north dakota duck hunting

[meathunter]

I have not hunted here in about 8 years before the secret was let out. I have never hunted past mea. I now have a 12yr old that is big into duckhunting and with the lack of birds around i am thinking about takeing a trip in late oct. after my mea rainy river walleye excursion to hopefully avoid the competition for the good spots. Has anyone hunted potholes or feilds for ducks around halloween? I am worried about the potholes being froze and the hunting hard. I know it will depend on the weather but if anyone has hunted late oct in nd can you share your experience. I plan to hunt in the south central part. thanks

[bassislife]

We used to go all the time the 3rd week of October, always had good shooting then. It normally does'nt freeze up until late Oct-Early November.

If it does freeze up the birds will be coming down thick from Canada that makes for great field hunting.

Also that area is full of pheasants, that will make for a great mix bag. Who knows, you may just hunt the pheasants when you start seeing them everywhere you drive looking for the ducks!

If you have the time... go, you will enjoy!

[Jmnhunter]

should be a great year! I'm living out here for the 1st time andwill be able to enjoy the fall; sounds like it should be a phenomenal season; I plan on doing alot of field hunting as i have done plenty of water hunting in MN. But the potholes will get some use to them too!

[kokke]

I agree, should be a great year, the hatch was really good this year and the numbers of local ducks are very good. I've been out for early goose and the ducks are just swarming everywhere so I anticipate a very good waterfowl season!

[wooduck26]

Ive been to ND when theres 10 inches of snow on the ground and the only water open was a little bit of the biggest water in the state, and the shooting was out of this world! Bills, and Mallards were THICK......its never too late for ND if you can find open water.

[jeepguy]

I have been hunting in Nodak for the past five years. I used to make two trips. Last year I just made one trip during the third weekend. We are not really into field hunting. We mostly find transition potholes and setup in the am and late afternoon. I have never had a bad hunt in North Dakota and this years is making me lick my chops with the survey numbers being up. I cannot wait for a week of shooting ducks and having good laughs with the boys.

[carpshooterdeluxe]

plan for a little of everything, stay fluid in your location, scout your butt off, and you should have some phenominal shoots.

[coombia21]

The best hunting in nodak in my opinion is the week before the ice starts to form that has been the best hunting for me it gets even better when you get on a bigger lake and all the other small lakes have formed ice on them and you are on the last lake to freeze over

[brittman]

The best hunting in nodak in my opinion is the week before the ice starts to form that has been the best hunting for me it gets even better when you get on a bigger lake and all the other small lakes have formed ice on them and you are on the last lake to freeze over

For experienced waterfowl hunters I could not agree more. ND though can lock down in just one cold night ... if it is clear the majority of the birds go too.

Not everyone can arrange vacation schedules and lodging to accomodate this level of flexibility, but for those that do the number of birds seen will ..... Not everyone has the experience and control to hunt ice edges (dogs can get hypothermia, ice cuts, etc..). This is also the time of year where field hunting is best ... some flocks of mallards probably have not seen hunters all fall.

[slabchaser]

lve always wanted to hunt north dakota. Ive heard its easy to get permission to hunt. Is this true or is there a lot of public land?

[meathunter]

Do you guys bring boats when you go? Also i am thinking about tenting do you think this is crazy? I dont know where i am going but i will know when i get there. I dont want to be tied down to one area by makeing a reservation. Last time in nd had a bad experience with a landowner who chewed me out for asking to hunt his land. Let me tell you i was shell shocked after that. I think i am over that i just want my kid to experience a couple of mallard tornados.

[brittman]

ND - tents - fine if weather is upland like. Cold or rain - i guess if you have experience with that. Many small towns have no motel have a 4 - 6 unit camp ground.

Boats - probably not needed unless you are hunting big water.

[Jmnhunter]

lve always wanted to hunt north dakota. Ive heard its easy to get permission to hunt. Is this true or is there a lot of public land?

with the amount of water we have this year, finding places to hunt on public land should not be difficult at all. there is restricted access to Non-Res hunters on PLOTS and State WMA's oct 10-16

[Ufatz]

Do you guys bring boats when you go? Also i am thinking about tenting do you think this is crazy? I dont know where i am going but i will know when i get there. I dont want to be tied down to one area by makeing a reservation. Last time in nd had a bad experience with a landowner who chewed me out for asking to hunt his land. Let me tell you i was shell shocked after that. I think i am over that i just want my kid to experience a couple of mallard tornados.

It's pretty bad when you get blasted by a guy for simply ASKING to hunt on his land, but I've been there too. I guess some guys have been burned by numnutz "hunters" and they aren't interested in dealing with any more of them. We are going to try it again after a couple years to get over a run in with a guy who became almost hysterical and foaming at the mouth because we were non-residents. I mean jeeeeeze...we aren't going to TAKE his swamp...just use if for an hour or two. Ha!!

[carpshooterdeluxe]

lve always wanted to hunt north dakota. Ive heard its easy to get permission to hunt. Is this true or is there a lot of public land?

GENERALLY, it is easier in some areas than others to get permission. North Dakota has a different set of laws governing tresspass, so under certain circumstances, no permission is needed to hunt on private land. while there is absolutely great waterfowling on many public lands across the state, the best way to hunt is to get away from those spots and either hunt small private transition wetlands, or hunt the fields. personally, i would chose the fields...with the right gear, you can have 4-5 species of ducks, honkers, and snows all working a field on a given day. makes for some great shooting!

[Fred_Bear]

Yeah the later the better for field hunting ducks IMO. Once the small potholes freeze up all the ducks roost on the biggest water in the area so find that and follow those birds to the (corn)field they're using and set up there the next morning ready to shoot. I've seen 1/4 section fields in mid november with every acre covered by mallards and honkers with hundreds of s&b's circling over the top of them... quite the spectacle

[tweedlap]

If you have to hunt water, please, hunt the small sloughs. The

birds need a safe zone to return to after feeding. If you hunt these waters the birds will blow out of the area. Everyone looses.

Thanks,

tweed

[guppie]

I have always wanted to go out there nid november because I heard it was excellent, but what about all the deer hunters? Is there certain areas to avoid? How long is the deer season?

[WallyGader]

It will make it tougher to gain permission on land, and although some land is not posted its always a good idea to ask for permission and avoid any problems. Also for deer season make sure you bring a piece of blaze orange with you into the field, if there is a truck slowing down by your field i reccommend waveing the orange.

[Jmnhunter]

If you have to hunt water, please, hunt the small sloughs. The

birds need a safe zone to return to after feeding. If you hunt these waters the birds will blow out of the area. Everyone looses.

Thanks,

tweed

x2

[JBL21]

We have hunted North Dakota the week/weekend before halloween for a few(5)years now ,and all I can say is get ready. Last year was a little tougher. The area we hunt got about 6-8 inches of rain the week before we got there. Lots of ducks, but because of all the rain there were alot of puddles in the fields. So many puddles that when you jump the ducks out(tough to sneak up on puddles in the middle of harvested fields), there were so many other puddles for them to choose from. We would jump the ducks out, hunt each puddle with 6-8 decoys and layout blinds for about 15-20 minutes. Then repeat on and on. Limited out each day but was a little more work than usual. The weather is a toss up some years 70 degrees and sunny, other years 30-35 degrees, windy and sideways rain or sleet/snow. The nasty weather was the best shoot I have ever had. Ducks wanted someplace safe and secure, they were bombing in from every direction. If this happens to you find a pond with lots of ducks, quietly spook them out, set up quick and wait. They will be back in short order. N.D. will be a blast for you and your kid. Becareful though it (N.D.) does become an addicition.All be it a good one. Make it fun, because we need all the hunters we can get.

[Gordie]

we will be going to ND over MEA with the kids in the Cando area hope the birds plentiful for the kids. we will be hunting water and fields should be a real blast.