North Dakota 2019

[XxBlack_CloudxX]

Looking for advice from anybody that has been to North Dakota. We have already got a place booked for 2 weeks next year. Oct 20-31
We are going to based in the Turtle Lake area. I've hunted Sask and I'm assuming that it will be somewhat similar. We are freelancing but experienced.
Already researching the Public Land and under the impression that most of the locals are friendly and asking permission is something we are used to doing.
We will have 2 scout trucks running looking for fields/potholes. In Sask we hunted primarily fields. We have had a high success rate in Sask. Just looking to try something different. Any advice would be appreciated. Many Thanks!

 

[Grnwing]

ND is my home. You are going during a dry cycle- a lot of pot holes are dried up and were burned last year. They dry cycle has continued this year. There are still going to be birds but you also picked a lull week. You aren't going to see a lot of mallards and you will be spotty on Canada's and may have some snow's showing up. Field hunting can be great but do ask for permission and please don't rut up the fields and leave your garbage(pick up shell hulls). Send the farmer a thank you note afterwards. The harvest may been in full swing or just starting, that can dictate a lot of where fresh birds maybe going. If you hunt the potholes- don't expect the birds to hang around. That time of the season, you ll be shooting Gadwalls and teal. If you have a good hunt one morning, great savior it and scout another spot for the next day and maybe 3 or 4 days later you can come back to that pothole. Scouting is the key. A week of hunting will put 2-5k miles on the trucks. To give you perspective, when I hunt, I am looking at an area from Bismarck, to Rugby to Devils Lake. Having a central location, like Turtle Lake is great but, when you find the birds 3 hours away at 4PM, driving back and forth eats up a lot of free time that could be used to be doing other things. Keep it light and simple. You may want to bring your fishing gear and hit Audubon and some other surrounding lakes that I will not post on a public forum. As far as Turtle Lake, there is a Amoco in town to get fuel and small hardware store if you need the basics. The folks are friendly but see there fair share of OOSERs (primarily Minnesota and Wisconsin) that may have them standoffish.

The real boom in waterfowl hunting up there is starting its downward swing. Back in the early 90's the potholes started filling up and through the early 2000's it was consistently phenomenal. The last 5 years, it has steadily decreased as it has become very popular destination for freelance waterfowlers and most importantly, the water is going away.

Feel free to shoot me a PM and i can answer any questions you may have.

 

[XxBlack_CloudxX]

Thanks for the info. I'll be in touch!!

 

[poorhunter]

Used to go every year from 94-2002. My parents grew up in ND, and my mom was right by Upper Souris NWR in Mohall. We had a free place to stay and guides (farmers who farmed mom's land and are family friends), but as GRNwing said be prepared to drive a lot. We usually went about the same week you're planning, except the first year when we went on Nov 8...too late! Back then permission was easy, but became more difficult, and we actually started going to Saskatchewan for a few days. ND is great, but Saskatchewan was unparalleled and permission was easy. Brings back a lot of memories...

 

[Dean Parisian]

GRNWING & POORHUNTER! Great replies. I can only add that more and more land is being posted for pheasant and deer hunting. The trend seems to be only going one way.

Good luck. When free lancing, bring extra gas can or two, have great maps and run hard.

Unfortunately, Saskatchewan is where it's at. Let us know how you do and what you were up against. Better yet, share some great harvest photo's!

 

[XxBlack_CloudxX]

Will do. My crew just came back from Sask. I was not able to make the trip this year due to work obligations. Trying to educate myself as much as possible on the area we will be in next year. After many mixed opinions and past history in North Dakota I'm worried we have made a mistake choosing to stay in the States vs going to Sask. Thanks for the replies guys.

 

[poorhunter]

Another piece of advice if you do go to NoDak...get away from the major go to spots like Devils Lake. Once you get away from the hard hit areas where farmers are constantly being asked for permission it'll be easier to get it. We hunted around the Upper Souris NWR and never really had any problem getting permission. Our base was Mohall where my mom grew up. My college buddy may want to go up again and he would be a good guide/resource/local knowledge. Let me know the dates you plan for next year and I'll shoot him the idea.

 

[XxBlack_CloudxX]

Thanks man!! That would be great! The date for next year are Oct20-Oct31