West of Detroit Lakes

[wallter]

Heading up to visit relatives and figured I'd bounce around this area a bit and try for some ducks. I took a look at my Atlas and WOW there is water everywhere! So I'm assuming that the area will hold plenty of birds. I don't want to internet scout as that's pretty cheesy but maybe you guys can help me with some questions.

1. Are there tons of hunters to compete with for spots?

2. Are a lot of the lakes devoloped?

3. Are there areas a guy should avoid for whatever reason?

4. Bring the boat or pack light and hike to the hard to reach PUBLIC areas or both? Thanks.

[Scouter]

1) sometimes its okay to have a few hunters moving birds around, but overall there are lots of spots to pick from

2) depending on which areas, there are still some that aren't. Either side of the interstate North of Dalton to Barnesville has lots of public wetlands that can hold plenty of birds

3) ?

4) Both. If you hunt out of a boat, try to get to areas that have a good draw, ie. rice, submergent vegetation, freshwater inverts, funnels, etc. Good scouting will reveal the duck which will indicate where that is. To shorten you scouting (hopefully) good research (maps, calls to wildlife offices, google aerial photos) will help greatly.

Good luck, the migration has definately begun in that part of the state.