Author: Webmaster

Publisher and Webmaster of Waterfowler.com.
No comments

Nebraska Duck and Goose Hunting Report Archive

  By

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

North Platte river valley 12-15-2010 08:17
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 voices. we worked hard on

Posted By:
Brian-Peters
Web Member

central panhandle 12-11-2010 23:00
– – –
Well I got to the meadow late today the guys had bagged 5 by the time i got there, and then all hell broke loose , alot of birds quickly and you had to keep your head on a swivel. We even scratched out a speck. The last birds were never retrieved. We couldnt get out till it was over. I went and checked the creek and the water was almost all melted. Some good # of ducks and even some geese. If the weather holds we could have birds for quite a while. Brian

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

North Platte river valley 12-10-2010 23:01
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 40-45 Degrees
Well we hunted the meadow blind at Bridgeport Tuesday. I didn’t think we saw alot of geese but certainly enough. We only decoyed ten and only bagged six of the ten. Two singles, on triple and the last was a flock of five. The 3 and 5 were all on my side and I should have killed six of them myself but I am pretty sure I only shot one. I’m darn sure not perfect! We heard specks in two flocks and I was told there was still a few of them hanging around. There was still alot of smaller Canadas. We never saw more than three ducks. Rick said he has been seeing good numbers of ducks but they avoid the river like the devil. He has been averaging one duck a morning since it got nice. There are some pockets of big numbers of mallards and some huntable flocks of geese where they can find water near corn north of the river all the way to the South Dakota border. Scouting can lead one to a great shoot. I will be calling coyotes this Sunday but I will keep my ears open.

Posted By:
bherb33
Web Member

Corn Field tween Valley&Waterloo 12-08-2010 20:58
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 30-34 Degrees – Ice
Missed the morning flight much to my chagrin. The evening flight was after legal shooting hours. All lakes along 264th street are iced out except for a few small spots. However the Platte and Elkhorn are slush iced, and I saw Geese coming from the river to their old haunts. Observation-when the temperature is above 30ish and the sun is shining with little wind the evening feed has been after legal shoot. However, when there is some weather the evening flight is about 2:30-3:00 off the river and starts about 3:30 for the lake birds. Does anybody have a different observation?

Posted By:
Doug-Miller
Field Editor

Tekamah 12-06-2010 07:40
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – 10-20 Degrees – Open Water
Well things are hit and miss on the Tekamah bottoms. If you are in a area that birds are feeding you get good shooting. If not it is dead.
Sat. morning their was a little migration of Mallards and Dark Geese most of the day. In the afternoon their was good numbers of Mallards feeding in the bottoms and the flocks that did work were in the hundreds.
Sun. the Canada’s were still moving but no Mallard migration. The few ducks that you did see worked right in. Most reports from up and down the valley were the same. Some of the pits that are on the north end of the system had a pretty good Canada shoot with birds coming off Blue Lake.

Its all about Ducks, Dogs, and Kids

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

North Platte river valley 12-05-2010 20:49
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 35-40 Degrees
Well we all got skunked today. Rick’s blind and ours both never fired a shot. Rick had a nice bunch of mallards work them early but they finally went into the neighbors upriver. We decoyed a suzie while I was there visiting. Our blind never had a close call. We quit at noon and headed back towards home. I made a couple stands for coyotes with my youngest daughter on the way home and called in one to about fifteen yards where she missed him with my shotgun. It was the most exciting thing to happen all day. The meadow blind killed ten geese yesterday but they had to work to get it done. Mike’s Lisco blind limited by nine on Friday and only shot three yesterday. Like Art said, they are getting routined and there is alot of season left. It looked like most of the geese around Scottsbluff today just stayed in the fields all day. We saw some big big flocks north of Scottsbluff on the edge of the farm ground. I will check in Tuesday. LO

Posted By:
jdgreen402
Web Member

Valley, NE 12-05-2010 20:32
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – 25-30 Degrees – Ice
BHerb … yup, murmur = soft moan. We were using short-reed calls. I had my dad put away his flute as it seemed to have the same effect on the Canadas as you would expect a bugle to have …

Posted By:
bherb33
Web Member

12-05-2010 12:52
– – –
JD, by a murmur do you mean a moan? Also flute or reed style? Thank you for your response. Keep em comin guys I’m all ears:)

Posted By:
jdgreen402
Web Member

Valley NE, farm pond 12-05-2010 10:56
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – 25-30 Degrees – Ice
It’s been very slow since last Wed. Yesterday afternoon we didn’t see a bird. Yet, we know there are a couple thousand geese working around the east side of Fremont and probably as many ducks. They just seem to know routine all too well.
This morning I just checked the pond and had nothing on it.

For the question about geese in the fields, I would also just try a murmur, exclusively. All of the geese that we have gotten this year have either came in silent or with us just doing a murmur. Clucks and honks seem to just push them wide. May be an indication of my calling ability, too … 🙂

Posted By:
bherb33
Web Member

12-05-2010 08:34
– – –
Art, thank you very much for your response. I get taking the feet off but taking the heads off, is that for a different look? My camo cover will be much improved next time. If anyone has any other suggestions I would greatly appreciate it.

No comments

Nebraska Duck and Goose Hunting Report Archive

  By

Posted By:
bherb33
Web Member

Corn Field tween Valley&Waterloo 12-04-2010 20:20
– – –
Early was cold and windy, noonish turned sunny and windy. Hunted with 32 bigfoots and 9 shells, hunters to the east and to the west. Birds are comin off the lake, right over multiple blinds and not decoying. Switched it up to 9 shells in the afternoon had alot give a look see, but my calling was foul. *note* blind to the east and to the west never fired a shot either. What gives how do I kill these birds?

Posted By:
Brian-Peters
Web Member

central panhandle 12-03-2010 19:42
– – –
Went for a drive on the south side of the river from Bport to Broadwater this afternoon. Many geese working the corn and alot of ducks staging in slow and shallow water on the river. Saw the ducks hit the corn coming back at sun down. Should be good hunts on cloudy cold days for them. We are going to try the meadow in the am. Thanks again Larry for the opp. to hunt earlier this week. good luck all Brian

Posted By:
Drew Goaley
Guest

Waterloo 12-03-2010 19:02
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 35-40 Degrees
Full day today. Very very slow. Didn’t start seeing anything until 4:00pm. Need weather.

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

North platte river 11-30-2010 17:49
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – 30-34 Degrees – Open Water
The blind at scottsbluff managed 17 mallards and nine geese in high winds yesterday. They should have limited on geese. I was going to go with shootr from Omaha and Brian to Mikes blind at Lisco but was mandated to work.They called me at 10:40 to tell me how they had just decoyed a hundred to shoot their last two. Some longtime goose hunters along the Garden county refuge believe there are more geese there right now than ever at one time before. Regardless, there is a ton of Canada geese in the North Platte river valley right now as well as mallards. Limits of geese are common as are mallards when there sre sloughs just off the reservoir. If this trend continues most blinds will set harvest records. I will try to get out Sunday.

[Edited By Larry-Olson on 2010-11-30 17:50]

Posted By:
Doug-Miller
Field Editor

Tekamah 11-29-2010 11:37
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – 40-45 Degrees
Hunting on the Tekamah bottoms was as good as it has been in the last seven years. Good numbers of ducks and geese using the bottoms. Saw several thousand ducks going out to feed Sat. and Sunday. The reports this morning was big numbers of birds working down from the north. If the birds stay we should have a good couple weeks.

Its all about Ducks, Dogs, and Kids

Posted By:
Jon-Barta
Field Editor

Valley Co. 11-29-2010 10:14
– – –
Birds are here. Goofy wind this weekend made for tough shots. Didnt take bad shots, only finishing birds. River opened up by sat morning, no slush. Need some weather to mess the ducks up. Lots of them but going out in huge waves after legal. Hopefully with the moon on the waning cycle it will get better.

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

North Platte river 11-28-2010 22:33
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 40-45 Degrees
Hunted the east pit near Scottsbluff today, i thought I was going to have a pit full but two decided to hunt elsewhere. It would be a poor choice. There is plenty of geese and ducks down there and the geese are working well. We shot the first limit we have ever taken out of that blind today. I hunted with my son and my youngest daughter who is a rookie yet. She got her geese shooting my woman’s twenty gauge and four shot. We never shot at another goose. We decoyed two singles, one group of five(killed all of them) and a nice bunch of ten or so that we took out last two from. My daughter smoked a ten pounder at ten yards from that bunch, it was good. Ducks were plentiful but not working the river much at all. We shot at three scaup flying at Mach 5 but that was it for ducks. Ricks blind shot four or five geese and they are killing geese every day. The Lisco blind was limited by eleven this morning, four shooters. They said they just decoyed singles and pairs and only had one of a pair fly away with two rookie youngsters in the blind. Havn’t heard from Bridgeport tonight but heard he had a couple no shows at their pit this morning too. That’s just not polite!! Oh well, I will be out Tuesday. LO

Posted By:
kpsriverdice
Web Member

Platte River 11-27-2010 18:41
– – –
Lots of high flying ducks and a lot of shooting on the river and south of the river.

Posted By:
Drake Dill
Web Member

South Central Nebraska 11-26-2010 19:43
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – 10-20 Degrees – Open Water
Lot’s of birds moving this morning. Must have shown up overnight from up North. Many of the area sand pits are now holding canadas, snow, and mallards in decent numbers.

Posted By:
jdgreen402
Web Member

Farm pond near Valley, ne 11-25-2010 20:49
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – 10-20 Degrees – Ice
Got to the blind late and half of the decoys were frozen in. Spent an hour pulling half. Only had one flock of canadas pass before 11:00 and I had to quit. Heard thousands of S/B’s this afternoon and evening after dinner.

No comments

Nebraska Duck and Goose Hunting Report Archive

  By

Posted By:
bherb33
Web Member

Corn Field tween Valley&Waterloo 11-25-2010 13:08
– – –
Hunted 0700-1000. Had 48 decoys out 12 shells and 36 bigfoots and still could’nt get any to decoy. Not sure what is up, but there are plenty of geese right now.

Posted By:
bherb33
Web Member

Corn Field tween Valley&Waterloo 11-25-2010 11:31
– – –
Hunted 0700-1000. Had 48 decoys out 12 shells and 36 bigfoots and still could’nt get any to decoy. Not sure what is up, but there are plenty of geese right now.

Posted By:
bherb33
Web Member

Ne. City 11-24-2010 22:31
– – –
Weather turned and vis. dropped considerably, but had mallards with muddy feet and bills try to land in the pond. Four of us got 2 limits shoulda been 3. Huntin cans tommorrow. Hit me with an e-mail Drew.

Posted By:
Brian-Peters
Web Member

central panhandle 11-24-2010 20:06
– – –
hunted the meadow with corey and gary today good succes on canadians done by 830 thanks to a good wind gary flagging and corey calling saw alot of waterfowl moving also brian

Posted By:
Drew Goaley
Guest

Waterloo 11-24-2010 18:52
Cloudy, High Winds – 35-40 Degrees
Great day today. Morning full of canadas and as the winds switched in the afternoon to the NW the ducks started to move. If we were better shots, we would have had close to 3 limits….same old story. Tomorrow looks to be good with early NW winds. Left for a couple of hours in the late morning. Saw thousands of ducks, cans and S&B’s on big waters. These are all new birds. Again, saw a good push of S&B’s late in the afternoon. We are finally seeing the birds we have been waiting for. Good luck to all.

BHerr…were you hunting today. During my break I noticed a few guys hunting in the area you described. The ones I saw were hunting a fenceline with can decoys in both the corn and about a dozen in the beans. You??? We should team up for a hunt!

Good Luck to All!

TRRGC

[Edited By Drew Goaley on 2010-11-24 18:54]

Posted By:
jdgreen402
Web Member

Farm pond near Valley, Ne 11-24-2010 16:08
Cloudy, High Winds – 25-30 Degrees – Ice
Had my doubts about hitting the blind this morning with last night’s full moon. Glad I did. Managed to catch 30 S/B’s loafing on the ice. About the time I saw them, they saw me and decided to git. I managed to drop 8as they were densely packed in a small group. The next 5 mins was spent dispatching the cripples. First time we’ve had s/b’s on the pond. Dad says they are seeing high numbers north of Fremont.

Only a quick fly by from 2 mallards all morning. Where are the ducks?

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

Northern panhandle 11-23-2010 18:23
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 30-34 Degrees – Ice
Well it was as I expected, all water is mostly frozen. Even the larger reservoirs such as Whitney and Box Butte are 99.5 percent iced over. There seems to be a few geese lagging on all the larger lakes but the -4 low predicted for tommorrow will most likely take care of them. I did shoot my five mallards off of the Niobrara river this morning and there was plenty of ducks around there. There seemed to be alot of Goldeneyes in the area but I don’t like to clean or eat them so I don’t shoot them. That’s all I know tonight. LO

Posted By:
Jon-Barta
Field Editor

Valley Co 11-23-2010 08:37
– – –
Very good migration of ducks and geese sat sun and mon. Lots of little geese kept pushing but a good amount of mids and bigs stuck around.

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

Northern Panhandle 11-23-2010 07:40
Cloudy, Snow Flurries – 10-20 Degrees – Open Water
I believe boat hunting is most likely done up here for the season. I will be leaving shortly to assess the situation but temps here are currently -9 and no wind. We have 1- 4 inches of snow on the ground now. The north country continued to empty of big geese yesterday as there was a regular flow of migraters over Chadron all day. It really bodes well for our North Platte river operations since they are not supposed to get so cold. The Lisco blind shot five geese Sunday and reported good numbers but very dense fog early on made hunting tough. No report from Scottsbluff, I think they don’t want to talk to me. I will check in later. LO

Posted By:
Doug-Miller
Field Editor

Tekamah 11-22-2010 07:44
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 25-30 Degrees – Open Water
Saw good numbers of birds pushing down the river Saturday mostly ducks. Couple bunches of Canada’s but few S&B’s. Most pits in the area got into several bunches of Mallards.

Sunday was slow with little if any migration and few working birds.

I think this will be the week to be in the pits. With the weather up north and the calander, birds will push.

Its all about Ducks, Dogs, and Kids

No comments

Nebraska Duck and Goose Hunting Report Archive

  By

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

Northern Panhandle 11-21-2010 22:42
Cloudy, Snow Flurries – 25-30 Degrees – Open Water
Well we took the boat to the lake I mentioned and found the boat ramp so icy before sunrise that I slid backwards the last ten feet into the water with my Wolverines on. After carefully considering the options and consequences of a extremely icy and steep boat ramp, coupled with the multitude of waterfowl that was trading from the water to the nearby cornfields, I decided to just pack a bag of duck decoys and the mojo to the most protected shore where we could reach open water with waders. It was a half mile hike but sure was worth it. My buddy and I quickly shot a limit of ducks even though we had to chase some cripples around for awhile. We waited for my son and one of my adopted sons to give up deer hunting and get there to enjoy the show. When they did show up a hour or so later, they accused me of being nuts backed the boat in and picked us up for a chance at the many geese migrating through. We would end up with five geese and six more ducks before we quit about a hour before sunset. It was cold and some moderate snow flurries at times. There was a TON of mallards migrating today along with good numbers of Canadas and lesser numbers of snows and other waterfowl. The ice was nearly a inch thick along the leeward shoreline and creeping out whenever it got a chance. I think we will need some wind to keep all but the largest of lakes open through this arctic blast for the next few days. I had reports from a couple other groups and all reported excellent success on ducks with lesser luck killing geese. it was definitley a waterfowlers day. LO

Posted By:
bherb33
Web Member

Corn Field tween Valley&Waterloo 11-21-2010 15:20
– – –
Drew, I hunt south of West Shores, just across Pacific. And you?

Posted By:
jdgreen402
Web Member

Norfolk 11-21-2010 14:18
Cloudy, Winds Calm – 35-40 Degrees
Post-script. A buddy of mine is hunting the Elkhorn near Norfolk. He said they were finally seeing/getting some ducks/geese working their area. They got five green-heads and a lesser Canadian on sat morn.

Posted By:
jdgreen402
Web Member

Farm pond near Valley, Ne 11-21-2010 14:15
Cloudy, Winds Calm – 35-40 Degrees
Hunted Sat morning and late afternoon. Had one decoy able duck. Saw a small flock of bills that were flying higher than normal and had the after-burners on. A couple of groups of canadas passed close and looked like some might decoy, but the lead birds were not having any of it.

Sunday morning, only out for an how before church. A constantly ringing cell phone spoiled an opportunity for a small group of Canadas that I got to swing four times while I was out of the blind. My dad was wanting to know if it was ok to make his way down to the blind. “Might as well, the micro-flock of Canadas that were working got tired of the phone ringing” (sigh). On a positive note, my dad is still game enough to get out and hunt with me — I’ll count my blessings on that basis.

Posted By:
Drew Goaley
Guest

Waterloo 11-21-2010 08:36
– – 30-34 Degrees – Open Water
Will agree with bherb. Saw ALOT of decoyable cans this Saturday. All seems to want in, but wouldn’t commit. Hunted til approx 11 and watched S&B’s migrate all morning. Managed to bag 3 ducks. Bherb what area are you hunting? We seem to be close.

Posted By:
bherb33
Web Member

Corn field tween Valley&Waterloo 11-21-2010 07:55
– – –
Hunted Saturday till 1000am saw a ton of geese, but the wind was out of the east and could not get any to commit near my tree line. Talked to a friend who hunted Ne. City and he said there were plenty of mallards to shoot and that he saw wave after wave of migrating mallards more than 10,000. Hear that Missourri?

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

Northern Panhandle, North Platte river 11-20-2010 22:38
Cloudy, Snow Flurries – 30-34 Degrees – Open Water
As predicted, the guys that were able and willing to go out today did well. There was spitting snow and fog and low clouds all day propelled by a stiff south wind. My son and one of his friends shot a limit of ducks and five geese off a sandhill lake. The Scottsbluff blind shot 7 ducks and five geese. Reports were all the same, alot of new birds arriving and massing on area wetlands. Protected bays, weedy areas and shallow ponds are all frozen. We are going to try a smaller public lake in the morning. It can be good but conditions have to be right, I think they will be tommorrow. LO

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

Northern Panhandle 11-20-2010 18:28
Cloudy, Snow Flurries – 35-40 Degrees
There continues a major push of all waterfowl today. I haven’t yet heard final reports but the guys at Scottsbluff had some luck this morning shooting 8 ducks and four geese. I found all small ponds froze this morning but witnessed a flock of several hundred lessers put in on a larger impounment just south of the highway. I went by a lake near my house and found several thousand geese there as well as a bunch of mallards right at dark on my way home. I think we will try this in the morning as it is only ten miles from here and the forecast is for freezing fog tonight. Lows are forecast below zero by midweek next week so this may be it for us up here. I will update as I get more info. LO

Posted By:
Brian-Peters
Web Member

central panhandle 11-20-2010 14:42
– – –
gary and i shot our limit of mallards this mourn i missed a sprig with my single shot uncleaned missfiring semi auto cant believe i still have to have something like this happen to make me clean my weapon alot of diff birds this mourning i think a push of sandhills birds east wind and big groups were hard to work with some singles sitting on the end of the barrell before we knew they were there good to have a good hunt with the trucker Brian

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

Northern Panhandle 11-19-2010 23:46
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 30-34 Degrees – Open Water
There was a big push of little geese into the NW corner of the state today. I recieved numerous reports of huge flocks of Canadas migrating. I witnessed several small flocks as I carried the mail but they looked like the medium sized birds. Some college students jumped some mallards at a public lake near here and managed a six pound Canada out of a flock that flew too close. They reported ALOT of birds on the main lake just rafting and all kinds. They said there was quite a few snows mixed in with them. Some of the boys will try hunting the sandhills in the morning. I wish I didn’t have to work. All the ponds on the way to work this morning were mostly iced over and no birds on them so the larger lakes and streams are most likely to hold any good numbers. Predicted lows below zero early next week with highs in the twenties might put an end to the small water success around here. one of my contacts in Saskatchewan just told me that all the geese moved out two days ago. It could be a great season if we can hold them in the state. LO

No comments

Nebraska Duck and Goose Hunting Report Archive

  By

Posted By:
bherb33
Web Member

Corn field tween Valley&Waterloo 11-19-2010 09:54
– – 35-40 Degrees
Hunted on Thursday 0630-1500 saw about 8 flights of huntable geese only got one set to give a close look, but they got spooked right before final decision. Seems to be a good number of geese around though. The morning was the best time till about 1030-1100 then it went dead, the evening flight was after legal shooting hours.

Posted By:
kpsriverdice
Web Member

11-19-2010 09:06
– – –
Well guys, with the forecasted weather for North and South Dakota we should be getting a push of both ducks and geese for Thanksgiving. Good Luck to all!

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

northern panhandle 11-18-2010 08:29
Cloudy, Winds Calm – 35-40 Degrees
migration continues to trickle down thus goose and mallard numbers slowly increase. most small ponds have ice on the edges and even larger lakes have ice in protected areas especially in the morning. boat access is possible on all lakes in this area. have not heard of much hunting pressure and success has been poor to fair for most. one exception would be a friend who hunts near Lisco. He reported a limit of geese last saturday and five greenheads the next. He said goose numbers were increasing on the Garden county refuge but many were lessers. They tend to move in larger flocks and can be harder to decoy in the many meadow blinds along the river. Hunting pressure on the
river around Scottsbluff has increased especially on the weekends and success is poor to fair. I am going to give our renovated blind there a shot Sunday. Until then, keep your powder dry! LO

Posted By:
bherb33
Web Member

Ne. City 11-17-2010 18:36
– – 30-34 Degrees – Open Water
Thought the ducks would be out and about today but it was not to be. Hunted from 0630-1000am shot one shoveler who flew over my head and landed in the decoys. Was uber slow saw almost nothing. Ducks I saw as I was entering into Iowa were on the middle of bigger ponds, by Missourri bridge. Did see 100 Mallards on little big lake though. Did the ducks peal off any opinions guys? Looks like Mallards could be entering in numbers at the top of state.

Posted By:
Drew Goaley
Guest

Waterloo 11-15-2010 20:19
Cloudy, High Winds – 35-40 Degrees
Hunted both sat and sun morning. Still a little slow. Saw some new birds/migration on saturday, but nothing too promising. Thought Sunday would be good, but hunted the morning and didn’t see anything but a small high flock of teal around 10:00. Managed to kill 2 pounds of bacon in the blind. Bama hunted Monday and same report as Sunday.

-“Kill em all and let the dogs sort them out” – TRRGC

Good luck to all and keep the posts up!

Posted By:
Brian-Peters
Web Member

central panhandle 11-15-2010 18:58
– – –
hunted sat with good success three of us shot 13 mallards decoyed fair also saw a couple wigeons woodducks are gone i think very cold with ice creeping into the decoys on sun not many birds working but we got almost all that did inc a stray goose corey called in and shot seems like we have good hunts on sats after the birds move in and relax all week and we must shoot them out i bet this is the trend till we get another good push of birds brian

Posted By:
Doug-Miller
Field Editor

Tekamah 11-15-2010 11:35
– – 30-34 Degrees – Open Water
Hunting in the Tekamah area is on and off. Friday saw a good push of ducks and S&B geese. No Canada’s. Sat their was a few ducks working the area. Sunday was very slow. Only a few working birds and no migration.
If you have birds staying in your area you get some shooting. But they aren’t moving around a lot.
Drove through Desoto Sat. evening. It looks as ducky as I have ever seen in the last 30 years. The new manager is heading it back to the old ways. It might take a year or so but it looks great. It is holding a good number of ducks also.

Its all about Ducks, Dogs, and Kids

Posted By:
kpsriverdice
Web Member

Kearney 11-15-2010 11:07
– – –
Saturday – Went to finish working on the goose pit in the cornfield blind and only heard two flocks of cranes flying. Brother-in-law heard a large flock of canada geese flying over the Kearney landfil.

Posted By:
Jon-Barta
Field Editor

Valley Co 11-15-2010 09:41
– – –
Sat morning was really slow. Very few ducks seen and one bunch of geese. Sun picked up a little bit, shot some birds but didnt see much. Took a drive sat afternoon and found good numbers of mallards all on shallow ponds and dug outs. There are good numbers of birds around right now, they just are not using the river.

Posted By:
IR1SH
Web Member

N of Ashland 11-15-2010 08:41
– – –
Sat: Birds moving early, lots of really high fliers. What was low would work the spread.

Sun: Drank too much watching the game Sat night. Slept in and went to the blind at noon. Saw nothing until dark.

No comments

Nebraska Duck and Goose Hunting Report Archive

  By

Posted By:
bherb33
Web Member

Corn Field tween Valley&Waterloo 11-15-2010 00:57
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 25-30 Degrees – Open Water
There was pleny of geese but they have a little refuge, should eat it out in a couple of days. Saw a tornado of mallards over same, looked at us but pretty high. Heard shootin early over the Platte, and later over the Elkhorn.

Posted By:
jdgreen402
Web Member

Farm pond near Valley, Ne 11-14-2010 13:27
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 30-34 Degrees – Ice
Wandered-out to the blind this morning. Glad that I did! Finally started to see some activity. Had a pair of gaddies working a creek nearby. Had a pair of mallards work the pond well (thanks to a misfire shell, I didn’t get them). Had a really high (guessing 150 yards up) flock of 30 or so mallards work the pond. Circling multiple times – just couldn’t get them in before they lost interest. Worked my tail-off to get a triple of blue-bills in ( I took my two). Had a woodie drop in to sit with the teal decoys. He decided to stay, too. Saddened about the mallards, but thrilled to finally see some ducks again.

Side note: WF.com have you thought of offering some south Dakota folks free subscriptions to get some reports? It sucks not getting some timely reports from their fine state.

Posted By:
jdgreen402
Web Member

Farm pond near Vally, NE 11-13-2010 18:53
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – 35-40 Degrees
Hit the blind today expecting a lot of activity from deer hunters rousting ducks off of the river and creeks. Somewhat disappointing. We did have a couple of woodies work us repeatedly (allowing us to finally get them close enough to take). We had a flock of five mallards work us very high, but would not commit. We wereusing spinners and it makes me wonder if they were already shy to them. This evening, I did see a couple of bigger teal flocks flying high and moving fast south. Unless they held at the Platte, they would have been in Mound City in an hour with the NW tail wind. Finally looking a bit more promising.

One more note: drove to Norfolk for tractor parts this afternoon and came back via Columbus and Fremont. Didn’t see anything in the fields or creeks. Finally saw a flock of local Canadas at the Fremont State Lakes. (sigh)

Posted By:
bherb33
Web Member

Ne. City 11-13-2010 14:55
Cloudy, High Winds – 25-30 Degrees – Open Water
Early morning was breezy and cold, 3 sets of teal that were shootable, with some mallards, speckled, and cans higher overhead. Seemed there was more shooting on the Missourri river, but not a flurry.

Posted By:
kpsriverdice
Web Member

Central Nebraska 11-12-2010 14:42
– – –
I just received a call from my brother-in-law and he has seen a lot of ducks and geese migrating along I-80!

Posted By:
bherb33
Web Member

columbus 11-11-2010 22:00
– – –
Was not hunting but out of town on business, at sleep inn columbus stood outside for 10-15 minutes and listened to a constant overhead night goose migration from 9:45-10:00pm.

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

Northern Panhandle 11-11-2010 21:46
Cloudy, Snow Flurries – 30-34 Degrees – Open Water
Well the phone has been ringing and e mails singing of flights of snows and lessers moving south over the northern panhandle tonight! The southern panhandle recieved alot more snow than we did so it might stop the birds up here for a short time. i ran around the grasslands for a couple hours before sunset tonight and quite a few ponds were holding ducks. Temperatures are supposed to drop into the lower teens tonight so it could force birds to the bigger water. I have to work every day but Sunday and I told my little brother I would help him shoot his first deer Sunday so I will just have to suck it up!! Hope some of you guys can get some while you can.LO

Posted By:
Brian-Peters
Web Member

central panhandle 11-11-2010 13:32
– – –
This mourning the snow fell right at day break went to the local sra for a drive around there were alot of divers both on the water and working the area also heard a group of small geese but could not see them this weekend could be good Brian

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

Northern Panhandle 11-11-2010 11:05
Cloudy, Snow Flurries – 30-34 Degrees – Open Water
Well I couldn’t find anyone to do the boat thing with me today so i made my mind up to finish some windows that I have been promising to do. But my kid texted me that he heard geese migrating over chadron before sunrise. So I ran around here jumping ponds and found a nice push of northern Mallards. (only shot two drakes) and saw a couple big bunches of geese high and heading into the snow south of here. I just cant seem to get it right this year!! I am going to try to get the windows done and get back out there, Later LO

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

Western Sanhills, panhandle 11-10-2010 23:21
Cloudy, Snow Flurries – 40-45 Degrees
Well I made it to the Sandhills yesterday thinking that the strong NW winds coupled with precip up north would bring those little Canadas and snows with them but it was not to be. We never saw a goose and no migrating ducks either. There was maybe a hundred ducks on the lake but most were shovelers and they avoided us like the plague. I finally slipped through some cattails on the island we were hunting and shot a drake but that was our total for the day. The reports were similar from everyone but some guys had better luck than i did,(wouldn’t be hard). We checked a couple other lakes on the way home and the pickings were pretty slim there too. We hauled most of our decoys to the North Platte river blind Sunday and tried hunting a couple hours but it was very slow there too with temps reaching the upper seventies in the afternoon. I think we probably saw a couple hundred ducks while were there but only one decoyed and we were all working at the time so she flew away.(suzzie anyway) Our channel looks good, maybe? Time will tell. I thought about taking the boat out tommorrow again but it is alot of work for one guy especially when the success is so poor and I have some windows to finish here in the house. I will get out in the morning for a couple hours anyway and it’s only ten minutes to a lake if there is any migration going on. hmmmmmmmm. LO

No comments

North Dakota Duck and Goose Hunting Report Archive

  By

Posted By:
pluckaduck
Field Editor

ND 11-10-2012 10:58
– – –
Major storm hitting most of ND as I write. Highs on Sunday expected in single digits should freeze water. Heavy snow will push birds, many still north right through ending season.
Hunt was short, hard but found many birds that cooperated.

Posted By:
HonkerHotline
Web Member

North Dakota 11-01-2012 16:25
– – –
Just returned from 3 days of chasing ducks throughout North Dakota. With warm temps and a full moon, I was very nervous about what would transpire.

Day One:
Found a small transition slough (less than an acre in size) that had about 500 Mallards using it the night before. Setup a small water spread of ducks and geese along with 24 Full Body Geese along a mud flat on the shore. Hunkered down in our layouts and had fast action for the first 2 hours of the morning. Ended the day with 10 Mallards and a Gadwall. One short of our limit and oh was the shooting pathetic at times 🙂

Enough cloud cover during the night allowed the birds to still feed the next morning.

Day Two:
Found a large body of water that held 20k mallards. Setup a large spread in a nearby field and had ducks working us within 10 yards all morning. 10 Greenheads, 1 Pintail, and 1 Widgeon. Shot very well on this hunt and only needed 4 flocks of ducks to limit out. Dropped 5 ducks out of one flock.

Rain and clounds allowed the birds to still feed in the morning.

Day Three:
Full Moon…. Clear Skies…. Yuck!

Setup in a different field that held a couple thousand ducks the night before. By 9am we had not squeezed the trigger. I think they fed all night long. However, we got lucky and were able to coax in 3 flocks that appeared to be returing to the roost and ended with 9 greenheads and 1 hen.

It was a fun trip and a lot of scouting miles paid off.

Many groups in our area that I talked to were doing very poor including one ground of 6 hunters that shot 7 ducks in 2 days. They ended their trip early.

There are birds around, but they are grouped up and will not stray much from where they are heading.

Scounting as always will be the key.

Very few geese viewed for this time of year, which was surprising due to the cold in Canada the previous week.

Did they migrate back North or head for the beach?

Posted By:
jefbet03
Field Editor

10-31-2012 12:01
– – –
No doubt! I am assuming you guys in ND dont hunt anymore or what? I think your concern is talking about there being birds and others coming to your state ti kill em all…….in all reality 95% of us who read your reports are just trying to know what to expect further South. Please post something…………….

Posted By:
pipewrench
Web Member

Devils Lake 10-27-2012 11:05
– – 25-30 Degrees – Open Water
Nobody hunting or what! Please post!!! Thanks for any info! Buddy just got back from Devils Lake region and he said some northern mallards moved in on wed. Lots of Gaddys and weigon too! They shot limits each day wed.-Friday, 9 guys! Good luck and take a kid hunting! They’re our future!

Posted By:
pluckaduck
Field Editor

ND 10-19-2012 18:51
– – –
I see the weather is changing slightly up in Canada, can anyone give me something for sure? Here in Northern Ontario it has warmed and today was almost 70. The few birds we had here have left, thank god for fish and Grouse!!

Posted By:
pluckaduck
Field Editor

ND 10-18-2012 18:59
– – –
Having lived and seen first hand what is happening, yes one would think that the voted in people would do something about the devastation. BUT, the bottom line is the dollar, has and always will be, there are far too few people who give a sugar about the environment and now being in Ontario, its no different here!! I doubt it matters anywhere anymore.

MONEY MONEY MONEY, is just sickens me. Soon I will be back on the prairie chasing birds and simply can not wait to get back home!!!

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

NW corner 10-15-2012 08:35
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – 45-50 Degrees
Observations after driving through the northwest corner of the state are that there’s plenty of water and plenty of birds could make a good hunt. Would appear that the problem with that area is the lack of any nearby cities for lodging and meals. I think a guy could stay in Plentywood Montana and skip over the border and hunt birds that way. Anyhow there a lot of ducks and Canadas obvious off the highway going through Fortuna.

Posted By:
John-Donelon
Field Editor

N.Dakota 10-09-2012 10:37
– – –
Golden Finn
In response to your comments on my post on the oil industry in N. Dakota,I think you misinterpreted on what I was saying. Green engery is years away from being of any help to this country.I know the importance of jobs today.What I am saying is that from what I have read,little planning was made or is being made for structure in the oil region in N. Dakota.The side effects of this boom,over population,drugs,heavy traffic on local roads that were never meant met to bear this kind of traffic.From what I have read,tent city and dorms on the lands.

Posted By:
Larry-Olson
Field Editor

Be corner 10-06-2012 16:43
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 45-50 Degrees
Plenty of water and birds here on our way to saskatchewan nw of williston

Posted By:
Golden_Finn
Web Member

North Dakota 10-05-2012 15:15
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – 25-30 Degrees – Open Water
Pessimistic Political Response:

I respect and slightly agree with Mr. John-Donelon’s statement. Clean, renewable, green energy ought to be sought out by every American, but obviously, America’s concern is job creation and the economy as a whole. Most North Dakotans care about right-winged ideology, the agricultural industry and the oil boom. Waterfowl habitat is not even on the button of the list. I understand within the next ten to twenty years the oil fields will move east to the region around Carrington (where oil was recently discovered) and Jamestown as soon as more feasible, efficient technology exists. For those in the earnestly uneasy crowd (majority non-residents?), please, contribute to and/or develop non-profit organizations that will fight and preserve the prairie pothole region territory.

Optimistic Waterfowl Update:

This morning, Finn, a fellow hunting comrade, and I hunted a soybean field… And, ‘twas absolutely phenomenal! The waterfowl population in the region boomed similarly to the man-camp population boom out west in Williston and Dickinson. The cold front brought with it a piece of good fortune. Unfortunately, at 8:30, I departed the field to attend class, but not before the team harvested four Canadians, seven Mallards, and two Pintails. Yes, this all occurred in a little over an hour. When I returned to the field at 10:30 to help pick up the eight-dozen decoys, my partner in crime had already completed the task after he filled his limits. The decoy-less field held hundreds of birds even though a successful hunt transpired in that very location that very morning—very neat.

‘Good hunting!’

No comments

North Dakota Duck and Goose Hunting Report Archive

  By

Posted By:
John-Donelon
Field Editor

North Dakota 10-04-2012 16:30
– – –
Have been to your state on one occasion for waterfowl hunt,it was a great week. What I have been reading and talking to a good friend in Bismarck,the oil wells business will soon put an end to the beauty of your state. The western part of N. Dakota from reading articles on the drilling sounds like the old west.I know you are proud people,am I am not one to butt into other people’s business,but I find it hard to stand by and see a great state destroyed all for money.I would think your state legislators could bring some order to the destruction taking place in the western part of your great state.Just my two cents.

Posted By:
pluckaduck
Field Editor

ND 10-04-2012 07:01
– – –
As I write, ND is getting a early Fall winter storm. I recall a while back when this happened. Far too early for freeze up but may be a huge blessing for hunters? The year this happened we struggled for a couple of days until we figured it out and then it was good as gold until Lock out near the 15th of November.

I will be going from Wisconsin to ND around Halloween time and have room for a guy or 2 or a couple could travel along. Will be out there for a couple of weeks or so, if you want to come and hunt, let me know, Magoo and I are always looking for people to hunt with!!

Posted By:
Golden_Finn
Web Member

East Central North Dakota 10-03-2012 15:37
– – –
Considering the forecast promised a full moon and average temperatures for a warm summer day as well as my father reminding me of the forecast, again and again, I presupposed the weekend might offer a bit adversity beforehand, so Finn and I hunted at a very leisurely pace this past weekend. To be honest, I did not actually hunt until Sunday morning even though I scouted Friday and Saturday. I set up in a soybean field where four to five hundred geese fed the previous evening. With the exception of a lone drake mallard harvested five minutes after shooting time, the birds slept in, and as a result, Finn and I napped. Around nine, the birds took flight and arrived at the soybean field. From flocks of couple birds to fifty birds, they decoyed beautifully. Unfortunately, I did not have any puddle ducks (other than the single, hungry drake) or snow geese give my spread a glance.

I do not believe the water conditions deterred many non-residents from enjoying another opener. I witnessed more than a handful of non-residents scouting and hunting. I also heard a fair amount of gunfire late in the morning, from eight to ten.

I have hunted in the same, general region since the age of nine, and I do not recall a September where I’ve had to scout so hard for a field overflowing with Canadians. It is a little disappointing and discouraging driving to my favorite roosts to find vacant, feces-less, featherless shores and wide open, unoccupied water that normally held hundreds if not thousands of birds for me to stalk in to the fields from late August to early November. Perhaps, the early goose season limit of fifteen disrupted this norm. Another argument might be made in regards to the current drought, and as a consequence, the birds travelled elsewhere.

However, I sense a change in the winds. Today, it is a disgustingly beautiful fall day offering solid cloud cover, breezy winds, light rain, and a low of thirty-one degrees. Within the next twenty-four hours, forecasters speculate one to three inches of snow. Thankfully, this friendly cold front will slow the well ahead of schedule harvest and force many migratory birds south.

I am very anxious to get out this weekend and will post soon.

Posted By:
HonkerHotline
Web Member

North Dakota 10-01-2012 19:38
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – Over 70 Degrees
Hunted North Dakota over the past weekend for my 17th straight year. Left Central Minnesota on Thursday evening and arrived to our destination late that night.

Awoke Friday morning well before daylight and off we were to scout. Put on over 400 miles on Friday and found a few decent fields that birds were hitting.

Conditions couldn’t have been worse with a full moon upon us and temps in the 80’s.

Setup on Saturday in a harvested field. Put out 100 full body Canadians, 25 snows, and 24 full body ducks.

As shooting ours came we viewed a few small flocks of teal screaming through, however very few shots fired in our area (less than 10 barrages) and little bird activity whitnessed. At 9:00am we did not have a single bird decoy (I assume because they were feeding the night before when we watched 5k bird in this field).

At 9:10am, the first flock of 50 mallards came in and 3 of us dropped 3 birds. Not great shooting……

A few additional flocks worked us and we ended the morning with 12 birds. Good decoying, but not many birds viewed.

That evening we scouted and saw a bit more activity, but the weather must not have had them wanting to hit the fields too hard.

With things being the way they were we chose to setup on a remote slough in the middle of a section. After carrying layout blinds and decoys into our hunting area we were ready to go with minutes to spare.

A bit more activity at first light had us with two drake mallards right away. However, a lull occurred until late morning. For a 20 minute period we had good numbers of birds working us and ended the day with 15. Mostly Mallards, Pins, and a few teal.

The prairie is a special place in the Fall and over the years I have been through everything from washed out roads, not being able to get a truck in the field to setup decoys as well as some dry years. However, this is the worst that I can remember as far as water conditions.

I would estimate that nearly 50% of the ponds that were in the state of ND last year are now dry and this has farmers in every county burning cattails and tilling up this land. There were times when I felt I was in a Middle East war movie scene as you could count 20+ fires going in every direction that you looked.

The deer hunting harvest is going to be near a record high as there will be no place for them to hide.

I also wonder how many of those ponds will return in future wet years as farmers were also making drainage runs to the ditches nearby.

What was a lush waterfowl paradise only a year ago, looks like Southern Minnesota today. Everything plowed up to the side of the gravel roads, very little grass in the ditches or sloughs, and very few ponds. Burn your plots map from last year, because it won’t even be close as far as existing ponds.

Remaining optimistic lets me believe that this is just a cycle on the prairie that is necessary to keep the wetlands as productive as they are, however with the high grain prices in the market today, I fear that the good old days of North Dakota may be slipping away from us.

If you are heading west in the coming weeks, leave your boat at home. Most ponds have less than a foot of water in them (this includes good sized ones 5+ acres). You will find birds here and there, but that ones that are around right now are getting educated.

Hit me a private message if you want additional specifics and best of luck to all of you.

Posted By:
mallarddux
Web Member

10-01-2012 09:23
– – –
hey all – hope all is well up north! planning to head up in a few weeks for our annual trip – any current updates. hunting east central part of the state. thanks.

Posted By:
Golden_Finn
Web Member

East Central North Dakota 09-24-2012 21:44
Mostly Sunny, No Precipitation – 35-40 Degrees
One ought to be very enthusiastic concerning a young autumn upon us. I certainly enjoyed another North Dakotan waterfowl season opener. I brought my eleven-month-old Golden Retriever along for his first taste of an uncontrolled hunting experience. Even though he refused to retrieve the Greater Canadian Geese, Finnegan performed very well, and I am glad to have his company.
The weather this past weekend offered a low temperature in the high 20’s. I surely do not mind a little assistance from Mother Nature to force the birds in to the fields.
Unfortunately, the water conditions in the region hold at very poor to poor levels. Perhaps, this is the year for the water-hunters to evolve, leave the johnboats as well as the waders in the garage, and find success in the fields. I would be more than happy to show a couple Minnesotans or non-residents how to hunt waterfowl in a field as long as I receive a promise in return not to shoot-up the roosts. I will apologize for creating a stereotype and categorizing, but I have to be frank from one Minnesotan to another.
Moving forward… The farmers have harvested a strong majority of the soybean fields. From time to time, you will witness a cornfield or three partially or completely harvested.
I believe the Canadian and Mallard numbers for this time of year are roughly average.
I look forward to another fantastic season as well as more cackling and chatter on the blog.

Posted By:
HonkerHotline
Web Member

DRY DRY DRY 09-08-2012 07:40
– – –
Wanted to send you a quick report from driving over 1000 miles yesterday from MN to ND to visit a few customers and scout.

Overall, ponds are extremely dry with many of them gone all together. This drought year will allow the prairies to re-charge once we move into another wet cycle. A neccesary evil.

The best number of birds I viewed was around the Jamestown area. Also seemed to be the best water levels. However, these water levels are still very low and the duck numbers viewed were nothing to write home about.

Our traditional hunting areas that I scouted have nearly zero ponds around. Almost all of the shallow ponds/ Lakes (Some of these fairly large) that hold roosting birds that we field hunt for are completely dry.

Where there is water you will find a few pockets of ducks sitting on mud flats, but overall I was very dissapointed with the lack of puddle ducks and the high number of coots throughout the entire state. If you are a coot hunter…. you will have a great time.

I have been going to ND for the last 17 years and this is the most dismal I have personally whitnessed at this time of year.

With good scouting, I’m sure we will be able to find a hunt or 2 and in some cases probably do ok, however I am guessing overall many hunters will struggle and pressure will be very high where there is water.

Sorry for the dismal outlook, but that is what I viewed yesterday. It is weird that the brood index was so high this summer, yet so few ducks whitnessed. I am thinking a combination of the early goose season that opens on Aug 15 along with the combination of the drought has driven many ducks North into Canada or East to Minnesota for the late summer months where there is much more water, but that is a non-scientific theory.

What is everyone else seeing?

Posted By:
HonkerHotline
Web Member

ND 09-02-2012 21:29
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – Over 70 Degrees
Very Dry throughout most of ND and conditions are not improving. Lots of mud flats starting to show and many potholes are completely dry. The crop Harvest is ahead of schedule – although much of the corn is being chopped due to the drought.

Ducks have already seen 1000’s of decoy spreads due to the Early Goose Season and pressure has increased this year due to more counties being open to Non-Residents. I have talked to many MN & SD hunters that have been out there every weekend chasing geese since 8.15. Many of these MN hunters sadly do not stay off the water either. I try to educate, but they just don’t get it. This weekend will also host Youth Waterfowl day, so the ducks will get another barrage of pressure.

In my opinion, all of these early “special seasons” really take away from the success of the regular season. I wish they would go to more liberal limits and simply have one season that everyone can get excited for.

Shoot me a PM if you want more information.

Posted By:
John-Donelon
Field Editor

N. Dakota 09-01-2012 11:58
– – –
Hello,anyone home?Would be nice hear from someone on water and crop conditions in the prime state for ducks and geese.Hard to make decisions for anyone that might be thinking on a hunt in N. Dakota.

Posted By:
mallarddux
Web Member

Valley City area 08-28-2012 13:28
– – –
hey all – hope things are well up north, very dry here in the midwest. any updates yet on water conditions across the state – let us know any info you can, heading up in a few months for the annual trip. thank you.