# October 2-3 Waterfowl Hunting



## Field Hunter (Mar 4, 2002)

I had a business aquaintance and his father from Illinois join us for a field hunt for honkers and mallards on both Saturday and Sunday morning this past weekend. What a great time. I had scouted a field and secured permission a couple of days before Saturday. The access to the field is only through the farmers yard and the field wasn't posted......suprisingly enough no one else asked for permission to hunt the whole weekend.

Anyway, I got lucky. Not only was the field holding 200 or so honkers but we were to find out it also had well over a 1000 ducks using it for a feed as well. Saturday arrived and 6 of us put up 60 BF's and 60 duck decoys including herters shells, Enticers, and floaters. Also two Lucky Ducks. The day started with flock after flock of mallards, pintails and widgeon coming into the field in what turned into a fairly steady tornado of ducks for about a good hour and a half. We would try to pick out the drakes...shoot a couple and before we new it there would be 300 more ducks circling the motion decoys. There was water completely surounding the wheat field and more than one boat in every piece of water. The water hunters were pretty much done by 9:00 where as the field had ducks and geese still coming to it after we had piked up by 10:30. Daily total 18 geese, including two cacklers that were about the same size as a mallard, and 36 ducks, mostly mallards.

Sunday was almost a repeat to Saturday. The difference was there were VASTLY reduced numbers of ducks in the area. There were no large flocks of ducks and it didn't look like they were heading to any other fields to feed. I THINK the great amount of water hunters had pushed them off the big water, which in this area were PLOTS lands. I'm not saying we didn't push some also but there were far greater numbers of water hunters in the area and the number of shots on the water in the area on Sunday was down substantially from Saturday. Anyway Sunday started out slow. The geese had shifted their roost from the previous day to one a couple of miles north. They didn't start to move until much later in the day but still wanted our field when they began to move. The action was steady on ducks and geese. We did have less duck decoys in the field and about 120 BF's and two remote Lucky Ducks. If you have any friends you hunt with try out the remotes....some have different frequencies evidently and if you get two together that have the same one it can be frustrating. Take for 7 hunter for the day 21 honkers and 42 ducks, mostly mallards. And one banded mallard that no one knew for sure who shot so the guy that scouted the shoot got to keep it.....thanks guys. This two day hunt was as good if not better than some of the Sask. hunts I've been on and it was in our own backyard.

Get out and scout....if you find bigger water areas look for the fields where the geese are feeding...the ducks will more than likely be there as well. I have to ask too.....try not to shoot the big water...you can get many nice shots in the field and in the smaller transition sloughs.

Not sure about the following weeks but I did notice there was what appeared to be a nice migration of ducks into new areas as of last Friday.


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## djleye (Nov 14, 2002)

Were you guys done as quick when you had to "settle" for Zach and Tyler calling instead of me??? :wink: Maybe it was the caller that was the difference!!!!   :wink: :eyeroll: Did you ever think of that!!! Your luckt I wasn't there, I would have claimed that banded bird so fast no one else would have had time!!!

ps-thanks for the hunt Monte!!! :beer: :beer: My head was still spinning from the duck tonadoes when I tried to go to sleep that night!!


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## Ryan_Todd (Apr 11, 2004)

i need to get under a good tornado again soon. its been awhile.


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## Remmi_&amp;_I (Dec 2, 2003)

FieldHunter, when you ask for permission, how do you start the conversation off? I ask for permission to hunt, but my approach is different everytime and always feels forced...........until we get into a little back and forth conversation that is. I still feel like I am bothering landowners? Maybe it is just a comfort thing.


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## Ryan_Todd (Apr 11, 2004)

when i ask i usually ask them how it going and then try to ask pretty soon afterwards. chances are they know that is why you are there in the first place. it always good to conversate with the landowner as well. even if they say no it is good to be polite with them because you never know when you might have to ask them again down the line. your approach all depends on the mood of the landowner. try to ask them at a good time. i've found that mornings seem to be the best for me. before any machinery or problems have happened.


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## Field Hunter (Mar 4, 2002)

I usually shake there hand and introduce myself....then ask if they are the landowner and explain what I want...in the course of the conversation I try to comment on the land, the farm, their garden or what ever. If you can fnd a topic they want to talk about they hardly ever turn you down. You have to sell yourself and the way to do that is to LISTEN to what THEY like and ask lots of open ended questions to get them to what you want. Salesmanship 101....once you learn it you can sell anything to anyone. Being in sales, the funnest landowners are the ones that post with a sign that tells a story..."No hunting until landowner rights are met in legislature." for example. When you get these guys to let you hunt you know you've become a salesman. DON"T drive up and ask "CAN I HUNT" with the first thing out of your mouth....Spend 15-20 minutes getting to know them and you'll do fine.


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## Remmi_&amp;_I (Dec 2, 2003)

> "No hunting until landowner rights are met in legislature."


Came across quite a few of those signs last season around Washburn!


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## Remmi_&amp;_I (Dec 2, 2003)

Oops, and thanks for the advice. We had a guy tell us last year: "Do you think I'd waste all that damn time posting my land if I wanted you to hunt?" I smiled aplogized for inconveniencing him and he then said "well, I guess it won't hurt nothin but stop back in before you leave"

We did, and he has let us hunt 1 time every year!


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## Dunk221999 (Sep 11, 2002)

3 guys 2 days

day 1:
9 honkers
15 greenheads
3 pins

Day 2 
9 honkers
15 greenheads
3 pins

the best hunting I have had in the states ever...... the ducks and geese decoyed great. Tornado's of mallards comming in..... is the best experience ever in my opinion......

saw a lot of swans..... like prolly 15 flocks...... isn't it a little early for them?

I dunno....... Happy hunting everyone..... scout it out...... and stay off that water..


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## Stelz (Oct 5, 2004)

I have hunted the water for years up there and would love to hunt the fields, sounds like it works out better for everyone, I have 2 Dozen full body shells and 2 dozen outlaws( Goose) and a few duck decoys and one spinner, is this enough?
any info would help
we hunt Rugby Bottineau area.


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## Field Hunter (Mar 4, 2002)

I would say that would be enough to give it a try. Just find the field where the birds go the night before and you're in business. The spinner is the key.


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## Dunk221999 (Sep 11, 2002)

Yes 4 dozen decoys should be enough for you to get started... My spread consists of 4 doz full bodies and 2 dozen shell canadians, of which I scader in between the full bodies. We did use about 2 dozen shell mallards in there too, but hardly ever do. I add a few to this spread every year. 4 dozen decoys is definetly enough, I think it matters more that you are concealed, than if you have a ton of decoys. We also used 3 spinners, of which we left on the whole time and the geese didn't seem to mind.

Like the guy said before me on here find them in the field the night before and they are sure to be back in the morning.

p.s. while scouting we found a lot of birds hitting the fields north east of rugby, though we didn't hunt them, do to the fact that we already had other fields.

Hope this helps, I am glad people are starting to see that fields are better.


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