I’m heading to the northern part of ND next week to hunt ducks/geese. These weather reports are making me blue. 
Has anyone been up there since their big snow last week. Am wondering if the local ducks moved out as I’m sure with this weather nothing new is coming in. Looking specifically for reports from either Devils Lake area, Rugby, or J. Clark Salyer refuge. Thanks. 
That doesn’t sound too promising. 
Walleye-Brat and I are leaving for the Devils Lake area Wed 10/19 early A.M.
When are you heading out and where are you staying Cougareye??
That doesn’t sound too promising.
Walleye-Brat and I are leaving for the Devils Lake area Wed 10/19 early A.M.
When are you heading out and where are you staying Cougareye??
We’re leaving Tuesday!!! 
It’ll be a nice change of pace…….actually being able to scout, find, and hunt ducks……it’s been two years since my last trip out in the fall……CAN’T WAIT!!! 
We’re leaving Tuesday!!!
It’ll be a nice change of pace…….actually being able to scout, find, and hunt ducks……it’s been two years since my last trip out in the fall……CAN’T WAIT!!!
Well I meant to post earlier, but I’ve been busy since getting back into MN from the Duck Factory. Left on Wed. night and got back on Sun. night. What a time and it all starts with the drive. We get into NoDak and about 10 miles in the flurries start. 30 more miles in and there’s a full-blown blizzard out there! Man was that bad, but we were hunting in the southern part of the state and didn’t see the accumulation that Jamestown saw—13″!!! Powerlines down and a lot, I mean a lot of white up there!
So we thought about all the northern birds we were going to shoot because of the big storm, pumped!
The next day we went to a field where my buddy took his limit in an hour, he said that there were birds litterally everywhere, we never pulled the trigger. Heck, we barley saw any birds, we were very PO’ed. Feeling very down we went to town and had some breakfast before our scouting time. We eneded up finding a pothole in the middle of a barley field loaded and I mean loaded with Mallards. We started at around 3 o’clock and had a four man limit by just before sunset, the old man took his limit in 45 minutes and left, gotta love it! Our final tally for the night–20 mallards 2 friggin susans( 
most drakes were tuff to ID) and our four auxilary ducks were three drake pinnies(no, none looked good) and a green wing drake. These birds haven’t been hunted at all and all were inside 35 yards, the sun going down made IDing a little tough, we let some birds circle 4-5 times.
The next day the 4 of us had a nice and fun water hunt were we took 5 gaddies, 3 wigeon and a redhead, just a fun shoot. That night there we were scouting for another hotspot, and we found it A pothole in the middle of a 1/4 picked bean field. Three of us took the rest of our limit, greenhead’s ONLY, 13 of them in 2 hours it again was fast and furious.
The third and final day of hunting brought us back to day 1’s honey hole, we only ended up shooting 3 greens and a very large honker. My bro-in-law took his three ducks and went pheasant hunting and my other buddy and I went scoutin’ and we found the best field in ND history, I think. A barley field that had, no kiddin’, about 10,000 mallards and pintails on it, we were driving out there and the ducks would wait until we were about 40 yards away before jumping, waves upon waves of ducks. We tried to get some pics. should be interesting how they turn out. We were set up at 4:45 and were driving off of the field at 6:30. 10 greens and 2 drake pinnies. 
Simply unbeieveable, those ducks landed on some very big water and 10 minutes later we were litterally covered in dive-bombing mallards and pintails. Flocks by the hundreds, ALL shots were called inside 30 yards and most singles and doubles we let land. We did see a flock of snows and a flock of specks none of which came into range. That night it was all about the brew. 
All in all there are a lot of birds in ND. To find mallards you must scout and when you find ’em you really find ’em!!! The pintails are out there literally by the hundreds, by now they should look very good. The mallards the last 2 days were very mature and am pretty sure they were migrators but they seemed so secure with the area so I think they may have been there for a week or so atleast.
LARS
the GREEN one is the BEST one!!!
Well I meant to post earlier, but I’ve been busy since getting back into MN from the Duck Factory. Left on Wed. night and got back on Sun. night. What a time and it all starts with the drive. We get into NoDak and about 10 miles in the flurries start. 30 more miles in and there’s a full-blown blizzard out there! Man was that bad, but we were hunting in the southern part of the state and didn’t see the accumulation that Jamestown saw—13″!!! Powerlines down and a lot, I mean a lot of white up there!
So we thought about all the northern birds we were going to shoot because of the big storm, pumped!
The next day we went to a field where my buddy took his limit in an hour, he said that there were birds litterally everywhere, we never pulled the trigger. Heck, we barley saw any birds, we were very PO’ed. Feeling very down we went to town and had some breakfast before our scouting time. We eneded up finding a pothole in the middle of a barley field loaded and I mean loaded with Mallards. We started at around 3 o’clock and had a four man limit by just before sunset, the old man took his limit in 45 minutes and left, gotta love it! Our final tally for the night–20 mallards 2 friggin susans( most drakes were tuff to ID) and our four auxilary ducks were three drake pinnies(no, none looked good) and a green wing drake. These birds haven’t been hunted at all and all were inside 35 yards, the sun going down made IDing a little tough, we let some birds circle 4-5 times.
The next day the 4 of us had a nice and fun water hunt were we took 5 gaddies, 3 wigeon and a redhead, just a fun shoot. That night there we were scouting for another hotspot, and we found it A pothole in the middle of a 1/4 picked bean field. Three of us took the rest of our limit, greenhead’s ONLY, 13 of them in 2 hours it again was fast and furious.
The third and final day of hunting brought us back to day 1’s honey hole, we only ended up shooting 3 greens and a very large honker. My bro-in-law took his three ducks and went pheasant hunting and my other buddy and I went scoutin’ and we found the best field in ND history, I think. A barley field that had, no kiddin’, about 10,000 mallards and pintails on it, we were driving out there and the ducks would wait until we were about 40 yards away before jumping, waves upon waves of ducks. We tried to get some pics. should be interesting how they turn out. We were set up at 4:45 and were driving off of the field at 6:30. 10 greens and 2 drake pinnies. Simply unbeieveable, those ducks landed on some very big water and 10 minutes later we were litterally covered in dive-bombing mallards and pintails. Flocks by the hundreds, ALL shots were called inside 30 yards and most singles and doubles we let land. We did see a flock of snows and a flock of specks none of which came into range. That night it was all about the brew.
All in all there are a lot of birds in ND. To find mallards you must scout and when you find ’em you really find ’em!!! The pintails are out there literally by the hundreds, by now they should look very good. The mallards the last 2 days were very mature and am pretty sure they were migrators but they seemed so secure with the area so I think they may have been there for a week or so atleast.
LARS
the GREEN one is the BEST one!!!
i sure hope so, we leaveing tuesday to hunt wed-sunday. would really b a bust if there werent many birds in the area. im heading to devils lake too. weel have to compare results when we all get back. good luck to everyone
i sure hope so, we leaveing tuesday to hunt wed-sunday. would really b a bust if there werent many birds in the area. im heading to devils lake too. weel have to compare results when we all get back. good luck to everyone
We head all the way to J. Clark near Newburg. Family farm is there.
Good reports here! I’m getting excited again!!
Good luck to all! Remember to pick up after yourselves in those fields and don’t leave any big ruts. That loses more access for us non-res than anything!
We head all the way to J. Clark near Newburg. Family farm is there.
Good reports here! I’m getting excited again!!
Good luck to all! Remember to pick up after yourselves in those fields and don’t leave any big ruts. That loses more access for us non-res than anything!
GARVI:
Staying in Anamoose a.m. of the 26th. We will be driving out on the 25th and staying until the 31st. We are staying on a farm about six miles south of town. Friends staying in Harvey also. Sooooo Looking forward to it!!!
Mark
GARVI:
Staying in Anamoose a.m. of the 26th. We will be driving out on the 25th and staying until the 31st. We are staying on a farm about six miles south of town. Friends staying in Harvey also. Sooooo Looking forward to it!!!
Mark
ON OUR PREV. TRIPS WE STAYED IN HARVEY AND DROVE TO ANAMOOSE/DRAKE AREA AND HUNTED SOUTH OF THESE TOWNS,(LAST YEAR WE HUNTED WAY SOUTH, 3OMI TO FIND ANYTHING) THIS YEAR WE ARE STAYING AT A NEW PLACE (FOR US) NORTH OF ANAMOOSE/DRAKE LOOKING FORWARD TO IT ALSO.
ON OUR PREV. TRIPS WE STAYED IN HARVEY AND DROVE TO ANAMOOSE/DRAKE AREA AND HUNTED SOUTH OF THESE TOWNS,(LAST YEAR WE HUNTED WAY SOUTH, 3OMI TO FIND ANYTHING) THIS YEAR WE ARE STAYING AT A NEW PLACE (FOR US) NORTH OF ANAMOOSE/DRAKE LOOKING FORWARD TO IT ALSO.
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