# First ever trip to ND this fall....need help.



## powerhunter1710 (Jul 4, 2010)

Guys,
I am in the process of planning a waterfowl hunting trip this fall. I plan on leaving( south central, Minnesota) on a Wednesday evening. Scouting all day thursday and staying until sunday after a morning hunt. I plan on going with 4-5 experienced waterfowlers that have limited knowledge of what ND has to offer. Basically I am starting out with the budget on how much we need to come up with...How much is a license for a nonres? Are there temporary licenses so we dont have to spend 100 plus dollars? Any other info would be very helpful thank you!


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## KEN W (Feb 22, 2002)

Welcome to the site......NR waterfowl is $85 for 14 days or 2 seven day periods.Plus $15 for the habitat stamp.Look at the map on the GNF website.There are some zones in parts of the state where you can only hunt in that zone.Unless you want the statewide license for another $40.

Be aware that on this site.....no naming of towns.NR cannot hunt state land for anything the first week of pheasant hunting.WPA's however are federal land and open for everyone.


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## wburns (Feb 27, 2009)

Are you going to field hunt, or hunt over water? If I were you I would try and add in an extra day or two. Two full days of hunting is not much time, especially if you are learning about a new area.


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## powerhunter1710 (Jul 4, 2010)

Well i plan on mainly hunting fields but have the ability to hunt water as well. How hard is it to locate and get permission on fields to kill a decent amount of birds? Ken W when is the first week of pheasant hunting? thanks guys


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## KEN W (Feb 22, 2002)

Oct 9 through Oct 15th is the first week of pheasant hunting.This does include the 1 million acres of PLOTS.


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## powerhunter1710 (Jul 4, 2010)

i see we plan on going wednesday october 13th and hunting thru october 17th so this would limit us to private land correct? Elaborate on plot acres please...


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## KEN W (Feb 22, 2002)

Go to.....http://gf.nd.gov/maps/

You can navigate to PLOTS here.Also shows maps with potholes.Stands for....Private Land Open To Sportsman.No permission needed.All are marked with yellow PLOTS signs.


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## powerhunter1710 (Jul 4, 2010)

Are a lot of potholes on private nonposted lands?


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## KEN W (Feb 22, 2002)

Depends on where you go.WPA's which are also on the PLOTS guide are federal and open to everyone.


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## WI_LabLover (Jul 19, 2005)

Don't mean to be rude or anything but you may not find everything you need from posting questions on a website. Guys coming in from out of state are not always warmly welcomed by residents of that state and I get that.

We've been going for a few years and each year gets better as you scout more, meet more landowners, etc... We were green to ND protocols initially but it pays to understand them and observe them.

Remember, we're they're guests and with so much available land/water is isn't necessary to compete against each other.

Being from Wisconsin we bring cheese to give to old and new friends. Being from MN, I'm not sure what you could bring as gifts? Perhaps posters of an old worn out and tired Brett Favre? :wink:

Hope you have a great hunt.


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## popenyoung2 (Oct 20, 2006)

stay out of Devils Lake area.......Land access tough to come by.. I personnally have always been treated good by farmers in the rest of the state....It takes time.....good luck fellow cheesehead


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## NDTerminator (Aug 20, 2003)

popenyoung2 said:


> stay out of Devils Lake area.......Land access tough to come by


There's a reason why. The army of NR that roll into the Devils Lake area gets bigger every season. The county & township roads in the Lake Region we have to use to make our livings are flooded & trashed, but the NR could care less how much extra damage they do four wheeling through them, or the difficulties we are going through just to keep them passable for local traffic. Ater all, they will only be here a week or so and have a right to their share of ducks, right?

in Oct a guy can hardly walk out to the barn to feed w/o tripping over half a dozen NR asking if they can hunt my land and barring that, wanting me to point them to neighbor who will.

Bear in mind rural ND folks are busy during Fall. The evening phone calls and door to door visits cut into what little down time folks have and get old fast. The myth that No Trespassing signs really mean "ask anyway because landowners just want to know who is on their land" is just that, a myth. More & more around here folk are posting because they are leasing their land, or simply fed up with the invasion...


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## makin it rain (Apr 2, 2009)

Why not limit licences then Termanatior? Why not do exactly as Sodak does...

As for your thoughts on no tresspass signs, I would say you are off base a bit. We are very busy as farmers in the fall and I do not like being bugged at times. But to generalize and say that I post my land for the fact that I dont want people hunting it what so ever is not a 100% accurate.

As for NR beating on the roads I am on your side 100%, people should take a bit more care and caution when on them. But why does it pertain just to the NR? Your going to tell me some guy from Fargo that comes out to hunt cares anymore or less then the NR from Michigan?

Thoughts


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## NDTerminator (Aug 20, 2003)

makin it rain said:


> Why not limit licences then Termanatior? Why not do exactly as Sodak does...
> 
> As for your thoughts on no tresspass signs, I would say you are off base a bit. We are very busy as farmers in the fall and I do not like being bugged at times. But to generalize and say that I post my land for the fact that I dont want people hunting it what so ever is not a 100% accurate.
> 
> ...


Don't know you and I doubt you are one of my neighbors here NE of DL or if you even live in the DL area, so no I didn't say anything pertaining to you specifically. Post or not post your land, it's irrelevant to me or my statement. The fact of the matter is that in the DL area posting & leasing has gone up dramatically in the last 5-6 years. Guess why?...

The main gravel road (and I use that term very ironically) between Co Rd 3 & HW20 in Ramsey Co, which makes it the main route across southern Ramsey Co, runs right through my yard. During General Waterfowl Season for every ND plate I don't know as a neighbor or from town that I see go by, I see 20 that are NR, maybe more. Our township is flat broke, that means when it gets torn all to hell by traffic it was never intended to carry by folks who could care lessif they do, it doesn't get fixed. It's our vehicles getting trashed trying to get into town every day...

I would call that conclusive, and it's all I have to say on the matter...


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## striped1 (Aug 17, 2005)

I nominate NDTerminator for president of the ND Board of Tourism.


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## speckline (Dec 13, 2008)

Guys, Listen to what ND Terminator is saying! It's called respect. I know his area well as I have hunted there before and he is right. The farmers we have made friends with has told us the same thing. We have hunted his farm for several years and last year he told us to stay out of the area because of the roads. We listened and he called me last week with an invite for duck hunting his land this fall. 
A little respect goes a LONG way!!


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## powerhunter1710 (Jul 4, 2010)

well i dont intend on going to the devils lake area. we plan on setting up camp in south eastern ND. how much time do you think a guy needs to scout this area to find a good concentration of birds? And to go about scouting out there do I head for all the pot holes and see where they roost or head to the fields and see where they feed?


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## Sasha and Abby (May 11, 2004)

It is ALL about respect...


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## mymanimal (Feb 1, 2009)

powerhunter1710 said:


> well i dont intend on going to the devils lake area. we plan on setting up camp in south eastern ND. how much time do you think a guy needs to scout this area to find a good concentration of birds? And to go about scouting out there do I head for all the pot holes and see where they roost or head to the fields and see where they feed?


They will almost 100% of the time return to feed the next morning where they fed the night before! We have farmers screaming for hunters in the SE part of the state. Geese are decimating bean crops. You should have no troubles finding land to hunt geese on. :thumb:


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## Duckslayer100 (Apr 7, 2004)

mymanimal said:


> We have farmers screaming for hunters in the SE part of the state. Geese are decimating bean crops. You should have no troubles finding land to hunt geese on. :thumb:


...considering the southeast gets piss pounded pretty hard (location of large metro areas being a major factor), don't plan on just walking out to a field and getting permission... the land access problem that has happened in other more "notable" areas of Nodak is just as prevalent here. It's all about doing your homework and putting on miles...


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## dropem32 (Aug 3, 2010)

Good luck with your time in ND. Have some fun, there is alot ND has to offer for game. As for the non res and posted signs and what not...if the land is posted that means ASK, it doesnt mean NO, chances are that the farmer won't mind you going on the land as long as you don't rip up the fields. A gift is always appreciated too. If the farmer says "no" that doesn't always mean a bad thing. If he doesn't give you a reason it may be because he himself hunts or he has family that hunts and maybe they are going to that field. If you are polite and courteous you are more than likey going to get treated the same in return....and other times you will run into people who are just complete jackholes haha, ENJOY ND!!


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## powerhunter1710 (Jul 4, 2010)

When is the first weekend that duck opens for non residents is that October 3rd?


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## KEN W (Feb 22, 2002)

powerhunter1710 said:


> When is the first weekend that duck opens for non residents is that October 3rd?


Sat Oct 2nd.....


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