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Waterfowl Reports


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I just drove a bunch in the greater east metro area looking for ducks, just to see if any are around. Pretty slim pickins, even though I wasn't expecting much, I saw even less than I expected. Hopefully some are still moving down.

I was specifically looking for divers on larger water bodies, and only saw one decent flock (ringbill) working one lake, and a lone pair (ringbill) on another real close to metro lake, other than that just a fair amount of coots and some scattered geese and a handfull of swans.

Saw one woodduck, some small groups of mallards on small sloughs, and some turkeys proudly standing guard over a pond smile

I still am planning to go out Sat morning, but not expecting much except a nice sunrise...

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Got three mallards on Tuesday morning. Saw hundreds of divers milling about. Mostly ringbills and buffies. Could have limited out but my dog started breaking when the birds were coming into the decoys. He screwed me over on a pair of mallards, a pair of buffies, and a single buffie. He hasn't done that in 5 years. I'll have to break him of that real quick.

New birds pushed in Monday night. Looked like mostly buffies and ringbills. The mallards I saw were still locals and were very few in numbers. More birds pushed in during the day Tuesday and Tuesday night. I didn't hunt today but driving around running errands I saw a decent amount of goldeneyes. Threw the grapevine I heard of guys limiting out on divers this morning from a few different people. The birds are moving boys! The divers are on the move, but few if any mallards have pushed into the far northern reaches of the state.

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Last weekend we started seeing new birds coming down. Lots of cans coming through still. I can't believe the amount of cans we've seen this year and yet the limit is one? crazy We did witness one group of four guys drop at least 10 cans. They were checked by the DNR at the landing. I hope they got tagged.

Sunday and Monday we saw some bigger flocks of mallards coming down, we also bagged a wigeon and a gadwall.

The nice weather has provided a trickle of migrating birds all year.

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Saw some cans,bills and goldies in the metro so decided to try north metro lake. Saw about 8 mallards,3 woodies and 2 large flocks of divers . Think they were ringies. None of the above birds came close enough to merit shouldering the gun. One of the big flocks was 30 birds and the other roughly 50.

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Hunted yesterday afternoon/evening and watched a steady stream of cans the entire time. Pretty much everything was high. Fired once, one bird. Redhead. Birds are here, just another matter of being right place right time.

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At work in Maple Grove today I noticed more mallards. Been working at the site about 3 weeks now and have only seen one pair and 5 woodies in small holding pond. Today there were about 50. Also noticed mallards in freeway ponds on the way home that have not had a bird in them all year. Could not hunt tonight. Report in am.

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I was through out WC MN today. Little pheasant hunting and a lot of scouting. There was not many ducks out there, but three sloughs were holding quite a few ducks. All were public land.

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Not to be today. Saw 2 pairs of mergies,5 woodies.2 goldies and 8 geese. That was it. Chisago county. Barely any shots heard. Makes me think it wasn't just my spot.

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Steady stream of Cans are still coming. More mallards around, no big push has happened. 2c Saw some buffies, mergs, ringers.

Still a steady stream of multiple species flying through the state.

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DEAD ...

Besides a few educated pockets of stale birds. We need some serious help from ol mother nature!

For the first time in a long time I didn't go out this am, last 2 1/2 days taught me to get a project done today instead ..

Get ready to see giant fat mallards!! About a week after season closes .... frown

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Got out yesterday for my second time ever (and second weekend in a row). Hunting around Buffalo area. We didn't see much except for a few far off groups of ducks and one large group of Geese in a nearby farm field. Then we saw a couple groups of cans fly right over our spot after we had pulled the decoys and were standing next to the trucks. Go figure.

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Hunted with a buddy Friday and Saturday. Limited out Friday and shot three bonus geese. Buffies, ringbills and redheads in that order. Saturday shot 8 ducks in the same spot. Buffies, ringbills and redheads again. Scouted a different area Saturday evening and witnessed thousands of mallards and geese feeding in corn fields. Get ready this weekend boys, the birds will be pushing your way.

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Had a flock of snows go over my jobsite west of New Ulm this morning. Weather could for all intents and purposes put an end to the season depending on how it plays out. Next 3-7 days could get dirty. Or not. Nodak bound Thursday night for 5 days to see what plays out. Really won't be completely surprised if I have to come back east to squeeze in a couple big water hunts.

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Had a flock of snows go over my jobsite west of New Ulm this morning. Weather could for all intents and purposes put an end to the season depending on how it plays out. Next 3-7 days could get dirty. Or not. Nodak bound Thursday night for 5 days to see what plays out. Really won't be completely surprised if I have to come back east to squeeze in a couple big water hunts.

sounds crazy but I have friends leaving for Saskatchewan Friday, they have left 2nd weekend in Nov. For the past 6 years and always pilled them up. I'd be a bit nervous with the for cast, but there not worried a bit.

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sounds crazy but I have friends leaving for Saskatchewan Friday, they have left 2nd weekend in Nov. For the past 6 years and always pilled them up. I'd be a bit nervous with the for cast, but there not worried a bit.

Southern SK is loaded right now. That may change early next week if the forecast holds. We'll be heading to Nodak next Wednesday. This time of a year is a roll of the dice but there are big rewards.

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Just wrapped up a long stint of ducking. Here's the report:

Friday - bagged a few with lots of divers around and some mallards coming down.

Saturday and Sunday - were nearly a bust bagging only 2 mallards on Saturday and one on Sunday.

Monday - was lights out. Ducks were suddenly everywhere. Bagged 11 ducks for two of us. Should of had our limit but 'can fever' took over. We passed on a lot of shots trying to ID ducks. We also had to leave by 10am. The mallards were coming down in flocks of 50-100 with most landing in the middle of the lake where they were safe. We had a mixed bag of blue bills, cans, mallards, widgeon, and gadwall. We saw buffies and had a flock of pintails we should have shot at which didn't come back.

Tuesday - BUST! All the birds had moved through. Very little for divers. A few very leery flocks of mallards. Practically nothing flying compared to Monday.

Seems like the birds are starting to move with deer season just around the corner.

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders

Was out this morning and we did not see much except some seagulls chasing some ducks around the lake early. When the rain started bingo we had ducks coming in we missed a few of the first shots. Then we had a flock of buffies come in hard and well not one made it out. I know am pretty sure both of us shot triples and for me that is amazing. I have shout out to Gordie Thank you!! We would have stayed long but I had a meeting for school at noon. We saw redhead, mallards, ringers, spoonies, and some other we could not make a positive ID on. So we did not shoot at the ones we were not sure about. Which was came in as we were picking up the decoys.full-12169-50725-bufflehead.jpg

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Scrambled to get out after work tonight. Never saw a duck. Never heard a goose. Heard one single shot from Forest lake. Heard migrating Tundra swans while picking up dekes.

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Didn't see that many birds this am, but we got a few buffies and still were able to be at work by 8:30 (9:30 for my brother, he has a drive). We hoped to capitalize on the "lots of birds" reports we were hearing, but not so much in our part of the north metro. Two came in perfect and fell, and while we were reloading after a couple cripple shots three more came in. Should have had 5, but got three and one beaker my bro chased but couldn't catch up to.

Saw a few more, but not much. Off the lake before 8.

Nice morning to be out there! smile

sunrise.jpg

buffies.jpg

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Nice quick morning! Hoping to get out on Saturday with my son in the south metro. Hopefully will have some birds here.

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Nice day monday birdhunter! Were u hunting in MN.

Yes, I hunt mostly the South Zone, not to far from the Central Zone.

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Hunted yesterday morning, north metro - few flocks of ducks moving around early but wanted nothing to do with decoying. LOTS of geese flying around between 7:30 and 8:30 but mostly to the east of me and on a mission, looked like they had likely discovered some fresh picked fields.

Did get buzzed by three mallards while I was watching the geese off in the distance, go figure...

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Northern Washington county. Saw one flock of 6-8 and another flock of 10. Too far away to even take a guess what they were. Never heard a shot. Never heard a goose. Never saw any high flying migrants.

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  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders

Lots of new ducks around Princeton as well. My buddy went this morning with a friend and got 7 Mallards, a redhead, 2 ringers, 2 buffies.

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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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