Every year thousands of American waterfowlers drive north up into the pothole country of the Dakotas and some to Canada. Some hunters have good luck hunting this region and some do not. They all have the same objective in mind to get in an early hunt up north before their seasons start back at home. The ones that are “lucky” are the ones that put in the time scouting before even shouldering a shotgun.
When you get into the pothole region, take a look at a map. There are hundreds of potholes on a map. Ducks could be anywhere, but they are not. They tend to concentrate only on a few potholes and so the hunters challenge is to determine where those birds are.
There are no shortcuts to doing this. You have to put in the time. You have to drive the back roads. I like to use a extended road map book. It shows all the roads and potholes right here so you can navigate through the countryside.
Use your binoculars and watch where birds are flying from feeding fields and back into little the potholes. They’re roost on large bodies of waters at night and then go to the fields to feed in the morning. They will go to their little secondary potholes after they finished feeding and the secondary potholes are the ones you want to find.
Those secondary potholes, resting potholes are the key to good waterfowl hunting. When planning a do-it-yourself hunt up north, plan on arriving a couple of extra days in advance just to scout. Put in the time, find the birds, get set up, and you’re going to have some great shooting action.
