north dakota trip...what part of the state?

[tanman]

im headed to north dakota for a week with one of my buddies leavin the 13th of october wondering what part of the state would be a good place to start and other tips/advice to help us get on the birds.

i figured getting some advice from others who have taken similar trips to ND would be a good idea. if you can give me any information i would really appreciate it

thanks fellow huntewrs!

[Maxxed Out]

North of Jamestown or right on the ND/SD border about 50 miles in. Typically though unless your hunting in the Paradiso parking lot in Fargo you should do pretty well.

[brittman]

Finding a place to stay will be the bigger issue.

[tanman]

we are taking a tent and sleeping in the truck or campgrounds, we just want to know if there are areas that are better than others or other advide that may differ from MN hunts, being that we will be hunting areas we have never been to before lots of time will be spent scouting

any other ideas / advice / reccomendations

[Bryce]

Being you're willing to tent it, draw a 30 mile circle around any town with a hotel and avoid that.

[Gordie]

Are you taking a boat or not? hunting feilds only?

The Rolla Area can be really good along with the Devils Lake area

[smnduck]

Find a spot that is at least 30 miles from a hotel. I would scout those areas from a map before I even went.

[tanman]

we may have a boat and we will have float tuges, primarilly hunting fields (hopfully) and maybe some small ponds- IF we take the boat we will only be using it on small ponds we do not want to hunt lakes, we plan on doing some map scouting before we go but im just looking for a place to start

thank everyone for the suggestions

keep the ideas coming please!

[Sifty]

As others have said get a good map and find a area that has a combo of plenty of water(should not be a problem this year) and open farm fields.

Scouting will be the best thing you can do once you hit the area that you choose.

With the weather this year, where the birds are is anyones guess.

Doing a "freelance" trip is a great thing if the area you choose is short on birds pack up and put some miles on. There is some great things to see in ND from a outdoors persons view.

That being said I would look north of the Devils Lake area.

Sifty

[TylerS]

Since you're camping out, you ought to be able to move whereever you find the birds, which is a major bonus IMO. Just remember that October is a strange month. It was nearly 90 on pheasant opener last year, but I've had snow on the ground then, too. Make sure you come prepared!

On that note, to anyone else planning a trip to Nodak: the chances of finding an open hotel/motel room within an our of Devils Lake are less than slim to none. With all the construction going on around there, most livable spaces have been booked up through DECEMBER! Also, if you're thinking about going further west in the state, same problem from all the oil workers! If you're on the fence about coming, better make your mind up quick and start hitting the phone book. OR do what the OP is doing and prepare to sleep in your truck.

Good luck!

[creepworm]

North of Jamestown or right on the ND/SD border about 50 miles in. Typically though unless your hunting in the Paradiso parking lot in Fargo you should do pretty well.

I haven't spent much time near Jamestown so I cannot speak to that but I spent a week working south of Lisbon ND (ND/SD border about 50 miles in) and there were more than enough birds there. Lots of water, lots of fields, and lots of birds.

[TylerS]

North of Jamestown or right on the ND/SD border about 50 miles in. Typically though unless your hunting in the Paradiso parking lot in Fargo you should do pretty well.

SHHHHH!!! Quit giving away my secret spots! Once you've eaten a mallard that's been fattened up on leftover chimi-chongas and burritos, you'll never hunt a slough or corn field again!!!

[Gordie]

Lake Alice managenent area is another good place to hunt and I belive there are places to camp there or near there.

This year I got lucky as my buddy that I uesd to do concrete and duck hunt with move out to Devils Lake this year so I have got a place to stay. October 19th cant get here soon enough.

[Gordie]

Once you've eaten a mallard that's been fattened up on leftover chimi-chongas and burritos, you'll never hunt a slough or corn field again!!!

And the sombreros that they wear really slows them down in flight so its a much easier target

[Scott M]

I did a freelance trip last year, brought everything but the kitchen sink. It's a ton of fun, just leave yourself enough time to scout. You'll spend more time scouting than hunting if you do it right, but your hunts are done in half a morning because you fill out.

Remember, PLOTS maps are your friend for finding PLOTS, WMAs, BLM land, school land, and WPAs. But remember that state lands are closed to nonresidents on Pheasant opening weekend. I believe that's the weekend you are out there. Don't be afraid to doorknock. I have some birds still in the taxidermist because I knocked on doors. Every part of the state is different, but where we hunted, the people love nonresidents and were very kind and accommodating. It's a desolate state, so sometimes just having someone to talk to or a new visitor is nice for some folks. Last year a lady nearly ordered me to sit down for hot cinnamon rolls fresh out of the oven before her husband gave me permission to hunt.

[BoxMN]

Also, depending upon where you are, many of the No Trespassing signs are there to keep neighbors out during deer season rather than to keep birds hunters out. So knock on doors even where signs are might be good. One thing they don't like though (sometimes) is hunters stopping by road while they are harvesting and expecting them to stop working, so keep that in mind.

But the folks in NoDak are awesome. Made some great friends. Good luck, you will have fun!

FWIW, I don't see a need for a boat, except maybe a Puddler style if you don't have a dog. Perfect place for waders, a dog and half dozen decoys. Or field stuff.

[carpshooterdeluxe]

I've shot ducks from 2 miles out of Wahpeton to 30 miles west of Minot. This year with all the water, its anybody's guess as to what area will be best. All you can do if it is your first trip out is plan on putting on some miles and make a go of it. Obviously the farther away from populated towns, the less pressure there should be...Google earth is a good tool, but its imagery is 1-2 or more years old right now for ND. If you put in the work you should have no problem shooting birds though. Do enough internet scouting the week before you leave and you might just find enough loose lipped people posting where they have been hunting to help guide you to an area to start looking.

[tanman]

Thank you everyone for all of the info and all of the advice im pretty pumped to head out there we will be hunting 7 days i will have to post some pictures and let everyone know how it goes.

if anyone els has any seggestions i would love to hear them!!

Thanks again!

[Scott M]

Bring a grill and BBQ sauce. You gotta start eating on day two, might as well start on day one and get ahead of the curve.

[BoxMN]

Bring a grill and BBQ sauce. You gotta start eating on day two, might as well start on day one and get ahead of the curve.

Good advice! Skewers and some bacon to wrap them breats in helps as well.

[Gordie]

Dehydrator and jerky cure snacks for the thrid day in the blind

[TylerS]

Dehydrator and jerky cure snacks for the thrid day in the blind

Remember though: it's still considered part of your possession limit until it's consumed...

[Gordie]

Remember though: it's still considered part of your possession limit until it's consumed...

I was told it was until its cooked and the CO will most likely be eating the evidence as he did in the past

Tyler it would be eat a duck shoot a duck then

[TylerS]

It sorta is eat a duck shoot a duck if someone is planning to come up and hunt for a week. I had a buddy (well, let's call him an acquaintance) who got pinched because he had a limit of birds, plus some jerky that he admitted was ducks he'd shot. The jerky was counted toward his limit and he was cited for having too many birds in possession.

Can you get away with it? Sure, guys do it all the time. I know people that come up, eat six ducks a day, and keep shooting for a week straight. People who do that have a higher gastronomical fortitude than I could ever hope to possess, but more power to 'em. Personally, I don't want to have to force myself to eat them just so I can kill more birds. Seems sorta silly to me...but whatever floats your boat!

Now if I was on a week-long trip for ruffed grouse, I might make an exception... just trade in my size 30 jeans for 42s and go all Joey Chestnut on those little morsels of heaven