BritChaser
Well-known member
Hitting the long trail north in the morning for Saturday's ND opener. Wet weather is predicted. Maybe I'll have to stay up there an extra day or two. I'm retired so that works.
Lock and Load for ND!
- Thread starter BritChaser
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BritChaser
Well-known member
TRIP REPORT: Arrived in Ashley (pop. 661) to rain and a forecast of two more days of it. Had excellent drinks, service, and lobster (yes, lobster) dinner at The Roost, a cook-your-own place, the evening of my arrival. Next morning pulled up stakes and hit the trail for the Bowman-Scranton area where I had fabulous hunting about 20 years ago. Reaching Bowman, hunted a little in the afternoon and the morning and afternoon the next day. Saw a total of seven pheasants (out of range) and one covey of huns. Hadn't seen huns in 25 years and did not recognize them at first. Blew one to pieces on a 10' R to L shot. And that was that. Left for home that afternoon. Poor hunting unfortunately.
A bit of pheasant wisdom: A Hill City old timer told me years ago that when bird numbers are down the birds are spooky and will far flush. While this was opening weekend in ND, this knowledge from forty or so years of boots afield after pheasants proved true.
YOUR TURN: please tell us how your ND hunt went.
A bit of pheasant wisdom: A Hill City old timer told me years ago that when bird numbers are down the birds are spooky and will far flush. While this was opening weekend in ND, this knowledge from forty or so years of boots afield after pheasants proved true.
YOUR TURN: please tell us how your ND hunt went.
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A5 Sweet 16
Well-known member
Thanks for the report. I'm guessing you'll go back when weather cooperates a bit better. So did you have to cook your own lobster???
BritChaser
Well-known member
Everyone has to cook their own meat at The Roost, so yes I did cook my lobster. The cook-it-yourself thing has to do with gambling laws according to the motel proprietor.
As for returning to hunt ND, the bird population will have to grow before that. Maybe next year.
Goosemaster
Well-known member
I heard nodak was good last year.I would think it would be good this year.
BritChaser
Well-known member
not where i was in the south both east and west
Goosemaster
Well-known member
I guess it would be North West.
Powderhorn Jim
Active member
My first time to ND it took a week (or more) to figure out the lay of the land, where the birds were (and the people weren't). I hunt 100% public accessible lands, but in the end, we found good hunting and the following years the learning curve was much shorter. I've found this true everywhere I hunt (normally 3 states - ND, SD and KS). Now that I'm older I tend to stick with areas I have reasonable knowledge of, understanding that each year, conditions change, but good spots generally always produce something. Thankfully, I'm comfortable in my "home" spots in any of the 3 states. My days of winging it are long gone.
BRITTMAN
Well-known member
Eastern ND can be tough early with corn still in. Western ND is not a slam dunk.
If you are in an area of poor reproduction ... I agree birds are spooky from the get go. Most survived the prior season and know the lay of their backyard pretty well.
Sometimes it is just luck. One year my son and I watched a group of 3-4 hunters work some private land. They pushed a ton of birds into a PLOTS property. It was like opening day. We shot our 6 birds and nearly every bird that escaped flew back to that private parcel.
We talked to that group later in the afternoon. The spot they walked is hunted just a few times a year.
Sadley I will share I scouted that property awhile back ... both the PLOTs and the private land across the street were hayed edge to edge.
If you are in an area of poor reproduction ... I agree birds are spooky from the get go. Most survived the prior season and know the lay of their backyard pretty well.
Sometimes it is just luck. One year my son and I watched a group of 3-4 hunters work some private land. They pushed a ton of birds into a PLOTS property. It was like opening day. We shot our 6 birds and nearly every bird that escaped flew back to that private parcel.
We talked to that group later in the afternoon. The spot they walked is hunted just a few times a year.
Sadley I will share I scouted that property awhile back ... both the PLOTs and the private land across the street were hayed edge to edge.
PairOfLabs
Active member
I got a last minute invitation as a substitution in a group of six hunting private land in N. Dakota across the border from Lemmon, SD. The final stats were six guys, 3 days, one dog (my lab), 4 birds. The story we were able to piece together was two straight years of extreme drought, and extremely hot and dry spring that was horrible for chick survival, and 90% of the crops were still up. They had not had a frost yet and moisture content of the crops was still too high. It's all dry-land farming. Some of the fields of corn and sunflowers were very stunted.
I just figured it was a result of me being invited for the first time.
I just figured it was a result of me being invited for the first time.
pheasanthunt
Member
i hunt north of ashley. Corn started coming off wednessday. Most crops will be off by oct 25-29th (if it stops raining). i have heard good reports of pheasant numbers. however we weren't in a drought. like most of state.