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Waterfowl Reports


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Hunted north of Ortinville last weekend. Not very may ducks or geese. Ended up with three geese 15 ducks for 5 hunters. Last year on the opener we got 48 in two days for 4 hunters! Every year is different for sure!

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My brother an I were out in a bean field and got our birds(geese) by 8:15. I was very suprised to see so many flying in this wind today. Probably 10-15 flocks. Only seen one duck as we were picking up. Tmrw sounds fun with cooler temps and rain!

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I scouted Monday-Friday at the farm I live at with a nice river that runs through it, beans are combined, corn chopped/ not quite combining yet, ponds, etc. My 9 year old and I saw a total of zero ducks and surprisingly no geese. So where should we set up the dekes ? jk, we also drove around about half a dozen sections and we saw nothing, maybe they walk and don't fly anymore, rather than drive a few hours away, I think we'll sleep in smile. My cousins duck report from scouting for the week 4 counties away is similar, he saw geese around some, but no ducks. Heck that's the same story from the last decade, my assumption was as many ponds became dry, with less places to sit, we'd at least have a few around, maybe early AM they fly ? But, we're up then to and haven't seen a duck since august. Pheasants beware, we have itchy trigger fingers.

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We were just north of Ortnville last weekend and didn't see one pheasent. We could hear one in the distance when we were duck hunting and we drove around alot looking for more places to hunt saturday afternoon. I think last winter really took it's toll on the pheasents! shocked

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Agreed Finlander, in my area not a known pheasant hotspot but the DNR map has it listed as very populated accordingly, we're seeing very very few, the thought was once the beans came out but boy it looks really bleak, hopefully not but within the month we'll know for sure. Ducks if you shot every bird in the county you'd be 3 short of a limit and no I'm not near ortonville.

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Got the new dog on some birds today. Shot three ducks which included a drake Woodie and a hen Woodie and a drake mallard. Saw tons of birds but came from the big water this morning which was totally opposite of the previous morning scouting. Lots of birds in area. Saw over a hundred wooducks which all made us look stupid flying ten feet off the water on public and pulling up before we saw them. Also three large flocks of over a hundred mallards . Teal also present but a ton of ducks are feeding and roosting on the same large wma and never fly around. We are not able to throw dekes out because mud is out thirty feet around whole lake with no boat access. We are getting on from private land that we have permission to cross to get down to the wma. Hoping that some other diehards get out tomorrow and work that mud to push birds around a little more. Good luck and keep scouting because birds are still around!!!.

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Got the new dog on some birds today. Shot three ducks which included a drake Woodie and a hen Woodie and a drake mallard. Saw tons of birds but came from the big water this morning which was totally opposite of the previous morning scouting. Lots of birds in area. Saw over a hundred wooducks which all made us look stupid flying ten feet off the water on public and pulling up before we saw them. Also three large flocks of over a hundred mallards . Teal also present but a ton of ducks are feeding and roosting on the same large wma and never fly around. We are not able to throw dekes out because mud is out thirty feet around whole lake with no boat access. We are getting on from private land that we have permission to cross to get down to the wma. Hoping that some other diehards get out tomorrow and work that mud to push birds around a little more. Good luck and keep scouting because birds are still around!!!.

any chance you could set honker shells and fullbodies on the mud? you would probably draw more ducks in rather than having to try to pass shoot. If I get done with my projects early this afternoon we are hunting a mud flat this evening...then geese in the corn tomorrow!

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another great morning of hunting, My 12 year old and myself had 6 woodies and 2 mallards by 7;45 ,wooducks by the hundreds and a lot of teal only saw about 20 mallards

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Slow morning for us. We saw 40 or so geese and a handful of ducks. Nothing wanted to commit or even come into range. Tomorrow off to a different lake and try that.

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8 geese and 2 mallards in the silage this morning...had to burn a few flocks of geese trying to figure out where to put the blinds with no wind, most of the mallards worked just out of range over a puddle in the field, and whey the did get into range we shot poorly. Great morning in the rain though!

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I went to my usual spot this morning. Lots of wood ducks flying around, most ignored me as usual. A few pairs of mallards, again ignoring me. I did get three woodies to land outside of my spread at about 40yd, I didn't shoot. Had one other commit and I didn't see it until it went crazy over my head. I shot once, those nearly straight-up shots are bad news, I have missed three shots in a row this past week all doing the same darn thing.

I picked up a couple of those Edge Quiver Magnets on sale since they were old stock and tried them out. I used about a 12" lead of 20lb mono and looped it over a decoy's head so it would stay near the decoy. With freshly charged batteries it generated about enough rippling to look like what the live ducks were doing when they sit out in the middle of the lake laughing at me. The problem though with looping around the decoy head is the quivering forces the decoy to move backwards, which isn't exactly what I wanted. Next time I will attach to the decoy's butt so that it hopefully pushes the decoy forward, maybe I can get the decoy to swim around. That would be pretty slick.

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Ended up doing pretty good this weekend on the little lake west of town. Got 3 greenheads and 2 Bw teal yesterday. So much for the warm weather being a killer. I was pretty much thinking if I only saw a duck or two I would be lucky! It was windy, so that always seems to help.

Today my daughter and I made it out and ended up with 7 Bw teal. She had a good time. Not as many bigs ducks today, but the teal were moving thru at least.

Did start to see some divers this weekend, cans and ringecks.

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thats a pretty good idea josh. im going to have to find mine and give it a try! didnt go out this morning but my bro was out bow hunting and he said the ducks were like crazy yesterday and this morning. he also said the ducks arnt really around in the eve only geese.

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I didnt hunt this morning but I talked with some guys on mille Lacs that had seen a bunch of teal today and got a few GWT nd BWT

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One woody drake after some skyblasting kids sealed my fate. Do the new regs let us hunt ducks with rifles now ?? Maybe I missed that one in the synopsis ;(

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my dad found a beaver pond absolutely loaded with mallards this wknd. bowstring area. he's been seeing 1-2 thousand birds come in every evening. wasn't planning on getting out this yr but i'm gonna try to make it work this wknd!

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seen more teal yesterday than I have all season, was a great morning in the blind with them buzzers keeping things interresting to say the least, I also seen some migrating ducks up high, I took a metal note on how many less woodies were also around the area, seen tons on sat morning and just a few flocks yesterday. cant waite for the wind change at weeks end

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was out this morning and wholy cow did i see birds! i must have seen half a dozen toa dozen flocks of dozen ormore. most wouldnt even give me a second look. also did see more teal today then the last couple of weekends.

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Dismal river float, 7 mile stretch, saw 2 wood ducks and 1 group of 7 mallards and 0 seemed to be drakes so 8 hour mission and no ducks, but saw northerns in the river and suckers, a beaver, a few muskrats, jumped a few deer by accident bedded close to the river so there was adventure, it was also way to warm, so the question is how this river, that used to be everyone's primary duck destination because it was so good, became so poor ? We never saw another hunter at any of the bridges or setting with dekes so we thought this might really be ok, but it wasn't. Around 1 bend there were 6 swans also.

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seeing lots of birds from bemidji on up mainly flying high most of them being bwt but shot a limit sunday morning i really wish i had my camcorder up here wave after wave, monday i dont know what happened definatley poor shooting for our group and this morning only hunted till 9 still got our share of birds shot two bands both being bandend in winnnepig

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Put on quite a few miles for work. Been seeing more ducks than expected south of the metro. All sitting in no hunting areas. I'm sure more habitat would help to disperse the hunting pressure that pushes them there but so would getting rid of the mentality that every lone duck sitting in the middle of the marsh needs 3 hats putting on their best belly crawl.

Got a questionaire about early goose from DNR. Wondered about hunting over water. Hope they get enough checks in the eliminate box.

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I realize most of these reports are for Minnesota, but thought I'd give everyone my observations from God's country.

We had lots of water this spring, and most has stuck around to the fall. The result was bad for upland birds, but great for waterfowl. After a couple years of drier conditions, I've definitely witnessed more ducks this year than in the recent past.

Geese are, as always, plentiful. And with the crops coming down in record pace, finding a cut corn field right now is not out of the question.

I'm not going to give out towns, but the usual waterfowl haunts have been producing quite nicely. Although I do not think we have many migrants down, the resident population is healthy enough to offer plenty of shooting until the weather turns.

We've had some unseasonably warm weather the past few weeks, but now we're wet again and the temps are cooling. Watch for the winds to start blowing and the overnights to tickle that 32-degree mark. When that happens, any major front that comes through could start sending some northern birds our way! Watch the weather and try to get ahead of the fronts.

Good luck to all you NRs! I'll try not to shoot all the ducks before you get here wink

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Was out each night Sunday-Tuesday, saw a pair of wood ducks whistling by, that's all, there's definitely more sandhill cranes then ducks in our area, scout mornings some to and just little to no waterfowl around and no one is hunting or if they are I haven't heard a shotgun blast in the area all fall other than me taking out a problem skunk the other day.

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was out this morning seen lots of geese in the area... seen what looks to be the first push of bluebils in the area should be some good hunting this weekend. But shot 6 bluebills and a canvas back definately thinking about getting it mounted

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Talked to the CO that flew the Southern MN Duck counts yesterday and he said most of southern MN had small pockets of ducks but with low numbers. The only significant areas where small groups on Swan Lake and fair amount of mallards North of Marsh lake near Appelton. Lets hope the weather switches soon and brings some fresh birds in.

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Good North and cold wind today seen a quite a few more ducks the area, i just love the difference in #s between divers and puddle ducks tht im use to see. But shot 19 birds for 4 guys today lost 3 birds so it was a pretty good day out but seen a few more mallards push down and more redheads too hopefully its a good sign. Hopefully a few people can get out this weekend conditions are looking good but then again the weatherman is usually wrong.lol. Good luck!!

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Was out for opener and 2 weekends following 5 miles west of Sauk Center. Not a lot of shooting after opener, or birds flying for that matter. Anybody seeing more birds in the area? Thinkin about maybe Saturday, but with the weather just starting to cool down, I'd say next weekend there should be a few more northern birds coming through.

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yeah I would prolly waite another couple weeks and let them fly by when your sitting on the couch. sick

Heck dont waite get out there and make the most out of it its not about shooting limits its about being able to hunt

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • Kettle
      Walked today and yesterday, flushed 9, shot at two and got two. Hopefully next year I'll have a dog to hunt with. Still warm up here, skim of ice on ponds. Weather has been nice. Hopefully walk a bit more the next few weeks. Been pretty cautious walking for birds to not interfere with deer hunters. There sure are not the deer hunters there used to be 
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the South Shore...  The focus for many this week is the ongoing deer hunting season which is a big tradition in these parts, even for avid walleye anglers.  There were some that either already harvested their deer or are more into catching fall walleyes than hunting.     Those that are fishing are taking advantage of the unseasonably warm weather and excellent walleye and sauger bite that is happening across the lake.  Cold weather is in the forecast in the upcoming days and weeks so that is also getting many excited. The best depths on the south end of LOW are 22-28 feet of water.     Vertical jigging with frozen emerald shiners is catching most of the walleyes, saugers and jumbo perch.  Depending upon where on the lake you are fishing, some slots and big trophies are in the mix as well, but most reports are talking about good numbers of eaters.    Jumbo perch are coming in good numbers this fall which will serve ice anglers well.  Watch out for an occasional pike or even lake sturgeon mixed in with the walleyes.      There are good numbers of walleyes and saugers across the south shore which is setting up nicely for early ice.   On the Rainy River...  There continues to be good numbers of shiners in the river, and consequently, there are good walleyes in the river as well.     Walleyes along with saugers, pike and some sturgeon are coming in up and down the river.  Most walleyes are being caught in 10-25 feet of water in various stretches of the river.   Jigging with live or frozen emerald shiners is the key. Some anglers are also still slow trolling crankbaits upstream to cover more ground and find fish. Both methods are producing solid results. Sturgeon fishing remains strong.  The catch-and-release sturgeon fishing is open into the spring when it changes to the "keep season" on April 24th. Up at the NW Angle...  As temps are getting colder, most are in the woods hunting and not fall fishing, however, for those who bundle up, fishing continues to be excellent.     A nice mixed bag with walleyes, saugers, perch, pike and crappies being caught. Very good muskie fishing with the colder water temps and shorter days.  Some big fish and some good numbers are being caught amongst the islands.  Both casting and trolling is getting it done.  
    • gimruis
      I hunt in the rifle zone so I don't have a need to use a shotgun to hunt deer, but I would be looking at this if there was ever a need to.   There could be state legislation introduced next summer that eliminates the shotgun zone completely.  It has bipartisan support.  Wisconsin removed theirs years ago and MN is usually later to follow.  They've tried to pass it more than once and it came up just short both times.  Probably just a matter of time.
    • Wanderer
      Oh, h e l l no! 
    • leech~~
      Screw that, here's whatch need!  😆   Power-Shok Rifled Slug 10 Gauge 766 Grain Grain Weight: 766 Shotshell Length: 3-1/2in / 89mm Muzzle Velocity: 1280
    • Wanderer
      20 ga has become a real popular deer round in the last 5 or so years.  The rifled barrels are zinging those sabot slugs with rifle like accuracy out to 100 yards easily.  Some go so far as dialing in for a 200 yard shot but really, by 150 they’re falling off pretty low.   I have a single shot Ultraslug in 20 ga that shoots really well at 100 yards.  Most everyone I know that has bought a slug gun lately has gotten the Savage 220 in 20ga.  Problem can be finding the shells you want.
    • leech~~
      My son always bugs me about getting a nice light over-under 20ga for grouse hunting.  I say Heck no, I'm getting a 3 1/2" 10ga so I can put as much lead in the air that I can!!     So, I'm keeping my 12ga.  
    • 11-87
      That’s almost exactly what I was thinking.  Have slug barrels for both   One for turkey and one for deer.      I have a 20ga mosseberg as well. (Combo came with the scope but never used.   I always liked the 12 better
    • leech~~
      Wanderer is right on the money and covered it well.  I was wondering too if you had a slug barrel for one of your guns?  If so you could make that your slug gun with a scope, and the other your turkey gun with the Red dot.  As you can afford it. 
    • Wanderer
      Kinda depends on if you want magnification or quick target acquisition.   More magnification options and better accuracy with a scope.  You get what you pay for too so get comfortable with a budget for one.  Tasco and Bushnell work but I find they lose their zero easier, have low contrast and don’t gather light well in low light conditions.  That said, I’m still using one I haven’t replaced yet.  Vortex has been the hot brand for the past several years for bang for the buck.  Good products.  Nothing beats Swarovski though.  Huge dough for those.  Burris is another decent option.   There are some specific models for shotgun/slug hunting in the economy brands and bullet drop compensation (BDC) reticles.  Based on experience I’d recommend not falling for that marketing ploy.   Red dots are usually lower magnification and easier to get on target.  Reasonably accurate but don’t do well with definition, like searching the brush for your target.  I put a HAWKE red dot on a .22 for squirrels and it’s been good.  For turkey, that’s probably the route I’d go.     If your slug shots are normally not too far and too brushy, I’d think a red dot could work there too if you’re only buying 1 scope.  You’ll be better off dimming the reticle to the lowest setting you can easily use to not over shine the target and get a finer aim point.   If you don’t have a slug barrel, you might appreciate one of those.  I had a browning with a smoothbore slug barrel that shot Brenneke 2-3/4 inch well.  The 11-87 would well fitted with a cantelever rifled barrel. 
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