North Dakota Guides

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BRUCE LUDWIG

Member
Hello.
Several of my hunting associates & I are considering our options for a trip this fall.
We went to Ontario last year, using St Lawrence Outfitters (highly recommend them!).
We have discussed North Dakota, thinking ducks in the morning & maybe pheasants late day.

I was wondering if anyone had done this in the past, and, could you recommend any guide/outiftters?

We appreciate any insight.
Thanks in advance!

Bruce
Erie, PA
 
Check out Devil's Lake. Its in Ramsey County in North DAkota. There are hundreds of convoluted (public land) cat tails and lots of guide work out of this area. I hunted this area as a kid. When the first shots are fired in the morning , 300,000 birds lift off. Its something to see. The sky disappears. Then the birds dribble back one, two, five at a time all day long. That's when you spank them! Bring a video camera! I haven't hunted there in over 40 years, but this will make you come back again and again.

Do a 'net search on "Devils Lake N Dak duck hunting." You will find a whole bunch of guides. This is about 70 miles from where I grew up.

Wish I was going with you.

DAve
 
bruce with all due respect please reconsider your thinking about using a guide in ND. Without going into a divisive long wind explantion, guides and outfitters have and are continueing to degraded the hunting in ND for residents and NR that hunt there. Not to mention that many of them have a laundry list of violations to their credit. Freelance hunting in ND is very simple and picking the brain of good people here or on other forums can help make your first trip a very good experience, and a lot cheaper.

Your more than welcome to pick my brain if you choose to do it yourself.
 
Bill, just to let you know,
I think i may have found a source for cork close to us---I will be getting samples , hopefully, before Clayton, to try playing with---more info once i get the stuff!
Amen on freelance---Great way to meet the residents, also!!! We still have many great friendships , just to the north of Minot--oops, that is Saskatchewan!!
Likely, folks in N D are just as gracious as their northern neighbors--Just respect the land, get permission, offer some of the game, and for pete's sake, make sure you always secure any gates.
 
bruce with all due respect please reconsider your thinking about using a guide in ND. Without going into a divisive long wind explanation, guides and outfitters have and are continuing to degraded the hunting in ND for residents and NR that hunt there...........
Your more than welcome to pick my brain if you choose to do it yourself.
Click to expand...

Bruce, What BillS said is the truth, IMO!!

I have hunted South Dakota for more than 30 years and it is no diffenent than North Dakota. Mater of fact, it is easier to hunt in North Dakota, as they don't limit the number of non-res waterfowl hunters like SD does. SD has a lottery draw for non-res licenses. Only sell like 4500 non-res waterfowl licenses for the year. ND you can call an 800 number and buy your duck license 24/7.

ND has so much public hunting land, that never sees a duck hunter. They even make a MAP that shows all of the public land. Show towns, roads, water, etc and they are FREE! While they won't mail them to you, you can down load it from the ND game web site. It is called PLOTS map. (public lands open to sportsman). I personally would stay away from Devils Lake area. LOTS AND LOTS of ducks in the southern area of ND. For the past 5 years or so we have only hunted corn fields. I haven't put my waders on in those years. Easy hunting, laying in corn fields. Just knock on a few farmers doors and permission is easy to get. If the ducks are using a field, they should be easy to see flying in and around. Get in that field or one close by and have at em.

And if you want to hunt water, you only need waders.........pot holes are not too deep and no boat is needed. Dozen or so decoys and your all set.

The last week of October or the first week of November are good times to be there. Much later and weather may cause you some trouble.

Yell if I can be of any help, dggcarver@roadrunner.com

Best, Duane Ganser
 
[font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica][font=Verdana,Arial,Helvetica]That has my interest Mr Ganser

I've never hunted ND

Road trip

20 hour drive ?[/font][/font]
 
John, IT'S Duane..........Mr. G passed a few years ago.

You have my number, call! Easy as pie.......that 19 hr drive~~~~~hehe
 
As a North Dakota Resident I can simply say there is no need for a guide. PM if you would like, but duck hunting this year with the amount of water here will not be an issue as long as you are willing to scout a little. Pheasants on the other hand will be a bit tough, the 5 month winter and 100+ inches of snow was pretty tough on them this year.
 
Delorme Atlas
Binos
GPS
Waders
Sack o Dekes
Shotgun

Go

Just don't gun roosting areas

If you have to fly and rent a vehicle, go to Scheels buy a couple dozen hot buys and just abandon them at your hotel at the end of the trip. Still cheaper than the guide that you don't need
 
How can tou guys from Ohio get there in 20 hours? I am 13... from the good parts anyway... and you are 10+ from me... I guess all interstate, and hitting 94 takes a bit off the trip....
 
For pheasants and ducks got to one of the outfitters in South Dakota. You'll have to deal with the license thing of course. Guiding should be outlawed in NoDak....one of the last great freelancing hotspots in the country.
 
How can tou guys from Ohio get there in 20 hours? I am 13... from the good parts anyway... and you are 10+ from me... I guess all interstate, and hitting 94 takes a bit off the trip....
Click to expand...


Phil, I take 80 across to 29 north. 1200 miles from my house. Some trips only take 18.......that's if I start from the western part of Ohio....hehe
 
Guides are a swearword in ND. Also just so you know it is going to be two licenses $125 for waterfowl and $85 for small game plus another $10-15 in general game and habitat fees that pay for the public lands.

I would discourage you from using a guide it will do nothing but take away from a truly unique hunting experience. Knocking on doors and couple handshakes will do more than paying some scab a couple hundred to shoot ducks and point out a window at a field full of roosters still wearing blinders. If you want to come to ND I am more than willing to point you in a direction where there is plenty of birds and not over run like the Devils Lake areas has become.

Leased land and guides have done nothing but ruin freelance hunting opportunities in about 40 of our 50 states please do not contribute to that in my state.
 
Last year my buddy and I were hunting near rugby ND and we scouted this Mallard feed with a 200+ ducks. We drove the section no posted signs Man was I excited.
Next morning it was posted. Later we went to check out the field and guess what extreme goose killas guides trailer was parked in the ditch and he and his clients were set up and the posted signs were gone. I guess everybody needs to make a living. I will still try to make it hunting to ND every year
 
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Rob-

That stinks! That's why we always take a plat book and phone book along to ND and make sure to find and call the landowner even if the land is posted. It's helpful to know you have permission for sure, plus the landowner will tell you if someone's already asked.

My one buddy out there owns and farms about 20,000 acres. He was spraying his field one day and saw an outfitter's rig in the field. The outfitter tried to run him off of HIS OWN field by saying he had it leased for the season. The outfitter had told his clients they were hunting on his own private preserve. My buddy would have let them hunt, but the outfitter was being a real jerk. So he calmly drove through their decoy spread (and hunters in layout blinds) with his spray rig and sprayed the crap out of them.

I agree 100% about not needing an outfitter. There's plenty of public land, and the only time we've ever been turned down to hunt (even on most posted land) is because somebody else beat us to it. For pheasants, you may have a harder time getting permission, but the public land for that is really good too.

Good luck,
 
Rob that is an old dirtbag trick that many guides pull in ND. Around DL "some" guides will have 8-10 posted signs in the back of their truck with an unreadable name scribbled on there. They will find a field and post it after dark so in the morning honest folks wont hunt the field due to it being posted and them not having permission.

There is also a state law saying that a field must be posted 24hrs before it is actually posted lawfully. I almost always try and secure permission even if the field is not posted. By doing so we have developed some great friends who have lots of land. It has also helped to have the land owners number in my phone when situations such as that occur. Once again guides are not needed to have numerous sucessful days of hunting fowl in ND.
 
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