a distance stay for almost a week.Lots less pressure.I agree it can be a pain,especially on opening day as stated above.It's the same opening day of early Canada season,and opening day of pheasant season.

I love how people say they don't have problems finding places to hunt.....well,yeah......hunt during the week. :thumb: :thumb:


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## KurtR

there are no ducks in the roscoe sd area it is a barren desert just so every one knows :evil:


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## sdkylesd

KurtR said:


> there are no ducks in the roscoe sd area it is a barren desert just so every one knows :evil:


I find that hard to believe.. but looks promising in my area


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## Maverick

I personally saw quit a few NR plates hunting last weekend. College students....Oil workers...there are more out there than one will think.College students get resident rights for hunting and NR oil workers here in the state can gain hunting privileges with a little work. I have a friend who did it once he got here. So to say it's completely Residents ONLY hunting is not true. Times have changed though...that's for sure!


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## Shu

KEN W said:


> Hasn't anyone noticed that these problems are happening on weekends?Most NR that come a distance stay for almost a week.Lots less pressure.I agree it can be a pain,especially on opening day as stated above.It's the same opening day of early Canada season,and opening day of pheasant season.
> 
> I love how people say they don't have problems finding places to hunt.....well,yeah......hunt during the week. :thumb: :thumb:


So hunt divers on the weekends and mallards/geese during the week? Sounds like a plan


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## CrazyWalsh81

So whats the diffrence in planning to sleep in the truck after a night of scouting and some late food park at about 1130pm for early season OR waking up at 2am to "beat" everyone else to the hot field?

So you guys know I tend to hunt a few miles away from home so a night in the field is cheaper than a hotel if i don't have a buddy in the area, I've hunted and camped my whole life its just something that I enjoy doing. No not usually in a field, there are plenty of free public hunting areas or government land. Camp/cabin life is some of the best parts of hunting with your buddies and thats where most of my memories are made.


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## tilley

So just so I understand, you have to sleep in the field to make sure you get your spot and there are hunters everywhere but we need special youth seasons and all kinds of concessions because we are running out of hunters. makes sense to me.


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## Guest

Sasha and Abby said:


> FYI _ I have been hunting NoDak for 14 years and *HAVE NEVER HAD TO SLEEP IN A FIELD!!!* This is why you *ALWAYS have a SECOND or THIRD CHOICE SETUP!!!* There are too many great places to hunt than to have to worry about that crap. And BTW, I have only had to go to plan B a hand full of times.


Been going since '06 and I couldn't agree more. Had a field last year that we hunted once, checked it out the next day and birds were still using it, so we planned a hunt the next morning. Got there the next morning and it was all the sudden posted and there were locals using it. Had found another field the night before and hunted that instead. Banged em up good. IMO the thing most hunters don't do near enough is SCOUT. Out there there are almost always options.


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## recker

Boy thats really sad that a place like North Dakota has become where you have to sleep in a field to reserve your spot. That being said the day I have to do that is the day I quite hunting. I would rather just find an area not that great away from other people so I can enjoy myself and my sleep at night!


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## KurtR

sdkylesd said:


> KurtR said:
> 
> 
> 
> there are no ducks in the roscoe sd area it is a barren desert just so every one knows :evil:
> 
> 
> 
> I find that hard to believe.. but looks promising in my area
Click to expand...

I found out you are not allowed to talk about where ducks are in sd via pm so just doing my part


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## birddogin

last weekend finding a spot wasnt so bad but now with the non res huntirs comeing in well there is a resson i built drop down bunks in the decoy trailer


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## Gr8outdoors27

Okay, lets bring this post back around for what it was intended for.

Tuesday I had plans to hunt a field that was holding good numbers of ducks and geese. The rain and the fact that my partner decided not to go at the last minute made me adjust my plans. I set up 2 dozen full body ducks in a stubble field near a small transition slough and a dozen floaters in the H20. During scouting I observed that the ducks were coming in from near by roosts, feeding in the stubble, and getting a drink from the slough. Ended up with a decent fast-paced shoot with a couple bonus teal. Cut it off at 5 birds because it was starting to lightning and thunder. 20 retrieves for my 9.5 mo. old pup so far. He is a great little hunting partner!


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## JethroBodine

I love how everyone just complains and complains about the NR and the boat parade and this and that&#8230; The truth is ND is a huge state there is so many places to hunt. I was just out this afternoon and got setup on a nice field that was holding decent numbers not outstanding by my standards but still it was just nice to get out and hunt. Ended up getting our limit of mallards plus a couple of nice honkers literally 5 minutes after we got set up and 5 minutes before it closed for the day. Everyone dreams about getting on a field that has thousands of birds on it (yes i know it is amazing) but in the end your out enjoying the outdoors. I was actually glad the ducks were coming in one by one down the pipe because picking out the drakes was a challenge with the low light today! :thumb:


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## Gr8outdoors27

Nice report Jethro! I love hearing stories and seeing pics from other people. I feel the same way about hunts. I have had only one hunt with tons of birds around. I end up hunting fields with smaller numbers of birds. It's Nodak, usually the hunts are good no matter what!

Keep some pics and reports coming guys!


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## KEN W

Shu said:


> KEN W said:
> 
> 
> 
> Hasn't anyone noticed that these problems are happening on weekends?Most NR that come a distance stay for almost a week.Lots less pressure.I agree it can be a pain,especially on opening day as stated above.It's the same opening day of early Canada season,and opening day of pheasant season.
> 
> I love how people say they don't have problems finding places to hunt.....well,yeah......hunt during the week. :thumb: :thumb:
> 
> 
> 
> So hunt divers on the weekends and mallards/geese during the week? Sounds like a plan
Click to expand...

How are you doing Shu?I would imagine you are here this weekend?Eastern half of the state got a pretty good shot of rain this morning.Could be a little muddy this morning.


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## Shu

Doing good Ken, hope the same for you. I am heading up next weekend.


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## ValleyHunter

I don't understand why people are hating on people that sleep at the field? I did it in my days in North Dakota. Why? Because it was more of a opening day ritual. The first time I did it was with one other guy, and we slept in our vehicles at the only approach. We had a group of guys come up in there big trucks and i got out and talked with them. We talked for about 30 minutes and it was about 4 am. We had our spread out already and blinds were all ready as well. I offered that they hunted with us, and they agreed to it. We had an unreal shoot, and we had all become friends. This was a few years back. I don't understand why people bash people for staying over at fields. I only do it as a once a year thing on opener. Its fun, and gets the adrenaline going for the season to start!

Anyways...

I have had 3 different occasions where people have showed up, or started to set up in the same field as me. Regardless on how big the field is, or how many birds there are, I always let them join us, Have never turned a group down. I know how it feels to show up and get turned down. Hunting isn't about the competition between groups, its more about the time you have while hunting. I would rather have fun and shoot 4 birds, then be all strict and shoot a limit. Everyone that I have let hunt with me, or hunted with, I have become friends with and have hunted with them a numerous amount of time after that. As a non resident now, im sure I will get the old non res hunting bash, but people need to get real, there are some real idiots out there that need to be talked to, not all of them are residents, and not all of them are non residents.

Also...this early season i showed up to a field and they offered to fight over the field...since when do people need to solve hunting spots by fighting? I later found out they didn't have permission for it, and being in MN they needed to. Anyone else have any instances where people wanted to fight over a hunting spot? Or is it just me?


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## tilley

We need more hunters plain and simple. Just nobody hunting anymore really sad.


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## Daniels

yeah, we do need more "hunters" and less "shooters". Most guys hunting now it seems can't appreciate a good morning in the field. Granted we all want to have birds feet down in the decoys every flock but if it doesn't happen you should still be able to enjoy a day in the field with family and friends. The older I get the less I care about kill piles. It is all about being out there and enjoying company. And don't get me started on the fact that most "crews" have over 10k in equipment/trailers/calls etc. but refuse to spend 40 bucks for a ticket to a delta or DU banquet. I will never understand that.


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## pigeon123

That is a good point Daniels. It used to be the hunters worked and hunted a day or two a week. You can fill in the rest. I mean who needs a job.


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## Gr8outdoors27

So anyhow, back to reports. I didn't get any pictures this time. Hunted yesterday in a wheat stubble field that had 350 combined ducks and geese last Thursday. We ended up with a couple geese. Saw probably 500 ducks and 150 geese, all going to another location. The field that had been holding birds was hunted twice over the weekend.

Just goes to show how much important scouting is in the equation of field hunting. I wish I would have had time to scout Sunday. Maybe we would have found the other field they were going to had had a better hunt. It was still a nice morning to be out and I wouldn't have it any other way!


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## Feathers

Had a blast for the non-res opener. Hunted the NE portion of the state. Overall the duck numbers seemed down but once we found them they were bunched up pretty well. Put in a lot more windshield time this trip to have good hunts. Had a good shoot on opening day in a field. Fortunately the roost did not get busted until after our morning hunt. I thought for sure somebody would be on it in the morning with the number of birds using it and how easy access was. It got busted up right after we left and was empty in the evening. It was nearly impossible to I.D. drakes. Even a lot of the mature birds did not have enough color to I.D. them in flight. I think the late Spring must have pushed the molt back. More pintails than I have ever seen out there and a couple of the guys got a banded one. Almost no divers around yet and gadwalls were way down from most years. Most fields are not cut. Wheat and Barley is out for the most part. Some beans were coming out when we left yesterday. Water is up quite a bit from last year. Bird numbers dropped significantly between opening day and when we left from all the pressure.


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## BROWNDOG

Hunted ND SE area fri sat sun, very poor numbers as far as I was concerned, yah we found a couple bigger bodies of water that held birds, but I will not hunt a roost. Heavily posted and got turned down more times than I can remember. Put on over 400 miles scouting the area and never did find anything ( field or water) that kept me awake at night. I hunted ND from 1996 to 2002 and then hunted Canada from 2005 to 2010, not sure why I went back to ND this year but Monday when I got home I called up to Manitoba and made reservations for 2014. On a side note in those 400 miles scouting we never ONE pheasant..


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## templey_41

Tons of ducks where we hunted this past wknd. Our group harvested 114 in 5 hunts. Got to watch my 3 nephews take their first ducks ever. The dogs have been sleeping since monday. Thanks North Dakota for supplying and sharing this great resource.

I hope this photo is tasteful enough for you field general!


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## qckaddct

JethroBodine said:


> I love how everyone just complains and complains about the NR and the boat parade and this and that&#8230; The truth is ND is a huge state there is so many places to hunt. I was just out this afternoon and got setup on a nice field that was holding decent numbers not outstanding by my standards but still it was just nice to get out and hunt. Ended up getting our limit of mallards plus a couple of nice honkers literally 5 minutes after we got set up and 5 minutes before it closed for the day. Everyone dreams about getting on a field that has thousands of birds on it (yes i know it is amazing) but in the end your out enjoying the outdoors. I was actually glad the ducks were coming in one by one down the pipe because picking out the drakes was a challenge with the low light today! :thumb:


Well said!

Regarding previous posts, So you sleep in a field or in the marsh so you get your spot. Big deal. To me, I love the notion of doing that. Hunting is fun, but adding a camping element sounds great to me! Nothing like having breakfast in the blind!Best 'ambiance' for a meal, in my opinion.

Looking forward to visiting your state for the first time in a few weeks.


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## shadow

There is and always be issues. I have been a NR and a resident and the whole face of waterfowling has changed. I say young hutners have NO CLUE how easy they have it!

To sleep in a field, sounds interesting to say the least! When I use to snow goose hunt, many times the decoys were put out at like 2 in the morning, never had a problem. I also agree with having multiple places, because sometimes you get beat to the spot, that's life.

The ONE big issue I have seen and brought it to the wardens is simply this: A field is NOT posted, you hunt it and find the next day birds still are in it! You come the next morning and it is POSTED! But NO NAME or it is not legible.

I was a teacher in ND and knew students who had NO TRESPASSING signs in their trucks just to put in anywhere they wanted.

I questioned the validity of this with 2 game wardens and they simply said, you will get a ticket if hunting posted land! I questioned the law that clearly states land must be posted by only the owner and legible writing. Again I was told, you will get ticketed.

So that is what irritates me, and that is my 3 cents worth.


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## slough

There is no doubt that plenty of land gets posted by people who don't have the authority. Lots of examples of land that is owned by an absentee owner who could care less if people hunt it and a neighbor posts it just because they know they can. And they patrol it like it's their own. Unlikely that there's much you can do though.


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## twopopper

If you read the proclamation closely, a land owner can give anyone permission to post land. Not saying I agree, just stating fact!!! 
POSTING AND TRESPASS
Only the owner or tenant, or an individual authorized by the owner, may
post land by placing signs giving notice that no hunting is permitted on
the land. The name of the person posting the land must appear on each
sign in legible characters. The signs must be readable from the outside
of the land and must be placed conspicuously not more than 880 yards
apart. As to land entirely enclosed by a fence or other enclosure, posting
of signs at or on all gates through the fence or enclosure constitutes
a posting of all the enclosed land.


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## prairie hunter

Outfitter trick #1 - tell landowners they will post the land for you in exchange for hunting rights. Works maybe once, than the landowner finds out he has* paying *clients on his land which changes liability (etc) and/or his neighbors are getting paid.

Outfitter trick #2 - paying local kids to sleep in their truck to hold a field they cannot post.


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## tbossart1356

My hunting has been superb this year froms tart in August for early goose thru last weekend. We have killed more geese than I care to ever clean, but there are worse things to spend 2 hours doing a few days a year I guess. Duck and goose numebrs have been excellent in the fields. I hunt south of Jamestown basically. So been all over east and west to the south of Jamestown. Last stop was around Lehr. Was an OK shoot.

About all the compalints above, I have hunted in this state for going on 40 years. I have shot every thing with wings in every situation, set up ,and conditions there are. Have things changed over that time? Sure, but what doesnt change? Is more land posted, yep sure is. So? Do more people hunt in this state from out of state and ruin the hunting more and more every year? Not at all that I have noticed, not by a long shot at all. But then I do the work, pre-season, durring the season, and post season. Then again in the spring. I have spent years getting to know my land owners and the land where I hunt. I spend time to get to know thelocals who dont own land or dont hunt as well. I know the kids of the land owners. The fact is if you hunt long enough, you are gona have someone in your spot earlier than you now and again, so what? If you have a back up, and a back up to that, it is not an issue. Sometimes someone is willing to sleep out there to be in the field first. If you find a feed of 1,000 ducks and think you are the only one with eyes on it you are nuts. So, when you find a huge feed, find the others watching and talk about it. Is this always possible or does it always work out well, not always, but it never happens if you dont make that effort. I can tell ya, talking it over with your fellow hunters beats both sleeping out there and or finding someone who did so, leaving you sitting there with no idea what you are gona do. Sometimes inconsideate jerks crowd ya, it happens. Some times idiots jump the roost and bust it. Hunt enough and you will see it all. My point is this sport is what you make it to be. For me, I can easily say the great times I have had far exceed any problems or issues I have encountered in the field....but agian, I do the work to be prepared for and thus minimize any of that crap from ruining what I consider the best 35 to 50 days of the year for me, my kids, and the crew I hunt with. Good luck. Be safe. e smart and have fun...thats the name of this game after all ya know.


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## vman

Well said!


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## mksmith1013

Does anyone have a report for the birds between Minot/Bismarck? We are hunting next week and we were curious how the hunting has been.
Thanks,
Mike


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## timberhole

There are four groups of guys I know that are hunting North of Minot this week. They have had great hunts everyday. Reports are a lot of ducks in the area and early limits. Some are hunting fields and some are hunting potholes.


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## duknut1975

Seems like the mallards are bunching up for sure. A lot of the little brown ducks have left over the last few days. Big snow migration sunday all day. Had better luck hunting a field/water setup. Seems like the mallards are wanting water just as much as food.


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## ValleyHunter

I just got back a a few days ago from the Valley City Area. When we scouted the first night, all there was were bean fields cut. No corn yet. Obviously with the wet weather, it was almost impossible to get in on field hunts like we wanted. The first morning we set up in a partial flooded corn field, with hardly any water. Saw maybe 2000 ducks and couple hundred geese. We ended up with a 3 man of ducks and two geese. That night we hunted a flooded bean field. That was holding well over 3000 ducks and 200 geese. Being that it was a thursday night, we couldn't shoot geese. There were tons of lessers and cackles around also! We shot a 4 man limit of mallards, passed up on a ton of hens and other ducks.

The next morning we scouted and found a corn field that was standing still, in the middle was a little pothole that at the time we didn't know was there. We saw ducks dumping in from everywhere. we decided to hunt it at night be able to see everything on the way getting out there. We scared up maybe 5000 ducks, and we set up right away. We shot a 4 man limit of greenheads and some pintails, none of which were any nice in color. We were out of there with 45 minutes left to hunt. The next morning we headed back out there again. With one less guy, we still shot a 3 man limit in a little under a hour. We left and hunted a different spot south of town a little ways. Seemed the ducks were flying high and not really looking for water. We shot 10 ducks in a slow afternoon.

The next morning we went back out to the flooded corn we previously hunted twice. We got there and 5 other guys were already there. We decided to group up with them. Hunting 8 in the standing corn. We shot a nice 8 man limit of ducks. We shot a ton of greenies, pintails,2 gadwalls, and two nice green wings.

The snow was flying and the wind was howling. but all in all, it was one of the best couple days of hunting I have ever had. Seemed to be geese were scattered everywhere. Only saw two fields with a bunched up group.

As we left that corn field, we saw a good 3000 ducks dumping back into it. If anyone wants to know the location message me!


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## slough

Ducks are definitely liking those little sloughs in standing corn fields. Tough to talk a farmer into letting you walk into his standing crop in most cases though.


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## prairie hunter

Wet fields or not, the corn is coming out fast.


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## prairie hunter

ValleyHunter said:


> The next morning we headed back out there again. With one less guy, we still shot a 3 man limit in a little under a hour. We left and hunted a different spot south of town a little ways. Seemed the ducks were flying high and not really looking for water. We shot 10 ducks in a slow afternoon.


Ok then ... :withstupid:


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## the professor

ValleyHunter said:


> I just got back a a few days ago from the Valley City Area. When we scouted the first night, all there was were bean fields cut. No corn yet. Obviously with the wet weather, it was almost impossible to get in on field hunts like we wanted. The first morning we set up in a partial flooded corn field, with hardly any water. Saw maybe 2000 ducks and couple hundred geese. We ended up with a 3 man of ducks and two geese. That night we hunted a flooded bean field. That was holding well over 3000 ducks and 200 geese. Being that it was a thursday night, we couldn't shoot geese. There were tons of lessers and cackles around also! We shot a 4 man limit of mallards, passed up on a ton of hens and other ducks.
> 
> The next morning we scouted and found a corn field that was standing still, in the middle was a little pothole that at the time we didn't know was there. We saw ducks dumping in from everywhere. we decided to hunt it at night be able to see everything on the way getting out there. We scared up maybe 5000 ducks, and we set up right away. We shot a 4 man limit of greenheads and some pintails, none of which were any nice in color. We were out of there with 45 minutes left to hunt. The next morning we headed back out there again. With one less guy, we still shot a 3 man limit in a little under a hour. We left and hunted a different spot south of town a little ways. Seemed the ducks were flying high and not really looking for water. We shot 10 ducks in a slow afternoon.
> 
> The next morning we went back out to the flooded corn we previously hunted twice. We got there and 5 other guys were already there. We decided to group up with them. Hunting 8 in the standing corn. We shot a nice 8 man limit of ducks. We shot a ton of greenies, pintails,2 gadwalls, and two nice green wings.
> 
> The snow was flying and the wind was howling. but all in all, it was one of the best couple days of hunting I have ever had. Seemed to be geese were scattered everywhere. Only saw two fields with a bunched up group.
> 
> As we left that corn field, we saw a good 3000 ducks dumping back into it. If anyone wants to know the location message me!


The first man to message you will probably be a warden asking how many guys were hunting if you shot "limits" then went back out hunting. :bop:


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## KEN W

ValleyHunter said:


> I just got back a a few days ago from the Valley City Area. When we scouted the first night, all there was were bean fields cut. No corn yet. Obviously with the wet weather, it was almost impossible to get in on field hunts like we wanted. The first morning we set up in a partial flooded corn field, with hardly any water. Saw maybe 2000 ducks and couple hundred geese. We ended up with a 3 man of ducks and two geese. That night we hunted a flooded bean field. That was holding well over 3000 ducks and 200 geese. Being that it was a thursday night, we couldn't shoot geese. There were tons of lessers and cackles around also! We shot a 4 man limit of mallards, passed up on a ton of hens and other ducks.
> 
> The next morning we scouted and found a corn field that was standing still, in the middle was a little pothole that at the time we didn't know was there. We saw ducks dumping in from everywhere. we decided to hunt it at night be able to see everything on the way getting out there. We scared up maybe 5000 ducks, and we set up right away. We shot a 4 man limit of greenheads and some pintails, none of which were any nice in color. We were out of there with 45 minutes left to hunt. The next morning we headed back out there again. With one less guy, we still shot a 3 man limit in a little under a hour. We left and hunted a different spot south of town a little ways. Seemed the ducks were flying high and not really looking for water. We shot 10 ducks in a slow afternoon.
> 
> The next morning we went back out to the flooded corn we previously hunted twice. We got there and 5 other guys were already there. We decided to group up with them. Hunting 8 in the standing corn. We shot a nice 8 man limit of ducks. We shot a ton of greenies, pintails,2 gadwalls, and two nice green wings.
> 
> The snow was flying and the wind was howling. but all in all, it was one of the best couple days of hunting I have ever had. Seemed to be geese were scattered everywhere. Only saw two fields with a bunched up group.
> 
> As we left that corn field, we saw a good 3000 ducks dumping back into it. If anyone wants to know the location message me!


Wow.....here we go again.is this a misprint?,,,,,We ended up with a 3 man of ducks and two geese. That night we hunted a flooded bean field. That was holding well over 3000 ducks and 200 geese. Being that it was a thursday night, we couldn't shoot geese. There were tons of lessers and cackles around also! We shot a 4 man limit of mallards,

That's 2 limits in one day. :eyeroll:

This is also shooting over the daily limit.....The next morning we headed back out there again. With one less guy, we still shot a 3 man limit in a little under a hour. We left and hunted a different spot south of town a little ways. Seemed the ducks were flying high and not really looking for water. We shot 10 ducks in a slow afternoon.


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## ValleyHunter

They were all different day, or we had different people hunting. Not all of us hunted together. Obviously I wouldn't post illegal activity on this site, or any other site, as well as do any such thing.


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## ValleyHunter

And when I mention shooting a 3 man, that doesn't mean we had 3 men out hunting that spot. Just accounts for the amount of birds shot.


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## JethroBodine

everybody give valley hunter a nice slow clap.... :rollin:


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## KEN W

ValleyHunter said:


> And when I mention shooting a 3 man, that doesn't mean we had 3 men out hunting that spot. Just accounts for the amount of birds shot.


Gotcha.....but it could be worded better.Sounds like yo had a good time. :thumb:


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## tbossart1356

Out this weekend..south of Jamestown. More and more corn comming off. Went in blind Staurday evening in an area we knew was holding a lot of birds on the water into cut corn and had a great time. Just two guys and a dog...shot 7 green heads and then lost our light for day. Back in on the next morning, not so great, but fun. Only had time to hunt about 2 hours or so and the birds moved later in the morning so we had one shot at a group of 5 and got 3. Birds continue to build in the area south of Jamestown from what we can see. Way more, like thousands more, snows around, lots of swans now and lessers too. Our group gets the feel the birds are for sure moving outta the north and more southward, at least within the state if not out of canada as well. Bigger feed going sure. Glad the corn is coming off and the beans too...but I like the corn a lot. Easy to hunt. Birds love it. Thats my update


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## qckaddct

Just got back from hunting south central North Dakota from 10/24-10/27. As a first time NR hunter there, it was quite the experience and I learned a lot. Definitely looking forward to heading back in 2014!

There was still a lot of corn still standing and soy was being harvested. We hunted all water on WPA and plots land. Lots of Gadwalls, Hooded Mergansers, and Shovelers. Most of the Redheads, Cans, Buffleheads, and Blue bills were out on the bigger waters. Mallards were VERY decoys shy. Started seeing Common Mergansers on the last day we hunted, 10/27. Had plenty of snows coming through and I was surprised at the lack of Canadas, although Cacklers were showing up on the last two days of our visit. Good numbers of swans, as well. I will definitely be applying for a permit, next year. Sandhills started showing up in bigger numbers on our last two days. By Day 3 and 4 we got the birds down and ended up taking two gadwalls..one gorgeous drake..two Ringbills..and two Hooded Mergansers. Snows roosted nearby, but never gave us a good shooting opportunity once shooting hours opened. Go figure. While driving around, we found one roost and holy crap!It was impressive for a guy like me. We also hunted across from a transition slough on private property. It's one thing to hear all the residents talk about roosts and transition sloughs on here, but once your see them, you get the concept.


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## nodakgreen

qckaddct said:


> Just got back from hunting south central North Dakota from 10/24-10/27. As a first time NR hunter there, it was quite the experience and I learned a lot. Definitely looking forward to heading back in 2014!
> 
> There was still a lot of corn still standing and soy was being harvested. We hunted all water on WPA and plots land. Lots of Gadwalls, Hooded Mergansers, and Shovelers. Most of the Redheads, Cans, Buffleheads, and Blue bills were out on the bigger waters. Mallards were VERY decoys shy. Started seeing Common Mergansers on the last day we hunted, 10/27. Had plenty of snows coming through and I was surprised at the lack of Canadas, although Cacklers were showing up on the last two days of our visit. Good numbers of swans, as well. I will definitely be applying for a permit, next year. Sandhills started showing up in bigger numbers on our last two days. By Day 3 and 4 we got the birds down and ended up taking two gadwalls..one gorgeous drake..two Ringbills..and two Hooded Mergansers. Snows roosted nearby, but never gave us a good shooting opportunity once shooting hours opened. Go figure. While driving around, we found one roost and holy crap!It was impressive for a guy like me. We also hunted across from a transition slough on private property. It's one thing to hear all the residents talk about roosts and transition sloughs on here, but once your see them, you get the concept.


That's great to see that you guys had a good time and stayed away from the roost. When you see a roost loaded with ducks you will realize why us nodak resident's hate people that shoot birds out of them. Hopefully the guy who shot multiple days limits everyday and flushed "5,000" birds out of a roost realized that he messed up.


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## blhunter3

Long lines at Gavilon this weekend, so I was able to get out and walk and talk to some people. Everyone mentioned how few of birds there are around. Had people hauling from as far away as 50 miles.


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## Erik L

Thanks for the reports guys! And plz keep them coming, I'm itching to get out there and hunt some big greenheads and honkers in the fields but gambling with the weather again. I've had some really awesome hunts in the coming weeks but have also been burned real bad with ice and just missing the migration. Sounds like things are really starting to happen tho, thinking of packing up and heading west this week, shoot some roosters and if there's ducks... Buy a license and hunt, if not head home and wait a week. Any advise on crop conditions and bird numbers are greatly appreciated!


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## fieldgeneral

Things are happening. Watch the weather, it will tell all.


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## honky kong

Last couple reports are encouraging. We are looking to head up near Oakes on Thursday. Anybody been around that area in the last couple days?


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