Mallard Hunt Of A Lifetime On A North Dakota Pothole (GIVEAWAY) | Duck Hunting 2022

On our last morning of duck hunting in North Dakota, Drew and I headed out to a pothole that had been loaded with mallards, pintails, and geese all week. The spot was mainly a roost/loaf so we waited until after sunrise to get setup since we wanted to let the birds head out to fields naturally. We were barely able to paddle the kayaks across it but with a little work we got back to a cove that had a perfect hide and some protected water that I thought the birds would be drawn to. It didn't take long for the birds to start working and with a little bit of calling we were able to get mallards feet down in the decoys all morning. When we picked up a banded greenhead it was pretty clear that this was going to be the mallard hunt of a lifetime. Hope you enjoy!
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[@davidkilleffer1349]

Your videos have encouraged me to get into waterfowl hunting - going on my first duck hunt next week in NC! Keep up the great work!

[@willwalker8400]

Like seeing the river floats. Cool seeing guy not far from the house having a lot of success.

[@mjohnston34]

Congrats on your first banded duck! It’s something you’ll always remember. Keep putting out great content.

[@HokeOutdoors]

Thanks Marc! Gonna try my best to keep it rolling!

[@After5Outdoors]

Really cool hunt! Those little ND sloughs can be lights out! too bad the big blizzard is coming to shut us down....... Safe travels

[@davisbass8194]

Love watching all your videos. It’s awesome watching you go from small woodie hunts in Virginia and North Carolina to hunting around the country. But still my favorite hunts have got to be the small swamp hole hunts, there’s something special about those. Keep up the good work!

[@HokeOutdoors]

I appreciate it! I was hoping to find some swamp holes up here but the ones I scouted never held birds this season unfortunately. Gonna be back in VA before too long though and should be back in the swamps then!

[@charger10]

Congratulations man! I've been duck hunting for 12 years and still haven't got a banded bird. I'm happy for you.

[@grantgoeman3565]

Loved seeing a DYI ND pothole hunt instead of a field hunt!

[@kyleduke5107]

Congratulations on the band! Been looking for one as well. Great video you will remember it always!

[@richiecaelwarts7873]

Congrats on your band I shot two banded blacks this year in Wisconsin.

[@walterwhite1556]

I've never had one on a honker or a duck

[@matt.larsen]

What county?

[@walterwhite1556]

@@matt.larsen st croix

[@cutemoutdoors23]

That’s like the best first band you can get😂😂

[@FinalEffect25]

I'm 33 and your videos have got me into waterfowl this year. I have been practicing different calls and will be buying a kayak next year!

[@Sniff34]

same here,im excited

[@HokeOutdoors]

That's awesome to hear! Hope you have a great season this year and love the kayak hunting when you get into it!

[@czarandmaeve]

Its expensive but sooo rewarding. Im in my second season now and almost didnt buy a deer tag this year because i have sooo much fun waterfowling

[@lukebrown021]

Congrats man on your first band and what the best to go as a new duck hunter

[@justinalecca7939]

Congrats on the band brother great shooting & beautiful spot can’t wait to get my first band

[@rodneystansell6531]

Congratulations on the band!, enjoy all your videos.

[@zachbryant5910]

Congratulations on the band I got my first band two years ago

[@Dieseloutdoors]

You got good with that Cajun squeal sounds nice. I think that's what they call it haha!

[@chrisblackwell8451]

Congrats man! That mud is tough and a good workout! Been there done that workout here in Maryland!

[@austins6251]

Congrats on your first band, no one understands the importance or the emotion of shooting a banded bird unless you're a waterfowler, keep it up and keep the inside of your waders dry

[@HokeOutdoors]

Thanks Austin! The only way I’d be able to describe the emotion is pure elation!

[@austins6251]

@@HokeOutdoors I would say elation is an understatement first band is like shooting your first booner or winning the super bowl

[@austins6251]

@UCW7ccxuOfuKopNOOUJ5E2eQ AWESOME MAN WILL DO

[@andrewt1795]

Great hunt!!! I always love you videos. Thanks for all you do bud 🦆🦆

[@ejchem101]

Love the water hunts, keep up the good work - I love the shotkam footage

[@decotamonteau6392]

Congrats bro on the band, still waiting on mine lol, buddy shot a banded hen woodie the other day, so let’s hope he broke the ice for us, love watching your videos man, keep doing you bro💯

[@daynemacha7749]

Absolutely amazing video once again, congrats on the band.

[@trevorrosenberry4456]

Great hunt. Can’t wait to get to No Dak someday

[@huntersteele9337]

Love the vids I’m glad you got your first band

[@NoahMiller332]

Great video man love watching you when I’m bored in school 😂

[@jonahchristensen5765]

Congrats on the band and keep up your videos.

[@jeremiahtryon692]

Nice hunt. I like the Midwest hunting this year!

[@kadinrich9812]

Congratulations on the band always a great feeling killing one I’m sure it always unexpected loving the content

[@jeffs9920]

...love the kayak hunts

[@chadsommers5577]

Hey man love your videos and I make sure that I watch them everyday. I really like these past few videos of u guys hitting small spots that have a lot of ducks. I also like watching your river hunts with geese but my favorite videos are definitely these past few duck hunts. Great to see that you got a duck band. Me and my group have been fortunate to get 11 goose bands in the last three years but the duck bands are still alluding us. Keep up the good work with these videos. I’m also curious if you have hunted in Michigan? I hunt lower half of the lower peninsula and we don’t get a whole lot of migratory birds but we still get pockets of local birds that are a blast to hunt.

[@drewschelle1715]

Yeah sick video… more videos with Drew.

[@northmsoutdoors4913]

Awesome hunt!

[@montanaflytying]

Love the videos. Haven't gotten out for ducks yet this season, but always wishing I could, but I'm to tied down by school. I'd love to see you come up to Montana. Lots of honkers and mallards here. Anyways great content, and can't wait for more

[@MichiganOutdoorsUnlimited]

Still waiting to shoot a band of any kind! As always, GREAT video!! Love to see more jump shoots!! Some of my favorite videos to watch.

[@wyattcrane8819]

Great video, dream bird!

[@claytondavis2425]

Great hunt

[@wilsongarner4343]

Congratulations that’s awesome I can’t wait to get after them this winter good luck and God bless 🦆🦆

[@ffaccc7322]

Good shooting

[@crazyboyt7624]

I’m happy for you!! You got a very nice mallard drake with a band! Pretty!

[@mewolf1]

My favorite channel when it comes to water fowling, not alot of hype or BS, just good old fashioned hunting. Well done!!

[@kristenhardee7558]

I want to see more VA/NC hunts. You always seem to have great hunts in those areas even with the lack of birds. Great video and congratulations!

[@blivetsoftruth]

Like your chill content and spirit that's safe for all ages. Whack'm Stack'm!

[@emilienmallart1118]

nice video i discover you videos in a few times and i see all of them . nice job bro . i live in france

[@TaDumMinecraft]

Coastal duck hunt in Texas!

[@tannerbaumgart233]

Awesome video! I really enjoyed the video and it’s awesome that you got a banded duck!

[@kadincegladson6554]

Come to Nebraska for a corn field goose hunt

[@skylarvincent3190]

You mentioned to comment if we wanted a state visited. I live in the SF Bay Area (Oakland), CA. I'd love to see you hunt as close as you can. Really good Pacific Flyway shooting. Congrats on the first band! I loved hearing you get stoked👍🏼 Here's to many more.

[@HokeOutdoors]

Thanks Skylar! I don't think I'll make it down to CA this season but it's definitely an area I would like to explore in the future. What kind of birds do you mainly get into over there?

[@pintails4914]

That was an awesome video, real hunt of a lifetime! Me and my buddy just hunted private land a both limited with a very mixed bag! I would love to get a new call but don't have the cash right now so I would love to win. Keep up the good work Hoke! :D

[@HokeOutdoors]

Thanks brother! Congrats on the limits and mixed bag! Unfortunately I already finished the giveaway by the time you commented but I just posted a new hunt that has a giveaway with a bunch of decoys!

[@06parrda]

Nice ducks and awesome band, can't wait to shoot my first banded duck!

[@chrisfrench8511]

Would love to see dry land or small water hunts.

[@jacksonmartin7328]

I enjoy watching all of your videos! I like the diver hunts! Keep up the good work!

[@lagmorris]

Congrats on the band Missouri later in the year is good for duck and geese.

[@rezjr34]

Awesome on the band, love your vids. I like when you find those little timber/pot holes with a mixed bag limit. Keep up the awesome content.

[@HokeOutdoors]

Thanks brother! Hoping to have a bunch more hunts in those kind of spots when I get back to VA in a couple weeks!

[@camdensimpson6815]

“No I’m not gonna let ‘em get up, in this mud you’re crazy!” 😂

[@kaidencarr918]

Love the video and congrats on the band. I also look up to you and your hunts to try to make my hunts better.

[@jcwoutdoors]

Congrats on a hunt that dreams are made of!! The genuine excitement when you saw that band was awesome. Mud like that is why mankind developed labrador retrievers, lol.

[@twaynerobert8944]

Right on men and congratulations on the band ..hope to get one soon or more

[@loganthompson5864]

Congrats on your first band man! I’d love to see more kayak jump shooting videos. Keep up the great work!

[@claytonwallace5950]

I like the Reaction of the Band good job keep grinding

[@charliewhiskey9819]

Love the kayak hunts. Keep the video coming!

[@JordanWendt-tn9xm]

Love the videos man, especially the kayaks. Proves you don't need a fancy duck boat

[@HokeOutdoors]

Thanks brother! It's pretty incredible the amount of places you can get with a kayak

[@logantapani728]

I’d love a green head band, y’all should make a trip to Georgia for a wood duck hunt!

[@HokeOutdoors]

I'm hoping to get down there later this season!

[@sethltoddl8359]

Congratulation on your band my first band was also a drake mallard from Huron county Michigan

[@HokeOutdoors]

Congrats man, that's awesome! What state did you shoot it in??

[@heyvictor0]

Great video! Fun to get the band. Keep up the good content.

[@toorealoutdoors1418]

Awesome video, congrats on the band! I'd love to see more kayak hunts.

[@HokeOutdoors]

Thanks brother! I'm heading back to VA in a few days and hopefully will have a bunch more kayak hunts then!

[@nolansmith5133]

Been loving the kayak videos. Congrats on the band

[@JuniorB.KC41]

Man there’s is nothing like that Nodak sludge in them potholes. Plowing thru endless cattails to get thru to the water and walking 700 yards just to get there to the spot. Nothing I love more. U almost gotta have a dog tho. I couldn’t imagine having to walk out in that shit every time we killed a bird. Your legs are gonna hate u the next day my friend. Lol. Great video! 👍👍

[@HokeOutdoors]

Haha my legs were definitely down for the count for a couple days after this hunt. Only thing I would change about this hunt in retrospect is to bring a dog. Slogging through that crap got pretty old by the second half of the hunt

[@JuniorB.KC41]

@@HokeOutdoors lol!! Yes!! It gets old quick! Lol

[@beauaustin3582]

Love your videos. Idk if you have ever hunted In Louisiana down in the refuge but the mud there is really bad. I wouldn’t mind seeing a video of you going down to the marsh in south Louisiana and killing some birds. Tons of gadwalls, teal, model ducks, divers, and pintail

[@HokeOutdoors]

I'd love to hunt down there one day, never even visited the state before but I'd really like to experience the culture and hunting down there!

[@beauaustin3582]

Man it’s awesome when you can get on them. I hunts down south on public land. The mud I deep but we get a lot of mix bags every time we go. But I would just stay up there nuns better then killing greens

[@Trudgewild]

It’s great to watch your hunts while on break at work. Congratulations on that jewelry

[@nyckolasseery1712]

I’d like to see ya hunt the st Lawrence or Lake Ontario for divers that’d be sick to watch ya smoke some goldeneye and bufflehead also congrats on the band

[@HokeOutdoors]

Thanks brother! I've always wanted to hunt that area, just gotta find the time to make it up there!

[@nyckolasseery1712]

@@HokeOutdoors heck yeah dude it’s definitely worth it grew up hunting it for everything else got into duck hunting becuase a lot of my friends had been doing it since they were kids and they dragged me along a few years ago and it’s incredible from ring neck duck teal mallards and scaup to goldeneye and bufflehead it’s just something else

[@salomonlemus9197]

I’m loving the videos you should do more field hunts

[@eriknielsen1428]

Love your videos! They really encouraged me to try duck hunting and I got my first duck this weekend!!

[@HokeOutdoors]

Thanks Erik! That's awesome to hear! Congrats on your first bird and hopefully there's name more to come!

[@kennybegneaud2644]

Great hunt. Glad the quicksand didn’t get you.

[@zanedudley8378]

great video and congrats on the banded mallard. dream bird

[@griffinhelgenberger3998]

Congratulations on the band man! That’s awesome

[@jakekriel2326]

Awesome Video. A green head drake is an awesome first band. Definitely my dream!

[@HokeOutdoors]

Thanks Jake! Hope you can get one as well! I don't know if there's a better feeling than flipping over a greenhead and seeing some bling

[@localqwackas9397]

Love watching the videos and you have gotten me into more duck hunting. You also have made me start filming my hunts and I have been trying to make some videos. I also can relate to the first band experience its so amazing picking the duck up and seeing the band on the leg. I would love to watch more hunts where you travel and hunt outside of your home state. keep slaying ducks and pumping out the content.

[@ltk_optic8968]

Congrats i like watching these kind of videos

[@ONTHEFLYTV]

Amazing hunt , the mallard was banded in my public land marsh - that’s crazy

[@daltonanderson7588]

Love the yak hunts dude good shooting also. 😊

[@utaharcheryandwaterfowl]

That’s awesome man! I’ve shot 2 banded geese, but that’s it.

[@HokeOutdoors]

Thanks man! Where were your banded geese from?

[@JeffLindberg-o1f]

I dont think you needed to shoot the one on the water. Sportsmanship says to scare him up first. We have all done it... But I wouldnt post that

[@HokeOutdoors]

Your definition of sportsman ship may include that but mine doesn't. The sporting part of waterfowling for me is to get birds to decoy. If they land within range I don't see any point in scaring them back up and trying to shoot them in the back as they fly off. That's a much lower percentage shot with a higher chance of crippling the bird compared to taking a head/neck shot when they're on the water

[@JeffLindberg-o1f]

@@HokeOutdoors totally understand your take. ive done it, we all have. but in MN & in ND that is not looked at in a good light. if you do it thats cool, but my suggestion is to leave it out of the video when youre on somebody else's land in that area of the country. some people dont care. but the farmers and small town folk do. i enjoy your videos and thats the first time i noticed that happening.. you have 48k subscribers, i have 0.... just wanted you to understand that area if you didnt already.

[@nickotten1358]

That was SICK!! That band bro! You gotta go back!! Just subbed

[@HokeOutdoors]

Thanks brother! Definitely gonna try to go back to this area next season!

[@veteranironoutdoors8320]

Im new to duck hunting, It never crossed my mind to look for bands! Havent had much luck so far but ill be sure to keep my eyes peeled!

[@huntingnewyorkoutdoors7485]

My banded gad wall came from Little Rock Arkansas and I shot it in New York. That’s way off the fly way. My Taxidermy said he’s so dry in Arkansas that they’re just zigzagging east and west until they find the structure of water and food source. Good job I’m happy that you shot your first banded talk congratulations. And for the giveaway that’s awesome. I always wanted to try one of their calls so hopefully I’m good to enter with this comment

[@davejohnson2466]

Great hunt, thanks for sharing! My only band is a wood duck, a 6 year old one or so…got him 25 years ago.

[@HokeOutdoors]

Thanks Dave! That's an awesome bird to get your first band on! What state did you get him in and where was he banded if you don't mind me asking?

[@davejohnson2466]

@@HokeOutdoors yeah it's been so long ago - i can tell you exactly where i was standing when i shot him - a historical place for family duck hunting in NW Iowa - was banded somewhere in Minnesota - unfortunately i've lost track of the the band and certificate - in my parents house - hopefully it will turn up some day! :) he was sneaking through from one lake to another lake, had to cross a narrow area of land between lakes - where i was sitting - nearly sunset - less than tree top high - he caught me by surprise and i got him with a reaction shot rather than seeing him coming and thinking about it - anyway, nice memory!

[@Yellowlab247_NC_Outdoors]

Congrats on the band! No body more deserving in m opinion. Would love to see you smack a Swan on NC public land!

[@nicholascraycraft8146]

Your videos are amazing they help out other waterfowl hunters keep up the good work

[@lesatwood4206]

Love your content. I really enjoy the small water potholes hunts.

[@HokeOutdoors]

I appreciate! Gonna try to get on a few more small water hunts this season but I think all the pothole hunting for the year is done unfortunately

[@joshuarickert4603]

You have gone. A long ways been watching for a couple years now

[@HokeOutdoors]

Thanks Josh I appreciate it!

[@garys1403]

You becoming “let’s gooo” guys now?

[@luke6485]

I think you should do some swamp videos like the old wood duck hunts.

[@HokeOutdoors]

I was hoping that I’d be able to get on some up here in MN but it seemed like all the woodies left after the first week of season

[@maxhuus6888]

More field hunts would be awesome.

[@edg3211]

Good hunt Thomas 👏. Congrats on the band. Bet you thanked that land owner! 😃

[@trashpandafighter8376]

Congrats on your first duck band!

[@landonpatton9701]

congrats on your band love the vids and jump shots for sure

[@HokeOutdoors]

Thanks Landon!

[@jcsoutdooradventures8715]

Awesome Mallard hunt! One of those days you needed more shooters

[@HokeOutdoors]

Thanks brother! It would've definitely been fun to have the whole crew in that spot but I do enjoy the simplicity of a two man hunt

[@brett7084]

Just started to watch your channel, keep up the good work!

[@HokeOutdoors]

Thanks Brett! I appreciate you watching

[@aidenhill501]

Awesome band! I shot one 2 years ago banded in Manitoba Canada

[@HokeOutdoors]

That's sweet! Do you happen to remember where in Manitoba? I was up there for a couple days this summer and they were doing a bunch of banding at one of the marshes I stopped at

[@darenhayes7506]

Hunts are better n better...No jumpshoots...Keep em coming just stay on migration and right in front of storms and you'll keep having Banger's!! Great job on the band..Ive taken thousand birds in my life and only got 2 bands!!! One hen pentail from Pilot Station Alaska,And a Drake Mallard from Washington...All taken in Pacific flyway..