Posted By:
pluckaduck
Field Editor
ND 11-10-2012 10:58
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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!’
