We arrived at Westbay Resort in Minnewaulkan at 6:30 PM CST. If hunting, fishing or just vacationing in the Devils Lake area give Jim and Diane a call, this is a great place to stay.

We spent the day Sunday scouting and found the sloughs had a little more water than last year, another good year of rain and snow would really help. We set up on a slough that we like to hunt, we took 4 Gadwalls and 2 Widgeon before the ducks quit flying for the afternoon.

Monday the Muck Boy crew hunted with Curt Kenner, an area farmer that also guides for waterfowl (Kenner Guides Service 701- 438-2451 Cell 701-866-4841). Curt had us set up in a harvested barley field next to a slough. Before shooting started we had many ducks landing in the decoys and slough behind us. When it became shooting time the ducks continued to pour in and within 50 minutes we had our 5 man limit of mallards. It could have been quicker but some in the party, myself included were having a hard time picking out the drakes.

Tuesday we lost the weather, it had become cloudy, windy and was spitting rain. In case you are wondering that is not the best weather to hunt in North dakota. Curt had set us up for those elusive Giant Canadian Geese and of course they didn't show. So in the afternoon we hunted a corn field the was next to a harvested barley field, that offered us a great view of one of the large sloughs on Curt's property. We managed to take eight evening ducks.

Wednesday found the skies still cloudy and occasionally there was a light rain. We were set up in a slough we had not hunted before, but plan to hunt in the future. We ended this hunt with a mixed bag of small puddlers including Gadwalls, Widgeons, Mallards and Teal.

Overall, the crew had a great time as always, visiting with old friends, hunting and relaxing.

Note: You know you had a busy week when your hunting dog was this tired. "Yes Kodi you really have to get down".

The Muck Boy crew was in North Dakota the week of October 8th on our annual waterfowl hunt. The crew hunts around Minnewaulkan which is located on the west end of Devils Lake.

We left Michigan at 3:00 AM EST and took the southern route through Chicago and arrived at Westbay Resort in Minnewaulkan at 6:00 PM CST. The Muck Boy crew highly recommends Westbay. The cabins and resort have everything that you need, including an enclosed bird and fish cleaning station, laundry area, satellite TV and some of the best beds we have slept on.

We spent the next day scouting and found many of our favorite sloughs dry from a lack of rain in August and September. There is one thing that the crew has learned by hunting a large area like Benson and Ramsey counties: the more local folks you know the better. Jim and Diane of Westbay Resort are always ready to help get permission for an area that may be posted. Note: Every year we are finding more and more ground posted. Not that this is bad, but when you are there during a given period of time, finding and calling land owners to get permission can take away from your hunting time.

The Muck Boy crew also hunts with Curt and Brian Kenner, an area farm family that also guides for waterfowl (Kenner Guides Service 701- 438-2451 Cell 701-866-4841). Curt is also a North Dakota Ambassador for the Hunt of a Lifetime Foundation, their Guide Service donates a portion of all guide fees every year to this very worthwhile cause. We have posted links for this organization, so everyone can look it over. To us it is one of those organization, that most hunters and fishermen would find very important to the future of our sports.

On our first hunt, Curt sent us to check a few small sloughs that were holding birds. We managed to take a couple teal in the first, but the second slough produced us a limit of gadwalls and teal. Unfortunately, North Dakota has reduced the daily limit from 6 ducks to 5 ducks this year.

Day two was cold and very windy with gusts up to 35 mph. We were set up with Brian in a harvested grain field near Harlow and we managed to take 2 huge geese and 8 mallards.

Day three was even colder. The morning temperature was 24 degrees and the wind was gusting out of the northwest over 45 mph. The hunt was not that productive due to the fact that the birds were more interested in getting out of the wind. We spent most of the morning watching ducks ignore the decoys and calls and just dive in the sloughs surrounding our hunting location. Wind is a good thing when hunting waterfowl, but this was way too much of a good thing. The ducks taken that day included widgeons, gadwalls and mallards.

Overall, the crew had a great time as always, visiting with old friends, hunting and relaxing.

Note: You know you had a busy week when your hunting dog was this tired.

2004 Waterfowl Hunting Highlights

2004 was a good year for ducks in North Dakota. The crew continues to meet new folks and hunt different areas. We now have been hunting this are for three years and have not hunted the same field twice. A first for the crew we managed to take a couple lesser canadians.

2002 Waterfowl Hunting Highlights
This was the Muck Boy's crew second trip to North Dakota. Highlights for this year included one of those hunts that every waterfowler dreams of. I have heard it refereed to as being a "Duck Tornado", and as I remember, that was what it was - imagine 5,000 to 6,000 ducks circling overhead, landing it the decoys, what a hunt. Within 45 minutes we had shot our limit, had the decoys picked up and were out of the field just watching the birds work the field for another hour. The other highlight of 2002 was the addition of "Kodi", the crews new labrador retriver. Kodi didn't make the trip to North Dakota because he was only 9 months old, but the crew did manage to get him out for a couple of hunts here in Michigan.

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