Anyone in the Lake Preston - Lake Thompson area interested in guiding a snow goose hunt next spring? I find that it is tough to find a guide for that time of the year that wont cost a fortune. Im just looking for someone who knows the ropes and can help me and my partners out for a fee. We just got back from a trip to the area and we are finding out that we must be doing something wrong. This is the third year and we still havent gotten more then 15 birds in three days. We must be doing something wrong.
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Scouting is the key...Huge spread, e caller and did I mention Scouting? Advice from a Life Long Dakota boy!
Come to ND in the fall (if your not from MN) there are some guides in the north central part of the state that our neighbors to the east havent completely wrecked everything for. Other than that by the end of the first weekend ducks are all chased out (way too much pressure, but if you really want to shoot snows you gotta be here when the first big snow starts, its almost imposible to predict. Good luck on spring birds its like rick says if you want em you gotta work for them and get lucky too.
Rick
You sound like some of my hunting partners. We have been scouting for the last three years. We have 600 decoys and an e-caller, but we seem to do better doing the run and gun thing (sneaks, and pass shooting). We just came back from SD last Friday and we put on over 800 miles while there and only got 11 geese for three guys. As far as being a real hunter, well I've been hunting ducks and geese for over 35 years and I still have trouble with the snow geese, and I have never used a guide.
I am from Minnesota by the way, but im not really following all the political stuff thats going on. I have never hunted in North Dakota, but I may in the future. Dont worry im not one of the slob hunters from the metro area. No offence to the hunters from the metro but there are allot of hunters from the metro who screw it up for us too. These are the guys who only hunt maybe one week a year and dont really have any respect for anything or anybody. They're not all like that. You have that anywhere you go.
Did I say we got eleven? I meant 15. Actually I got 11 and the other two guys got 2 each. They havent figured out how to shoot birds out to 60 yards.
There is no reason to use a guide in N.D. or S.D. for that matter. Here's a fact! The number one reason people quit hunting is lack of land access...Guides tie up land and lots of it, which means the everyday hunter can't afford to hunt anymore! THIS IS NOT AN OUT OF STATE ISSUE! Alot of my business comes from the Twin Cities...When only the rich can afford to hunt, that will be the end of hunting as we know it and it will ultimatly hurt taxidermists as well! There is no reason you can't freelance hunt up here! A warm smile and a handshake will do the trick 90% of the time! Until we limit the number of guides this will turn into a huge problem! I'm not trying to give you a hard time, if it's all about killing and you got the dough, go for it, but you'll be feeding the hand that will ultimatly take hunting away from us all! That's my oppion!
Im not looking for a guide service to pay big bucks for anyway, and I wont. Im not rich. Im looking for someone like yourself who knows what they are doing to show us what we are doing wrong. I agree with you 100%. Maybe I should have not used the word "guide", because although I would be willing to pay a small amount or barter for my taxidermy services to a local hunter, im not at all rich.
I would really rather get to know some locals who hunt and know what they are doing and hunt with them just to learn.
Do you have an email address? Maybe we can talk about this and you can put me on the right track.
Mike_j_larson@lesueurinc.com
If you can make it to southern il, ill take your group on a snow goose
hunt we have 3000 decoys 3 e callers . This last season we killed 199 in 22 days one neck band opening day we were holding 60,000 birds email me to see pics.