[mswaldo]

From the research I have been doing, I cant' find much lodging in the Rugby area or an area to the south of Rugby. Is there much for lodging up that way? Is the hunting up that way mostly field hunting or pot holes? What is needed for concealment to hunt the fields effectively? Is there much for pheasants that far north?

any info is much appreciated!!

thanks
Mike

 

[H2OfowlND]

Check this out, it should help you out for places to stay.... http://ndtourism.com/accommodations/

H2OfowlND

 

[mswaldo]

Thank you for the web site. Lots of info there. Any ideas on the last couple questions about field hunting or pot holes in that area?

 

[H2OfowlND]

Your best bet is to contact places to stay and they might have the most current info or be able to refer you to someone up in that area.

Have you field hunted before? or are you mostly a water hunter? The more info you can give on here about yourself the better. Just a quick background into your hunting past and abilities would help you and us give you the right info or the right places to look. Also, don't use a guide in ND, you don't need one. An atlas, decoys, and the willingness to put on some miles will open your eyes to some great hunting.

H2OfowlND

 

[mswaldo]

Yes, We have field hunted a bit. We just used corn stalks to cover ourselves with. I also bought a gazateer, which looks like it will help quite a bit. We mostly hunt over water. sometimes using a boat or just from land. We have about 4 dz. puddle duck decoys and 2 yellow labs. Are there pheasants that far north? What is most of the better hunting in fields or pot holes in the rugby area or a bit to the south. We won't be using guides.

thanks again.

 

[H2OfowlND]

It's tough to say what would be better, field or water, at this time. Everything depends on what types of crops are in that area and also the water conditions. You would probably be best off going west of Hwy. 83 for pheasants. Another thing, you don't need to drag your boat up here if you don't want to. Sit on the shore of a small slough, put out a dozen dekes and a robo, and watch the dogs have a blast!! Field hunting doesn't require dozens of shell or full body dekes. To get started 2-3 dozen shells will do just fine along with some motion(flagging) and decent calling. Any other questions, just let me know.

H2OfowlND

P.S. where are you from??

 

[mswaldo]

We're from Green Bay WI. We are not going to bring a boat with us. We're debating hunting in the Rugby area or Ashley which is in the south Central part of the state. One of my friends has some contacts for a place to stay in Ashley. According to the Gazateer, it looks like there's a lot more pot holes in that area. Would this be a better place to hunt? It also would appear to me that the Ashley area might be more populated by hunters. Is this area too crowded or would this be a decent area to check out?

Thank you for the Info. Much Appreciated!

 

[H2OfowlND]

Yes the Ashley area from my personal experience is crowded at times. Last years pheasant opener I never set foot out of the truck to walk anything since all i saw were out of staters working everything. We went back to our stomping grounds and shot ducks. There are not alot of pheasants in the Ashley area, but they are making a come back. There is not a lot of small slough duck hunting, mostly bigger water and field shooting. Be prepared to put in some windshield time looking for spots to walk if its crowded. The closer to the Missouri River the better the pheasant hunting, but then the more posted land and more hunters...take your pick. Your best bet is to do a morning duck/goose hunt and hunt roosters in the afternoon before scouting for the next day. Its not uncommon for me to log close to 200+ miles in a weekend scouting/hunting.

H2OfowlND