# Hunting pressure around Kulm-Gackle area out of control!!!



## outdoorsguy (Feb 14, 2006)

I grew up in the area and I've hunting waterfowl my whole life and I can not get over the hunting pressure in the Kulm - Gackle area! I was in the area last week and on a *Wednesday* morning, I saw 9 trucks scouting the same field. The ducks are being hunted EVERY single day of the week in that area and it's getting worse every year. The ducks do not stick around and the few ducks that stay are hunted relentlessly. It just hard to watch the great hunting opportunities being OVER HUNTED!


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## target (Aug 10, 2006)

I live in the area and it is incredible the amount of guys down here hunting. Sunday morning drove past cenex in Edgeley and ended up in a caravan of hunters heading south. I think we were the 5 vehicle and there were more behind us.

I agree everything is getting hunted hard, but I doubt this is much different then anywhere else. I bet everyone on this site can say about the same thing in there rural ND town.


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## Chris Schulz (Sep 7, 2004)

Yep Gackle gets pounded. Our crew is moving to different parts of the state next year..


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## Field Hunter (Mar 4, 2002)

Remember...according to many guys, pressure doesn't move the ducks south...only weather and time of year! So bring on as many hunters as possible.

Too bad the pheasants don't migrate....hunted that area last week and there were NR hunters on virtually every PLOTS land the entire day. It's simply irrisponsible to have so many people pounding the same fields day after day. As is the case with ducks the NR guys travel a long way to hunt and hunt every day for the better part of a week. The residents are hunting but they hunt Sat and sunday and then give the birds a rest. It was incredible to see how jumpy the roosters were after only 3 weeks or so of hunting pressure. Get's worse every year.


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## Ima870man (Oct 29, 2003)

I am not writing just about this area, but here are some numbers for Sand Lake in South Dakota that I have been paying attention to this year:

09/21 20,000 ducks
09/27 20,000 ducks
10/05 34,000 ducks
10/11 60,000 ducks
10/18 90,000 ducks
10/25 125,000 ducks

I realize ducks migrate, but this seems a little extreme to me as why the population does not go down with continued migration. I guess one conclusion is the pressure moving them out of North Dakota and into South Dakota where the pressure is less! I do not know, maybe someone could explain it better.

Ima870man


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## Maverick (Mar 4, 2002)

30 years of hunting out there and I never thought it would be like this! With lots of huting pressure and guides ( or quiet guides)popping up from every street. It is literally a ZOO!!! Hard to believe when there are no hotels out there!

I have a feeling good old Hrbeck might have ruined it for us!


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## dosch (May 20, 2003)

Hrbeck was up in Devils Lake a few weeks back hunting with Barney Rubble(KB) too. Must be tough to film a show on leased land that is hand picked for you!


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## NDJ (Jun 11, 2002)

heard a story on one day of Hrbek's deal...

had a good field for a day & were all set up...a different landowner let hunters on the roost that were holding their birds, anyway they blew the roost and all the birds left leaving slim picking for Hrbek's deal...


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## USAlx50 (Nov 30, 2004)

the guy hunting with the G/O gets screwed by the roost busters, classic


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## Zekeland (Oct 6, 2005)

> Remember...according to many guys, pressure doesn't move the ducks south...only weather and time of year!


If there are THAT many hunters in the area, I see the birds moving out quickly!!! You will have some roost busters in that group too, especially w/ all those hunters wanting a piece of the action. If you are half frozen all ready, good luck keeping the birds in that area.


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## ND4LIFE (Sep 3, 2004)

road hunting moves them faster than anything. when divers are spooked by trucks you know its bad. It was out of control in the S central part of the state this year with hunters. duckfest, good water, and lots of ditch chickens all atributed to it.


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## crazyduck (Oct 26, 2006)

I have been hunting the Carrinton to Woodworth area for close to thirty years now and I have never on any given day seen more than five to ten groups of hunters. I have never had to share a slough or field with anyone. That includes 100+ miles of scouting each day. I guess when you have a situation where an area holds both upland and waterfowl you will draw that much more pressure. My buddy has family in the Napolean area that are farmers and they said the hunting pressure has exploded there too. It seems to me that the lazy hunter is looking for the easy out these days. They drive around and puddle jump or race each other to the nearest field to set up mr. robo...Gone are the days of setting up in a well scouted out slough, calling your ducks in and harvesting your limit under controlled conditions. Blame it on the rash of new CD's out on the market, everyone is brainwashed into thinking that comming out to the Dakota's or Canada automatically means limits of Mallards and Geese. When they get here the shock of driving around for miles seeing nothing but a few Gadwalls can be overwhelming. No one really knows how to scout correctly or research an area before comming out to hunt. When that happens the competition becomes fierce, throw in a lack of water and frozen conditions and it can be ugly to say the least.


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## loads (Oct 25, 2006)

We hunted last weekend in SE ND. We hunted on water, but I know we didn't bust roosts because we didn't shoot a duck until 9:00. We were the only ones on a public WMA, and we filled out in 2 days. All canada mallard drakes except 2 pintails and 1 can.

I'm getting to the point where I'm feeling like you guys don't want NR hunters at all! From a guy who commented on us guys with our "fancy duck boats coming up 94", and now this?

I dunno, do what you gotta do. Limit NR licenses, decrease our limits, whatever. My dad and I got our 20 ducks and left. We had a great time, but I talked to alot of local farmers who told the opposite story of what you guys are saying. Halloween wknd is almost always the prime time for mallard migration, and we didn't see anyone!


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## Dunk221999 (Sep 11, 2002)

Doesn't really seem like locking threads reffering to specific areas really matters if pressure is this bad anyways?


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## Zekeland (Oct 6, 2005)

> everyone is brainwashed into thinking that comming out to the Dakota's or Canada automatically means limits of Mallards and Geese.


Coming to hunt in these parts may very well result in limits of green & honkers. Add an over abundance of hunters in one certain area and guys start playing by their own rules :eyeroll:


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## Ron Gilmore (Jan 7, 2003)

Dunk221999, you may have missed it, but Kent Hrbeck did a well done show highlighting freelance hunting featuring Duckfest in Gackle. Couple that with the USFWS Waterfowl reports of water conditions being better in that area than other places and you have the makings of a zoo environment. Locking of a thread most likely kept other areas from being the same type of zoo!

I grew up in that area, and I was hunting in that area during the Teachers convention. It was the first time I can remember having 6 groups come into a field and try and set up! I drove from Jud to Gackle mid day on Friday the 20th and from the roads counted 37 groups of hunters on wetlands and double that out rooster hunting. Take a look at a map and see how short of a distance that is and on one road.

I seldom hunt the same field back to back, but we did during that weekend because it was the only way to protect the roosting birds. We where checked by a Fed warden and state warden. One other group told me they where checked by a state warden who was different than the one that checked us. Plus there where three other Fed wardens in the area!!!!!

Why do you think they sent that many law enforcement people into that area? It was because of the concentration of hunters. Conditions and access made for tough hunting. I am not sure how many of them will come back. I do know that by Sunday unless it was posted and no access granted there was not a single roosting area that did not get blown up and to be honest I cannot blame a lot of hunters who did this. With the small wetlands frozen over a lot had not shot many ducks and they took what was available. I did not like it, but can understand it.

The bars and cafe owners where happy, the farmers where not so happy with the behavior of some. The behavior issue was lack of courtesy and understanding when it came to giving equipment safe passage.

Come Monday I saw a lot of fresh posted signs on land that is never posted. Been contacting a lot of landowners since because I had permission for hunting before the signs went up and wanted to make sure I still did. Most of the farmers posted in hopes that these non courteous hunters would leave the area making travel with harvest and tillage equipment a lot safer!!

I realize there is not a simple answer that hunters either R or NR, business owners and landowners will agree on, but one thing is clear. While Hrbeck did a great job of putting forth the advantage of free lance hunting and how it is the best route to go. He drew a lot of attention to an area that had a large amount of hunting pressure from both R and NR hunters already. It is why people are so careful about sharing info anymore.


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## taddy1340 (Dec 10, 2004)

Ron,

Nice post!


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## RETRVER (Feb 12, 2006)

I can totally understand resident frustration. It is universal in at least most if not all of the Midwest states I can assure you. However, if I may three of us NR's just returned from NoDak after a 4-day trip. I might add this was our first out of state trip to North Dakota.

Here is what I came away with&#8230;

I was totally unprepared for how nice and accommodating most people were in the area we hunted. Maybe it was because there was only three of us hunting, or maybe it was because we carried with us a "farmers cooler" full of quality meats, i.e., jerky, beef sticks, brauts, you name it that we planned to offer to any private landowners. In the end we didn't get rid of any of it as we only talked to two farmers who declined the "peace offering" but welcomed the common courtesy of at least the offer. First farmer said, "Go get em boys!" Second farmer just sent off a bigger group to public land and then turned around 5 minutes later and put us into a nice private spot loaded with birds. Being polite and going the extra distance to show the landowners some respect speaks volumes about your hunting party and ethics. I personally felt very privileged and honored these farmers would let us nobodies hunt the land they make their living on. Thank you. In town school had just been let out and we had numerous kids ages 10-14 walking by telling us good luck. All I've got to say about that is those kids are being raised properly and you rural North Dakota parents should feel very proud to have such courteous children. I hope when my daughter is of the same age she will also be that friendly.

Yes, there was a lot of hunters but over the course of those 4-days it seemed everyone was well spread out. The waterfowling was slow with the nice weather but we managed a few ducks and were satisfied by the scenery, dog work, and conversation between friends. We walked our fair share of public land and didn't mind working for that missed bird or two. On more then one occasion we just stopped to take a break and snap photos of swans going overhead or deer who flushed out of hiding that took the time to stop and look back at us. It was never about the number of birds shot, land access, hunter numbers, etc. It was ALL about being with close friends and absorbing the North Dakota countryside.

Thank you residents of North Dakota.


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## crazyduck (Oct 26, 2006)

For years now the Gackle area has been a hot spot for all hunters, residents and non-residents alike. When I started hunting ducks in the late 70's the place to hunt was Gackle and it still is today. It is nothing new, I do not see why this such a suprise to anyone. When you concider that the state is in a severe drought and pot holes are drying up or freezing up that just concentrates ducks, geese and hunters. So everyone is scouting the same flocks and following each other around...I can see why one would be alarmed into thinking that the pressure is intense on our waterfowl. My question is this, is everyone pulling limits on ducks and geese in the Gackle area? I don't think so at all....I think many non-residents are going home empty handed or at best having a average to below average trip. Like I said in an earlier post, the area I hunt has no pressure at all, some years I can say honestly that we see no other hunters. We may hear some guns going off in the distance but that is about it. When you decide to hunt in an area that has a rich history of duck hunting you run the risk of having share it all with other hunters. They same can be said for any other region in the state that is a popular hot spot. That is why I come out late in October or early November. By then most hunters have hung it up for the year, only the die hards are out chasing. I also have my best hunting for Mallards at this time...weather permitting.


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## jhegg (May 29, 2004)

crazyduck,
You just shot yourself in the foot big time. You had better expect pressure next year!


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## Ron Gilmore (Jan 7, 2003)

Crazyduck, I do believe the city auditor from Gackle made the comment that 50% of the homes are owned by NR. Many of them are renting out the house to other hunters when they are not there. This has increased the hunting pressure from opener through the end of huntable birds to a level that has not been seen before.

Landowners south and west of Gackle talk of pressure and traffic beyond that of opener of deer season, that has been constant since the 30th of Sept. Others in the Kulm and Fredoina are are saying the same thing.

I have been back in that area 4 different weekends and part of those weeks. What I see compared to other years is similar to what the landowners are reporting. Just keep in mind that traffic and behavior on the roads is one of the biggest things resonating with the active farmers right now. Roads where soft and this meant the shoulders where dangerous. I personally saw guys go into standing corn after roosters with no permission. Truck sitting in the middle of the road doors open. Here comes the landowner with a semi loaded with beans. 80,000 lbs that had to stop on a soft road or run over the truck. I can tell you this caused him to put up signs on Sat.

Another group of guys pulling a trailer ran a farmer off the road in his pickup and did not stop to help. I came by on the way to the folks and pulled him out. His comments where the same as others and so where his actions.

This area has always had above average pressure, nothing new, but the last two years the pressure has grown to the point that it is affecting the attitude of the landowners in the area in a very negative way. My views on this are more from a person who once farmed and who understands the impact that this has on farmers and their attitudes.

Back in the 70's there was very little row crop. Sunflowers where just starting and there was very few semi trucks and nobody had 30 ft headers on the combines. Farm equipment size and row crops increased during the 80's and 90's to a point that farmers are now on the roads much more than they ever where in Oct. Thus when you have an increase in both farm activity and hunting activity it is vital that hunters show a lot more courtesy than they have needed in the past.

Farmers are like all of us, we can tolerate a certain amount of disruption without it affecting us. An occasional party with load music at a neighbors house is an example for us in town. A dog barking once in a while etc...

Now have that same neighbor hold parties every night and that dog barking every day and night and soon your patience is worn out. So you react and do what you can to alleviate the problem. For us it is a call to the police to shut down the parties and the barking dog. For farmers it is shutting down the access to the land in hopes that the problem goes away when there is not anyplace to hunt!!!!!!!

The observations that hunting pressure has exploded in this area is not overblown, nor is the affects of the increase. Guys like myself that grew up in that area still have good access, but continued pressure like we have seen the last two years is starting to weigh on even that, regardless of the relationship one has with landowners. What this pressure does is open the door for G/O who will falsely convince landowner they will help control the pressure issue. We saw this happen once before in that area, and had the G/O not been such an *** and outlaw, many acres of land in PLOTS today would be under his control as of yet! Sometimes one needs to look beyond our own little world and where we hunt to see the long term affects of over pressure in an area.


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## crazyduck (Oct 26, 2006)

Yes Ron everything you stated is true and I agree....I have an Uncle west if Mandan that is a cattle rancher. He is having problems with pheasent hunters in the same manor. Although it is not always non residents that a causing the problem. He has neighbors that hunt on his land without permission, leave gates open, overharvest etc...I don't want to play the blame game, I am a non resident but was born and raised in ND. I can see both sides of the fence. I have hunted Streeter, Gackle, Napolean all points east and west of there. When the water levels go back up and the potholes are full again the pressure will drop, everyone will spread out, there will be opportunities for everyone. Right now it sucks, people are on edge and tempers are on the rise. Everyone is looking for any little thing to point a finger at or to blame someone for something. I have a sister that farms north of Fargo, she and her husband have terrible problems with deer hunters on opening day. Guys posting and walking through a shelter belt around their house, shooting after hours and worse yet a guy shoot a deer 50 feet from her kicthen window! It was a neighbor friend so nothing was said but my point is residents can have the same bad hunting ethics as non-residents at Gackle or at Fargo. It is a problem for ALL of us ethical hunters to deal with. I will not put up with it at all, I have the wardens hot line on my cell and I will call it at the drop of a hat if I see anything wrong out in the field. Yes I have had to use it on a few occasions....on residents and non residents.


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## Ron Gilmore (Jan 7, 2003)

Crazy my only point on the house issue was to show that Gackle has always had pressure. It is not isolated to strickly NR, a lot of pressure is coming in the form of Upland as well.


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## crazyduck (Oct 26, 2006)

To jhedd,
Where I hunt is so remote that It should not be a problem. I have hunted that area which I may add is thousands of square miles for thirty years. I also hunt late in the year when all the hipe is over and everyone has gone home. I have a Brother-In-Law that is from that area so I have plenty of connections. But I don't need it...I hunt mainly small pothholes near large watlands, the added hunting pressure keeps the birds moving around and easier to decoy. I only field hunt when nessessary. I have 50 hot sloughs that I can be at whenever one is being used by ducks. No I am not a roost shooter! I use transition sloughs or potholes in the field where the birds want to feed. The use of ROBO duck and the explosion of field hunting is in my opinion the culprit in all this mess. To much emphisis on hunts where the main goal is taking limits of birds. I blame the outdoor networks and hunting vids for that.


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## crazyduck (Oct 26, 2006)

Ron mark my words when the waterfowl population drops and the five a day limits on mallards is reduced to three or two like it did in the late 80's all of this will be a thing of the past. Few will travel out to shoot just a couple of mallards. I have seen it all take play out...when the water came back in the early 90's the non-resident hunting pressure was non existant. When the feds raised the limits to five mallards a day and no limits on snows things got real bad. It was a slow burn at first, I notice a few more parties of hunters cuising around but as the years went by and the word got out then it all exploded. Now it is big bucks for the hotels, guides, hunting stores, towns etc....


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## mfeining (Nov 2, 2002)

I can honestly say I would rather see a 2-bird limit than minnesota and wisconsin plates all over the damn place anyday!


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## g/o (Jul 13, 2004)

Just to throw a little twist into this, other than Target how many of you guiys live in this area? I know many of you have family there grew up in the area etc. Just because you own a house there and are a resident of ND does that make you anymore special than the Non Resident that owns a house in the area? Want to get the locals going, go tell the local boys from Kulm or Gackle that didn't draw a deer tag in the unit they live in and they will tell you how they feel. When you talk to the farmers and local residents that own land and live there 365 days a year and can only draw a tag every 3 years because the boys from the east are getting them. You will find the same scenerio, They would much rather have non resident duck hunters than the boys from the eastern part off the state during deer season.


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## KEN W (Feb 22, 2002)

One question G/O......

Do you and any of those farmers shop in the big cities?I bet they are first in line at Walmart.So isn't that a pretty good trade off????

I see Lidgerwood,Napoleon and Linton are playing in the state championship football games on Friday at the Alerous Center.....nice to be able to go there and SHOP and play inside isn't it????

Do your kids go to college in their small towns?????NOT.

Being able to hunt out in the country in exchange for being able to buy things in the big cities you can't or won't buy in the small towns is a pretty good trade off.

I think small towns are way ahead when comparing trade-offs.And I live in a small town so I'm not biased.

We are all ND citizens.....why shouldn't the big city guys have more rights to hunt in the small towns than out-of-staters????


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## g/o (Jul 13, 2004)

By God you got me Ken, what the hell Walmart has to do with hunting is beyond me. Everything you are saying makes no sense what so ever. Lets use this as a comparison, what if all of us residents who shopped in Fargo, started to complain because there are to many NonResidents shopping. Do you imagine the business people and the residents of Fargo might think we are a little wacko? How about this if us residents starting *****ing about to many Non residents in the Fargo Hospitals and we should get first chance because I'm a resident. Makes about as much sense


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## KEN W (Feb 22, 2002)

Come on.....big cities are providing just as much probably more for small towns as what they are asking for.To be treated like residents of ND .....you keep saying Fargoans are no different than out-of-staters....why???They provide many services for people who live in small towns.


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## g/o (Jul 13, 2004)

Ken, I'm trying to understand where you are coming from here and I have got to say I'm lost. You keep comparing private business Walmart etc. to hunting. I have nothing against Fargo or anyone other than djleye who lives in the area. What I did try to make you understand that when you talk to the locals about deer licenses vs. N/R duck hunter they are not as concerned about them as they are that almighty buck tag. Now compare shopping in which the big stores do that on population, to hunting still has me lost.


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## Maverick (Mar 4, 2002)

> I know many of you have family there grew up in the area etc. Just because you own a house there and are a resident of ND does that make you anymore special than the Non Resident that owns a house in the area?


Yes!!! We are RESIDENTS!! My family and I have done uncountable things to help the area from the time I was 1 till tomorrow! Just to let you know G/O, the 10 families (Or so) that moved from Fargo has helped save the town. (Now I am not saying we are the reason it stayed alive but YES we did help. With my father becoming the fire chief I would say he is contibuting ALOT )
Yes!!!!because unlike NR we usually spend more than 10 days a year at our second house!



> Want to get the locals going, go tell the local boys from Kulm or Gackle that didn't draw a deer tag in the unit they live in and they will tell you how they feel. When you talk to the farmers and local residents that own land and live there 365 days a year and can only draw a tag every 3 years because the boys from the east are getting them. You will find the same scenerio,


Ok here the scenario. I have had that SAME situation happen since I was going out there! You know what they farmers say " Well I guesss there is next year" or "Looks like I am shooting does this year"

That's like saying I get the first parking spot in Walmart because I live in Fargo. :withstupid:



> They would much rather have non resident duck hunters than the boys from the eastern part off the state during deer


Speak for yourself!!!NOT THE FARMERS!!!!!You are putting words in peoples mouth with out the proof!!!!

Otherwise I will say that those farmers would rather have people from Fargo that have been huting their land for YEARS, than have NR busting around on it!

ALL SPECULATION!!!!! I am out there talking with those farmers just like you are G/O. Probably the same farmers!!

and more IGNORANCE!!!! uke: uke: uke: :withstupid: uke:


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## djleye (Nov 14, 2002)

> I have nothing against Fargo or anyone other than djleye who lives in the area.


 :eyeroll: :eyeroll:

G/O,You are just PO'd because I am always right!!!!!

You are back on here for a couple days and you are already starting arguments, can't you get along with anybody????? oke:


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## always_outdoors (Dec 17, 2002)

> Want to get the locals going, go tell the local boys from Kulm or Gackle that didn't draw a deer tag in the unit they live in and they will tell you how they feel. When you talk to the farmers and local residents that own land and live there 365 days a year and can only draw a tag every 3 years because the boys from the east are getting them.


I used to live there. I go back quite a bit to Gackle. The locals tell me that they are sick of g/o's or NR's buying homes there and not taking care of them. And the farmers and locals that own land have an option....gratis tags since they own land and live there 365 days a year.

I can also give you the name of a Gackle farmer who wants every Eastern ND boy/girl out to his farm. In fact, when I lived there he put an advertisement in the Fargo Forum where hunters came out to his place and shot deer right off his front porch.

Maybe we are talking to different people. :huh:


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## outdoorsguy (Feb 14, 2006)

Getting back to my orginial point about the hunting pressure... I really think most of the hunters are so use to competing for fields and sloughs, they think this is just how it is and for those of us who hunted the area for years are seeing first hand the quality of hunting dropping off the scale. I just think it's a matter of time before the Kulm-Gackle waterfowl hunting is "paid only" or you'll need to know someone to get on land and no one wants to see that happen but it's coming.


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## dosch (May 20, 2003)

Devils Lake already is in the most part "pay to hunt" in the top areas that is. You can find places to hunt but it's all the scraps leftover from the G/O's.

Kinda depressing. Maybe a drought wouldn't be so bad!


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## DJRooster (Nov 4, 2002)

There has been pretty intense hunting pressure around my home area this year but I think the main reason is because of the late pheasant opener. Usually the pheasant hunting tapers off before the deer opener but we have a very large influx of hunters that are continuing right up to the present. Good for the local economy but also results in the largest amount of posted land that I have ever seen. Difficult to find acreage that does not have a sign on it. Of course it is not just out of area hunters but just about everyone in town calls themselves a pheasant hunter and has a dog whereas 5 years ago not that many people had dogs. So with the increase in locals and the increase in out of area hunters, there has never been the intensity I have seen this year. It does complicate things but......shot a limit of nice roosters last night in one short walk before sundown so I guess it is still doo able! Figured because it was so nice they would be in the grass instead of going back to the cattails and guess what?? They were in the grass. The last one was a runner so it took about five minutes for the dogs to go over the hill and did they come back with an empty mouth?? The 8 month old pup did but not good old DJ!! I love that dog!!


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## aztec (Oct 27, 2005)

To the resident hunters of North Dakota - I have simple solution to all of your problems and complaining. Lobby your game and fish department to lower the limits to three or four ducks per day and two pheasants just as some of you have suggested. All of g/o's and most of the NR's will go away. Problem is: Limits apply to everybody and are you willing to live with it? You didn't have these problems in the late 80's and early 90's because those were the limits.

And if you want to know if I would support this approach in my state - the answer is I already have and would love to see it.


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

aztec said:


> To the resident hunters of North Dakota - I have simple solution to all of your problems and complaining. Lobby your game and fish department to lower the limits to three or four ducks per day and two pheasants just as some of you have suggested. All of g/o's and most of the NR's will go away. Problem is: Limits apply to everybody and are you willing to live with it? You didn't have these problems in the late 80's and early 90's because those were the limits.
> 
> And if you want to know if I would support this approach in my state - the answer is I already have and would love to see it.


Duck Limits are set by the USFWS and I doubt they will listen to any lobbyists.


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## djleye (Nov 14, 2002)

To answer your question, I would love to see a three duck and two pheasant limit. I would have no problem at all with that. Not for the reasons you indicated though.
All the g/o's would not go away if that happened, but I would guess there would be a few less NR's around.


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## DJRooster (Nov 4, 2002)

A lot of areas begin with the bow and early season goose in early Sept roll into the grouse season, followed by the duck/goose opener and then the pheasant opener and then continue with the deer gun/muzzleloader until late November and then finish with the late pheasant hunters. If this isn't hunting pressure then I guess it doesn't exist. There is a lot of demand on landowners and access and it is not to hard to figure out why the land is closed to just any old person. Everyone wants to take ownership in the hunting rights but sometimes we have to step back and actually look at everything that is involved with our expectations. The Gackle/Kulm areas are only one of many such areas that roll from one season to the next and often times overlapping the seasons. If you are a local guy sometimes it seems like things are getting a little crowded out there and I can see why locals get a little upset when the big city guys from Fargo or the NR hunters pull into their home turf because there are not getting to be less of them but only getting to be more and more. So if some seem to be a little on edge there is justification in their actions. America is a country of have and have nots and unfortunately it is no different when it comes to hunting.


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## aztec (Oct 27, 2005)

The USFWS sets the federal framework which essentially defines the boundaries of what a state can do. However, there is nothing to prevent any state from enacting lower limits than the federal framework. For years, Wisconsin has limited its hunters to one hen mallard even though the federal framework has allowed two.

Some of us have argued for a lower overall limit as well. As you might imagine, it is tantamount to outlawing sex with some folks. But it would work to reduce the number of g/o's, leased land and the game hogs. Only the dyed-in-the-wool waterfowlers who enjoy the sport and the tradition would be left.


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