Well, we have some points in SD and I think we will try to burn them next season. I've never hunted ducks that far north and don't have any ideas. If anyone could PM (or post if you don't mind) info I would appreciate it. Here are my questions so far:

What decoys should I take and how many? I assume I will need some full bodies if we hunt fields. Are theses typically huge duck spreads?

What is the SOP for asking permission? Should I offer some farm help, offer some birds, or plan on it costing? Is there usually a time of day that I should go by the farm or should I call?

If we field hunt, should I plan on driving to the fields or carrying everything?

I've heard of places that rent goose trailers already stocked. Has anyone used one of these?

Should I have my 18 YO son do all the work or just most of it? Should he get upset at me when I shoot a bird and yell his name? He doesn't seem too enthused about retrieving.

Any insight is, as always, appreciated.

I'd look up what they do in North Dakota. From what I understand it's the same thing, but different in draw versus basically public land

I have hunted North Dakota just south of Bismarck. I was with an outfitter so no door knocking.
Timing up there seems to very key to success.
They get real winter weather there. Ponds freeze up. Snow falls, etc.
That far north, birds are migrating through. Once they've moved on, the numbers really fall.
Hunting moving water is very popular. Majority of hunts focus on birds returning to water after morning field feeds.
Didn't see a need for giant water spreads. Just needed to be where they wanted to go.
Never did field hunt. Mallards, Gadwalls, Widgeon, GWT, etc. all the usual suspects.

I have hunted both N and S Dakota. I suggest having a plan as to what type of area you will be hunting, then you will know what kind of gear to bring. The actual hunting is the same, as anywhere else. I would figure out if you will need a boat, or not. We had a group of four guys, two boats, and about two dozen decoys per boat. We were hunting small water, and it worked fine. Unless you are goose hunting, field hunting is not very popular. We got really lucky on our ND trip. We pulled off of the road because of a storm, and a rancher stopped by to check on us. He ran a hunting operation, and we were able to stay in a small farmhouse, and hunt on his land. The difference was, the price. He charged us about $50.00/day for lodging and hunting rights. He also set us up on a field goose hunt, where he provided layout blinds/decoys. He charged us an additional $50.00 for the goose hunt. We had a similar deal in SD, that we had prearranged.

Good luck sir

Thanks for the replies. I didn't think about the boat. It's got a longtail on it so I'll have to make sure it's legal. I'm researching areas now.

The closer you are to the more popular hunting destinations you should expect a pay to play situation. The further away you get generally the easier it is to get permission. In NoDak if it isn’t posted you can hunt, in SoDak you have to obtain permission. Depending on how harvest is going farmers can be busy/hard to locate and if there has been a lot of rain/snow melt they won’t want you driving on their fields so have carts/sleds.

It really depends on what you are trying to do. If it is you and a buddy, shooting 12 ducks is not a challenge. There is so much public and overall access shouldn’t be that hard. I would definitely have some cash on me if you find a loaded up field and they want to charge you a per gun rate.

Thanks TracQuac. Right now it would be my son and me. May take a jaunt through there late summer just to see what's there.