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Waterfowl Reports


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Drove by one of the Pool 8 refuges today. Tens of thousands of birds holding there. Leave for a Missouri bow in 2 days, so I guess they are safe from me for now.

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Forest. Nothin. Saw a little flock of 5 divers that skirted us out of range. 4 mallards in a flock. Pair of mallards got out of cattails behind us and one lone Suzy that landed in the middle of lake. Oh yeah and 5 geese flying. Fog was thick !

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I thought the "big push" was when you ate to much and you find yourself on the toilet. The big push/migration isn't a few days out of the season--it starts in Sept and ends in Dec. sometime. Yes some days can have more movement than others but it is a process.

Hey Stringerless--I am glad you are getting out to hunt and all and I see your reports on DU map but don't you get tried of not getting some reward for all that hard work you put in?? I would suggest drive around more and see where the ducks are at and then hunt them--just b/c you are out hunting a pond/slough does mean ducks are going to be there. I guess it depends on your expectations. Good luck the rest of the season.

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I thought the "big push" was when you ate to much and you find yourself on the toilet. The big push/migration isn't a few days out of the season--it starts in Sept and ends in Dec. sometime. Yes some days can have more movement than others but it is a proces

laugh

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The Big Push in Minnesota is when the summer type weather in fall turns to winter type weather and all the waterfowl fly over Minnesota! shocked

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No time for driving around strait. Work in concrete construction. Always seems to be something that "has to be done today " . Late concrete," This has to be 100% ready for mud in the morning", then add gridlock traffic coming home

from cities. Drive like a bat out of hell to get home and by the time I get set up somewhere usually only have an hour to an hour and a half hunting time. Like Dan Z I hunt 95% public. Most of my spots are within 15 miles from home for that reason. Pretty sure I will retire before next duck season. Then I will drive around. As far as the hard work. I love it. Part of the hunt that I enjoy just as much as seeing birds cupped up. Makes it that much more rewarding when it does happen. Everywhere I go I have had some great shoots at some point or another over the last 20 years. All about timing . Miss one day and you would never know they were there.

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The big push/migration isn't a few days out of the season--it starts in Sept and ends in Dec. sometime.

The big push is a myth! Most of the ducks are probably south of us and the best hunting of the year is over.

My as well concentrate on deer....I hear the rut is starting.

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The entire migration is a process. The "big push" is when the majority/glut of migratory birds are forced by inclement weather to make a big move south...not necessarily all the way south, but from our perspective alone, out of Canada, and into the Dakotas and Minnesota.

There is a very clear difference between the entire migrational season, and the "big push". Any waterfowler who's ever seen it, or experienced it, knows exactly what I'm talking about.

Many years ago, probably 15 years now, I witnessed a "big push" out of Canada while hunting central North Dakota. The birds moving were so numerous they actually had to shut down all airports and landing strips across North Dakota for safety purposes. You could see clouds of birds migrating on the weather radars across the entire state. It's truly epic.

Unfortunate part of the big push (including the primary migrational route of the Mississippi flyway), most of it has moved west across the Dakotas toward the Missouri river (where there is ample water/sloughs/potholes) vs. Minnesota, where the vast majority of our original wetlands have been tiled and drained.

Fowlski, just for the sake of clarification, to my knowledge the "big push" has not even begun. There are hundreds of millions of birds still in Canada right now. It will happen sometime in the next couple of weeks. Hope I have some free time when it does! wink

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Fowlski, just for the sake of clarification, to my knowledge the "big push" has not even begun. There are hundreds of millions of birds still in Canada right now. It will happen sometime in the next couple of weeks. Hope I have some free time when it does! wink

Yes I am aware Sam. It was sarcasim. I was just pointing out that the trickle often turns into a flood or "big push" at the end of the year if the weather plays out right. Folks who don't believe in it have never seen it. They are probably the guys who decide to stay home because the weather is too nasty to hunt.

Good luck guys. Should be a good few weeks until the season shuts down.

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Gotcha Fowlski. There were others here that seemed to be doubting the validity of the "big push" as well, so I just took the liberty of pointing out the obvious. No "foul" intended...har har har.... grin

I was thinking...another analogy (besides the others listed above) would be to compare migrational bird movement to the birthing process. Not sure how many of you guys have been present at the birth of your own, or others children, but if you have you know there is quite a bit of noteable activity throughout the entire process, but the real exciting stuff happens with that last "big push"!!!

If you miss that one, you're going to be regretting it for years! laugh

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I'm from St. Cloud and hunted the Sauk Center area this morning, ended up with 2 hooded meggansers and 1 mallard. Didn't see a whole lot of birds. Was just wondering if anyone had any insight on where to go from St. Cloud to like a hour away. Not trying to take any of your birds, but just looking for a spot before next weekend deer opener(I won't be duck hunting for a while). Thanks for any help

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If you have a boat, try finding a spot somewhere on the horseshoe chain, between bodies of water. It tends to hold some birds.

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Not much for ducks around the west metro right now- geese are around and I'm going to my field tmrw morning- watched 500 pile out of the roost at sundown so evening hunts are out of the question for now - dang they are smarter than we give them credit for sometimes smile

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I've been bow hunting the last 3 nights, and like clockwork, at 5 minutes to 6, a big flock flies over me going towards the river. But this morning, I saw a few new flocks fly over earlier. So maybe some new birds are working down!

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Hunted north of Hawley, Mn tonight saw ALOT of geese just none wanted to give us a look. Only saw about 3 flocks of mallards maybe 20-30 in each flock. Found out where there all going and going to give it another go on Sunday.

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Once again seen very few birds this morning, last evening I went down to the lake to get the boat ready and seen 10 different flocks of divers but this morning was a different story, had 5 singles come in, landed a hen Bluebill and let her fly away.. Very little shooting as well..

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Hunted Saturday and this morning south of Alberta and worked a circumference of 40 miles. There are no ducks around yet. Drove down to Ortonville and saw just a couple birds here and there, but literally the sloughs are empty. Wish I would have taken off next weekend or later when more birds push down. On a positive note, there were a couple hundred geese sitting on the pond Saturday morning and was able to jump up on them. Dropped 2.

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11/3/13 Central MN

New wave of divers moved in Friday. Some moved through, but some stayed around for Saturday, and some more moved in late Saturday and were around for Sunday. Got burned by two nice flocks of mallards, talking at us like crazy, while we were out picking up divers on Sunday. Nearing the end of cans, redheads, wigeon, pintails, shovelers, but bluebills and ringers are just starting to show up in decent-sized flocks and mallards, buffies, and goldeneyes aren't far behind. We did see some new geese on Sunday as well, and saw swans on Saturday. Get ready for a couple of good weeks coming up after the rain is done early this week.

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Went walking around Phalen today and holy dump are there a lot of birds. Probably 300 mallards and 300 geese. And one specklebelly??

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Hunted the north metro Sunday, was an absolute bust. Saw a few flocks of geese and 1 duck.

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Hugo/Centerville area. Apparently the laws have changed so we can use rifles. frown Let em get closer !! My over/under misfired both chances we had on single ducks. Saw about 40 ducks total and about 20 geese.

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Went walking around Phalen today and holy dump are there a lot of birds. Probably 300 mallards and 300 geese. And one specklebelly??

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Hunted the north metro Sunday, was an absolute bust. Saw a few flocks of geese and 1 duck.

Kinda looks like a farm goose to me...

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Nice going Smuts! Looks like great fun!

Stringerless, I feel your pain.

Hunted in Grant Twnsp Sat morn, field, and got two honkers, one real big one. Hardly saw any ducks, and most geese didn't look at us.

Hunted tonight in NE metro, probably same area as you Stringerless, but we didn't take a shot. I saw lots of redheads on it yesterday late morning, should have hunted then, but went fishing... My bro-in-law said it was a war zone this morning (he lives on the lake) but this afternoon it was very slow... very... ugh... oh well. Not one duck came within 70 yards, and didn't see much either, except coot.

Talked to a buddy in Ashby/Fergus area, and he said ducks are non-existant, to not even bother this weekend, so far anyway. I guess another weekend around home, as I chase the deer up there Weds-Sunday after deer opener. Hopefully some duck appear from the ether this week...

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders

I saw a flock of snow geese today. I also saw lots of Canadian geese I would guess close to 500 hundred but they did not fly until after shooting hours for waterfowl. Only seen one flock of mallards fly over.

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Why in the world are there no waterfowl flying into Minnesota with a more normal than usual fall this year?

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Finlander. From what I've seen, read, and heard reported, it generally appears that many of the few remaining refuges, large WMA's, and private sloughs have been temporarily, or perhaps permanently/partially, in large part frozen over.

Agassiz/Thief Lake north of us was almost completely frozen over last week, but I believe there is still some open water now. This has likely caused some shift in bird movement.

In a nutshell, I believe the Lion's Share of the head of the Mississippi flyway has simply moved west into the Dakota's, down the Missouri river, and meeting up with the Mississippi further south. There's millions of potholes and sloughs remaining in North Dakota, where in Minnesota, the majority of wetlands that were here only 25 years ago, are now gone.

There's just not that many places left for ducks to be. Hence, we see lots of geese, but few ducks. Meanwhile, in southern Manitoba and central NoDak, there are tons of ducks!

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Cornfield. One pair of mallards seen and 2 big Vs of tundra swans migrating. Not a single goose seen or heard. No distant shots heard. Of course I was sitting up with the doors open when I caught the mallards out of the corner of my eye. They had already seen me. Chisago cty. Finally some corn coming down around here.

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Yep I hunt our land in SE North Dakota so many ducks but little geese. Hunt West Central MN no ducks thousands of geese. The amount of potholes in Minnesota is not even comparable to the amount in North Dakota. We saw potholes in ND that were just bigger than a household pool that had 50-100 mallards in them.

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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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