Guided duck hunt

[Rip_Some_Lip]

My 14 year old son fell in love with duck hunting in his first year hunting. I haven't duck hunted in 20 years other than the few times I took him this year. I am thinking of taking him on a trip somewhere on a guided hunt. He wants to do a field hunt and I don't have the decoys needed. Where is the best area to start searching outfitters? We live in Southern MN and would be willing to travel a little to get a good experience. Thanks for any suggestions.

[ncesi]

Go with Maxed Out Guide. I took my son with them several years ago and he is hooked for life. Gram, Reed, Nute, Zac and others are great and I have missed some of the others that are top notch. They interact with the younger kids really well and you can be assured they will do everything to be sure you have a great hunt. They hunt the Lac LA Pare area. I would definitely recommend them to you. Once we hunted with them a few times we now have gone fully into the hunting and have purchased decoys, boats etc... We always did some hunting but hunting with them really showed us the fun and great experience we will carry forward forever. We consider them friends now and speak with them abut hunting, fishing etc.. all the time...

http://www.indepthhunting.com/

[Alagnak]

Island X. Go big or go home. ;-)

http://www.alaskaduckhuntingguides.com/island_X.htm

[ncesi]

Sorry the wrong URL posted. Here is their web site.

Go to indepthhunting.com

[ncesi]

Wow evidently this site will not let you pass on specific guides as they do not pay the administrators for advertising. so much for the guides doing a great job and the good old fashioned word of mouth advertising. Unless you pay us we will not allow your name on our site. What a bunch of talk. No wonder I prefer other sites to this one. so try Maxxedo*tgui*es.c**

[Todd Caswell]

My dad was my guide growing up, hunting, fishing, some trips were good some were bad but we always went, save the 300+ on the guide fees and buy some decoys, spend the extra money scouting with your son, show him the whole process, saving for decoys, scouting, talking with land owners, setting up, and the hunt. In the end you will have decoys to use for another trip, and in the long run your son will hopefully carry on the freelance hunting to his own family.

[Rip_Some_Lip]

I think you may be right Todd. Will have to rethink it and price some decoys. Could probably get quite a few for the price of one day in the field with a guide.

[leechlake]

when I was 12 my dad too resurrected his duck hunting career. Pretty much the same situation. What a blast. We did quite a bit of "jump" shooting back then on the river by our cabin but he also got me going to the point where I could go out on my own many times. There were a lot of ducks up by Walker back then at least compared to now.

I'd also suggest throwing out feelers to people you know and people he knows, funny how many people will have spots for you to hunt with a little friendly conversation especially when a youth is involved. He can learn from the mistakes you make and learn from the mistakes you don't make. Sounds like a lot of fun coming up for you two, congrats.

[Todd Caswell]

Keep an eye out for used gear as well, some guys "think " they need the newest and the greatest before the season starts and then realize they can't afford the CC Bill after the season and need to sell there new stuff , Iv'e bought some pretty nice gear half price that way. The NO_DAK_OUTDOORS site is good for that.

[Jack Asche]

Keep an eye out for used gear as well, some guys "think " they need the newest and the greatest before the season starts and then realize they can't afford the CC Bill after the season and need to sell there new stuff , Iv'e bought some pretty nice gear half price that way. The NO_DAK_OUTDOORS site is good for that.

Same is true with all the old timers calling it quits and the overall trend of decreasing hunter numbers. All depends on what kind of dekes you're looking for, but I bought a ton of duck floaters last summer!

[fishuhalik]

Another thing to think about, I doubt he cares how he gets em & what he shoots as long as he's getting trigger time & hanging with pops. I know that's all I cared about. Buy 2 dozen cheap mallard floaters off a-mazon ($40) Get the stuff to Texas rig em (there's plenty of online how-to's, $15) & have him help you rig em. Buy 2 sets of chest waders ($200 for both if you get cheap ones). Buy a Nodak license (around $100 each) & you're set. Once opener rolls around, look me up on here & I'll pm you some outstanding gadwall teal & widgeon spots. Some mallards & redheads too. No boat needed & there's thousands of em. You can even take the family car to save on gas money, They're dumb as a box of rocks early in the year, taste great & your boy will have the time of his life, guaranteed.

[walleyeking19]

I second the NoDak trip! Hunting up there is so much fun and it's relatively easy to find spots to hunt.

But coming back to hunt in MN is kinda depressing

[Rip_Some_Lip]

That sounds like a good plan. I have been watching for deals online. I will have to do some research for North Dakota hunting. Would be great to get them without a boat. Is there good field hunting also and can a guy get permission for fields? He wants to field hunt and wants to get a redhead in a bad way....lol.

[walleyeking19]

If the land isnt posted up there, you can hunt it without permission of the landowner. Unfortunately, more and more land is getting posted, but I've found that if you just ask for permission (especially if you have a kid with) the farmer will usually give it to you. You wont typically get a redhead if your hunting a field, but field hunting for mallards is the best type of hunting in my opinion.

Last year we shot a ton of redheads up there, so he should have no problem one for himself!

[fishuhalik]

If he wants a nice redhead, I might know of a place (check my Texas Reports thread) If you wanna come down here, y'all are welcome in my boat as long as he has his hunters safety & can handle a shotgun like an adult. Really though, you don't even need a boat. I hunted all year without one & I'd say I did alright

[SledNeck]

Same is true with all the old timers calling it quits and the overall trend of decreasing hunter numbers. All depends on what kind of dekes you're looking for, but I bought a ton of duck floaters last summer!

Man, up here the duck hunter numbers are doing anything but decreasing. After that duck dynasty show came out, lots of pretend hunters blowing kazoos out there.

[Kettle]

Sledneck- Definitely agree that numbers don't seem to be decreasing, but since the 70's and 80's licenses sold are down. My 1st fall living on the Range and I did have some good hunts. Weekdays were the best (I work a lot of weekends) I also had some good weekend hunts during the prime of the season but had to do a ton of scouting and they were far from easy. PM me if you ever want to scout some birds or try a hunt. I start scouting hard late summer (A few hundred miles a week.) I did have some 45min - hour drive times from home to the birds.

Like most say in regards to a guide hunt, self guided is part of the adventure. My father got back into duck hunting when I was 12, 6 decoys, a 12 foot jon boat was what we had. Got some birds and they are the best memories I have with my dad.

Happy Hunting Kettle!

[SledNeck]

Sledneck- Definitely agree that numbers don't seem to be decreasing, but since the 70's and 80's licenses sold are down. My 1st fall living on the Range and I did have some good hunts. Weekdays were the best (I work a lot of weekends) I also had some good weekend hunts during the prime of the season but had to do a ton of scouting and they were far from easy. PM me if you ever want to scout some birds or try a hunt. I start scouting hard late summer (A few hundred miles a week.) I did have some 45min - hour drive times from home to the birds.

Like most say in regards to a guide hunt, self guided is part of the adventure. My father got back into duck hunting when I was 12, 6 decoys, a 12 foot jon boat was what we had. Got some birds and they are the best memories I have with my dad.

Happy Hunting Kettle!

Yeah we can do a hunt some time. Im off on the weekdays a lot and don't really have people to go with then.

[Jack Asche]

Man, up here the duck hunter numbers are doing anything but decreasing. After that duck dynasty show came out, lots of pretend hunters blowing kazoos out there.

That there's pretty funny. Duck Dynasty leading to hunter crowding on the Iron Range!

You know MN duck stamp numbers started sliding and bottomed out in 2010 or 2011, right? Then the DNR eased off on restrictions and opened the season as early as possible and bumped the wood duck limit to 3. Tadaaaaa.... duck stamp sales climbed back to 90k, but still far short of where they were in the 1990s, and about 2/3 of the 1970s.