# sd or nd this thursday?



## ritt (Mar 21, 2009)

i cant decide wether we should head out to nd around the oakes area and hunt the snows or if we should start at the top of sd and work down into the sd birds... Tell me what u think because the weather is supposed to be cold later this week and heavy north wind i dont want to buy nd license and have all the birds pushed back into sd. LET ME KNOW also we are just jump shootin them


----------



## goosebusters (Jan 12, 2006)

ritt said:


> i cant decide wether we should head out to nd around the oakes area and hunt the snows or if we should start at the top of sd and work down into the sd birds... Tell me what u think because the weather is supposed to be cold later this week and heavy north wind i dont want to buy nd license and have all the birds pushed back into sd. LET ME KNOW also we are just jump shootin them


South Dakota for sure. Not much of anything is in Nodak yet, plus they are predicting a cold snap for next week.


----------



## ritt (Mar 21, 2009)

wheree is a good area to focus on in sd for jump hunting?i have only hunted nd before and am used to sneakin fencelines to pasture ponds and the river.


----------



## thame (Feb 6, 2008)

I would for sure go to North Dakota!


----------



## USSapper (Sep 26, 2005)

ritt said:


> i cant decide wether we should head out to nd around the oakes area and hunt the snows or if we should start at the top of sd and work down into the sd birds... Tell me what u think because the weather is supposed to be cold later this week and heavy north wind i dont want to buy nd license and have all the birds pushed back into sd. LET ME KNOW also we are just jump shootin them


ND for sure. Devils Lake is about to get as hot as ever. Just got off the phone with my other Pro Staffers staying up at the Cheifton in Carrington, and they said they are in the thick of things. Lots of big hills to make for some easy jumping! Good Hunting!


----------



## ritt (Mar 21, 2009)

but the james river isnt even open yet and that is a very large roosting area for the snows and they wont want to stay there on the ice. This bad weather this week will likely push the birds back south cuz its supposed to be heavy north wind and only 34 degrees.


----------



## remidog (Oct 15, 2008)

ya im heading to devils lake tomorrow, ill be pounding them up there I heard close to 450,000 of them are staging there now :lol:


----------



## USSapper (Sep 26, 2005)

ritt said:


> but the james river isnt even open yet and that is a very large roosting area for the snows and they wont want to stay there on the ice. This bad weather this week will likely push the birds back south cuz its supposed to be heavy north wind and only 34 degrees.


They are roosting on the crap pond on the east side of jamestown. Well over 20k seen so far today


----------



## Save Hens (Mar 15, 2008)

remidog said:


> ya im heading to devils lake tomorrow, ill be pounding them up there I heard close to 450,000 of them are staging there now :lol:


 theres that many at Devils lake already..??


----------



## bluebill25 (Mar 29, 2006)

hens if u believe that u can come up to the north woods of pegilly mn with me and hunt them on a lake by my house. 1.1 million staging there right now. we can keep a limit of crappies and shoot a truck full of snows at the same time :wink:


----------



## USSapper (Sep 26, 2005)

Save Hens said:


> remidog said:
> 
> 
> > ya im heading to devils lake tomorrow, ill be pounding them up there I heard close to 450,000 of them are staging there now :lol:
> ...


I didnt see that many.....but there is well over 200K


----------



## Save Hens (Mar 15, 2008)

talked to guy earlier thats near the DL area and said not much sheet water, with 2-3 feet of snow in the cornfields, and none in the bean fields. But there is still about 200K there? seems quite early... but whatever


----------



## krsportsman (Feb 1, 2006)

North Dakoka, they are everywhere!!


----------



## Save Hens (Mar 15, 2008)

Thats good to hear


----------



## mallard (Mar 27, 2002)

ritt said:


> wheree is a good area to focus on in sd for jump hunting?i have only hunted nd before and am used to sneakin fencelines to pasture ponds and the river.


 200 miles or more away from me.


----------



## &quot;V&quot;1 (Feb 11, 2009)

Only Juveniles in Nebraska now. But they are decoying easy. Have fun in the Dakotas.


----------



## mjschuette (Feb 24, 2005)

Ritt...... you may want to do alot of your own research, on where to go, not trying to mean, just honest, mosty people on this site don't like jump shooters, moves the birds out of the area, and some times gets them moving north faster. That being said, If you can't shoot them over deks or don't have deks or friends that have deks, jumping is very temping. when you see 20k in a sneekable field, its tough not to crawl on your belly for a couple thousand yard, I've done it, I thike we all have. the prob i have with it, when your laying in your blinds, having the best shoot of your life, do to a massive roust to the south of you, with a strong south wind and some mother fraker jumps the whole crapload and you don't get another shot the rest of the day, you start not liking jumpers very much. Most people will tell u there are very huntable #'s in mexico right now. so do your own research, shoot lots of geese, do your part to save the tundra, but do your best not to piss me off, laying in my blind 2mi north of a flock of 20k! I want to have fun to, and do my part, and put lots of summer sausage in my freezer!!!!!!!!!!!! :beer:


----------



## ritt (Mar 21, 2009)

i am doing my own research along with asking people on here, kinda hard for me to go scout when im over 200 miles away from where im gunna hunt. i just dont wanna go somewhere and be birds that night and the next morning all gone. Starting at top of sd and workin the way down sound like a good idea? is sd full of birds?


----------



## goosegrinder (Mar 4, 2005)

How much time do you jump shooters spend finding landowners and getting permission? I know in ND this isn't such a big ordeal but ya may consider it for SD since you stated ya never hunted there before.

Alex


----------



## snow123geese (Feb 3, 2008)

I would go to SD there are more birds there and I thinks its supposed to get cold again here.


----------



## hunt4P&amp;Y (Sep 23, 2004)

goosegrinder said:


> How much time do you jump shooters spend finding landowners and getting permission? I know in ND this isn't such a big ordeal but ya may consider it for SD since you stated ya never hunted there before.
> 
> Alex


I wondered the same....

We spent half a day just trying to find ONE landowner. Had like 4 feeds, coulden't find a SINGLE one ended up decoying a field next door to one.

It is so hard as no one has posted signs.


----------



## averyghg (Oct 16, 2006)

ritt said:


> kinda hard for me to go scout when im over 200 miles away from where im gunna hunt.


ha, you must be new to the sport. You might want to think about taking up golf or billiards


----------



## goosebusters (Jan 12, 2006)

Good point Mac, I know a lot of people on this site who have driven 700 miles on a whim in search of birds. Heck, two spring breaks ago I put 1600 miles on my truck, for 10 birds!!! Guess I should have tried jumping.


----------



## ritt (Mar 21, 2009)

Be a smart *** if u wanna. i hunt snow geese once a year so i want a good hunt. like i said in previous posts im not a "pro" like some people at least think they are.


----------



## goosebusters (Jan 12, 2006)

I don't think he or anyone is trying to be smart. 200 miles really isn't that much, even for an afternoon scouting run. Wednesday I did 400 miles by myself, 200 both ways, its not too bad. 2 tanks of gas = what 60 dollars?

If you are jumping you have the benefit of being mobile, a decoy guy sets up his spread and is at the mercy of the birds' flightlines. If they go to a different field he might not see a bird all day, but you can just drive to where the birds are. There are birds from Nodak to Nebraska, if you are between I-29 and 281 you will see birds the whole time. These birds are always moving, so even if someone knows where they were yesterday doesn't mean they are still there, they could be 70 miles away. You can find them though, trust me.


----------



## AWO (Mar 9, 2008)

Funny thread, I thought back on last years final hunt, all the tens of thousands of dollars I've spent over the last 7 seasons, tens of thousands of miles on the trucks over the years, all for that once in a lifetime hunt over decoys!!! I said I could die happily after that hunt, never need to go again, yet here we are getting loaded up and ready to go again. Decoying truly is a disease or obsession when things are going right, until you try it you'll never know.

Ritt, head to the sourthern end of SoDak or northern NE if you want to jump some birds. I'd try Nebraska and leave SoDak for us decoyers. Then at least you'll be pushing them up into our state. Try starting at Huron and heading south, or just opt for a Nebraska license. Be sure not to get caught tresspassing if you go to SoDak, as many above have stated.


----------



## joebobhunter4 (Jul 19, 2005)

south dakota for sure. ther'll be way more birds go as far south as u can


----------



## sdgoosekiller (Mar 26, 2008)

the majority of geese are mid state in SD right now. head there and im sure you will have good shooting. I know alot of guys that hunt south of oakes/sandlake area lots of guys decoying and if you go jumping you are bound to make someone made. not starting anything with jumping but just be careful where you do it or it might trip someone's trigger. no matter where you go you will have good shooting.


----------



## averyghg (Oct 16, 2006)

ritt said:


> i hunt snow geese once a year so i want a good hunt..


 :lol: I love comments like this, thanks for the laugh


----------



## I'm with Diver (Apr 7, 2008)

ritt said:


> i hunt snow geese once a year so i want a good hunt.


I hunt snow geese all season and I _*hope*_ for one good hunt.


----------



## dougdoug (Mar 12, 2009)

definately south dakota there all over way more here than up north plus they are expecting snow sd is expecting flooding in the north north east look at the weather reports to get a better look but ive hunted all over my area north east and its hot! :sniper: *^ ^ ^ *


----------



## SDwaterfowler (Mar 2, 2006)

I would stay in ND.


----------



## jake urich (Feb 25, 2008)

I live 1000 miles from where I hunt, hit the road and find them . You say you live 200 miles from where you hunt , sometimes I drive farther than that in a day scouting. I think scouting is the hardest part of the spring hunt. And yes there are 1.9 mill on lake Mexico right now better go jump the roost


----------



## Herters_Decoys (Mar 1, 2002)

I would stick to SD. This week is no good for us in ND. By the way ND has lots of areas that still have alot of snow in the fields, so the birds aren't pushing north in mass #'s like stated above. If so it is very isolated and won't last.There will be plenty of sheet water after the thunderstorms we've been getting, just need to the sun to come out and melt the slush out of the low spots. Won't be long if the weather breaks but that looks like a week away now.


----------



## honker85 (Mar 12, 2008)

go to north dakota havent seen damn goose for two days near brookings


----------



## SDcanadaKILLER (Jan 3, 2009)

ritt said:


> but the james river isnt even open yet and that is a very large roosting area for the snows and they wont want to stay there on the ice. This bad weather this week will likely push the birds back south cuz its supposed to be heavy north wind and only 34 degrees.


Dont be too sure when we were decoying and there was a wind they would be flying into it it was kind of weird juvies in sd and adults in nd so you take your pick im going for the juvies good luck with your choice and hunts


----------



## schmiesing (Mar 26, 2009)

ritt if you need some advice with goose hunting you could ask me, wander, or jerm then you dont have to be made fun of by the world of snow goose hunting haha


----------



## bigblackfoot (Mar 12, 2003)

If your planning on coming to ND you better not plan on hunting south of 94. Basically from Bismarck to Fargo is flooding and there are more rural roads that are closed than are open. Travel in most areas is highly discouraged unless for neccessary. Id go to SD. In Fargo over the past 24 hours we have recieved something like 8 inches of snow. I dont know how far south or west that goes but good luck hunting i wish i could be out there. Weve got to many sandbags to throw.


----------



## Maverick (Mar 4, 2002)

> Weve got to many sandbags to throw.


I got chaffed hands, sore back and all my shoes are filled with mud. God do I feel like I was snow goose hunting.

On a serious note, stay away people. We are in need of help, and we NEED IT! I wouldn't eve ask a farmer right now if I could hunt their land. This our Katrina. We don't need people getting in the way! Most county roads are now under a NO TRAVEL advisory. Don't even think about going down a dirt road!


----------



## cgreeny (Apr 21, 2004)

MInot, ND got 8'' of heavy snow Tuesday and I say another 3 inches last night. So if you want to try ND between the snow and a major flood happening good luck with those priorities.


----------



## jd mn/nd (Apr 8, 2004)

I saw on the news last night that B-town had lots of slush and snow from what I could see on the pickups they had about one foot of slush on the paved roads in town. So if that freezes up in the next few days it will be a real freaking mess!! I can not even begin to express how bad I feel for ALL of the residents of ND, I know that it is part of what makes those folks some of the nicest people in the whole world! However no one deserves to have deal with what most of the good folks of ND are dealing with. I would recommend that if your not going there to help those people out with what they are dealing with, to just stay out of the state. They got enough problems with out having to deal with people getting stuck just trying to shoot a few geese. The season is open until like May 1st there will still be geese left then to shoot as well. I talked to a person that was up in ND last weekend and the north central part of the state still had 2-4ft of snow covering the ground and absolutly no sheet water. So I can tell you for fact that there are no geese north of HWY 52. Also it will take some time for all of that snow to melt and create sheet water as well as uncover any food sources that there maybe. My guess is that it will be at least two weeks before that part of the state even has any birds let alone be huntable via driving around scouting.


----------

