I had a good opener like many else here. I hunted in Sheridan County in the Denhoff area. We shot quite a few mallards and blue-wing teal. There weren't as many ducks as I saw a few weeks ago when I was scouting, but enough to make it worthwhile.
I saw some interesting signs in that area that I should tell people about. Many landowners in the area had signs stating "Closed to Resident Hunters" or "Non-Resident Hunters Only". In my opinion, many landowners are fed up with so-called sportsmen telling them what they can or can't do with their land.
On a positive note, I met a landowner face-to-face that I visited with over the phone a month or so on a scouting trip. The result of the meeting was permission to hunt any and all land that he owns or leases in the area. This was a great tradeoff for the half-dozen denials I received up to that point. This just goes to show that "No Hunting" doesn't necessarily mean "Don't Ask", and the days of showing up on opening morning to gain permission are over. Most landowners denying access weren't looking for cash and they didn't dislike hunters, they had simply given permission to others earlier. Some landowners in the McClusky area gave permission to out-of-state hunters that went out of their way to scout and ask permission way back in April. If we want quality places to hunt, I think we need to be knocking on doors, meeting folks earlier than in the past, and treasuring the relationships we do build with landowners. Hunting private land is a privilege, not a right.
BigDaddy
The pot holes with water didn't seem to have much? I couldn't believe it because this area is an area that I frequent alot during the summer and I thought we had received alot of rain- but the water is gone now 
