Jump to content
  • GUESTS

    If You  want access  to member only forums on FM, You will need to Sign-in or  Sign-Up now .

    This box will disappear once you are signed in as a member.

Recommended Posts

Posted

Don't know who you're referring to. I am very happy with the reduction in antlerless tags, and so is everybody else that I communicate with. It is the correct move on the DNR's part.

What I am still complaining about is that the reduction in antlerless tags should have happened a few years ago. The model and data inputs the DNR uses did not ring the necessary warning bells for some reason. Many of us would like to know why, and what can be done to prevent it from happening again.

Apparently the DNR failed to properly forecast the winter weather the last few years. What you said reminds me of what Will Rogers said about how to make money in the stock market. "buy a good stock and when it goes up sell it. If it doesn't go up, don't buy it. "

  • Replies 579
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

  • smsmith

    102

  • hockeybc69

    34

  • laker1

    33

  • PurpleFloyd

    32

Posted

I'm predicting a nice harvest down here in SE MN.

Numbers will be down because of the simple fact they are only letting you shoot 1 deer but that's about it.

Posted

...Apparently the DNR failed to properly forecast the winter weather the last few years....

Don't know about that, but they did fail to react to the severe winter/spring weather of two years ago that happened after the ideal hunting conditions and abundant deer harvest of 2012.

Posted

Apparently the DNR failed to properly forecast the winter weather the last few years. What you said reminds me of what Will Rogers said about how to make money in the stock market. "buy a good stock and when it goes up sell it. If it doesn't go up, don't buy it. "

The herd was well in decline prior to the last two severe winters.
Posted

Things look pretty normal around here. We have fewer doe tags than normal but have lots of our kids at an age where they can still harvest a doe.

The wind was ridiculous today so the deer were holding tight and not moving but once we started doing drives we found them. Lots of does and a few bucks. The best part was all 4 deer we harvested today were taken by someone under 17.

Posted

I always love how PF chimes in declaring how great the deer herd is near his place and therefore all is well and DNR done good.

I guess since PF has tons of deer then they must be thick throughout the whole state. What in the heck am I doing wrong.....???

Posted

I always love how PF chimes in declaring how great the deer herd is near his place and therefore all is well and DNR done good.

I guess since PF has tons of deer then they must be thick throughout the whole state. What in the heck am I doing wrong.....???

Being whiny maybe? wink

You post is interesting though. There are pages and pages of people in a few areas of the central part of the state who have been very eager to tie their hunting experiences to the state as a whole and project their particular hunting situation to the state at large by asking for audits and restrictions that impact the whole state and yet you say absolutely nothing to any of them yet when a fellow hunter states that their area looks pretty good without mentioning the rest of the state at all you project that into them saying everything is right statewide? Never have I said the whole state was OK and never did I say there were no problems but don't let that get in the way of a good rant. grin Happy hunting.

Posted

This thread is comical. Good for a chuckle.

Posted

We had 4 bucks in the back yard the other day, been hanging around for the last few weeks or maybe more. One really like sunflower seeds. Licks them right out of the tube feeder. They ate the hostas right to the ground, but the frost was going to get them soon anyway.

Perhaps there is a locational difference. Have to see how my buddy in St Charles does.

Posted

Wildlife feeders cause deer to unnaturally congregate. Removed the placed food to have a more apples to apples comparison with normal hunting conditions.

Posted

The area I hunt in went from intensive harvest (5 deer!) for about 5 years,then 1 year hunters choice to this year being lottery (very few tags given might as well be buck only) that is simply ignorant mismanagement plain and simple.....5 to 1 in matter of couple years! Shoulda been management all those years and now we could be a hunters choice area and get to use our tags! Sure ultimately hunters were irresponsible and over harvest is largely to blame but that's why we have DNR, Police and rules in our society because people are selfish, irresponsible and need rules in place to control the balance!

Thanks DNR!! AND NOW the buck only areas are only creating smaller bucks so now we have less deer and the ones we have are smaller because every stupid deer with any reseblance of an antler that shows its face is toast and never growing up to be a 8 pt or better. Thanks again DNR!

Posted

I wonder if this snowstorm actually created a very good opening weekend harvest. Could it be that the deer were really moving ahead of the storm much like fish go on a frenzy before a storm?

Now if we do get a foot of snow the harvest will likely really slow. A little snow and the harvest goes way up due to increased ability to see deer. A lot of snow and hunters have a hard time getting out there and harvest goes way down.

Posted

Bring on the heavy snow, and a nice warm front in a few weeks to melt it all. Perfect! smile

Posted

We got 2 bucks for 10 people opening weekend. Couldn't believe how much wolf scat was on the trail - first time I can remember seeing so much where we hunt.

Very unscientific report here, but the meat locker I drive by on my way home wasn't as empty as I was expecting based on reports of the deer herd being so low. There were more deer than last year. Still not as many as a typical year, but not too bad.

Posted

Wolves have got to go. There are way more wolves than anyone can imagine. Deer are being forced into cities and roadways to get away from the wolves. We hunt north of mcgregor and there were numerous wolf sightings in multiple locations. You couldn't walk far without stepping on wolf dump. It was like walking in a dog park and guess what? No deer! It's time for the DNR to increase dramatically the wolf tags. I guarantee in the next two years well start seeing human/wolf attacks.

Posted

Bring on the heavy snow, and a nice warm front in a few weeks to melt it all. Perfect! smile

What are the chances?

Our luck is that it would melt 80% and form a very hard impenetrable ice layer on everything.

  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Builders
Posted

On our drive home last night from the Outing area, we did not see one Deer on a truck or trailer, not one. That is unheard of for an opening weekend ride home! frown

Posted

We had a 4 hour drive saw 3 SMALL BUCKS (NEEDED TO GROW UP) we had 2 bucks out of 5 hunters sounds like we did well!

Posted

we jumped a couple does yesterday sitting in swamps but other than that it was slow...this was the Princeton area and like mentioned saw 2 deer heading south last night. One doe and a small buck. On to the second weekend hunt

Posted

Looks like the weather is going from bad to worse. Its shaping up like (below zero) lows by the end of that week after this gale blows through. No sign of warming up on the 10-day forecast. Might be time to start looking at the ice fishing gear. Its going to be tough to hunt in that cold. I think this years hunt will be chalked up as a disaster. Mine is sure looking that way.

Posted

Less deer shot rebuild the herd, more for next year. Glass half full.

Posted

Less deer shot rebuild the herd, more for next year. Glass half full.

+1

Of course a lot will depend on how this stinkin winter turns out.

Posted

Of course a lot will depend on how this stinkin winter turns out.

Not looking real promising right now

Posted

My brother up in Anchorage said they had 52 degrees this morning (that's +52!)and no snow on the ground yet. Don't we normally get Alaska's weather about a month later? I'm hopin' anyway.

Posted

It's just hurricane/tropical storm leftovers pushing the arctic air.

Posted

Long range forecast (for whatever good they are) is not looking promising. Think there were 3 days with highs above freezing in the 45 day forecast.

Posted

At this rate here in morrison/todd county ville we will be starting to rack up WSI points tomorrow. Looks worse south yet. Oh, yeah central mn comes out fine in winter, nothin to worry about.

Posted

At this rate here in morrison/todd county ville we will be starting to rack up WSI points tomorrow. Looks worse south yet. Oh, yeah central mn comes out fine in winter, nothin to worry about.

Sarcasm duly noted wink

I find it humorous (twisted humor I guess) that the poor results for Ripley are largely being blamed by last winter....when a good portion of Camp is pretty much ignored by the DNR when considering WSI. Can't have it both ways...if winter has an impact on deer in central MN, then management should reflect that (i.e. going to lottery the year after a bad winter instead of increasing the number of Managed and Intensive units).

Posted

Sky won't be falling till March. Back on topic seen 1 doe and 2 fawns over weekend 213. Didn't hunt my 240 property this year letting it rest maybe hunt it muzzle to see what made it.

Posted

All joking aside, so far through bow season and first weekend of rifle, I am optimistic for next season. I have seen way more fawns than expected and good numbers of does. And as of yesterday no does have been killed on the properties I hunt. The sound of hunters by our public land spot is the same a fair amount of does and fawns. I not sure if any will be harvested as no one, literally no one got a doe tag.

If winter cooperates, improvements will be seen next year.

I am more than ok with low harvest this year.

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.




  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • monstermoose78
      Ok the ice was 15-16 inches and less than 2 inches of snow. It’s was -15 this morning and the weekend looks to be cold again. The fish were there but not biting with change in weather. 
    • Dash 1
      I guess the vikings are a lot like fishing.  Very entertaining but frustrating at times. I've probably been cheering the vikings for 50 plus years  that i can remember and once again it's all about (there's always next year).  
    • Dash 1
      I remember Jeno's boxed pizza years ago.  Mom made it every Saturday night while dad and I watched All Star Wrestling.  
    • smurfy
      Chef boyardee box pizza. Good stuff 
    • smurfy
    • leech~~
      Smurf, still trying to get his lure jigging down when using the camera!  🤭   https://www.facebook.com/reel/517510734635573
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the South Shore... Ice fishing is going great on the south shore of Lake of the Woods, with resorts and outfitters reporting thickening ice conditions with two feet of ice in some areas.  Many ice roads are now open to 1 ton vehicles pulling a wheelhouse.  Every road has different weight limits, check with each resort for details before traveling up and out on the ice.      Some good fishing this past week.  As a rule, fishing activity is happening in 28 - 32 feet of water.  Resorts do just about everything they can to get customers on fish and this past week, some resorts made some long runs, resetting fish houses in new areas miles off shore.  Most are reporting good fishing as a rule.     It is common to sort through some small walleyes and saugers to get your keepers on LOW.  Naturally, some big fish are showing up, especially in deeper water.  In addition, this has been a very good year for jumbo perch with good numbers being caught.  Other fish in the mix are eelpout (burbot), pike, tullibees and an occasional sturgeon.      Anglers are using the one-two punch of jigging in one hole and deadsticking the second hole. In the jigging hole, a jigging spoon tipped with a minnow head or tail in gold / pink, gold / glow red, glow white / pink, or Wonder Bread have worked well.     Especially in the deeper water, some anglers are finding success on rippin raps or using jigging spoons with a rattle as well.     On the deadstick, a small jig with a live minnow hooked behind the dorsal fin set 6 inches - a foot off of the bottom is working well.  One day the jigging line catches most of the fish, the other day a deadstick is hot.     Electronics are very helpful to see suspended fish, know when fish are coming through and adjust your presentation to the mood of each fish.  Most resorts, outfitters and bait shops in the area rent electronics by the day.   On the Rainy River... The Rainy River is still producing some nice walleyes and saugers, primarily in the mornings and evenings.  A jig and minnow working well.   Catch-and-release sturgeon fishing continues to be good for those targeting them.  An oversized hole, or three holes drilled together, with nightcrawlers or frozen emerald shiners on a sturgeon rig fished on the bottom are what anglers are using.     Ice conditions on the river can vary significantly due to the current. To stay safe and maximize success, always work with a local resort or outfitter familiar with river conditions.    Up at the NW Angle... Ice fishing continues to be very good up at the Northwest Angle. Resorts have fish houses set up on various pieces of structure as well as adjacent to structure in deep mud.  A consistent mix of walleyes, saugers, jumbo perch, pike and tullibees in the mix.     Shallow structure is best right away in the morning and as the sun starts going down in the late afternoon.  Mud is more of a slower bite but all day.   The ice road from Jerry's on the mainland (Angle Inlet, MN) to island resorts (as of this past week) was open to 1 ton vehicles.  Guests drive right to their island resort after picking up a road pass at Jerry's or Point North Services.  Venmo is also available at all resorts.  Work through your resort for specifics.   Ice fishing is in full swing across Lake of the Woods and there are openings for lodging, fish house rentals, sleeper fish house rentals and meal plans across the area.  Ice fishing is extended on LOW with fish houses allowed on the ice through March 31st, walleye / sauger season open through April 14th and a pike season that never closes.  
    • Brianf.
      From your fingertips to God's ears...  Finally got some snow!   Several inches of new snow fell before and during the weekend.  Sunday eve when we left, the high winds had already begun to create some drifting on the lake.  It was fun riding for sure.  Lots of folks on the lake this past weekend too.  We fueled up the sleds at Shamrock and saw as many people fishing in that area as I've ever seen in the Winter on Lake Vermilion.     Our weekend results were decent.  Jeff and I and a buddy caught probably 50 walleyes between the three of us, mostly fishing a jig/plastics with our three biggest being 24", 25", and 25.5".  We also got one large pike of unknown length.  During the midday on Sunday, we targeted whitefish and Jeff managed one big one.  We released all of our fish, except for three small walleyes that our buddy wanted to bring home for a meal.  Definitely a fun weekend on Lake V!   
    • leech~~
      The Vikings are the Vikings so it's nothing new.  It is kind of sad that Darnold's off season stock is now going to drop like a rock after these last two games. It kind of shows he's not a big game guy.  🤔
    • smurfy
      I'm blaming leech... his food selection has been lacking game days recently  🤣
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.