This may well be the finest waterfowl spot in Nebraska for the size and money. The property includes 1/2 mile of the North Platte River, located in the heart of the Central Flyway. The property has a spring-fed pond that freezes over only one or two days out of the year, and even then it is very thin and easily broken up. The pond stays open all winter, and flows into the North Platte.
The Owner harvests 90% of the ducks and geese on the property by decoying birds onto the pond. The birds typically finish their approach at 10-20 yards from the underground pit. There are two underground pits that will be conveyed with the property.
This prime waterfowl spot is located on the south side of the North Platte River ditrectly across from a large sand and gravel operation which has several ponds that typically hold a tremendous amount of waterfowl. The City of Mitchell’s sanitation ponds are lo...
This prime waterfowl spot is located on the south side of the North Platte River ditrectly across from a large sand and gravel operation which has several ponds that typically hold a tremendous amount of waterfowl. The City of Mitchell’s sanitation ponds are located within a few hundred yards, and are also a traditional overnighting location for ducks and geese.
This property offers a mixed bag of ducks and geese. As an example, the property was hunted in early January of 2015, and the party harvested 45 geese and two ducks. The following weekend, the hunting party harvested 25 mallards, 3 widgeon, but only harvested 4 geese. It is hard to predict exactly what may be flying, but they will all decoy into the pond. Regardless of the species, the opportunistic hunter will get ample opportunity to fire his gun on any given weekend during the hunting season.
The property is located near Spotted Tail Creek, and the Owner has caught trout up to 18 inches on the property between November and March.
The Owner currently has an arrangement with the adjacent farmer/rancher wherein the Owner allows the farmer to graze his horses on the property during the summer. In turn, the Owner is able to hunt pheasants in the adjacent milo field during the upland game season. Additionally, the Owner hunts in layout blinds in the farmer’s corn and alfalfa fields for geese during the waterfowl season. Interested buyers may wish to extend the hand of friendship to this nieghbor in hopes of maintaining this mutually beneficial relationship.
NOTE: The Seller will require appropriate cooperation from the Buyer, as this property will be subject to a 1031 transaction.
NOTICE: SHOWN BY APPOINTMENT ONLY. NO TRESSPASSING WITHOUT AGENT PRESENT.
Waterfowl Summary (As reported by Owner)
October
* Opening season for ducks – for the first 2-3 weeks large numbers of birds are not yet in Nebraska, but there are some local birds to be taken at the start of duck season. Additionally , each year we harvest a few wood ducks 5-10 during the first 2-3 weeks of duck season (wood ducks will not decoy so we generally pass shoot them when they fly over the decoys).
* Mid October to late October – sandhills birds (mainly ducks) start arriving and this is generally a productive time to shoot mallards, widgeon, gadwall and some teal (green wing). The geese haven’t arrived in Nebraska yet in large numbers and goose season doesn’t open until November.
November
* Starting opening weekend of deer season until about Thanksgiving. Generally speaking this is my favorite time to hunt waterfowl on the property. I take off work the entire week of deer season and hunt deer and then spend the rest of the week hunting waterfowl. This is when the first major push of waterfowl arrives in Nebraska and the birds generally are easy to decoy and most days we get our limits in ducks and geese, a lot times by lunch time.
December
* Depending on the year and weather patterns, ducks can be more difficult to decoy in the first 10-14 days of December if cold weather doesn’t continue to push new birds into the North Platte River Valley as the birds that arrived during November have been shot at now for about 3-4 weeks. If things stay cold in Canada and the Dakotas then duck shooting decoyed birds will continue. Geese are generally more steady to decoy but if the weather patterns stay warm up north (Canada and Dakotas) and no new birds have arrived for that past 3-4 weeks then shooting a lot of decoyed geese can be more challenging so you may have to pass shoot more than normal.
* Mid December through the end of the year. By now, regardless of the weather patterns up north, the North Platte River Valley is now home to thousands and thousands of ducks and geese and the hunting (decoyed birds) is very good.
January
* The duck hunting is generally very good from the start of January until the close of season (which is generally around January 10th). Starting the beginning of January to the end of January, the goose hunting is very good and you are shooting decoyed birds.
February
* The goose hunting is very good until the end of the season shooting decoyed birds.
Other
Please note that while we shoot a lot of waterfowl on this property, we are very experienced waterfowl hunters as we have been hunting the North Platter River Valley from the Wyoming border to Lake McConaughy for over 30 years. Typically, our decoy spread on the pond includes 2-3 robo ducks along 2 floating decoys that make ripples in the pond to give the spread some motion along with 5 dozen floating duck decoys all on the west side of the pond. This draws the ducks right in front of the pit blind that is buried and the ducks decoy at eye level or just above you which makes for easier shooting. We put another dozen floating duck decoys and 1 robo duck in the inlet where the pond and river intersect along with 18 standing duck decoys on the island by the inlet. We also use about 4-5 dozen floater Big Foot goose decoys on the east side of the pond and about a dozen floater goose decoys right at the inlet but they are actually just in the river to give the spread some motion. We use about 18 Big Foot standing decoys and wade them in the river and by the island (by the inlet) where the pond and river intersect. Finally, we use around 10 dozen resting and feeding goose shell decoys and put them close to the pond starting in front of the pit all the way to the inlet by the river which gives the decoy spread a relaxed look and feel. We also use another 3 dozen super magnum shell decoys and put them around the pit which makes them visible to the geese feeding in the corn fields around us and conceals motion in the pit blind. When you are decoying geese, you must turn off the robo duck decoys or the geese will not finish into the decoys. We use remote controls for the robo duck decoys and keep the robo duck wings spinning all the time when we are hunting except when we see geese and then we turn them off immediately.
Ducks typically fly and decoy best starting at dawn until around 1:30 p.m. Geese typically fly and decoy best from 10 a.m. until about 1:30-2:00 p.m. The geese will typically feed until around 10-11 a.m. and after they eat they really like decoying into the pond to get some water since they have just eaten in the corn fields.
Hunting pressure from waterfowl hunters, especially hunters that know what they are doing is low which is why we like hunting this property. Our decoy spread and pond is a magnet for birds and gives this property a huge advantage as we are not aware of any similar set up (i.e., buried pit blind, pond and large decoy spread) in a 3-4 mile radius which gives this property a big advantage. Hunters in the 3-4 mile radius around us are generally guys that bring 1-2 dozen duck decoys with them and hunt in a box blind that sits semi-camouflaged on the river bank right next to the decoys. By comparison, we use to hunt a lot more by the Lisco/Oshkosh area and every ¼ mile each property had 20-30 dozen top of the line decoy spreads, pit blinds that are buried out of sight, expert hunters and callers which gives you a lot more competition and the birds are more educated because the caliber of hunter in that area seems to be better.