# Hunting not so good in Mott



## lovetohunt (Sep 15, 2005)

If you don't have private land to hunt you may as well stay home.

We just got back from a four day hunt in Mott and it was not good to say the least. We are NR public land hunters and wow did we put on miles for 14 birds. There were 6 of us and we managed to flush up 5 Roo's on Sat, 1 on Sun, and 8 on Mon, and gave up Tuesday and went home early.

We did find some dead ones from the snow but not like the horror stories I had been hearing.

We only missed 1 bird and I have very good dogs but that didn't seem to matter. Seems like every thing got pushed out of the public stuff in the first week.We hit every PLOTS we could find and some WMA's and all we saw were birds on private land with lease hunting only signs all over. With fee's at $200+ per day that makes for some spendy pheasant at approx $65.00 per lb. uke:

I guess I will take my $$ to SD next year. Sorry Mott, I liked hunting there and you floks are great. You should have words with your law makers.


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## Miller (Mar 2, 2002)

ND has PLENTY of roosters east of the Missouri R. The landowners around Mott don't want you around unless you pay. I wouldn't blame the law makers.


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## DJRooster (Nov 4, 2002)

And plenty of posted land and we ain't to far from being like the west. That is what pheasants will do!


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## lovetohunt (Sep 15, 2005)

I knocked on a couple doors and ask to hunt and actually had a guy ask and I quote "Got your check book". 

It was at that point that I turn around and just walked away.


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## Ihuntnfish (Sep 13, 2005)

Did anyone catch the news story out of Bismarck last weekend about the hunting in mott. I was in the bar and did not get to hear the whole thing. I think it was something about they were blaming the bad hunting numbers on new laws passed last legislative session. I don't know for sure as I could not here it. Can anyone enlighten me about the story.

If that was the case I counter with:
1. great birds all over the southern part of the state.
2. no snow east of the river
3. lots more open hunting land with birds than the almight Mott area
4. I know a lot of hunters from Fargo that didn't have to drive out that far this year. Birds everywhere!!!! I love this state!!!!!


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## lovetohunt (Sep 15, 2005)

I caught a bit of it and it was more that the local communities where loosing $$ due to the legislation. Hunters stopped coming due to the new law of nu NR the first 7 days.

The owner of the Mott Motel staed that she lost $8,000.00 due to the change.

That was all I heard.


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## zogman (Mar 20, 2002)

> due to legislation


That's BS :fiddle: It's because of local greed


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## Jiffy (Apr 22, 2005)

Screw Mott!!!!!! :******:


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## Bob Kellam (Apr 8, 2004)

Lets get something straight

The law only restricts NR from hunting public land PLOTS and NDGF lands. Look in the PLOTS giude there is very little of either in the Mott Area.

The law was changed to allow 14 days of upland hunting to make it the same as Waterfowl. Upland licenses have no limit, you may buy as many as you wish.

Enough with the bull sh!t excuses for protecting the Outfitter industry in the Mott area.

Bob


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## buckseye (Dec 8, 2003)

Screw the outfitters.... :******:


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## DJRooster (Nov 4, 2002)

The gas to drive their costs more than the liscense! Wish I knew how to spell hunting permit!


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## lovetohunt (Sep 15, 2005)

"Got your checkbook?" :******:


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## KEN W (Feb 22, 2002)

Bob's right....I was down there the first weekend.

The motel at Mott was full....where did she propose to put more guys to get that $8,000?????At about $50 per room per night.....that is 160 rooms for one night or 80 for 2 nights.Did they build a new Ramada Inn in Mott?????

The perception is...."why go there if I can't find a place to hunt w/o emptying my billfold."


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## ND decoy (Feb 1, 2003)

About 2 years ago I was talking to a land owner from Mott in Bismarck. He was complaining that the NDGF was ruining the hunting in the SW corner by planting birds in other parts of the state and spreading the hunters out. He told me that the east was for duck hunting, the central was for fishing, and the west was for pheasants and they shouldn' t try to ruin it for them. I thought this was one of the biggest lies I have ever heard. I told him that the G&F doesn't plant birds. He told me they do it but don't tell any body about it. His think was that there is no reason for there to be pheasants in any other part of the state but the SW corner. I figure this guy most see black helicopters a lot and thats it's all a plot to get him.

Also for the last couple of years we have been hearing a lot of people say that the east side of the river is really good for pheasants and some of the pressure has switched. Well if you haven't figured it out yet so has the amount of posted land and fee hunting out here. Every year there are more and more locked up tracks of land. Out by our land I have seen new guides start up this year and more land being leased out by out of state interest. It wouldn't be long and this will spread all over the state and then it will be all over but the crying. When the land is tied up the small towns are going to get hit hard. Why would some body go to Mott to hunt and spend money there if there is no place to hunt. And if your willing to pay to hunt I would just stay at the outfitters the hole time and eat and drink there. You would have no worries about having to drive after having a couple of beers or any thing else. If that happens not a lot of money gets spent on main street. People would buy a lot of there goods before they get there. When I go on a trip I buy every thing that I need (beer, ammo, food, etc.) here that way I know that I will have it and not worring about finding it when I get there.

Maybe I am just rambling but it makes sense to me.


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

ND Decoy, I really couldn't agree more and that message has been passed around but is still ignored by many rural towns in ND.

If you go to a legislative session, you see the small town business owners and G/O on one side....hunters on the other.

Like you stated, when an outfitter builds a lodge...they offer lodging, food, drink, etc. - ALL of the same services that are offered on Main St.

Look at the giveaway in the Open Forum for the town of Lidgerwood. That's one town that has got it figured out, hopefully the others will too before it's too late.


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## Rick Acker (Sep 26, 2002)

The S.E. is not a friendly place to hunt for most hunters. You are not walking short CRP fields and thousands of birds within a section of land. It usually takes a lot of work to get your birds, and for that reason alone, I don't think it will become over run with pay-hunt! It's also very seseptiable to Winter Kill and the over all numbers are not even close to the SW.


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## muskat (Mar 5, 2002)

> Look at the giveaway in the Open Forum for the town of Lidgerwood. That's one town that has got it figured out, hopefully the others will too before it's too late


Damn skippy!

There is however, a lot more posted land that isnt accessable in this area than in previous years.

I think we need to be more vocal about the trends that we are seeing, like in the Mott area. We can all sit behind a computer and type that these things need to change, but do we all take the time to discuss with the landowners and small town businesses??? I have just started to talk about these things in the area I hunt. I always took for granted access, but times are changing, and oppurtunities are becoming less and less.


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## 4 Paws (Oct 17, 2002)

When the land drys up, so will the money. This will be great news to the local who feels that there is to much hunting pressure and bad for the local and state economies. The dyed in the wool bird hunter who is the average joe who cant afford to pay 100-200 a day to hunt will simply move on. This is a sad trend, seems nothing is done in this country anymore with a simple handshake and a heartfelt thank you. :2cents: Paws


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## Dick Monson (Aug 12, 2002)

I remember a year ago last spring Mott hosted an open forum on hunting issues. State senators and reps that are engaged in outfitting and leasing in that area attended and kept things rolling, namely how restrictive our hunting laws are and how they need to be changed to get more hunters there. The manager of Cannonball Co. (largest outfitter in SW) told the NDGF speaker to keep the PLOTS east of the Missouri! They didn't want any more new PLOTS in SW ND. The story was in the Elgin paper.


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## ND decoy (Feb 1, 2003)

Dick,

You would think that the small towns would raise all kinds of hell over that. Some of the senators or reps. should have spoken up for there districts but they would probably be arguing against there own self interest. How can they talk about economic development with a straight face.


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## lovetohunt (Sep 15, 2005)

This is a great string.

I did notice that there was more plots in th SW then in past years, but here is a tip for you all.

South of regent is a piece of land called Indian Creek. It is a camp ground and is open to public hunting. It is pretty large and borders some land owned by cannon ball. That is were we got our birds. The north side has some CRP with an old house and barn on it. Every night the birds come out of the CRP and into the stubble to feed and then go to Indian Creek to roost. The morning provides good shooting if you get out there pre dawn any start walking at first lite. Hunt the north end along the tree rows. Once the shooting starts the will go north to the CRP but they always come back.


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## Duckslayer100 (Apr 7, 2004)

4 Paws said:



> This is a sad trend, seems nothing is done in this country anymore with a simple handshake and a heartfelt thank you.


Awww...the power of the almighty dollar at work. Its called capitalism my friend, and it is quite the money hungry beast. Interestingly enough, capitalism and greed are closely related...

In all honesty these people are trying to make a buck. I'm not saying that I like seeing large swaths of land posted up, but it happens and there's not much we can do about it. It gets really frustrating this time of year, but that's where making friendships with landownders is soooo crucial. If you find ONE landowner who lets you hunt, KEEP IN CONTACT! I can't stress that enough. In the future YOU will have first dibs and not to mention a great friendship that can benefit both parties. Hell, some of the people I know I call a few times a year just to see how they're doing and shoot the $hit. Its sad when our places to hunt get limited, but its a treand that isn't stopping, slowing down, or reversing, so instead of fighting it, try to work around it and make a few friends in the process!

Just my :2cents:


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## Ihuntnfish (Sep 13, 2005)

I agree with that contact with people will open up more land. I disagree that there is nothing that can be done about the posted land. Expand plots as much as the gnf can afford to. The land owner makes some extra money, the hunter has land to hunt, the businesses on main street get more customers. The only one left out is the outfitters and they will survive. If land access can be kept open as much as possible everyone benefits.

We need to not look at just the now but we need to look into the future, we owe it to the next generation to allow them to be able to get into hunting and I believe that it starts with land access.


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## Bobm (Aug 26, 2003)

> Awww...the power of the almighty dollar at work. Its called capitalism my friend, and it is quite the money hungry beast


Capitalism is selling products you own, theft is selling game animals the public owns, yeah I know they are selling "access" uke:


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## Duckslayer100 (Apr 7, 2004)

Oh I totally agree with you about PLOTS and stuff. I think those a great ideas. But, if a farmer has a choice piece of land loaded with birds and he's able to bring in people at $100 a gun or whatever it is, well I spose he'd opt for that.

If it were me I wouldn't play the lottery and just go with PLOTS. Seems a little better insurance if its a bad year and the numbers are down.

All I meant was that there's really nothing for us to do if someone posts their land. Its still private property. Thankfully ND hasn't gone with states like MN where all property is private unless otherewise stated. I grew up having to ask everybody if I could hunt. Its not as practical out here because of the vast tracks of land, but that doesn't mean it can't happen.


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## Lvn2Hnt (Feb 22, 2005)

If any one's read my posts on G/O's they know I'm against them almost entirely just due to my own dealings with a select few. Most often, I'm more concered with how the landowners are getting treated and screwed by these G/O's, but it is quite obvious that the landowners can tend to be just as bad as, if not worse than the G/O's.

I hate to say it, but one way to "attack" (strong word but couldn't think of anything else) this problem of commercialization is to go after the landowners. (Oooo, I know this could start a war, but hear me out and take this with a grain of salt).

Although I'm usually on the side of the landowners, but: This money that they are getting, as Bobm said, for providing access....Could this method of business border on the lines of guiding? I am not familiar with the language of the guiding laws, but would it be worth checking into? Also, are these farmers claiming this particular income to the gov't? And, as has been brought up in hot topics, are these G/O's and possibly landowners paying taxes on money earned from services rendered?

I hate to attack the farmers cause they get crapped on enough by markets and mother nature, christ they're only trying to make a living too, but.....

It's one thing to post land and have power of selection over who gains access to your land, but it's another to make a living off of it in the off-season.


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## Dick Monson (Aug 12, 2002)

> Thankfully ND hasn't gone with states like MN where all property is private unless otherewise stated.


That didn't happen by accident or good will. That very bill has been shoveled down our throat every session and was defeated every session because hunters got off their a$$ for once and fought it. Involved people rule, and the outfitters have demonstrated that lesson clearly. They don't sit on their hands when it comes to working the ropes. Unlike us.

There are fewer than 200 outfitters.


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## ND decoy (Feb 1, 2003)

Right on Dick, that is the absolute worst bill that has ever introduced during a session. And speaking as a land owner it is not that big of a deal to post land. I get a real kick out of some of the stories about how big of a hassel it is. If you buy a decent sign they will last for years and years.

I would think that this bill would hurt the small towns more than any other bill would. With no signs it would make it very tough to find out who owns the land, especially with so many people owning land that don't live on it.

If a person was totally against non-residents this bill might actually help that cause. I think it might make some people change there plans.


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## ND decoy (Feb 1, 2003)

One other thing, I would think that a town would love to get as much plots land as possible. It would only make sense that the more land access means more hunters. Maybe I am wrong but I doubt some of these outfitters would love it if there customers just stayed at there place and ae there food and drank there beer. A lot of times they will pick them up at the airport in Bismarck run them over to scheels to buy all there stuff and then out to there place, and I bet they never see on main street.


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