North Dakota freelance duck hunt

Ed L.

Well-known member
Supporter
Hi all. I hope everyone is well. I haven't been on for a while to post. I do come often just to read and see what everyone is up to. I'd like some advice if I might. In my location ducks don't really show up anymore. I know I have to go somewhere else to get into some ducks. North Dakota was always on my dad's bucket list, but he didn't make it. Of course, it's been on mine too. If there's anyone here that's successfully freelanced duck hunting, there? I'd sure like a little advice on state licensing requirements for out-of-staters, rule of thumb or tips with getting permission from landowners, CRP and local etiquette. Are there public areas where camping would be permitted during duck season? I have a 17' canoe and everything I'd need for winter camping. Would a couple doz decoys be enough? Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated.
 
Takes a little work, but it's definitely doable. Last year ND went to electronically post land, just to let you know. Also just go to ND game and fish web site as far as licensees. WMAs and PLOTS has some good hunting, takes alot of scouting. Last year it seemed there was a lot of non-resident hunters I guess the same as everywhere now. I just got back from ND. On a good note, the sloughs were filled up and ducks were all over. Compared to last years drought.
 
Good sources of data on public land--and in some cases also names of private landowners--are available as data layers you can put on a GPS app on your smart phone. I use GAIA GPS; I have friends who use ONYX or other apps. GAIA has been highly accurate for me in Wyoming and Montana for trout fishing. In Maine, it's good in the developed, southern part of the state, but sketchy in the northern "unorganized townships" where a lot of land ownership is with large timberland owners.

GAIA also has a great layer of public lands that include US Forest Service, Wildlife Refuges, BLM lands, and in states where I've used very accurate information on state-owned public lands. (It is not as good for conservation easements that allow public access and/or hunting and fishing.)

Great research/scouting tool, assuming the data layers for ND are as good as for MT, WY and ME.
 
John,

Thanks for the info. Electronically post land? I'll have to do some research into that for sure. It's good to know there are birds and water this year.
 
Jeff,

Thanks for the info on the GAIA GPS. I've been interested in the On Hunt app as I know a couple of guys that use it. I'll look into this one as well.
 
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