# Who's headed to Nodak this fall?



## anon2192012 (Jul 27, 2008)

Just curious who all is headed out west to chase fowl this fall? Just booked our house for ND and now counting down the days......can't get here soon enough. 4 months and 6 days till go time.


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## Bow Hunter Brandon (Jan 15, 2003)

I am going early in the season either opener or a week later with my family. My son will be old enough to hunt this year and is practicing with the 20 several times a week. I think he will be ready and I know I am

I'll be in Canada again in September with the guys and depending on how my season goes here in Michigan I might go back to ND for a late season hunt. Its only 10 hours from me so I can go over for a long weekend.


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## wavie (Feb 2, 2004)

Friend is doing waterfowl surveys currently in ND/SD, lots of water and ducks. Heading N of the border to Saskatchewan the end of October.
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## mwakely (Jan 7, 2004)

We'll be out late! Going for mallards that are looking tp fatten up on spent grain. Hoping the LACK of open water concerates them! If I win the lottery I'm moving to ND.


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## quackersmacker13 (Dec 9, 2009)

mwakely said:


> We'll be out late! Going for mallards that are looking tp fatten up on spent grain. Hoping the LACK of open water concerates them! If I win the lottery I'm moving to ND.


same thing we did this year, but if its too cold well go to Mississippi or if theres water, Arkansas...hello timber!!!


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## DUCK LAB JAKE (Mar 6, 2004)

Our crew of four will be there at the end of October


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## highcaliberconsecrator (Oct 16, 2009)

Not sure if I am going this year. Thinking about cashing in one big trip to N. Dakota for two or three smaller trips elsewhere. I've got some time to decide yet.
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## QuackCocaine (Nov 14, 2010)

Pretty sure our group of six will be headin to NoDak towards the end of october. We went for non resident opener last fall. 

then in late january we may head back down to southern arkansas again. Had a hell of a hunt there this last january
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## anon2192012 (Jul 27, 2008)

Here's a few pics from last years trip to help pass the off season.


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## duckjunky (Mar 28, 2007)

We'll be there later in October.


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## limige (Sep 2, 2005)

What's the general rates over there? How much is a non Res license?
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## anon2192012 (Jul 27, 2008)

Without looking it up, I think last year it was $140 for a 2 week and like $115 for a one week. Lots of different options for different zones and different splits though.


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## Wingmaster22 (Oct 29, 2003)

Huntermax-4 said:


> Without looking it up, I think last year it was $140 for a 2 week and like $115 for a one week. Lots of different options for different zones and different splits though.


Your just a little off.
$100 for two 7 day periods but you must hunt from two different zones
$140 for two 7 day periods statewide

i'll be heading out with mwakely and the shiawassee_kid in early november. its a bit of a roll of the dice goin that late but if we hit it we'll hit it good!


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## Wingmaster22 (Oct 29, 2003)

wavie said:


> Friend is doing waterfowl surveys currently in ND/SD, lots of water and ducks. Heading N of the border to Saskatchewan the end of October.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


i was there last month to do some work on the house. water everywhere. on the way home there was water over the road and they had buoys to mark where the road was. craziest thing i ever seen.

on another note we saw the prettiest pintail, shovelers, green wings and gaddies i've ever seen. definately a nice time of the year to watch ducks out there....


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## just ducky (Aug 23, 2002)

First trip out Oct 5th; second trip out Nov 3rd or 4th...still working on the late dates.

Dave,

Did you get any feel from the locals as to how badly the pheasants fared with the tough winter? Our farmers there were pretty pessimistic about how well they survived the snow and ice.


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## BassFisher91 (Sep 11, 2005)

You guys just go out on the public lands or is it pretty easy to get permission for fowl over there. I'd love to go but wouldn't know where to start with the 'logistics' part(housing,licenses,etc.)...
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## Wingmaster22 (Oct 29, 2003)

just ducky said:


> First trip out Oct 5th; second trip out Nov 3rd or 4th...still working on the late dates.
> 
> Dave,
> 
> Did you get any feel from the locals as to how badly the pheasants fared with the tough winter? Our farmers there were pretty pessimistic about how well they survived the snow and ice.


General feeling Dan is that the pheasants took a beating this winter. Probably the lowest numbers since we've been goin out there. However.....the ducks numbers are a totally different story.... :evilsmile


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## Shiawassee_Kid (Nov 28, 2000)

just ducky said:


> First trip out Oct 5th; second trip out Nov 3rd or 4th...still working on the late dates.
> 
> Dave,
> 
> Did you get any feel from the locals as to how badly the pheasants fared with the tough winter? Our farmers there were pretty pessimistic about how well they survived the snow and ice.


lol i heard they were roosting in town by the school and all the predator cats and eagles were roosted at the post office...lol hows that for a report?


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## TNL (Jan 6, 2005)

I'm guessing it will be Oct 1 for NRs. We have 3 going for sure. We've never gone that early before. If anyone has any experinence with going that early, please feel free to comment. Color phases, hunter numbers, etc.

Full moon is Oct 11 and the MN teachers conference is 20-23, so we'll have to pigeon hole a week in there somewhere. Going early has more hunters I assume and going late is risking freeze-out I know of first hand. So it's a crap shoot. 

Pheasants will have to be targets of opportunity. Water's high and has been for 3 years. Not sure how they faired this winter or the spring hatch. I've heard that water has blocked MANY roads to impassable - some say the most in a generation or two. Decisions, decisions.


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## Shiawassee_Kid (Nov 28, 2000)

TNL said:


> I'm guessing it will be Oct 1 for NRs. We have 3 going for sure. We've never gone that early before. If anyone has any experinence with going that early, please feel free to comment. Color phases, hunter numbers, etc.
> 
> Full moon is Oct 11 and the MN teachers conference is 20-23, so we'll have to pigeon hole a week in there somewhere. Going early has more hunters I assume and going late is risking freeze-out I know of first hand. So it's a crap shoot.
> 
> Pheasants will have to be targets of opportunity. Water's high and has been for 3 years. Not sure how they faired this winter or the spring hatch. I've heard that water has blocked MANY roads to impassable - some say the most in a generation or two. Decisions, decisions.


3rd week is the busiest week....coupled with good migration and teachers conference...its a big pain in the ass. state gets overrun by minnisota.


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## anon2192012 (Jul 27, 2008)

That's kind of why we chose the 4th week.


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## montrose trapper (Nov 14, 2006)

Me and one of the guys from last year are planning on making a long weekend trip since its a 12 hr drive. Were gonna try and make some calls around and shoot over when the birds are there

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## anon2192012 (Jul 27, 2008)

montrose trapper said:


> Me and one of the guys from last year are planning on making a long weekend trip since its a 12 hr drive. Were gonna try and make some calls around and shoot over when the birds are there
> 
> _OutdoorHub Mobile, the information engine of the outdoors_


 
Keep in touch as I know you were in the same area as us last year and there is room in our house that week if need be.


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## Shiawassee_Kid (Nov 28, 2000)

Huntermax-4 said:


> Keep in touch as I know you were in the same area as us last year and there is room in our house that week if need be.


screw that, makem sleep in his truck


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## just ducky (Aug 23, 2002)

TNL said:


> I'm guessing it will be Oct 1 for NRs. We have 3 going for sure. We've never gone that early before. If anyone has any experinence with going that early, please feel free to comment. Color phases, hunter numbers, etc.
> 
> Full moon is Oct 11 and the MN teachers conference is 20-23, so we'll have to pigeon hole a week in there somewhere. Going early has more hunters I assume and going late is risking freeze-out I know of first hand. So it's a crap shoot.
> 
> Pheasants will have to be targets of opportunity. Water's high and has been for 3 years. Not sure how they faired this winter or the spring hatch. I've heard that water has blocked MANY roads to impassable - some say the most in a generation or two. Decisions, decisions.


TNL,

My regular crew has gone every year since '98 the week of NR opener (actually the first Wednesday of the NR season) because it's the only week in October we can get the house. We normally have up to 12 guys who are there sometime during the 10 days we rent the place. So I can give you years of input. We've had really high water, to really low or practically no water. We've had years when it's in the 70's and never gets below 50 degrees at night, all the way to years when it's raining/snowing and never gets above 40. A couple years we've broken ice. 

Hunter numbers then? No big deal at least where we hunt. Only once in all those years have I run into another party hunting, and that was on a large pothole with plenty of room to spread out. Frankly, the extra party helped us limit out that day.

yes, the teacher holiday thing is a PIA. We ran into that time period one year...people everywhere, and I'll never do it again.

Bird coloration is just like here in early season...poor at best. But the advantage of being early is if you want shooting, you'll get shooting on virtually any pothole because the teal and other little ducks haven't left yet. the years I've gone a couple weeks later you can really see a drop in the "little duck" numbers.

The biggest problem with going that early IMO is the crops are typically mostly unharvested, making field hunting a challenge to find fields that are picked, being used by birds, AND accessible to you. The first few years I went you couldn't find a corn field...it was all wheat, barley, peas and beans. The advantage to that is those crops get picked earlier than corn. Tons of picked peas and barley those first few years, and some really outstanding field hunting. In recent years though they're still picking corn there on Thanksgiving or later. But there are also a lot more geese than there used to be. The first couple years out, we never saw a goose. Now they're more and more common. 

It's still a great time to be out there in early October. The weather is often shirt sleeve by noon, and the shooting is good, but mostly water hunting.


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## just ducky (Aug 23, 2002)

Wingmaster22 said:


> General feeling Dan is that the pheasants took a beating this winter. Probably the lowest numbers since we've been goin out there. However.....the ducks numbers are a totally different story.... :evilsmile


Yeah Dave, I expect the ducks will be outstanding once again. But it's always nice to have the pheasant option to break up the "monotony" :evilsmile of shooting your limit :lol:


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## anon2192012 (Jul 27, 2008)

Shiawassee_Kid said:


> screw that, makem sleep in his truck


 
Sorry Dan.....I'm not as big of an a** as you....:lol: If you come out then your sleeping in the truck though.


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## TNL (Jan 6, 2005)

Shiawassee_Kid said:


> 3rd week is the busiest week....coupled with good migration and teachers conference...its a big pain in the ass. state gets overrun by minnisota.


 
I'll never do ND during the MN teacher migration again and that's all I have to say about that. :sad:

Any room at the inn during October? May stay at RRs again.


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## TNL (Jan 6, 2005)

just ducky said:


> TNL,
> 
> My regular crew has gone every year since '98 the week of NR opener (actually the first Wednesday of the NR season) because it's the only week in October we can get the house. We normally have up to 12 guys who are there sometime during the 10 days we rent the place. So I can give you years of input. We've had really high water, to really low or practically no water. We've had years when it's in the 70's and never gets below 50 degrees at night, all the way to years when it's raining/snowing and never gets above 40. A couple years we've broken ice.
> 
> ...


 
Thanks JD. Sorta what I figured, although I thought there would be a ton of hunters. I guess I don't mind going after LBDs, but I kinda wanted to do some ditch chicken hunting as well. My brother is popping his NoDak cherry on this hunt and I want him to experience the whole enchilada. Guess I'll have to give Linda a shout and get some plans finalized.


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## GrizzlyBear (Apr 27, 2003)

We're heading out the 22-29 this year. Wanted to go later but some of the guys were nervous about freeze out and a few of us have young kids and didn't want to miss Halloween. 

Last year I think we hunted the 16-23 and the weather was terrible for the first 3 days. 70+ degrees and not a stitch of wind. It's really all such a gamble. Just hope we can get into a few good mallard shoots.

BTW, for you goose hunters, they're trying to raise the daily limit to 8 from 5. It would be like shooting fish in a barrel.


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## Shiawassee_Kid (Nov 28, 2000)

TNL said:


> I'll never do ND during the MN teacher migration again and that's all I have to say about that. :sad:
> 
> Any room at the inn during October? May stay at RRs again.


ask for the Gaddyshack when you make your call out there to your normal contact.


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## Shiawassee_Kid (Nov 28, 2000)

GrizzlyBear said:


> We're heading out the 22-29 this year. Wanted to go later but some of the guys were nervous about freeze out and a few of us have young kids and didn't want to miss Halloween.
> 
> Last year I think we hunted the 16-23 and the weather was terrible for the first 3 days. 70+ degrees and not a stitch of wind. It's really all such a gamble. Just hope we can get into a few good mallard shoots.
> 
> BTW, for you goose hunters, they're trying to raise the daily limit to 8 from 5. It would be like shooting fish in a barrel.


the dark geese hunting has been better every year out there. that being said, they are some of the most educated geese you will ever find. by time i get there they....you always know what land you cannot hunt via permission...because all the darks are roosted on it.


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## gooseman (Jul 24, 2006)

It's only FIVE months away!! We hope to be there the middle of October! You never know what the weather will throw at you. It could be 80 deg. or it could be ice out. Bring it on - let's have some fun. :evilsmile


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## montrose trapper (Nov 14, 2006)

Man dan that's a little rough

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## GrizzlyBear (Apr 27, 2003)

Shiawassee_Kid said:


> the dark geese hunting has been better every year out there. that being said, they are some of the most educated geese you will ever find. by time i get there they....you always know what land you cannot hunt via permission...because all the darks are roosted on it.


Our farmer said they lost a ton of residents about the 10th of October last year. We found huntable numbers, but would only hunt a field if they happened to be mixed in with mallards. 

That being said, I had heard how hard they were to hunt, and assumed the same thing with an Aug 15 early season. Honestly, we decoyed nearly every Canada we saw, with a spread I wouldn't even consider hunting over here in MI. The pressure must vary significantly by area. We're barely 20 miles from where you hunt SK, but I was pleasantly surprised at how the birds piled in. 

I just talked to our farmer about a month ago, and we talked about coming out for the early season. He said pressure is nonexistent. We're still contemplating it, but it looks like a no go. I'm having a hard time selling it to the wife...:sad: We go out to shoot ducks, the darks are just a nice bonus.


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## duxdog (Apr 13, 2008)

If you want to get a early hunt in, the August opener has nearly zero hunting pressure. While driving around for the whole month I only seen two groups of hunters in a 200 mile radius and lots of BIG Canadas in the fields.


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## Shiawassee_Kid (Nov 28, 2000)

i believe this year or last they passed law that early seasons are not going to count against your allowed non-resident 2 week periods.


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## Wingmaster22 (Oct 29, 2003)

Shiawassee_Kid said:


> i believe this year or last they passed law that early seasons are not going to count against your allowed non-resident 2 week periods.


i thought this was done in only 3 or 4 counties none of which were in south central?


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## Shiawassee_Kid (Nov 28, 2000)

Wingmaster22 said:


> i thought this was done in only 3 or 4 counties none of which were in south central?


i'll dig on it and see but i think that was one of the proposals this spring was to make all early season goose NOT count towards your 2 weeks in all counties....including spring goose.


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## mwakely (Jan 7, 2004)

I still can't understand how you could shoot a poor inoccent duck! Don't you know "Be kind to your web footed friends because a duck may be somebodie mother"!


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## duxdog (Apr 13, 2008)

Early goose does not count against your regular waterfowl license.


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## GrizzlyBear (Apr 27, 2003)

duxdog said:


> Early goose does not count against your regular waterfowl license.


It's still only for 5 counties that it doesn't count towards your regular 14 days. The rest would chew up part of your license. The addition of Benson, Ramsey, and Towner Counties is new for this year.

HB 1407 - (Representatives D. Johnson, Hofstad, Weisz; Senators Taylor, Oehlke) - In addition to Richland and Sargent counties, nonresidents would be allowed to hunt in Benson, Ramsey and Towner counties during the early September Canada goose season without counting against their 14-day waterfowl license.


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## GVSUKUSH (Mar 9, 2004)

**** N.D.!

My crew and I will be gunnin' Squaw under the Big Mac, flat out getting it done!!!


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## Shiawassee_Kid (Nov 28, 2000)

GrizzlyBear said:


> It's still only for 5 counties that it doesn't count towards your regular 14 days. The rest would chew up part of your license. The addition of Benson, Ramsey, and Towner Counties is new for this year.
> 
> HB 1407 - (Representatives D. Johnson, Hofstad, Weisz; Senators Taylor, Oehlke) - In addition to Richland and Sargent counties, nonresidents would be allowed to hunt in Benson, Ramsey and Towner counties during the early September Canada goose season without counting against their 14-day waterfowl license.


thx griz. i knew there was changes trying to get done but i hadn't heard what they ended up with.


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## Shiawassee_Kid (Nov 28, 2000)

GrizzlyBear said:


> Our farmer said they lost a ton of residents about the 10th of October last year. We found huntable numbers, but would only hunt a field if they happened to be mixed in with mallards.
> 
> That being said, I had heard how hard they were to hunt, and assumed the same thing with an Aug 15 early season. Honestly, we decoyed nearly every Canada we saw, with a spread I wouldn't even consider hunting over here in MI. The pressure must vary significantly by area. We're barely 20 miles from where you hunt SK, but I was pleasantly surprised at how the birds piled in.
> 
> I just talked to our farmer about a month ago, and we talked about coming out for the early season. He said pressure is nonexistent. We're still contemplating it, but it looks like a no go. I'm having a hard time selling it to the wife...:sad: We go out to shoot ducks, the darks are just a nice bonus.


yeah i was out there last season during the aug. 15th opener working on our house and i knew of 2 local groups hunting, they all limited easy. I heard they limited so well that the local F&W was writing over bag tickets, lol. :tdo12: 

farmers don't like dark geese out there....its so bad i don't suggest sitting in a layout blind with perfect fullbody spread around you without some kind of orange you can have visable. you definitely won't catch me out there during rifle season...30-06 is the preferred goose killer.


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## Bellyup (Nov 13, 2007)

Heading that way this fall. It will be a great adventure once again. Nice place to visit and hunt some different landscapes than same ol marsh and big lakes around here.


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## Buddwiser (Dec 14, 2003)

Our grouse camp group is doing something different this year with plans for either ND or SD. We are trying for a double duty on pheasants and ducks. Any suggestions as to which state would be better and whats up with this Minnesota teachers thingy? What date is it? Sounds like its something to be avoided if possible.


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## just ducky (Aug 23, 2002)

Buddwiser said:


> Our grouse camp group is doing something different this year with plans for either ND or SD. We are trying for a double duty on pheasants and ducks. Any suggestions as to which state would be better and whats up with this Minnesota teachers thingy? What date is it? Sounds like its something to be avoided if possible.


ND can be great for pheasants, but from what I know, nothing compares to SD for them. The past few years have been tough winters in ND, which has really knocked them back. 5 or 6 years ago, they were running around like rabbits...not anymore. Still lots more than here in Michigan, but no comparison with SD right now. Then again ND can be outstanding for ducks, and from what I know, is typically better than SD, but of course like all waterfowl hunting, it's weather dependent. 

If you really are looking for great hunting for both pheasant and ducks, my suggestion would be SD. If pheasant are just a side distraction while out chasing ducks, then ND will do you fine.


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## Buddwiser (Dec 14, 2003)

Thanks jd.


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## Shiawassee_Kid (Nov 28, 2000)

Buddwiser said:


> Thanks jd.


SD duck hunting is draw only...so get your draw in this summer. if you draw...thats your best option for combo. most land owners will want to charge you by the gun for pheasants, most will let you duck hunt for nothing.

this is where there is a huge difference between the states. ND may have weaker pheasant hunting but they have more plentiful land access. SD incredible pheasant hunting and the locals know it and make their money on it. They only let about 4800 non-resident duck hunters in the state so the duck hunting is pretty solid if your in hte right location...no pressure.


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