Posted By:
pluckaduck
Field Editor
DL Basin 10-28-2010 09:26
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Cold NW winds still persist and winchill was below zero this a.m. Will get a chance to head out tonight and look around, heard they got little or no snow east towards GF maybe there are better reports there! Looks pretty dismal unless the held tight but fear they got in the air and flew right on through. Cold again tonight should lock up lots of small water.
Posted By:
Rick-Nelson
Field Editor
Central ND 10-27-2010 21:20
Cloudy, High Winds – 30-34 Degrees – Open Water
Strong north winds continue to blow. Outside shoveling the driveway and walking my dogs this evening I heard an almost steady stream of geese heading south. And although migration is normal for this time of year I can’t help but think that this storm is pushing birds right on through the state.
With the strong winds comes lots of heat loss from water bodies. Given the low temps that are forecast we will likely see quite a number of wetlands iced up. It is supposed to warm over the next few days but I won’t have a chance to hunt until Saturday due to work commitments.
My hunting partner has the next couple days off and will give me a report from areas we traditionally hunt. If he can get out to these places given the snow and potentially impassable roads and trails.
Stay tuned.
Posted By:
pluckaduck
Field Editor
10-27-2010 07:48
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Heavy snow has blanketed much of the region. We have about 7 inches where I live and still coming down. Time will tell what this does to the birds stopping. Temps are suppose to be in low 40’s thru weekend after around 15 tonight!
Posted By:
Dakota Daydream
Web Member
NW of Bismark 10-26-2010 22:26
Cloudy, High Winds – 45-50 Degrees
First of all, I am NOT one of the guys that was in the DL area that you gave info to… I come up every year and do great without your help! Second: Glad to know that you think I am a wise ass and that you know so much more than I will ever know about duck hunting. What a joke of a “Field Editor…” I just read the posts to hear what is being said, and then wait until I get here from IN to make my own reports… Been here every year for the last 8 and notice the same stuff posted on here every year. Rick has always been very informative and helpful… Sorry that in your opinion I have to live here and post on a daily basis to know what I am talking about… (which makes you better at this than me???) I’m from Indiana and just want to encourage NR’s to come to this state and enjoy the same success that I DO EVERY YEAR… Early, late, or in the middle of the NR season…. We come up to the same areas every year and never have had a bad year… This year is on pace to be the best year that we have ever had! Sorry that someone who is SO MUCH BETTER than me can’t kill more than 15 ducks over a 200 mile radius… I am with only one other guy who has never been here and thinks this place is awesome. If anyone out there wants some REAL info on where the ducks are and where to go, PM me and I will give you some POSITIVE and reliable info…
P.S. CP if you want to see what I know, I will be in town until Friday and would be more than willing to put you in a field FULL of birds on any given day… You can even hunt with the guy that your are throwing under the bus without any info about how long I have been hunting or what I know. Just give me a message and I will gladly give you my number and take you on a great hunt… Unless your pride gets in the way of wanting to go out and kill birds! Isn’t that what all of us get on this site to discuss?????
Posted By:
Rick-Nelson
Field Editor
Central ND 10-26-2010 21:40
Arctic Blast – 25-30 Degrees – Open Water
Well folks, last weekend was another chapter in the continuing saga of no ducks. I put on over 400 miles in two days of scouting and hunting and nothing had changed.
Right now we are in the midst of a blizzard warning. The southern part of the state is forecast to receive 2-6 inches of snow with 10+ in northern areas of the state. Winds are 40-55 mph with gusts over 60 mph. The storm will blow through by tomorrow evening and temps are forecast to be seasonal by the weekend and upper 50s by Tuesday.
If, as has been suggested, the ND ducks went into Canada for some unexplained reason, this weather will either bring some down or blow them into Nebraska. I’ll know this weekend as I plan to hit it hard and if I can get time off I am going to try to hunt Thursday and Friday as well.
I know that some of you are finding ducks and having good success. Unfortunately, that is the exception this year not the usual ND rule. I talk to many people during the week from many parts of ND and they are having the same experience that I am having this year. And given the time, miles and different locations I have hunted and scouted I don’t believe birds are just hard to see or concentrated in one area. Reports of some big groups of ducks in a few locations should be reports of many big groups of ducks all over the state.
Wish I had an explanation for this year’s strange phenomenon but I don’t. I talk to lots of waterfowl biologists and they don’t have an explanation either. Falls under the ‘Harvard Rule of Animal Behavior’, which states, “given a highly controlled set of circumstances an organism will do what it darn well pleases.”
And that is apparently what we are experiencing this year. Great water conditions, weather that should not have moved any birds, harvest on schedule or ahead – no ducks. I guess they are “doing what they darn well please” this year.
I don’t have a problem not shooting ducks but I sure would like to see ducks when I am hunting. My dog is getting really good at sitting in the blind but I would like her to be able to see birds, and retrieve some, too. It is nearly the end of October and we could be running out of time if the weather pattern changes and we move into winter.
All this makes for a very interesting and unusual waterfowl season. It is certainly the strangest one I have experienced in over 45 years of waterfowl hunting. I hope it is an anomaly.
If you are coming to ND in the next few weeks be sure to bring winter clothing. I ran into some gentlemen from Kentucky last year and they were not prepared for the kind of cold and wind we have here. It was nice when they arrived but didn’t stay that way and they didn’t have proper gear. Light weight gloves, baseball hats and no insulated coats or boots didn’t work well when temps were in the 20s and wind chills were near 0.
More reports to follow the storm.
Posted By:
rsweers02
Guest
10-26-2010 20:27
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There were definately the fewest ducks I have ever seen in North Dakota but I thought it was worth the money and time. Your both right.
Posted By:
CPAMAN
Guest
10-26-2010 18:44
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Attention Dakota Daydream. Do you think I am lying? I am from Minnesota, own 400 acres in North Dakota and know more about waterfowl hunting than you could ever hope to learn. The guys from Indiana were told to go north to Rollette by me. If they stayed in the DL area, they might have had some success with migration that came in after we left. They told me they had shot four birds the first two days. They may have done better since, and I hope that to be the case.
If you are hunting NW of Bismarck, you are in an entirely different area of the State that requires a different license for nonresidents. Further, how can you talk about scouting when I told you the story in the DL area the week we were there? How can you compare results around Bismarck to an area well over 200 miles away?
I suggest that you leave your side comments to yourself. I post more on the ND forum than any other waterfowler.com member other than Rick Nelson and pluckaduck. I do it to help other hunters. Then, a wise-ass like yourself comes in and thinks your a know-it-all.
Posted By:
pluckaduck
Field Editor
Devils Lake Basin 10-26-2010 18:13
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WEather has closed Hwy. 57 near the casino to Fort Totten. Sleet changing to snow now and winds are bellowing about 40 mph from NW. I advise anyone traveling to the region to call first or at least postpone until the storm passes. This is NOT a storm to be taken likely as the worst is yet to come. Anyone wanting specific info shoot me a message at getthenetnd@hotmail.com and we can keep in communication. Take care
Posted By:
Dakota Daydream
Web Member
NW of Bismark 10-26-2010 17:53
Cloudy, High Winds – 45-50 Degrees
I think that if you take your time and scout for birds you will kill your ducks OR geese! We have been in the area since last Friday and have had NO PROBLEM killing our birds on a daily basis. We do our scouting, get permission, and have had great hunts all week… Had a group of friends here the week before us that did really well too. Mallards and Pintails are everywhere, as well as tons of small Canadas and Snows and Blues… Can’t imagine that it is as bad as everyone keeps saying. All the negative reports seem to be a joke to me. Every time that I read them, I wonder what some of these guys true intentions are??? Keep us non-residents out of here??? (“Do not travel to ND if you are from out-of-state this season. It is not worth the investment or frustration.”) I say head on up… We have had a great week and wish I had time to stay longer.
P.S. The guys from southern Indiana in the Devils Lake area that had never been to ND before are some friends of mine and have had more luck than what the earlier post lead on…
Posted By:
Dakota Daydream
Web Member
NW of Bismark 10-26-2010 17:44
Cloudy, High Winds – 45-50 Degrees
I think that if you take your time and scout for birds you will kill your ducks OR geese! We have been in the area since last Friday and have had NO PROBLEM killing our birds on a daily basis. We do our scouting, get permission, and have had great hunts all week… Had a group of friends here the week before us that did really well too. Mallards and Pintails are everywhere, as well as tons of small Canadas and Snows and Blues… Can’t imagine that it is as bad as everyone keeps saying. All the negative reports seem to be a joke to me. Every time that I read them, I wonder what some of these guys true intentions are??? Keep us non-residents out of here??? (“Do not travel to ND if you are from out-of-state this season. It is not worth the investment or frustration.”) I say head on up… We have had a great week and wish I had time to stay longer.
P.S. The guys from southern Indiana in the Devils Lake area that had never been to ND before are some friends of mine and have had more luck than what the earlier post lead on…
