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Self satisfaction and the unending admiration of anonymous internet friends

I think it all helps to create motion and confusion to keep their attention away from the blinds. The hurricanes seemed pretty important though. 6 of them per spread and moved around dependent on wind direction. Some tall silo socks mixed in with them too. Kill hole in the middle with a few decoys clustered over the e call. That was about 25 yards from the blinds. 7-8 batteries to run everything. 2000 decoys per spread. I wasn’t the shot caller. We were taking them at about 40 yards on average but I believe we could’ve gotten a lot of them feet down. We all remember the single Ross’ that broke off from a group of snows hovering at 100+ yards and took the elevator all the way down to its demise. The shot was called just before it lit but we were all sure if it was left alone, the audience above would’ve joined. It was mesmerizing to watch to watch how much they work a spread without flapping their wings much. These pics were waiting for them to come down closer. They did.

Barely had time and data to post a few random daily pics! Iffen you’re self banned, how’d ya know? Sunday - Tuesday hunt near Yankton, SD. We found ourselves there between two of the big pushes north. Adults first, pushing the ice line north, slipped through a couple days before we got there and the second juvie push held up by the storm that went through the night we traveled. Our best day was Monday. Sunny and warm with a nice south wind. Day 3 was cool with a stiff northeast wind bringing in another storm. A select few groups did well with birds coming off Lewis and Clark lake but we weren’t in their path. We packed up early and hit the road. We headed north and found them between Brookings and Watertown. Saw 100’s of thousands at the ice line.

Because I temporarily changed the rules, and smurfy was the 2nd person to wager a guess, I changed his prediction to April 25th. Also, since SkunkedAgain was the originator of this competition and was the 1st person to guess, I will give him until Friday to change his prediction if he wants to (although he may regret if the ice goes out on April 18th). After him, no more "changes" will be allowed on my board. Lots of "good" open dates available for those that have not predicted yet. Updated board below:

My 35th is March 30th. That could be a bit early.

Winner will get a free ticket to the Makinen Volunteer Fire Department cash raffle. Chance to win $2,500 among the 15 cash prizes.

There now looks like a great hunt, hope posting didn't bruise as much as your shoulder was after that weekend! I can still peek, without signing in next door!

Nope, I can see. Self banned. Don't need to argue political and religion all day on a Outdoor forum.

Are you banned from crossing said fence,,

It's tough to find the etymology of numb nuts. Lots of guesses that it came from the military and/or cycling communities, but nothing definitive. It's meaning has no doubt though...

pretty certain everyone else here isnt guessing Edwards lake...........goofball!!!!!!!

Up until April 24th?

https://www.timberjay.com/stories/moccasin-point-upgrade-has-longtime-users-concerned,22802 Moccasin Point upgrade has longtime users concerned DNR hopes to get major remake of key access underway later this year Posted Thursday, March 20, 2025 10:36 am Marshall Helmberger LAKE VERMILION— With funding finally in place, the Department of Natural Resources is planning to move forward with an estimated $2-plus million renovation of the Moccasin Point landing, and users of the site say they’re concerned about the changes. The landing has been heavily used for decades by anglers, Boundary Waters visitors, residents of nearby islands and other remote-access properties on Lake Vermilion and, perhaps most critically, by emergency responders for everything from fire to medical response. Moccasin Point has also been a protected harbor for private barges loading and unloading as they service the many water-access properties in the area. Sarah Schmidt, who spends summers with her husband Jake at their cabin on nearby Pine Island, said there’s a lot at stake for people who depend on the landing. “A lot of people have designed their dream home around having access to that landing,” she said. “People need propane, they need lumber, and if they need to install a septic system, they need lots of gravel,” she said. For the many hundreds of island or other water-access property owners on the lake, all of that material comes by barge. Moccasin Point is particularly well suited for such use, since it is arguably the most protected harbor on Lake Vermilion, with islands and mainland protecting it from wind from just about any direction. It’s also centrally located on the sprawling lake and close to concentrations of island homes and cabins. Scott Kelling, northeast regional manager for DNR Parks and Trails, said the plans for the reconstruction of the landing are still being finalized, but insisted they will take into account the unique mix of recreational and commercial use of the landing, including use by all three of the barging companies that service customers on the lake. According to Kelling, the remake of the landing will include removal of the old pier and the reconstruction of a new one in nearly the same location. “The new pier will serve the same function,” said Kelling, and will include an additional ramp that will be dedicated for barge loading and off-loading. Kelling said an engineer’s inspection of the existing pier determined it was near the end of its useful life, although Schmidt said she thinks that opinion reflects the DNR’s desire to remove the structure rather than its actual condition. Kelling acknowledges that it’s not the only reason for replacing the structure. “With our redesign it’s just not in the right location,” he said. Adequate parking is another major concern of longtime users of Moccasin Point. Tim Logan, whose family has owned island property near the landing since the 1950s, said plans the DNR had shared a few years ago seemed to show less parking than is typically used at the site. Schmidt notes that during high-traffic weekends, the parking area is frequently full and overflow parking can extend for hundreds of feet along Moccasin Point Rd. She said she counted 163 vehicles parked at the landing at one point last Memorial Day weekend and said there are routinely 90-100 vehicles during the summer season. Many of the regular users of the landing, particularly those on island properties, use the site for long-term parking of their vehicles for days, weeks, or months at a time. That’s unusual at public landings, which are typically limited to day use. Kelling said the DNR is making an exception to that rule for Moccasin Point, given the many varied uses of the unique property. “Overnight parking will be allowed,” he said. Kelling said the current plan will allow parking for a bit over 100 vehicles, which is more than some original plans for the site. “We’re doing everything we can to maximize the parking there, at some considerable expense,” he said. Longstanding issues Kelling said the DNR’s plan for reconstruction is motivated by a desire to “manage the site more responsibly on a number of fronts.” The DNR acquired the site in 2008 and had planned to undertake reconstruction of the landing back in 2013 but lacked the funds at the time to accomplish the work. The funding was approved in 2023 and the DNR has been working on design of the project ever since. According to Kelling, the site has operated essentially as a “free-for-all” for years, with uses and resource impacts that aren’t typically permitted at DNR-managed access points. “There are currently a number of transgressions out there,” said Kelling, including long-term storage of personal property and building materials. He said the site, which slopes toward the lake, also contributes large amounts of sediment into Vermilion during heavy rainfall. “We need to better manage the stormwater,” said Kelling. “Currently, a lot of sediment and other things end up in the lake when it rains.” Schmidt questions whether the change will be an improvement, since the DNR’s reconstruction of the site will convert the existing grassy hillside that currently serves as the site’s parking lot into a paved parking area. Kelling said the parking area will be leveled before being paved and that stormwater will be directed into one of two planned stormwater ponds in order to contain sediment. Schmidt claims the ponds will become a mosquito breeding ground. Kelling said he expects the final design will be completed soon and he is expecting to hold an open house in early summer so interested users can see what’s planned for the site. He expects actual construction to begin sometime in October if all goes as planned. That initial work will include blasting of some underlying bedrock in order to level the site. But most of the work will take place in 2026, he said, and during that period, it may be difficult to maintain public use of the site, although he said use of the site by barges should still be possible, with potentially some minor delays. But he said other users of the site may want to explore other access options for that summer. Kelling said he hopes to have more information on that at the open house later this year. “A goal of the open house is to really share the timeline and alternatives for users,” he said. “They might need to park somewhere else in 2026.”

Agreed, but I had a bit of a technicality and had to change. You!

As long as we haven't reached the date you originally chose, you can change your guess to any open date. At least those are the rules for my "big dollar" raffle board. Always fun to keep guessing the ice-out date on Vermilion as the melting season progresses. This is our first year living on a lake (150 acre shallow lake between Duluth and Ely) so I am enjoying watching the melting process on our lake. Board is updated below. Dates are slowly disappearing but many middle dates are still available.

May 5th please. 35th anniversary

I seem to remember some of us changing our predictions last year as the weather changed. Are all guesses final, or is there a cut-off date for making a change?

May 3rd

Just don't take it on Vermilion. You can join me if you want......We can share the honors!

Say it like it is grany. I love her! "You got a riding lawn mower, what's the problem? You can certainly get your fat ass out there"

Ya know I typically don't cruise through Inger too often. Still looking for a plastic, orthopedic or cardiothoracic surgeon so I can be a stay at home husband and catch walleye every day. Not a whole lot of those in this neck of the woods

ran into an old famous feller today at the grocery store.......spent about 20 minutes BS'ing with the world famous icehawk. yea he still hunts and fishes more then he works!!!!!!!

oh now you hurt my feelers!!!!!!!! not!!!!!!!

Dang, this is like a free meal on Lakestreet in Mpls. I didn't know this many folks were still on the site until someone said "Free raffle drawing"

Nah, I'm not changing my guess. It's more fun to make early predictions and see how far off I am. I'll turn on the hair dryer and see if it helps.

i wanna change mine to the 29th of april...........i've been seeing ice reports to much up that way.

OK April 25TH

So I guess we don't warrant a snow goose hunt report from Wanderer, on this side of the fence?

I took about 1.5 cases and came back with about 1 case. I wanted to burn up some cheap shells I bought for a North Dakota trip several years ago. After the first day of ripping through as many of those as I could, I switched over to my good stuff, shot less, and got more birds. So I still have 6-7 boxes of shells I don’t even want to have around anymore. I don’t think I even got through a second box of good shells. The cheap shells are Estate BB; the good ones for me are Black Cloud 2’s for geese. BC 4s for ducks.

the 15 acre pond in my backyard opened today here in big lake, which is very early for this since its connected to the big lake chain. but my guess is about april 18th on my lake in backus.

Never hunted conservation season. Actually get birds feet down or longer shots? I've been running battery operated flappers but does the rotary machine really help?

I'll take April 28th.

No breathing room for me! lol!

April 30th

Here are the dates taken so far. Earliest, latest, and opening day are highlighted. Good luck and let's have fun.

Cold February, late ice out..... May 12

what area.....there are already some in the southern part of the state ice free. northern part of the state..i'll go with april 10th!!!!!

the best laid plans of mice and men!!! we have all done something like like that...

A good start for never picking up a bow! IMG_1910.mp4