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Waterfowl Reports


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Just when I thought my waterfowl season was over with....Yesterday afternoon just south of the metro: Went pheasant hunting with my friend and my dog. Walked about 20 minutes, stopping about every ten seconds to admire the next large flock of mallards, geese, or swans. The pond we were walking around had a small stream keeping one little area open. We decided at about 3pm that we should go hunt all these ducks flying over. Quick ran to his house, grabbed a dozen decoys and the robo duck, took the orange vest of my brittany, and shot a limit of mallards in about an hour. He was retrieving the birds that landed in the water (had waders on) and my dog was grabbing the birds that landed on the ice. One mallard was only winged, and it was a hilarous chase as my dog couldn't get better traction than the drake could, and he kept sliding past the bird. All in all a great day duck hunting. No pheasants seen.

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One interesting side note, we only had solos come in. Granted we were on just a tiny sliver of open water, there was plenty of room for flocks of a dozen or more to land. We kept getting one drake to peel off the big flock. Made for fun shooting, taking turns and really knowing who shot. Never thought I would duck hunt in 10 degrees with a windchill below zero.

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Very nice JP

JP take note for this next year if you want big mallards this time of the year breaking ice is a most. me and brother have shot 60 birds this year and about half them have been in the last two and half weeks.

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I really should pheasant hunt more often. This time north of the metro on a WMA I managed to jump shoot 3 ducks that were on a river/stream while pheasant hunting. I army crawled about 200 yards through cattails to get a crack at 3 Mallards and one Widgon. There were 2 hen mallards so I had to be careful not to get them both. I got close, and couldn't have done any better. Took 3 of the 4 birds, letting one hen fly. Then is when it got really interesting. I thought the flow of the river was going the other way, and couldn't get to the ducks I dropped. One landed on the water and was flowing away from me, the other 2 landed on thin ice. The whole river was iced over, with just periodic open spots. I quick ran back and grabbed my dog (brittany) and then proceeded to think my situation through. The current was very strong where the 2 ducks sitting on the thin ice was, and there was no way my dog was going to be able to climb back up on the ice. I walked downstream after the duck that floated away. I found a bend where the river/stream was pushing up against there shore and there was little ice along the bank in that spot. One duck was up against the ice here. Used my 870 to break up the ice so I could reach out far enough to grab my dog when he swam back. He jumped right in and grapped the first duck. I went back upstream to where the 2 other ducks layed on the ice. I started throwing chunks of packed snow and knocked both ducks into the river, and they both floated down to the spot where I grabbed the first duck. Dog grabbed both at once.

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been waiting for this ! migration in full swing,seen high v flocks all wknd along w/plenty of birds where ya can find water,BOOOM or bust time as the end is near

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Glad I decided to eat duck last night. Was planning on going pheasant hunting today, but one friend wanted to give the ducks one last try. Thousands upon thousands of ducks in the air all morning. 6 of us shot our limit of mallards and 5 geese as well. Best hunt I have ever been a part of. The morning started fast and furious, and then slowed down once the sun reached above the horizon. We picked up a few every so often as we were trying for only drakes at this point in the season. Large flocks of 20-50 birds started to really pour in late morning, almost non stop for about a half hour. As we were picking up decoys, they were still coming in by the hundred. A small open pond nearby had probably 5,000 birds on it. Sad to see the season end. Might just take off work Tuesday, and I need to eat some more duck between now and then again as well!

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Some mallards still around... Went to a new spot because the river was so f'd yest with the ice flows. Shot plently this morning. Like JP said the first hour was almost non stop action. It tapered off after the sun came up. Did see some bigger flocks of mallards but most of the ducks we saw were heading north confused

The ducks that are around are very educated.... Thats why most of our shooting was within the 1st hour. After that they would circle very high and either not commit or land outside the decoys. The wind seemed to switch a little after the sun came up and that didn't help much either. Lots of geese around also but they weren't interested in our robos...

A pretty good day... Will give it one last shot on Tues. All in all a pretty good season for MN standards. Way better than last year. All the rain and flooded fields/rivers really helped early in the season. Never saw the 100+ corkscrewing mallards like we use to but not a bad season after all.

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Thanksgiving Day I was out scouting and noticed BIG flocks of geese migrating through one after another. Came across a field with about 300 mallards working it, recieved permission and set up Friday morning but they never came back!! Scouted the refuge in my area, many ducks pushed down, probably about 2,500 mallards with the geese keeping a large hole open on the lake with another large amount on the river. Friday afternoon on my way to Owatonna from Albert Lea I also noticed many large flocks of geese migrating and noticed a few fields with mallards circling in them. Thanksgiving Day was really a sight to see with everywhere you looked there were very large flocks of migrating geese and ducks!!

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Good duck hunting year for me and my group. about 200 ducks. Haven't done as much goose hunting but killed around 35.. will still be hunting geese till the season ends a couple times at least.

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Thursdays LQP goose count was 81,000. Through all the bad weather we've had we actually gained 5000 birds. The geese are holding two large pools open, one by Rosemount island and the other down by the dam. On cloudy days birds are flying all day long on sunny days they don't typically start moving until after noon.

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From this last Saturday down by the Dam.

Wow that hole really opened back up compared to last weekend. how many openings are the birds sitting on now? just down to 2?

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[PoorWordUsage] and then a massive hole by Rosemount island. The Rosemount hole might be holding the largest population of birds. After the snow on Friday we had weather reports calling for "extreme" cloudiness for Saturday....by 9:00 a.m. on Saturday it was blue skies.

The birds didn't really start pushing off the lake until 2:00 p.m. We were about a mile north of the main flight line but every bird that came off to the north of the main groups sucked into the decs without circling. We had a single that dropped from about 150 yards up to 5 yards off the deck in maybe 10 seconds. I actually started to curl up into the fetile position in my layout because the bird was dropping so fast and right on top of me. I was worried about calling the shot with the goose right on top of me and then once I called the shot, I was worried the bird landing on me. Luckily they missed the first two times. eek

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go to canada and u won't need a guide, these websites are turning into marketing sites for guides

Nice. There are a ton of places to hunt on lac qui parle other than my service. I just want people to know there are still good hunts to be had in our area in general. Many of the local business live and die by the hunters coming to our area in the fall.

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go to canada and u won't need a guide, these websites are turning into marketing sites for guides

What an informative and relevant post.

Freelance or guided, there are geese to be shot. Burn up that vacation boys.

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Eeeez up Slyer. He is here for the same reason most are, he loves waterfowl hunting and contributes to the site by reporting personal, in-the-field experiences he has encountered. I thought that was what this site is for, and I for one enjoy reading his reports. If he was out of line I'm sure they'd let him know.

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What's the latest count out there at "the parlor"? Was planning on going saturday for the day. Gonna be a tad nippy.

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Yep big push left, but still 20,000+ still on the refuge. I'll be out scouting this morning so I'll post what I see.

* Note to Admin the word D A M got my post yanked because of poor word usage. But the geese are sitting behind an actual D A M on the refuge

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Only about 25,000 birds left out there now.

Whats the over/under as to how many will stay all winter...I'm going to say 6,000.

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  • 3 months later...

snow line is basically I-90 right now. Birds are stacked in areas south of there. some sheet water open over the weekend, but most still frozen. Lots of jumpers and piggers out; lots of shady ethics already. Birds decoyed like lead edge birds usually decoy. very few juvies in any of the flocks we glassed. many flocks flying 10 or more miles to feed from roost sunday morning. Cant shoot em on the couch, but we knew it would be tough. Oh well, the grinder will be running tonight for a fresh batch of snow goose jerky.

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a pigger is what?

Ditch pigger. the guys that drive around and jump out of their truck, run down the road ditch, and hack into passing flocks, or birds sitting on the edge of fields. Not to be confused with pass shooters who seem to scout, ask permission, take their time approaching the birds, and make a day of it.

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  • 5 months later...

I know its early but waterfowl season is coming fast and I think we need to get fired up. So post your 2011 reports here.

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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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