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NOTICE! These forums are intended for CIVIL discussion around waterfowl hunting. If you've got an axe to grind or rant to make, do it in the MNFOWL's Misguided Children forum.
NOTICE! These forums are intended for CIVIL discussion around waterfowl hunting. If you've got an axe to grind or rant to make, do it in the MNFOWL's Misguided Children forum.
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StuStiltman
- Mergie Marauder
- Posts: 226
- Joined: Mon Nov 25, 2013 8:50 pm
Re: Devils lake
Nershi, I'm wondering how would you compare the years when hunting hasn't been so great on devils to big water in mn? Meaning better than mn but not nd great, or just plain not that great. I know plenty of guys who hunt fields and sloughs in nodak, never heard anything about the big water there.
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StuStiltman
- Mergie Marauder
- Posts: 226
- Joined: Mon Nov 25, 2013 8:50 pm
Re: Devils lake
Nershi, I'm wondering how would you compare the years when hunting hasn't been so great on devils to big water in mn? Meaning better than mn but not nd great, or just plain not that great. I know plenty of guys who hunt fields and sloughs in nodak, never heard anything about the big water there.
Re: Devils lake
I have heard devils lake has become a zoo with all fields being leased by guides.
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Re: Devils lake
Stu, it's a lot different. I hunt big water in MN with an 18 ft Lund Alaskan. I hunted Devils, Dry, Stump, Alice etc with a Grumman Sportboat or a 12 ft boat. Most of the birds don't sit out on the massive big water, they are in the freshly flooded back waters where the food is. There were plenty of guys from MN and WI who were hunting the really big water with big boats but those guys seemed to struggle for the most part. The couple times we did hunt big water out there we found a flight pattern and pass shot our birds with a few decoys and we walked to the spot so a big boat wasn't needed.
The years when it wasn't so great when the water levels were stagnant or dropping the birds weren't concentrated on the big lake so we hunted fields, pot holes or sloughs away from the big lakes. If you would have been hunting the big lakes in those years it was probably very similar to MN. I'm not sure if that answers your question or not?
There is a fair amount of guides who are leasing land but it seems it's only in small pockets. I've only had one time I wanted to get on a field that was leased by a guide. I think the main problem is farmers got tired of being asked so much or one bad apple ruined it for everyone so they just posted up their land and don't answer their phones. I asked a farmer to hunt his land out there once and he said I was like the 9th or 10th guy to ask that day. The pressure is probably about 10 times more than when we first started hunting there.
Not trying to be sour on the area or your trip. You can still have great hunts out there. The only time we didn't come back with possession limits was when we did a late field hunting trip and it froze up on us after a couple hunts. It's just a circus compared to what it used to be and takes a lot more work/windshield time.
The years when it wasn't so great when the water levels were stagnant or dropping the birds weren't concentrated on the big lake so we hunted fields, pot holes or sloughs away from the big lakes. If you would have been hunting the big lakes in those years it was probably very similar to MN. I'm not sure if that answers your question or not?
There is a fair amount of guides who are leasing land but it seems it's only in small pockets. I've only had one time I wanted to get on a field that was leased by a guide. I think the main problem is farmers got tired of being asked so much or one bad apple ruined it for everyone so they just posted up their land and don't answer their phones. I asked a farmer to hunt his land out there once and he said I was like the 9th or 10th guy to ask that day. The pressure is probably about 10 times more than when we first started hunting there.
Not trying to be sour on the area or your trip. You can still have great hunts out there. The only time we didn't come back with possession limits was when we did a late field hunting trip and it froze up on us after a couple hunts. It's just a circus compared to what it used to be and takes a lot more work/windshield time.
Re: Devils lake
DU and other magazines pumped up devils lake so much it was bound to turn into a zoo. I hunt a much less crowded area of nd and dont have any problem getting on land. Hunting in crowds is not fun to me.
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