Author: Webmaster

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

North Platte river valley 12-11-2011 21:44
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – 45-50 Degrees
Well I hooked up with a high school classmate to hunt out of their pit near Bayard. It wasn’t too bad but it wasn’t tooo good either. We shot five between three of us. We could have probably shot our limit out of non-finishing birds but that’s ok with me. There wasn’t ALOt of birds there and I didn’t think there was ALOT all the way to Patrick’s west of Scottsbluff. We quit hunting before noon and looked at some property for a potential pit next season then I headed off to Patrick’s to drop some stuff off and finally look at the blinds. They only had two geese when I left there after one but there was few trading around. Marty and I agree that there isn’t nearly the numbers there that there has been by this time the past two years. There are enough to hunt for sure but not massive flocks yet. They decoyed a speck yesterday and killed it. They had to check the regs before sending the dog to kick it out of the decoys. Their duck numbers are much behind last year due to the filling of their pond by the flood deposits. It sure did change things. My son was near Smith south of Rushville Thursday and saw some big numbers of geese there. LO

Posted By:
kpsriverdice
Web Member

Platte River west of Kearney 12-07-2011 19:32
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 10-20 Degrees – Ice
Today we went to the blind thinking we would see all kinds of ducks and geese from what we observed on Sunday, not the case. One flock of geese and about 25 ducks seen. Hunted until 2PM.

Last Sunday the duck numbers were in the thousands flying east and west at the third level. The snow, full moon and bitter cold temps pushed the ducks right on south.

Posted By:
Jon-Barta
Field Editor

North Central 12-07-2011 14:02
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 30-34 Degrees – Ice
Ducks are spotty at best. Goose numbers have jumped but feeding patterns are not predictable.

Posted By:
Art-Marshall
Field Editor

exit 257, elmcreek 12-06-2011 04:58
– – –
Sunday morning,, many flocks of geese moving, still looking for a new roost with open water to replace the frozen local basin . Sunday afternoon was disappointing as few geese went out to feed. River is moving lots of slush ice, water level is still low enough to allow hunting. Most of the geese are cacklers and whitefronts. Fewer ducks .

Posted By:
kpsriverdice
Web Member

Platte River west of Kearney 12-05-2011 11:59
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 0-10 Degrees – Open Water
Hunted Sunday – Lots up ducks flying at the 3rd Level heading East & West. Local geese moving all morning. River was open with some slush. Had a great time!

Posted By:
jdgreen402
Web Member

Valley NE farm pond 12-05-2011 10:15
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 25-30 Degrees – Open Water
Jumped the blind yesterday at noon and hit it this morning for a couple of hours. Still a fair number of snow geese moving through. Had one small (25) flock of Canadas that I should have pass shot at when they hit the 45 yard mark. Instead, I tried to be “Hunter Grounds” by talking them down and into the pond. After the second pass, they lost interest. Not one of my better waterfowling decisions.

Again, no ducks. This really amazes me. We are not known for geese in my neck of the woods, but we’ve had many more chances at geese than ducks.

Posted By:
jdgreen402
Web Member

Valley, ne farm pond 12-03-2011 10:06
Cloudy, Light Rain & Drizzle – 30-34 Degrees – Ice
Hit the blind yesterday mooning and this morning hoping for a good push of birds … Nope. Nothing flying. The sandpit lakes around Valley appear to be very lightly used by a few ducks and Canadas. There was a little shooting off the Platte, but not what you would expect for the conditions. Going to try tonight to see if the evening hunting is equally slow …

Posted By:
Art-Marshall
Field Editor

elmcreek, 20 miles west of keaney 12-03-2011 08:16
– – –
Need to be in the blind today and tomorrow if your a goose hunter . Yesterday,,,,,, geese who were froze off basins and shallow ponds started flying . They haven’t left, but relocated to a sandpit nearby. I observed several new geese coming from the north, just a guess, but probably off some sandhill lakes. We’re going to hunt the cornfield til the weather clears, and then will go the river on the first sunny day.

Posted By:
jdgreen402
Web Member

Valley, NE 11-30-2011 06:46
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – 35-40 Degrees
Finally, started to see a few flocks of puddle ducks late in the day. Managed to scratch drake mallard right at sundown. Observed some teal and gaddies on a lake north of Fremont. Hoping Wednesday through Friday is solid. We sure are due …

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

Northern Panhandle 11-29-2011 22:45
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – 45-50 Degrees
Well Sunday found me freelancing on my own. I decided to give Box Butte Reservoir a go. I had not been there for a month or two but thought I might be able to make something work. I found the west end mostly frozen but about 80 percent of the lake open. There was ice all along the edges except nearer the darn. There was a fair number of mallards, plenty of golden eye and buffleheads and more common Mergansers than I have ever seen in one place before. I saw a couple guys hunting the river below the dam so I found a spot along the north shore where some mallards seemed to like and threw out a couple dozen decoys. I never decoyed a duck! I could have shot a limit of divers…….but I don’t like cleaning them and I don’t really like eating them sooo I didn’t. I could have shot a ton of Mergansers but the fore said feelings are even more strong with these birds. It would have made a great picture but no thanks. It looked like there was some mallards moving up and down the river below the dam but I never saw a duck upstream from there. Everyone says there are plenty of birds around but they have quickly become patterned. It won’t take much to freeze this water up here so the colder forecast should move some more birds south. Rick’s blind near Scottsbluff just keeps plugging away with double digit duck numbers and a few geese each day. I think they will be alright even with the flood damage. The North Platte river remains VERY dangerous. The flooding knocked down many trees and some of the large cottonwoods have created nasty snags. Extreme care should be taken. Mike’s Lisco blind has been killing a few geese most days but Mike has just went once and was skunked.I don’t know when I will get out again but I will tell you what I know.LO

Posted By:
Doug-Miller
Field Editor

Tekamah 11-28-2011 07:44
– – 30-34 Degrees – Open Water
The holiday weekend found a few birds working the river bottoms. Friday was slow with a south wind and record temps birds didn’t move tell just before dark. Saturday and the big wind pushed a bunch more Canada’s through, and a few S&B and very few ducks. The Decatur area is holding good numbers of ducks but they don’t travel far to feed. Sunday morning their were still a few Canada’s moving in the morning and a few S&B’s real high but very few ducks. Really could you some moisture to get things a little mudding and change things up.

Its all about Ducks, Dogs, and Kids

Posted By:
Art-Marshall
Field Editor

southcentral 11-27-2011 22:06
– – –
Slow here, probably not worth going to a lot of work to hunt. Need a good storm up north.

Posted By:
jdgreen402
Web Member

Valley, NE Farm Pond 11-26-2011 12:48
Cloudy, High Winds – 25-30 Degrees – Open Water
Hmmm … lot’s of moving geese. Mainly, working the cornfields around Valley. The pond was really slow … no ducks. Saw a few flocks sitting on a couple of sandpit lakes, but they were not moving. The wind pretty much has everything sitting tight. I’m hoping that it blows a few new birds in from SD. I guess we will see …

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

Northern sandhills 11-24-2011 22:15
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – 60-65 Degrees
I have recieved reports from the northern sandhills that there are a ton of geese and some spots of mallards all over. I witnessed at least a thousand Canadas feeding in wheat stubble today then roosting on a stock dam that I have never seen hold birds before. Some of the smaller lakes were wide open while some of the larger ones were 99 percent iced. I saw pictures of large numbers of waterfowl from the sandhills today and must believe that they are full of birds. Temperatures today went beyond 70 for the second day in a row and it looks nice for the foreseeable future so the birds won’t be going far for now. LO

Posted By:
Art-Marshall
Field Editor

southcentral, exit 257 11-24-2011 11:05
– – –
Last weekend was the high point of the last 7 days. 10 geese shot out of a field blind sunday while river blind not far away killed 60 mallards in three days. Very slow now, not much moving. Local sandpits are holding about 500 dark geese that are patterned and tough to work as they have already been educated. Ducks on the local basin between overton and elmcreek are sticking around and may work on saturday when it gets windy. Not sure what direction they’ll go though. Water in the river has dropped enough , but makes retreiving a difficult. The next weather event up north will probably push alot birds who are holding up in S.D. .

Posted By:
randy01
Guest

central SD 11-23-2011 19:56
Arctic Blast – 25-30 Degrees – Ice
Lots of ducks. Field hunt in morning . ducks in the decoys before we had the layout blinds set up. 20 greenheads, 3 beautiful drake pintails and one widgeon!!
Done by 9:30. A classic hunt!! One for the memory books!

[Edited By randy01 on 2011-11-23 19:59]

Posted By:
jdgreen402
Web Member

Valley, NE 11-22-2011 09:01
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 30-34 Degrees – Open Water
Made it out to the blind this morning. Not really much flying. Had to quit at 8:15. It was a bit foggy … so I’m not sure if the birds were sitting waiting for it to burn-off or what. However, the Canadian Goose push seems to be over … 🙁

Likewise, not really much in the way of ducks. Not sure if everything is still up north or what. It would be seriously wonderful if Waterfowler.com would coax some guys in ND and SD to actually start making some posts. Perhaps a couple of free subscriptions, etc… As it is, the site is losing its effectiveness as an early warning system.

Posted By:
Jon-Barta
Field Editor

North Central 11-21-2011 08:22
Cloudy, Light Rain & Drizzle – 40-45 Degrees
Sat was a day for the books. Sun was like nothing happened. Geese stuck, ducks not so much. Somewhere south of us should be loaded with mallards.

Posted By:
Doug-Miller
Field Editor

Tekamah 11-21-2011 06:31
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – 25-30 Degrees – Open Water
Had a major push of birds into the river bottoms starting Sat late afternoon and went all day Sunday. Most birds were in Migration mode and not a lot of lookers but enough to keep your interest. Sunday saw one of the largest Canada migrations that I have seen in several years. In the AM you couldn’t look in any direction and not see a dozen flocks. I just hope that some of the birds stay.

Its all about Ducks, Dogs, and Kids

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

Panhandle 11-20-2011 23:09
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – 25-30 Degrees – Ice
Well the mallards fell like rain before sunrise this morning. We also worked a flock of snows right at shooting time and scratched two out of it when it looked as if they would bug out. We would have to work to kill our “other duck” but picked one pintail and one wigeon along with a confused Wood duck out of the many flocks of Mallards that worked our blocks. We would limit out around 8:00 or so and waited until nine for geese but decided to pack it up. My young partners were COLD geeze! We should have waited because about twenty minutes after we started picking up our meager spread the geese started PILING through. Mostly canadas but we saw several small bunches of snows. We had to bust a hole in the half inch ice and by the time we quit about half of the 20X20 yard hole had refrozen. The mallards really worked well to the hole and if my friends would have shot better we would have been done even faster. 🙂 We watched flock after flock of weary geese heading south all the way home. My son and one of his friends found a lake with the north bank open and loaded with birds. They set up between a cornfield and the lake and pass shot their limit of big Canadas along with a bonus Whitefront. Rick’s blind shot six geese and 12 ducks today. It is THE time to be out if you don’t have to work like me. Whaaaa LO

Posted By:
jdgreen402
Web Member

Valley, Nebraska 11-20-2011 09:34
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 25-30 Degrees – Ice
Well, a strange year just got a bit stranger. We typically don’t see much for geese on or over our little pond. They tend to follow the rivers. However, today, the Canadians were all over. Had a limit in Canadas before 8:00 am. The really odd thing is that there are no ducks. Not “no ducks that will decoy” — I mean NO DUCKS! Typically, you will see a flock of mallards or gaddy’s following a strong migration of geese. However, not today, nothing.

I spoke with a friend hunting up at Norfork and he indicated that they had a really strong push of geese, but nothing was decoying. Very few ducks (other than a flock of teal down the river).

What a weird season!

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

Panhandle 11-19-2011 20:18
Cloudy, Snow Flurries – 25-30 Degrees – Open Water
Winter weather is here and a strong push mallards came with it. Ricks blind near scottsbluff managed to come two birds short of a duck limit plus three geese. They said they saw the most ducks that they have seen for many years. Hopefully the moderating weather will keep them there for awhile. It’s the same story everywhere on the NP river valley now from wyoming to Lake McConaughy. Some of my group hunted up here today and limited on mallards from the boat blind, no geese though. They reported good numbers migrating this afternoon. There was both snows and canadas. I checked my “backyard lake” on the way home and saw migrating ducks and a few geese but the lake was icing over. We are going to try the creek we hunted two weeks ago in the morning, probably have to break ice but it should work. I’ll let you know.

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

northern panhandle 11-16-2011 22:58
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 30-34 Degrees – Open Water
Some geese migrated today but it looks like this weekend will be most likely for a major push. We have single digit lows predicted for Saturday night so i will have to hunt open for open water Sunday. I had a report of a two man limit of ducks near Bridgeport today. They shot a trophy pintail to boot. That’s all i know. LO

Posted By:
dell2010
Web Member

MO River 11-16-2011 17:36
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 40-45 Degrees
Well guys they say the push is on the way. Certainly didn’t see it today. Heard some shooting but very limited. Didn’t see much moving, heard geese flying around 330am this morning getting into my truck. I been hitting it pretty hard but losing faith. Anyone have any ideas where I can go to get into birds? Shot me an email. PLEASE!!!!!! Anthony@aircoomaha.com

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

Northern panhandle 11-15-2011 13:26
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 30-34 Degrees – Open Water
there is another nice push a geese this morning. most of the staging birds have left due to morning ice in all smaller bodies of water and favorable winds. It looks like the next week could be good with wintery weather.north of us and moderating weather here. Lo

Posted By:
Jon-Barta
Field Editor

North central 11-14-2011 08:15
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 45-50 Degrees
Sat morning brought exact opposite wind that the weather man predicted, go figure. Thought there were no birds in the county. Ducks didnt start to fly until after 930. Wind had died by about 8. No wind made for tough decoying. More birds around then expected but moon phase has them coming out late morning and coming back to roost at night. Same with geese. Geese coming and going to the river all night long. Will be interesting once the moon darkens up to see what hunting will be like.

Posted By:
Doug-Miller
Field Editor

Tekamah 11-14-2011 06:38
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – 45-50 Degrees
Bird hunting in the Tekamah bottoms is still pretty slow. With no weather and a full moon. Birds are feeding late and into the night. Need some weather and a good push from the north.

Its all about Ducks, Dogs, and Kids

Posted By:
jdgreen402
Web Member

Valley NE Farm Pond 11-12-2011 12:24
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 45-50 Degrees
Got to the pond this morning to see how many decoys the muskrats decided to set free. It was a pretty good day with only one maverick. Dad and I thought the morning might be good as it is the first day of rifle deer season and that usually means some birds are pushed off the river/creeks and there is some movement. Unfortunately, we were wrong. There were a few rifle shots, but very few shotgun volleys on the river. No ducks or geese moving. The only birds that I saw this morning were sitting on a pond near Fremont off the by-pass — right behind someone’s house. It’s definitely much slower than we typically see this time of the season. Hope that changes …

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

northern panhandle 11-09-2011 19:46
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – 35-40 Degrees
Geese continue to migrate through this area. I have seen numerous flocks of small Canadas along with a few bigger birds and snows. There was quite a bit of ice on the roadside ponds this morning but one of them was covered with mallards. It sure is a good time to be hunting, wish I could. LO

Posted By:
Doug-Miller
Field Editor

Tekamah 11-08-2011 14:36
Cloudy, Occassional Rain Showers – 40-45 Degrees
Sounds like their is a good little migration along the river last night and today. Have had several reports and everyone is seeing Snow’s and Blue’s along with a few ducks. Most pits have got shooting.

Its all about Ducks, Dogs, and Kids

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

northern panhandle 11-08-2011 08:41
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 25-30 Degrees – Open Water
A significant migration this morning of ducks and small geese. I took fifteen minutes before work to go by the closest lake and found good numbers of mallards and divers. In the short time I was there I witness 3 flocks of geese and 2 flocks of ducks migrating into the lake.
gotta go to work darn

Posted By:
jdgreen402
Web Member

Farm pond near Valley, NE 11-08-2011 08:38
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – 45-50 Degrees
Hunted both Sat and Sun. Both days were terrible. No teal or ducks of any variety. Had to walk out two woodies on a creek just to come home with something. Reports up around norfolk have been equally poor. A couple of small flocks of Canadians working both areas, but that’s about it. Where are the ducks?

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

Western sandhills 11-07-2011 08:36
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – 40-45 Degrees
I was invited to hunt a small creek/ marsh complex on the western edge of the sandhills yesterday. the first 30 minutes was very good and we would’ve limited out before the sun come up had it not been for interference from another hunter. after sunrise the wind changed in the duck flights slowed. we still managed to limit with a variety of ducks including 3 canvasbacks 2 of which were nice drakes. we saw 2 or 3 small flocks of migrating geese. there has been some ice on the ponds in sheltered areas on cold mornings but it usually melts off by mid day. seems to be plenty of ducks in the area but only a few geese. I’ll prolly give it a shot friday I’ll let you know what I know then. LO

Posted By:
dell2010
Web Member

Wagontrain Lake 11-07-2011 07:05
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – 50-60 Degrees
WOW what a terrible day. Didnt see or hear any birds Saturday. Local Game Warden said there had been some good shooting the last few days but certainly none on Saturday. Ride home an 11/2 hours and didnt see one bird on any ponds or lakes. So much for the year to tell our Grand kids about. Hunting MO river Wed will give a report then.

Posted By:
Doug-Miller
Field Editor

Tekamah 11-07-2011 06:34
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – 40-45 Degrees
Hunting in the Tekamah area has been a little slow. Their was a push of birds last Wed. and a few blinds got some good shooting but not a lot of action after that.
Numbers have started to build at the refuges in the Dakotas. So the next front should push some more birds into the area.

Its all about Ducks, Dogs, and Kids

Posted By:
ABest
Web Member

Winemakers island 11-06-2011 17:09
– – –
Howdy jus t wondering if any body here can give me any info on Winemakers island? Thanks in advance.

Posted By:
Brian-Peters
Web Member

central panhandle 11-02-2011 22:01
– – –
We tried the creek today with good numbers of ducks just reaching us. Also saw some snows and high migrating ducks. Corn harvest is slowed w/the moisture, and expecting more.Shot mallards and 1 gaddy. goose pits still need some work, but glad I’m not on the river. sounds like alot of work. Brian

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

Northern Panhandle 11-02-2011 21:03
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – 30-34 Degrees – Open Water
Well the heavy wet snow overnight stopped a ton of waterfowl here until they could pass over the fog shrouded Pine Ridge. There was a massive push of ducks into and through this area today. Hunters lucky enough to get out today found easy mixed bag limits of ducks with some very nice Pintails and Mallards in the mix. Everyone was yacking about all the geese in the air last night and today but nobody I talked to shot any. It seems that most of them passed on by. One group hunting near here reported about a thousand geese on the water at sunrise. They thought they were half snows and half dark. They also said they have never seen so many ducks on this particular lake. I came home from work just before sunset and the ponds along the highway were just covered with birds. Temperatures are supposed to fall into the lower teens tonight so I would imagine these ponds will freeze and all these birds will move on south. Man I hate working when it’s like this. LO

Posted By:
Art-Marshall
Field Editor

southcentral exit 257 11-02-2011 20:02
– – –
Many flocks of snows and whitefronts flew over most of the day. Some shooting on the river this morning , and observed some hunters who hunted the whole day . River is down abit and some sand bars showing up .

Posted By:
Jon-Barta
Field Editor

all over 11-02-2011 13:58
Cloudy, Snow & Rain Mix – 35-40 Degrees
I hate being a grown up and doing the right thing. Reports from all over that a good push of ducks showed up. Mostly gads, widg but some mallards thrown in. I am ready to throw my phone away……

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

Northern Panhandle 11-02-2011 06:48
Cloudy, Snow Flurries – 25-30 Degrees – Open Water
Well the first thing I hear this morning is a flock of mallards migrating over town and soon after a flock of snow geese. We recieved about five or six inches of heavy wet snow with a NW wind up to about 25 mph. I sure wish I didn’t have to work. Wahhh. The North Platte river has finally dropped to more normal flows and people have been able to repair or replace their blinds. At the Patricks near Scottsbluff the main channel moved fifty yards north leaving them on a huge sandbar. They will bring in a cat to open up the pond at the back of the blind so they will at least have water. Mother nature always wins doesn’t it. I will be working six day weeks for the foreseeable future, it really sucks for my hunting. I was going to lease a cornfield but backed out because of work. Wish I could be out there today. LO

Posted By:
Brian-Peters
Web Member

central panhandle 10-23-2011 23:10
– – –
Hunted twice this last week. Hunting buds each shot a couple woodies each. Cant wait for the green heads, still havn’t had any decoy yet. The goose blinds are each getting attention this week. Sounds like the corn will come out about the same time as the opener. I hear there are some more mallards coming in right now. May have to give them a try this week. Brian

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

Northern Panhandle 10-23-2011 21:52
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – 60-65 Degrees
There was another heavy push of cranes through the area this afternoon. We were busy preparing for the cold and wintery weather in the forecast so I didn’t venture out until this afternoon when we went on a turkey road hunt.(didn’t find one that was legal or doable) I did check out a couple of the larger lakes in the area and found plenty of ducks on both of them along with a small pond that was loaded with mallards. The weather this week has been nothing short of spectacular but snow and cold are forecasted for mid week so we will see what it does for us. LO

Posted By:
Art-Marshall
Field Editor

south central 10-18-2011 23:32
– – –
Many ducks using the platte river now and about half the birds are mallards. High water is going to change the way many of us hunt this year for sure. Heard of some guys that are going to hunt channels that are normally dry , but have ideal water depth now. Others are planning on using a boat and motor to get to their blind. I think a flooded timber area would be fun , for a change.Something easy to access and that doesn’t have swift current up to my neck . Perserverence to find a huntable area may pay off . Think out of the box .

[Edited By Art-Marshall on 2011-10-18 23:39]

Posted By:
Jon-Barta
Field Editor

North central 10-17-2011 08:21
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 60-65 Degrees
Had friday off and got blinds ready. Lots of widg. gaddy and teal around fri morning. Was very excited for sat opener. Sat morning brought a couple of bunches of teal early and then gads and widg. Not near the birds around sat as there was fri. sun morning even fewer birds and no wind until almost 930. A few cranes moving, no specks seen or heard.

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

NW Nebraska 10-16-2011 22:36
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – 50-60 Degrees
Thousands and thousands of cranes migrating today. everyone is sold out of duck stamps and I could only watch ducks on the ponds even though I work at the Post office! DUH But I witnessed good numbers of GW teal and gaddies. Have reports of great duck hunting in the sandhills even a banded speck last weekend. It was banded in Alaska in 2006. Hope to get out Tuesday.

[Edited By Larry-Olson on 2011-10-16 22:37]

Posted By:
Brian-Peters
Web Member

central panhandle 10-12-2011 23:17
– – –
Well sat was good for the ducks. The woodies were landing about 50 yds past me on the creek. They were moving at Mach speed as they dipped and dived by me and I couldnt swing the barrel fast enough. Sun was better with a wigeon woodie greenw and bluew teal.Heard some cranes movin on mon. Heard some river hunters shot some mixed bag birds also. good luck all. Brian

Posted By:
Doug-Miller
Field Editor

Tekamah 10-10-2011 07:58
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – Over 70 Degrees
The Tekamah bottoms were pretty slow for the Low Plains early opener. Most of what was on the bottoms the last month has left and hasn’t been replaced with any new birds. Their are a lot of Pelicans in the area taking advantage of all the trapped fish left behind by the flooding. Hopfully we will get some new birds with the next North wind.

Its all about Ducks, Dogs, and Kids

Posted By:
Brian-Peters
Web Member

central panhandle 10-05-2011 22:53
– – –
Well I have been seeing more birds around this week. have heard of many on small ponds in the area also. went to the creek today. saw a nice group of woodies. opening day should be fun. those things are like little fighter jets.good luck all. Brian

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

Panhandle 10-03-2011 22:57
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – Over 70 Degrees
Well we had our first rain shower tonight for the last two weeks. It just settled the dust. We have been breaking high temperatures with regularity. Our high today was officially 89 but the bank said 96 when I left town in Chadron. Either one is much to warm for October. Youth season last weekend was tough with hot temps and no winds. Folks who ventured out found a few ducks but had better luck jumping them. I haven’t seen too many bluewingers lately so I don’t know if the most of them are gone already or if they are just hanging out away from the road. I did see a bunch of woodies yesterday and wished I had a kid to get one. It sounds like the weekend might be alot more like a duck opener here with cool temps and a chance of rain predicted. I will keep in touch while I am in Saskatchewan so keep checking my Canada posts. Four more days! LO

Posted By:
Brian-Peters
Web Member

central panhandle 09-29-2011 21:54
– – –
Larry, if you need help setting up a pit let me know. Too warm for many ducks here. First part of season may be slow. Lots of water. Brian

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

Northern panhandle 09-26-2011 08:11
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – Over 70 Degrees
Teal continue to move through the area but hunters need to be reminded that only the area south of Hwy 26 is open for teal. (Dumb rule) Water conditions are ok in the grasslands and still improved over last year there and in area reservoirs. Local geese seem to have had good production and their numbers slowly increase year by year. Ricks blind west of Scottsbluff will be difficult if not impossible to hunt this year. The river cut a channel through their pond behind the blind making access only possible with waders. The blind is filled with sand and the water table remains above the base of the pit. Federal water experts predict higher than normal flows late into fall. I think we will lease a cornfield for sure this year. Only eleven days to Saskatchewan!

Posted By:
Doug-Miller
Field Editor

Tekamah 09-16-2011 06:45
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Well it is getting close to that time. The old river looks like it will go down enough to allow us back in are pit. My pit went under the flood waters the first Tue. in June and just reappeared two weeks ago. After pumping it out and scooping 4″ of the god awfullust smelly black tar like river goop out of the bottom and about a hundred bullheads and crawdads, it is starting to dry. I just have to re-hook up my well, bring all the heaters, bottles, blind tops decoy boats, decoys and all of the other items that make it home back in and we will be ready to go. The bad thing is it is like hunting in a desert. No vegatation at all, hiding the pit will be a challenge. Good thing is was up last night working and saw a fair amount of birds. Will keep you posted as the clean-up continues

Its all about Ducks, Dogs, and Kids

Posted By:
Brian-Peters
Web Member

central panhandle 09-14-2011 22:03
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havnt seen many ducks lately just got our first cold spelland the geese are starting to move in small groups out at the creek ihave seen only one bird so far Brian

Posted By:
jdgreen402
Web Member

Valley, NE farm pond 09-13-2011 21:54
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – Over 70 Degrees
Two weekends in a row and no teal in the area. Our little honey hole is usually a magnet for early teal. I’m worried that we are too close to the Missouri River flooding and there is no reason for the teal to leave the back water. I’m praying the extra water is not too much of a distraction for the northern birds … or this season is going to be a bust. At this point, I’m praying for a ‘coldest November on record’ with the hope that the MO backwater freezes and our piped pond will be an attractive gathering point. Anyway … good luck to you all on the 2011 season!!

Posted By:
Shotgun Willy
Guest

Rainwater Basin 09-12-2011 15:53
Sunny & Clear, Morning Fog – 50-60 Degrees
Last Saturday was a fantastic opening for teal season! I had to hold back to keep from shooting my limit in 1 minute! My dog and I had to spend some time looking for two teal that could still swim into the cattails, so I got to watch as flock after flock landed in the decoys then took off with us roaming around. I saw flocks of 50-75 teal! Sunday was a one hour limit and 10 degrees colder. Monday 10 minutes for limit. This weekend: Friday limit in hour and half, Saturday saw seven birds, got 3. Sunday saw two birds, got two.

Posted By:
Jon-Barta
Field Editor

North Central 09-06-2011 09:15
Cloudy, Light Rain & Drizzle – 40-45 Degrees
Sat brought wind, rain and teal. Lots of birds showed up. Sun was about the same, maybe a few more. Mon morning it was like nothing ever happened. 2 bunches of teal seen all morning.

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

Panhandle 07-13-2011 08:41
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – Over 70 Degrees
I attended the public meeting for public input on upcoming waterfowl seasons yesterday in Bridgeport. There was overwhelming consensus that the dark goose season go as late as possible and no December split in the duck season. You still have a chance to comment on NGPCs website

Posted By:
Brian-Peters
Web Member

ne panhandle 06-27-2011 23:58
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well i think the no platte has prob peaked it looks 4 or 5 in lower this mourn had a friend tell me that he saw a fed employee transplant about 25 young honkers at our local sra the rising riv floated alot of eggs this spring have seen alot of puddle ducks stick around this year might be an interesting season brian

Posted By:
John-Donelon
Field Editor

Mo 06-27-2011 16:49
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Larry,appears you and I plus a few others are even saying anything about the historic flooding along the Missouri River from the Dakota’s down to Mo. and Neb.We have had a lease for several years which is near Craig Mo. and some 10 miles from Big Lake State Park and Rulo Neb.Our season is over,crops flooded out. This is third year in a row where weather shut down our season.Will not be back this coming season.My friends in Mound City area believe this water will here for a while.Many hunters along the Mo. will have a short or no season.Good luck to you along the river.

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

Panhandle 06-23-2011 20:55
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – Over 70 Degrees
Wow, it’s been a long time since anyone was on here. All of the panhandle as well as the northern great plains and the northern Rockies have experienced a very wet spring. We have tons of sheet water still in the fields causing delays and some failure of dryland and row crops. Most of the streams and rivers have or are currently flooded. The North Platte river is expected to remain at or above flood stage until fall. We are afraid that our blinds will all have to be totally rebuilt but that’s what happens along the river. Duck numbers seem to be high around here but I have yet to see any broods. The goslings are already starting to fledge adult feathers but no ducklings. I am hoping that the long wet cool spring didn’t ruin the plentiful water for hatching. Time will tell. I guess that’s all i know for now. Until next time. LO

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

North Platte river 02-14-2011 13:18
Cloudy, High Winds – 50-60 Degrees
well I was called to work last tuesday so I didn’t hunt but rick did and shot 2 geese and could have.limited.easily. Today is the second day in a row with temperatures over fifty degrees and strong winds. Some big flocks of canada geese are moving north With the tail wind. Anyway it was a good goose season. I don’t know if.I will hunt the.conservation season yet but I will keep my eyes to the sky and my ears.to the ground

Posted By:
Brian-Peters
Web Member

central panhandle 02-08-2011 23:48
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Well we tried to hunt the rye sat mourn, and arrived to find a nag that wasnt fed by his owner fell into the blind and destroyed half of it. The top was tore off, and about a doz decoys were destroyed. We set up the young ones up in the other side of the blind, after setting the lid back on and covering up what we could to camo it. Russ Frickey and I set out to find another spot. Gary let us hunt his blind and after a late start the birds worked us well. We had to quiet down I think they were a little call shy. But as soon as we did it was over very fast.The young ones, Tyer and Jake, even came over and filled the rest of thier limits. The meadow had a good year again. Brian

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

Northplatte river 02-06-2011 21:27
Cloudy, High Winds – 30-34 Degrees – Open Water
Rick and Donny called to rub in the fact that they limited six shooters with great ease while I was on grandpa duty. Today broke their season goose harvest record for the blind. I hope to get there.Tuesday if I dont get called to work for the third week in a row. We hunted Lisco last Sunday but only shot four. They have been doing very well there lately too even though
Numbers seem to be down in that area. Numbers are great around Scottsbluff. They did let a speck slide thru not realizing it was open for the weekend.

Posted By:
kpsriverdice
Web Member

Platte river – west of Kearney 01-30-2011 20:45
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Lots of new birds in the area! Reverse migration!

[Edited By kpsriverdice on 2011-01-30 20:46]

Posted By:
Brian-Peters
Web Member

01-22-2011 17:20
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went to the pit today spent first part of mourn hunting and second bailing water out VERY wet here birds moving in big groups and patterned got 2 birds and i heard gary shoot his last bird before i left brian

Posted By:
Brian-Peters
Web Member

central panhandle 01-19-2011 20:17
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The river is in fair shape here. We have been drowning worms and 5 days off has got me looking forward to sat. We still have a fair number of birds. They are kind of patterned so Im sure the hunting will be challenging.Very wet with snow melt. I went to the pit the other day and about got stuck right next to it. Have seen a few geese with a white bar across their chest, maybe I can pick one off. Brian

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

North Platte river 01-11-2011 23:12
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – 10-20 Degrees – Ice
Well the day started off with windchills nearing twenty below and we would not kill any geese until almost ten when a cripple swam down river into the decoys. There was only a couple flights of birds that seemed to have been chased off of their roosts and they never even slowed down. My young friend, Tyler and his girlfriend along with mine were with me today. The ladies decided to head to Scottsbluff to do some shopping around one and before they arrived at Hergbergers we were limited out. We decoyed a group of four and only killed two.( someone shot my bird, shoot your zone!) Then a bunch of twenty that bugged out at the last moment, we killed one. And before the smoke could clear we decoyed about thirty more with five of them feet down directly over the blind. We took our three and watched as some of them came back again. We also shot three drake mallards but didn’t decoy any of them. While we were chasing one of them down river we could have shot another limit of geese trying to land in the decoys. We called the girls to expedite their trip but didn’t decoy another goose until just before legal sunset. When we decoyed two singles in a row. The girls didn’t shoot at the first one and then Lorie missed the last one at point blank three times. We didn’t see alot of geese but it was frigid all day. Don’t know when I will get back out but I will keep you posted. LO

Posted By:
msj6139
Guest

GI area 01-10-2011 14:34
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Have not got out since the big snowfall. Can anyone tell me, have the geese moved out or are there still huntable numbers around, dont know when I can get out to scout the surrounding areas, thanks.

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

North Platte river 01-09-2011 21:47
Cloudy, Snow Flurries – 10-20 Degrees – Ice
Another arctic front has arrived and that spells excellent goose hunting at the Scottsbluff river blind. They had a blindful today and shot fourteen geese and one drake mallard. They said they should have easily limited out but didn’t. When the sandpits and ponds freeze the geese just really want the river. I understand that it is frozen below Bridgeport but I haven’t had a report from there for awhile. Brian????? I was failing terribly trying to get my little brother a doe today and his guides yesterday. it is very tough to get around due to the deep crusted snow drifts. Ice fishing is going strong on many lakes up here and temperatures are not expected to rise above single digits for the next two to three days. Hopefully the snow doesn’t get too deep on the corn. I plan to hunt Tuesday. LO

Posted By:
greenheadkilla
Web Member

did not hunt 01-08-2011 14:46
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hello from your state to the SW! It seems as though the reports have died off for you guys….Any info on birds!? I do enjoy reading all the great posts on the NE page and appreciate all the reports. The CO page has all but dried up and i cant ever get info on my own state!

Posted By:
Zach Mayhew
Field Editor

Central Nebraska 01-03-2011 20:41
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 25-30 Degrees – Ice
Went out Sunday and as usual after I am done deer hunting there arent as many geese around as the week before. Probably has a lot to do with the change in the weather. Only geese we saw were the 30 in the field when we went back to the blind.

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

North Platte River valley 01-02-2011 23:11
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – 10-20 Degrees – Ice
Well New Years eve blew in a major storm with blizzard conditions. Many areas in the panhandle recieved ten to twelve inches of light cold snow and high winds. Travel was very difficult from Thursday night to Saturday morning. We opted not to attempt the ninety mile ride to the river blind until today. The three guys there were snowed in thursday and Friday until the county plowed out some drifts Saturday morning. The goose hunting was “World Class” for those two days though and Thursday they limited on ducks too. We waited until today to let the storm settle and hunted our east blind but the geese were much tougher even with a good fifteen mph wind out of the west. We managed to shoot six geese and two drakes (one banded) while Rick’s blind also shot six geese. The alfalfa field blind south of us were done by ten or so. They just do sooooooo well. I believe I witnessed more geese this morning than I have seen there this year but most of them found safe fields and stayed there until late this afternoon. Lisco has been tough but they said there was a ton of mallards down there. They shot one goose today. The Bridgeport meadow blind shot four geese including a Ross. We also saw a couple snows today and Rick said many of the geese they have shot the past three days were the smaller varieties. I will most likely give them a whirl again on Tuesday. LO

Posted By:
jdgreen402
Web Member

Valley, NE Farm Pond 12-31-2010 16:26
Cloudy, Light Rain & Drizzle – 10-20 Degrees – Ice
Made it to the pond yesterday and found a Canadian taking advantage of the open water. Nothing else flying. Geese are around Fremont are well patterned. Ducks by Waterloo are only working the fields and sitting on the big water sand pits. Pretty slow …

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

Panhandle 12-28-2010 18:11
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 45-50 Degrees
Well we took a four man limit from my friend’s cornfield nine days ago but it took most of the day to do it. We started before shooting time to get some duck action if they were around but didn’t see any ducks til late afternoon. We shot one. The geese decided to use another field in the morning but they started trickling to our field around noon and then picked up towards sunset. We limited by three. All of them were PIGS. My son, Ty, tried it again this past weekend and only killed one. They said there was ALOT of geese around but they just didn’t come to the field they were hunting. There are some pretty big flocks of these birds hiding out in the sandhills and they are not leaving until we get some snow or bitter cold or both. The Patrick blind is averaging about three to four geese a day and maybe a duck or two also. They report alot of geese in the area so some weather would help them as well. Lisco has become tough but I always say” You never know til you go” Some days they do well and others are boring. LO

Posted By:
msj6139
Guest

Hall county 12-26-2010 22:17
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Hunted fields today and a lot of birds moving around the area. Got singles to break off and had a lot of fun.

Posted By:
kpsriverdice
Web Member

Platte river near kearney 12-25-2010 21:47
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Thursday was one of the best duck days ever. We had ducks everywhere…from sunrise to around noon it was almost non-stop. These ducks must of been new to the area because they were dumping into the decoys 25 to 40 at a time. it was nice to have good company in the blind “p/s”. Breakfast was served at 11:00 due to the hot action…River did and awesome job…great dog, good memories, and three limits of greenies and two whitecheeks. we watched ducks and geese fall out of the ozone. Awesome hunt. I still think watching the ducks and geese cup up and cart-wheel in to the deeks is a huge rush! Any good waterfowl hunter will say the same.
Good luck this next week and….

Merry Christmas to all

Posted By:
Brian-Peters
Web Member

central panhandle 12-22-2010 20:51
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hunted a meadow near broadwater with gary and larry h today was prob the best goose hunt i have had this year the birds were thick and came in nice only backward with a se wind many many birds saw some snows and 1 eaglehead thanks to larry for the invite its always nice to hunt with different people Brian

Posted By:
kpsriverdice
Web Member

kearney 12-21-2010 00:16
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The river blind has been good for ducks this year. The field blind is getting better. I would say with the full moon we are getting more birds in the area.

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

North Platte river valley 12-15-2010 08:22
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 50-60 Degrees
well I’d took my oungest daughter with me to the creek yesterday. We hunted with brian and gary. We were treated to a waterfowl spectacle before shooting time. we had mallards landing within a few feet of us. 1 nice bunch nearly landed on my dog and I’m proud to say she stood steady with 5 mallards within 5 feet of her in the water. Once shooting time arrived I was quite a bit different. regina had a couple chances to take her first duck but the action slowed considerably and we would only harvest 4. we probably could’ve shot quite a few ducks have we spent the whole day there and camouflaged better but we called it over round 930. the ducks were piled up.on the neighboring property where they were.safe. The early show was worth the trip as all of our senses were filled with rushing water, whistling wings, splashing and chattering happy mallards, the smell of the wetland and the sounds of great anticipation in our hushed all done rihan voices. The ducks were trying to trickle back they were very wary n just wouldn’t finish. we could of shot some.that but thats not what it’s about for us. hunting on the river has become very difficult, extremely nice weather has given the birds a lot of options. most lakes and creeks are at least now partially open again. I received a phone call from a rancher friend of mine who told me his corn fields are covered geese in the northern sandhills. I’ve decided not to hunt the river unless the wind is blowing it gets very cold it’s just too boring