Jump to content
  • GUESTS

    If You  want access  to member only forums on FM, You will need to Sign-in or  Sign-Up now .

    This box will disappear once you are signed in as a member.

2010 Ruff Grouse hunting reports-how did you do?


laker1

Recommended Posts

Took my big boy out today for the first time. 8-yr. carrying a BB-gun. We did manage 1 for 2. and chased a couple sharpies out into a field that was inaccessable. We both had a terrific time, but let me tell ya', if you're planning on coming up this weekend bring lots of INSECT REPELLENT!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 132
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • CANOPY SAM

    15

  • Matt Breuer

    13

  • tybo

    9

  • TylerS

    6

You shoot that one, CANOPY? I'm waiting for word that the young man popped his first!

Shoot me an e-mail if you would, I've got pictures for you...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pete is still carrying the monkey! I took Jacob out walking yesterday. I'm sure, if the bird had stuck around, he would have gladly pinged it in the knoggin, but yes, I shot that one.

Gonna take Jacob and Abbey out for a walk in the woods today! Should be fun, if I can get em' both to stop constantly talking! wink

Gonna be another warm one today. We had 81 on the car therm around 3:00 p.m. yesterday.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Went out this morning after my bow hunt and before the temp hits 80 degree's. I had to grab the over under and do some bird hunting with all the positive reports. I'm glad I did.......hunted for 2.5 hours and shot 4 grouse and 1 wood cock. Flushed 14 grouse total and 5 wood cock. I need to get out more. Here's my companion, Nemadji.

Picture1.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's a nice pic. Looks like something out of a sporting magazine. Glad you had some luck on such a nice day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I havnt even shouldered a gun yet, I've let the boys collect the groceries. Last weekend Kyle got his first, then today the Brady got his first 2 and Kyle got another 1.full-13203-1951-088.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I haven't been on fm since second weekend. I took the dogs out for a few hours. Saw 40ish birds and got 4. I've been so busy and with it being duck season that is probably the end of my serious grouse hunting for the year. At least until after deer season.

Good to see everyone is doing pretty good.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sat 10/9 - 2 guys, 1 dog. Up at 4:00am on the road by 4:30, hunting from 7:30 - 6:30, 26 flushed, 9 shots, 4 birds. All were singles, but 2 small groups. It was a beautiful day, maybe even to warm. 1:00 - 4:00 things were real slow for us. Home at 10:30 asleep by 10:35. A long day, but worth it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just got back from hunting 5 days around I falls I think there might actually be more than the peak last year because we saww quite a few. We hunted every morning for a few hours before it got warm and then spent the rest of the day in the boat. I think we brought home something like 23 but we put on one of the poorest shooting displays I've ever seen. We went through a lot of shells. Tuesday night on the way up we moved about 20 birds and got one. I did make up for it on thursday morning when I got 6 myself and the 3 of got a total of ten in about 2 hours.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders

Sat 10/9 - 2 guys, 1 dog. Up at 4:00am on the road by 4:30, hunting from 7:30 - 6:30, 26 flushed, 9 shots, 4 birds. All were singles, but 2 small groups. It was a beautiful day, maybe even to warm. 1:00 - 4:00 things were real slow for us. Home at 10:30 asleep by 10:35. A long day, but worth it.

gurk, you love to pack a lot into one day don't you! wink

Link to comment
Share on other sites

A buddy of mine was out last week in the Hibbing area with his dad, and in 2 days they flushed 50+ birds, and came home with 10 each. Lots of encouraging reports coming in from all over the place...can't wait to get out next week with my buddies for 4 days of chasing birds (and all of the crazy shenanigans at the bar every night, too)! smile

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders

A buddy of mine was out last week in the Hibbing area with his dad, and in 2 days they flushed 50+ birds, and came home with 10 each. Lots of encouraging reports coming in from all over the place...can't wait to get out next week with my buddies for 4 days of chasing birds (and all of the crazy shenanigans at the bar every night, too)! smile

TPro, did they have dogs with them by chance? Seems like really good numbers with or without a dog! smile

Link to comment
Share on other sites

There's birds out there, thats for sure. But, I tell you what I could really go for.....

SOME COOLER TEMPS!!!!!!!!!

These hot days are tough on my dog. I really have to shorten my walks and the day when temps get over 60. They are talking about 70 on Saturday for the pheasant opener. Thats more sitting on the deck listening to the gophers weather then hunting weather. IMHO

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, they had my buddy's dog along, and a few of the birds were pointed by her, but apparently, a lot of them were spotted running around and across forest roads. They would then pull over, go in after the birds, and several more would flush. I guess there were plenty of birds spotted out walking trails, too, but they didn't do the usual amount of walking due to the warm temps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

After reading my last post, I guess saying they "flushed" 50+ birds isn't quite accurate, as it would imply being out walking all of the time....rather they "saw" 50+ birds, with around half of them kicked up while out walking trails. The rest were spotted while driving, then pursued on foot. Either way, coming home with 10 birds each is still an awful good weekend.

I personally haven't seen nearly as many, and hunt in northwestern Crow Wing county. I would say I have been seeing an average of 6-8 birds per day, with 3-4 hours spent on weekend mornings out chasing birds, and the evenings out in a tree looking for deer. I haven't hit the grouse trails nearly as hard as I usually do.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I doubt "pursued" is the word to use, as there are a TON of young dumb birds out there. Your friends probably had to step out of the truck and "pursue" the lead that was fired into the birds standing there. wink Trust me, I've done my fair share of the same "pursuing" this season!

I was out for 2 hours yesterday, saw 9 birds, took home 3.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hunting in the Tower area, birds are somewhat educated, they are not spending much time on the roads, and seem to be hanging around the trails off of the roads, walking the trails have been producing more often. The birds have been on the trails but move quickly into the heavy cover once the dog or I are detected. They flush wild and far out, the dog (Chessie) followed one for at least ten minutes the other day before the flush, reminded me of pheasant hunting more than Grouse hunting, still is a thrill when they decide to go, now if I could only hit the little buggers all would be well. Gnats, skeeters, and ticks are still very active here, took three ticks off my four legged buddy the other day, I check her each time we come back, Could really use a very hard freeze to rid us of these. Water in the woods seems to hold more birds, they need H20 just like we do.

Went out this afternoon 4 flushes, score was: Birds 4 Darrell 0. Oh well Thursday is another day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders

HaHa - Yeah Leech you know the drill. Have to scratch the itch when I can wink.

So, this year 3 lakes in 1 1/2 days! LOW, Red & Winn? laugh

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anyone ever hunt Pillsbury state forest? I will be in the area this weekend. I don't have a dog so wondering if its worth trying and if others have luck without a dog?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hunted for over a week in Itasca county(Balsam Township). Hunted a couple hours each afternoon in between duck and bowhunts. Myself, my nephew, and the lab. Saw a lot of birds. Not as many as last year, but still a lot and got more adult birds compared to last year shooting a lot of young birds. Probably averaged about 2-3 flushes an hour over the week. The best day I had was in one hour had 12 flushed(managed one that day, ouch). Weather was way too hot, and the ticks were awful(picked 20-50 off the dog each day). Most of the birds were in the typical young aspen adjacent to spruce and jack pine. All were stuffed with clover and a few berries and aspen buds. Would have hunted more/harder but the temps were tough on both dog and hunters. Only flushed one woodcock the whole week.

Oct 3-12 flushes, 1 bird

Oct 4-2 flushes, 1 bird

Oct 5- Forgot to record(no birds, i think 3 flushes)

Oct 6-4 flushes, 2 birds

Oct 7-5 flushes, 1 bird

Oct 11-2 flushes, 1 bird

Oct 12-6 flushes, 2 birds

Oct 13-3 flushes, 1 bird

P9240006.jpg

PA030027.jpg

PA020022.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice pics Lunk! Got a tip from a friend about a little pocket of birds today. Didn't turn out to be much, but I managed 2 for 2. One ruffie, and one woodcock.

Wish the wind would let up, and the temps would drop a bit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

October 16th and 17th, St. Louis County.

Seeing about double the birds as last year in the area we hunt. Spent most of the weekend scouting for deer, but got out for a couple hours to do some bird hunting. The dog showed us some of his best work yet and we spent most of the time chasing points. The doodles were easy to hit, the grouse not so much. Ended up with a few of each, including a beautiful mature ruffie that was pointed by my dog, shot by me, and retrieved by my dad. Its headed to the taxidermist this week. Rough estimate I would say for 4-5 hours of actual bird hunting we probably flushed 12-14 woodcock and 20-30 grouse. What a hoot!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well, I've been chomping at the bit since September to get out on some ruffs, and finally got the chance this past weekend.

It was nice to see that all the hype was, for once, granted.

Beautiful weather, plenty of birds, and comparatively few hunters. If not for the handful of deer ticks, I'd consider it a perfect trip.

I started off Thursday evening by hunting some of my grandparents' land. Their 20 acres usually is good for at least one grouse a trip, and I was hoping to get a gimme shot so my 5-month-old GWP, Remy, could get his first ruff. After making it through nearly the whole plot, we scooted through a section and into a small, abandoned gravel pit. Finally, a bird flushes up a hill of pines and I can see it running through the branches. I get a quick shot off as it crests the hill, but I immediately lose sight of it. So I scamper of the hill with dog in tow, only to discover no bird. Then, Remy B-lines it 20 yards down the other side and finds my bird, dead, and hidden behind a log. If not for the dog, I probably wouldn't have found the bird. To put it plainly, I was ecstatic.

We finished off the evening by walking trails close by. They obviously had been hammered, as evident by the number of grouse feathers and carcasses by the entrances. Still, I can't pass these trails up as they often produce birds. In a short time, I came to the first Y in the trail, and took the jaunt to the right, knowing it often held at least a bird or two near the top of the hill. Sure enough, a beautiful red flushes to my left and I make a quick swing shot. Bird down, and Remy gets it a RETRIEVES IT TO HAND perfectly. Could this day get any better?!

IMG_0163.jpg

We finish off by flushing some more birds, but my shooting quickly deteriorates. I scratch one more bird at the end of the day on the way out of a trail. It was a perfect "clay pigeon" shot, but I still manage to merely wing it. The pup is off in hot pursuit, and eventually brings it back...minus about half its feathers. I guess Remy had a tough time getting the flopping cripple to settle down.

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday saw a gradual decrease in bird sightings. I picked up two more Friday morning, but got skunked Friday evening and all day Saturday. Not for lack of chances, mind you, but it seemed that the birds we were seeing either flushed wild way ahead, or off the trail in thick cover. It didn't help that Remy got "bird fever" a couple times and raced down the trail only to accidentally bump a bird well out of range. Oh well, he's only a pup and I had more fun watching him work than shooting birds.

I scratched one more bird Sunday morning, deep on a trail that obviously had been pi$$-pounded since opener as evident by the deep 4-wheeler ruts and myriad of shotgun shell hulls and bird feathers. Still, it looked too good to pass up. As we were getting near the end of the trail, Remy locked up and looked to our right. I immediately see movement a good 30 yards inside some thick pines. A gorgeous, gray grouse steps into a ray of sunlight for a brief second, just long enough for me to get a shot off. It flies, but the dog takes off after it. I'm sure its a miss, but in short order Remy returns with the winged male in his mouth. It was the icing on the cake. If not for a couple missing tail feathers, I most certainly would have gotten the bird mounted.

All in all, it was a great hunting trip. I had plenty of opportunities and saw many birds, but watching my dog work made the hunt. I can honestly say that, since hunting with a dog, I will doubtful do so without one ever again.

Good luck to everyone fortunate enough to get out for the rest of the season! I'm crossing my fingers I can get out at least once more, but this fall is getting packed. If that was my last ruff trip, than another year can't come soon enough! Rationing six grouse for another 365 days is tough.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Continue to see grouse on every walk. Dog work and shooting is improving too.

Leaves pretty much gone on all trees except the oaks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hunted Saturday, moved 19 birds. If you weren't wet you weren't going to see a bird. Everything was low, low, low. If there was still green vegetation around that was even better. Poor scenting conditions, dry air with little wind made it tough.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.




  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • leech~~
      Nope not me.  May want to go nextdoor and ask around?  
    • smurfy
      Looks to me like Leech brought his chair home!!😅😆
    • Brianf.
      I'm not there, so I can't tell exactly what's going on but it looks like a large area of open water developed in the last day with all of the heavy snow on the east side of wake em up Narrows. These two photos are from my Ring Camera facing north towards Niles Point.  You can see what happened with all of snow that fell in the last three days, though the open water could have been wind driven. Hard to say. .  
    • SkunkedAgain
      Black Bay had great ice before but a few spots near rockpiles where there were spots of open water. It looks like the weight of the snow has created a little lake in the middle of the bay.  
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   Thanks to some cold spring weather, ice fishing continues strong for those still ice fishing.  The bite remains very good.  Most resorts have pulled their fish houses off for the year, however, some still have fish houses out and others are allowing ATV and side by sides.  Check social media or call ahead to your favorite resort for specifics. Reports this week for walleyes and saugers remain excellent.   A nice mix of jumbo perch, pike, eelpout, and an occasional crappie, tullibee or sturgeon being reported by anglers. Jigging one line and using a live minnow on the second line is the way to go.  Green, glow red, pink and gold were good colors this week.     Monster pike are on a tear!  Good number of pike, some reaching over 45 inches long, being caught using tip ups with live suckers or dead bait such as smelt and herring in 8 - 14' of water.   As always, work through a resort or outfitter for ice road conditions.  Safety first always. Fish houses are allowed on the ice through March 31st, the walleye / sauger season goes through April 14th and the pike season never ends. On the Rainy River...  The river is opened up along the Nelson Park boat ramp in Birchdale, the Frontier boat ramp and Vidas boat ramp.  This past week, much of the open water skimmed over with the single digit overnight temps.   Areas of the river have popped open again and with temps getting warmer, things are shaping up for the last stretch through the rest of the spring season, which continues through April 14th.   Very good numbers of walleyes are in the river.  Reports this week, even with fewer anglers, have been good.  When temps warm up and the sun shines, things will fire up again.   Jigs with brightly colored plastics or jigs with a frozen emerald shiner have been the desired bait on the river.  Don't overlook slow trolling crankbaits upstream as well.   Good reports of sturgeon being caught on the river as well.  Sturgeon put the feed bag on in the spring.  The bite has been very good.  Most are using a sturgeon rig with a circle hook loaded with crawlers or crawlers / frozen emerald shiners. Up at the NW Angle...  Ice fishing is winding down up at the Angle.  Walleyes, saugers, and a number of various species in the mix again this week.  The bite is still very good with good numbers of fish.  The one two punch of jigging one line and deadsticking the second line is working well.   Check with Angle resorts on transport options from Young's Bay.  Call ahead for ice road guidelines.  
    • CigarGuy
      With the drifting, kind of hard to tell for sure, but I'm guessing about a foot and still lightly snowing. Cook end!
    • PSU
      How much snow did you get on Vermilion? 
    • Mike89
      lake here refroze too...  started opening again yesterday with the wet snow and wind...  very little ice left today...
    • Hookmaster
      A friend who has a cabin between Alex and Fergus said the lake he's on refroze. He texted me a pic from March 12th when it was open and one from 23rd when it wasn't. 🤯
    • SkunkedAgain
      I don't think that there has been any ice melt in the past few weeks on Vermilion. Things looked like a record and then Mother Nature swept in again.   I'll give my revised guess of April 21st
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.