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Waterfowl Reports


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East Central Minnesota: 4 mallards, 3 widgeon, and 2 canvasback for our group.

Not many ducks around and very few geese (which is basically why we hunt where we hunt). It was better once the wind started to blow a little.

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six woodies this a.m., we still have a flooded corn field there lovin. We cant buy a mallard though, hopefully some colder crummy weather will change that later.

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Hunted up near Forest Lake and got a 1 man limit. Definatley new(er) birds are comin through cause all the birds decoyed perfectly and were'nt scared of decoying in with 2.5doz deeks and a mojo.. Good thing i can hunt this week pretty much cause of M.E.A. or i'd be missin out. Also missed quite a few birds (mallys)

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Went out early by myself this morning for a few hours near Grand Rapids. Two goldeneyes and a mallard. Otherwise pretty slow except for a couple other fly-by goldeneyes, some heard mallards, and distant honkers.

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Ringnecks are here in force. 2 Short of a 3 man limit. Do we shoot at these 20 or wait for the 200 right behind them ?!!? You know you have had one of your all time best hunts when you are hunting with an unloaded gun cause the action was so fast it was pandemonium !!! Get out there !

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went out again near hugo, a few birds here and ther not near as many as last weekend. i think all the picked fields were screwin me over because as soon as i got the boat to shore and it was gettin dark the geese started comin in to roost. hey jordyn where near forest lake?

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More birds have been pushing down over the last week with the cooler temps, I've been noticing a lot more ducks in the ponds and out on the bigger lakes. They are talking measurable snow up my way next week so that will give them the push south!!

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Carlos tonight. Thought I might die push poling into that wind but it sounded a lot worse than it was. Saw 4 mallards land as I was unloading and 6 more join them later. Had one pair of ringie hens decoy but I shot too soon and blew it ! Only chance I had. Did not see any other ducks even after sunset on the way out. Only 2 coots in pool. 4 geese came in to roost at 6:33 when I was driving out.

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is anyone having good luck on evening hunts...i am only seeing birds during the first hour each morning...nothing after that. would like to go out this evening but i am not sure if it is worth it.

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Evening hunts for me are always tough unless you have cloud cover and or some sort of precipitation. Ducks usually come in a half hour after sundown on nice days. It is still perfectly bright out at this time. I wish we could hunt until half after sunset like deer but than their would be a lot more ducks harvested. Good luck if you go out we will try it tomorrow night but the best night should be Saturday with the weather rolling in!!!!

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Evening hunts for me are always tough unless you have cloud cover and or some sort of precipitation. Ducks usually come in a half hour after sundown on nice days. It is still perfectly bright out at this time. I wish we could hunt until half after sunset like deer but than their would be a lot more ducks harvested. Good luck if you go out we will try it tomorrow night but the best night should be Saturday with the weather rolling in!!!!

not always, some guys will shoot too many hens or can't identify what species duck they are or drake/hen. I don't really hunt evenings unless geese and ducks are hitting fields.

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I think the sunset rule is so you have time to find downed birds before it gets dark. Hunting public Wmas you can see the results of late shooting. The birds become completely nocturnal. I have paddled in and kicked up hundreds of birds at 4AM and not see a single duck. While loading up at the end of the day you can hear them landing and coming back in. These fools don't realize that the later you shoot the later the ducks come ! But even worse yet, they DON"T CARE !!!

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Carlos this morning. BAD . Only saw about 25 ducks total and never took a shot. Pair of mallards finally got close but were behind us and would have fallen in the cattails so we did not shoot. Could have sworn I heard a lone speckled belly calling on the water but never saw it.

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We have been hunting the minnesota river bottoms with terrible luck this year, we got a few ducks the first 2 weekends, but the past week and a half the hunting has been downright fowl, Normally this time of year u cant keep enough shells on hand, This is my 35th year of hunting the same spot and I never saw so few ducks as this year, Is it true that there is alot of ducks in western minn? Maybe some will come down our way with the approaching weather next week?????

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I was out for a few hours on a river in Itasca County this morning. Only a few ducks, and none within range. A few distant Canada Geese as well. Pretty slow, never fired a shot.

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We have hunted the mn river bottom this year once the current slowed in the cornfield, Best duck hunting we have had in a long time. We actually got to pick and choose what ducks to shoot, dont get that very often. very fun week and a half but now the field is dry and no ducks. back to see a duck shoot a duck.

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Hunted yesterday with good success. We ended up with 6, but with better shooting could have had our 12. Was surprised at the numbers seen with the warm weather and poor winds. Managed to get 2 woodducks. Started seeing Cans come through, just called our flock to early and missed...sucks...

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Was out this a.m. with my son hunted a little wet spot in combined bean field. We should have had three mallards we did not shoot well happens i guess. Did not get a chance at any geese but neighbors east of us did well, location, location, location maybe next time well get lucky. Still seeing some woodies but looks like the vast number of them left last week at least in our area. Well we'll give it a go next fri. and wknd.

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Carlos in evening. Saw 6 ducks after shooting closed ! Frog migration is on bigtime ! Should be fishing !!!

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East Central Minnesota: 5 ringers and 2 gadwall for our group.

2 25+ bird flocks of ringers worked us, but once it started raining again that was it. Whoever says rainy weather is duck weather doesn't hunt much.

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good numbers of gadwall,widgeon , mallards in the southern part of the state

still have yet to see much for divers and lots of real inconsiderate hunters around yet too! had to leave early after getting rained on with shot from the guy a hundred yards away I cant believe the nerve of some people putting safety of others in there hands. and also skybusting working birds after you get the landing gear down and there dropping in to tour spread . just get up a little earlier and get your choice of spots. I have been the first one on the water all season, every time somebody has screwed me by setting up way close.

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Purely an observation driving back to the cities from GF yesterday. A few flocks of Canadas lolligagging in the picked fields north of Fargo, no birds noticed on side ponds or in the air from Fargo to Alexandria. Some birds noticed on ponds and in the air from Alex to say Albany, a few in St. Cloud area then that was pretty well it. Looking forward to the big blow this week, maybe move some stuff in.

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We've definately hit a lull in our area. Few geese and few ducks around, but not many. Not that I've done much scouting though.

I wouldn't anticipate a big push coming down with the system moving in this week. Most of the harsh weather looks to stay south of the Canadian Prairies.

Just guessing, but I don't think they'll move much till she starts to freeze up way north of us. I just hope this system coming in leaves some standing water around for a while. Virtually all our fields are gone now, and many have already been cultivated. Not much to keep em' here now -unless we get some standing water!

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Ringers and assorted puddlers in Douglas County. Not lots but enough. Got real wet Saturday with Thunder and Lightning before legal shooting. Sunday I was on the edge of the heavy rain. Showers came intermittently, as did the large flocks of ringbills.

Ended with 5 birds each day.

Very little shooting Sunday. A smattering on Saturday, and lots of pheasant road hunters out with the rain. Only saw pheasant guys outside their truck once, and they were in the township ditch.

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hunted solo on a cut corn field between two roosts on friday morning in western mn. rather than burn the field for a 1 man hunt, i picked off 2 mallards and 2 hutchies and got the heck out of there. shot plenty of ducks saturday and sunday as well, but those all came while pheasant hunting.

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Only hunted Saturday morning where I have been seeing ringers, not much flying had a flock that made a couple passes but did not feel confident with the shot and they never came back but ended up with a loner goose, 2 mallards and a common merganser.

Did find thousands of fowl but it just wouldn't work out well with a big field that is flooded, they just land in the middle or join the swans. Hopefully find something smaller then that will work out better like two years ago.

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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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