# December too late for ND honkers???



## ESFwaterfowler (Feb 3, 2009)

A few friends and I are looking into coming to ND next winter to duck/goose hunt. We are in college so we cant come until our winter break. We plan on coming for a week around Dec 12.

I was wondering what the average conditions are around that time. Im sure most small places will be froze up but we are looking more towards the Lake Sakakawea region.

Also, we are trying to find reasonable places to stay---looked at Sakakawea Adventure Outfitters http://www.sakoutfitters.com/index.html as one option.

If anyone has any suggestions or inputs on this please reply. We are trying to stick to a $500 budget so saving money is 2nd priority to having a great hunting experience. 
PS we will all be traveling from western NY


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

Alot of the stuff is froze up by Nov in much of the state. You will find some rivers open, some heated lakes, and so on.

Thats a-lot of gas just to get here then you have a-lot of scouting to do!


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## averyghg (Oct 16, 2006)

$500 budget for the group? Scouting will be very expensive as birds can be very difficult to find that late in the year, and even if you do find some, getting permission is another story


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## honkerslayr (Dec 14, 2006)

IMO December is the best time to hunt them. They will mostly be concentrated to rivers or the big lake. Scouting is always expensive but sometimes the late season hunting in late december is amt useless in some cases. This time of year I hunt them religiously and usually thats the only species of game I target, and it can get very frustrating. Mostly the reason they are so indecisive and unpredictable this time of year can be largely due to the extreme weather changing patterns. Some days they might not even leave the water. Since noticing this I've changed tactics to pass shooting in some occasions only because I don't want to sit in the dekes for 5-7 hours before seeing a bird. But it all depends on the situation.

As far as permission goes, I have usually been able to get it rather easily. There is a lt of pressure on them during this time of season also so you might have better luck hunting them during the week also if that is a option. Good Luck :beer:


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## ESFwaterfowler (Feb 3, 2009)

Thanks, 
the $500 budget was per person and we are looking more to have a good time, staying for a week hunting every chance we get...mostly during the week. As far as birds being had to find, it cant get much worse than where i am now. We are looking to get into some ducks too cause we dont have many at home. I dont want to mention specific locations as we all know how that can turn out but being the first time traveling to a new state, the terrain could be a problem. we are definitely not looking to take away your birds so i willtake your advice if you have anymore. thanks again.

Also, does anyone know about the place i posted earlier for a place to stay?


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## averyghg (Oct 16, 2006)

$500 a person sounds a tad more realistic so thats a good thing. My best advice to you is hang around this site, BS with some guys, share some stories, and make some friends. The more you get to know people on here the more willing they're to hand out information. It will make your hunting experience here that much more of an experience. Regardless of how many birds you shoot it will be a h3ll of an experience, i can gurantee that. Happy hunting to you and your buddies :beer:


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## ESFwaterfowler (Feb 3, 2009)

Ive been part of the duckhuntingchat forum for a while and actually posted this same thing there a week or so ago. Ill be sticking around here too. thanks guys.


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## Matt Jones (Mar 6, 2002)

$500 and you're coming from NY? Better hope that gas stays cheap.


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## Buck25 (Mar 27, 2008)

If your gonna go in December, then why not go somewhere else to shoot honkers??


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## worktosurvive hunttolive (Dec 28, 2008)

i would not say to come in december it is way to cold and alot of the geese and ducks have already been pushed down south cause of the snow. the only thing around are some locals and thats not many at all. if you are going to drive all the way from NY i would personally be headed farther south. but if all else fails and u see no birds u could get in a on some early ice fishing.


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## goosehunternd (Mar 10, 2006)

Nebraska holds more birds than the Dakota's combined, Nebraska is where its at for sure!


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## dakotashooter2 (Oct 31, 2003)

Not trying to discourage you from coming to ND but do you not have a December season in NY? Seems it wasn't long ago there were enough around to crash a jet. Sounds like a little population control might be in order.


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## ESFwaterfowler (Feb 3, 2009)

im not from that part of NY. i get the point tho.


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## Goose Guy350 (Nov 29, 2004)

if I were you guys I would plan my trip dates and just pay real close attention to weather conditions and migration reports and then head to the state/area that is the most productive at that time, don't rule out MO, NE, or KS, maybe even IL.


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## USAlx50 (Nov 30, 2004)

Goose Guy350 said:


> if I were you guys I would plan my trip dates and just pay real close attention to weather conditions and migration reports and then head to the state/area that is the most productive at that time, don't rule out MO, NE, or KS, maybe even IL.


Great point. Not trying to say you aren't welcome, it'd probably be smart to keep your options open though!


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## ESFwaterfowler (Feb 3, 2009)

We were also researching about Nebraska as well as ND. what we looked for when thinking of places to go was the limit of birds and we wanted both duck and goose season to be open at the time we planned to go. We wan to maximize our take and are not wanting to travel so far for a 2 bird limit of geese so we saw ND and NE had 3 bird limits with 6 duck limits both in season.

Our season in NY usually ends around the 15th of Dec and reopens a few days after X-mas. that along with our college break is why we are choosing that time frame for the trip.


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