# North Dakota



## countryboy17 (Nov 25, 2010)

Heading out for the first time the 23-30. Anyone else been out already this year and have a report on the conditions or going out this fall?

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## BumpRacerX (Dec 31, 2009)

We'll be there at almost an identical time. Group of first timers on an adventure. Zero expectations. We've been told drought years suck by some people and drought years are great by some people.

Reports have been decent but doesn't sound like they had much of anything for a crop of local hatch.

Just excited to see it for the first time ever. Son, brother, step dad and family friend going with.


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## wavie (Feb 2, 2004)

My dads in Southern Saskatchewan currently. Upland hunting is lights out, waterfowl are starting to move in. Yup, less water but the boreal forest doesn't get enough credit for production during dry years. It ⁸ you'll get birds. They're seeing lots of mallards. Today's hunt consisted of laying in a pea field with only 1 spinner. My dad is 79, his friend 76, no layouts, just a blind bag to prop up your head. They shot their birds during snow squalls.

Ice is starting to lock smaller wetlands. Dad did mention lots of geese flying at night heading south.


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## hunterdau2 (Feb 7, 2006)

Heading out in A.M. for North Dakota. The report from last weeks group were there is water there are ducks. His group had 100 birds total for the week.


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## Rasputin (Jan 13, 2009)

I was there last week. Lot of birds but they weren’t flying much due to the summer like weather. Some sloughs were too dry , but most held enough water. Grouse were plentiful. Good luck


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## zoombaiter25 (Oct 27, 2011)

Heading out there this Saturday for a week stay. Been hearing mixed reviews. I'll try to provide an update next week if you want to exchange numbers

*FYI for all the newbies going out to NoDak, read up on the electronic posting system now in place. Landowners can now post electronically and do not have to place signage. More information here:*





Electronic and Physical Posting Information | North Dakota Game and Fish


Electronic Posting | Physical Posting Landowners (or individuals authorized by the owner of land) may post land to prohibit hunting either physically, electronically or both.




gf.nd.gov





Also for those using On-X, there is an additional layer that can be overlayed for these newly electronically posted lands.


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## cgrysen123 (Nov 11, 2010)

Update from our trip: 10/10-10/15:

Heading back to Michigan after a week in NoDak, hunting north of Jamestown. 
It was our best year yet (third year) in terms of bird harvest count. There seemed to be a lot less migrators than we are accustomed to, but it is two weeks earlier than normal for us. 

Lots of Gadwalls, Teal and a few Wigeon around. Didn’t really get into the Mallards or Pintails. I bet they aren’t too far away.

Started off in our tried and true farm owned by a gentleman and his dad, who we have built a solid relationship with since we first knocked on his door two years ago. Fair amount of ducks there. Picked away at the Gaddies and teal for a couple mornings. We quickly realized that was fizzling our so we regrouped with a rain day on Wednesday. 

Wednesday brought the total rainfall to 5+ inches while we were there, so we had more options as the week rolled on. Found a field with multiple shallow sloughs on Wednesday with 500 birds in it. Another flooded field had 200 greenheads. Hunted the field with more birds on Thursday morning and limited out under an hour and a half..
Hunted the same field on Friday, and ended up with 6.

My advice: Do a lot of driving in high percentage areas (based on google maps) and you’ll find similar situations. I would advise to find the birds in the afternoon, hunt those areas the next morning, then move on to the next. I don’t think the birds that are in the area are moving out, so they become educated very fast.

Good luck to all. Looking forward to seeing the migration evolve over the next few weeks through your reports!







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## countryboy17 (Nov 25, 2010)

Thanks for all the info everyone will give a report on how we do. Staying at a friends house out there so we got some good advice from him as well.

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## deagansdad1 (Jan 27, 2021)

Knock on doors. Locals are great people out there. Be prepared to never want to hunt in michigan again after this trip! Two different worlds

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## craigrh13 (Oct 24, 2011)

Just an FYI. The public out there is amazing. Very overlooked. We mainly hunted public and there was next to nobody else out there as everyone was worried about fields and private land.


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## Sea Nags (Dec 26, 2001)

countryboy17 said:


> Heading out for the first time the 23-30. Anyone else been out already this year and have a report on the conditions or going out this fall?
> 
> Sent from my SM-G986U using Michigan Sportsman mobile app


Headed out on Thursday for a week should be right on time for the migration. I do have a local farmer scouting for me and said that he has seen lots of ducks and water.

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## wavie (Feb 2, 2004)

Currently in Saskatchewan. 73F here today. Chasing geese, lots around, not many ducks. Mother nature needs to cooperate to get birds moving and long term forecast ain't favorable. Anyone who says there's no food is lying, found a pea field covered in waste grain, no birds cause it isn't cold. Geese are feeding in volunteer wheat/rye, anything green they want big time. 

The amount of fat on today's birds is crazy. Off to work on my tan and walleye fish the rest of the afternoon.


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## craigrh13 (Oct 24, 2011)

Looks like beginning of next week is gonna turn Cold. In NoDak it’s gonna be 70 on Monday and 48 on Tuesday. Lows in the upper 20’s.


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## bheary (Dec 29, 2010)

deagansdad1 said:


> Knock on doors. Locals are great people out there. Be prepared to never want to hunt in michigan again after this trip! Two different worlds
> 
> Sent from my SM-A716U using Tapatalk


Make sure you tell them that you are NOT from Minnesota. It helps, trust me.

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## wavie (Feb 2, 2004)

Snows were migrating south tonight. Had this overhead for about 30 minutes. No better place to be than the praries in the fall.


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## Deadeyedeek (Jan 7, 2019)

Just got back, wow what fun. There are ducks and geese everywhere, different hunting for sure..wide open hunting, with hidden potholes. The only species of ducks we didnt kill was woodies. Got into snows ans specks and cranes also. Finding land owners is tricky, but never got turned down, and handed out gals of whisky..That went a long way! Hunted with a fellow we invited to hunt with us, turned out to be one of owners of Knutsons in Broklin mich...small world.


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## craigrh13 (Oct 24, 2011)

Makes it hard to hunt here doesn’t it?


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## wavie (Feb 2, 2004)

If you're chasing Snows in ND be prepared. Strong north winds had the Snows migrating south all day. At one point at the farm in Sask it was 2 hours straight of a continous Snows migrating, what a sight.
New ducks moved into our area while scouting tonight.


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## Cork Dust (Nov 26, 2012)

bheary said:


> Make sure you tell them that you are NOT from Minnesota. It helps, trust me.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk


That declaratory phrase holds-up to be particularly true in southeastern North Dakota as well as around Devil's Lake!


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## BumpRacerX (Dec 31, 2009)

For those of you that have been before-

Any advice on what to take, what to leave home, what to do out there, what not to do, etc?


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