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Moose's Report - Cambridge-Elk River-Foley-Milaca-Mora-Ogilvie Fishing Reports


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I went for a drive scouting and asking permission to bird hunt over the weekend.  Spent hours in my driving just cruising gravel roads and knocking on doors.  I received permission to pheasant hunt at every spot I asked, except for one and that's only because no one was home.

 

Mixed reports from the landowners on wildlife abundance.  They all said that wild turkeys and deer are thriving, but pheasants were more hit or miss.  Some said they've been seeing some, including hens with broods.  Others said very few.

 

The corn in this area is very tall but its not that close to maturing yet, since it was planted late, and it hasn't really been that hot.  Its gonna be a late harvest.

Edited by gimruis
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8 hours ago, gimruis said:

I went for a drive scouting and asking permission to bird hunt over the weekend.  Spent hours in my driving just cruising gravel roads and knocking on doors.  I received permission to pheasant hunt at every spot I asked, except for one and that's only because no one was home.

 

Mixed reports from the landowners on wildlife abundance.  They all said that wild turkeys and deer are thriving, but pheasants were more hit or miss.  Some said they've been seeing some, including hens with broods.  Others said very few.

 

The corn in this area is very tall but its not that close to maturing yet, since it was planted late, and it hasn't really been that hot.  Its gonna be a late harvest.

Nice report, sounds like you putting in the work. :cool:

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I hope you boys in East Central didn’t too beat up too bad by the storm last night!  
 

Major Connexus power outages still.  I have friends and family in the area; fortunately power loss is the only thing they’re having problems with.

 

IMG_8888.thumb.jpeg.7e590ff6d459e8ea932e02b53a398bb3.jpeg

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3 hours ago, Wanderer said:

I hope you boys in East Central didn’t too beat up too bad by the storm last night!  
 

Major Connexus power outages still.  I have friends and family in the area; fortunately power loss is the only thing they’re having problems with.

 

IMG_8888.thumb.jpeg.7e590ff6d459e8ea932e02b53a398bb3.jpeg

Dang, looks like a Mpls "Shots fired map"  :huh:  :D

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13 hours ago, leech~~ said:

Dang, looks like a Mpls "Shots fired map"  :huh:  :D

🤣😂🥴😂

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The August roadside pheasant count is posted on the DNRs website and this specific region is up a whopping 70% from last year.  Musta had just the right amount of rain, but no major flooding.

 

Other areas to the west did not fare so well.

 

I did pretty good last season.  Hard to imagine it being 70% better.

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1 hour ago, gimruis said:

The August roadside pheasant count is posted on the DNRs website and this specific region is up a whopping 70% from last year.  Musta had just the right amount of rain, but no major flooding.

 

Other areas to the west did not fare so well.

 

I did pretty good last season.  Hard to imagine it being 70% better.

Not sure how much Turkeys and Pheasants compete, but it sure seems like there are a ton of Turkeys running around and it's rare to see many Pheasants anymore?  

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1 hour ago, leech~~ said:

Not sure how much Turkeys and Pheasants compete, but it sure seems like there are a ton of Turkeys running around and it's rare to see many Pheasants anymore?  

 

I don't think they are competitors.  I think turkeys are hardier being that they're bigger birds.  Turkeys are also more adaptive.   I see a lot of wild turkeys living right in suburban/urban environments.  Pheasants, not so much.  Pheasants are more suseptible to winter mortality and drought or floods than turkeys are too.

 

The area I hunt for deer, turkey, and pheasant is a mixture of grassland, timber, and agriculture.  Quite often when I'm sitting in the deer stand I'll see all three species in any given day, with pheasants being the most numerous.

 

Pheasants are obviously much smaller so they can hide better too, visually from predators and from me and you.  When I scout for turkey hunting, I'm actually visually looking for turkeys and their roost.  When I scout and seek permission for pheasants, I am looking more for habitat.  Not the actual bird or birds.

 

I would personally rather pheasant hunt than turkey hunt, mostly because I prefer to walk around with my dog than to sit in a blind and wait.  But I like to turkey hunt in the spring too.

Edited by gimruis
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No I was out of town. 

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20 hours ago, leech~~ said:

Not sure how much Turkeys and Pheasants compete, but it sure seems like there are a ton of Turkeys running around and it's rare to see many Pheasants anymore?  

I’d guess in good pheasant habitat they’re doing alright but I know what you mean.  For me, turkeys have become common.  Pheasants and grouse, not as much.  I don’t get out to pheasant country much anymore but I’m in grouse country a lot.  Still see more turkeys.

 

Last weekend my brother was sighting in his new deer rifle.  Had to take a break when 11 turkeys just decided to come peck and scratch between him and the target for a while.  We shooed them off eventually but they came back.

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Think I've seen 2 grouse all summer up north. I'm OK with that,  I wanna see them during season. 

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My uncle and dad said they aren’t seeing any young birds and not many up north. Bummer Hazel is ready and Finn wants some ducks .

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This spring I saw a lot of grouse and even a few broods. I'm hopeful for the upland season. Didn't see a whole lot of mallard ducklings this year but good numbers of wood ducks. I think the Canada geese numbers go up every year.

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On 9/7/2024 at 6:22 AM, Wanderer said:

I’d guess in good pheasant habitat they’re doing alright but I know what you mean.  For me, turkeys have become common.  Pheasants and grouse, not as much.  I don’t get out to pheasant country much anymore but I’m in grouse country a lot.  Still see more turkeys.

 

Last weekend my brother was sighting in his new deer rifle.  Had to take a break when 11 turkeys just decided to come peck and scratch between him and the target for a while.  We shooed them off eventually but they came back.

Supos that sight in spot, is right next to Nunya lake?  :pow:  :D

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15 hours ago, Wanderer said:

Naw, it was on Wolverton Mountian. 😉 

I've been meaning to make my way up that mountain...

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9 hours ago, Kettle said:

I've been meaning to make my way up that mountain...

Seems like a long way to climb, to sight in a gun! 😐

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45 minutes ago, leech~~ said:

Seems like a long way to climb, to sight in a gun! 😐

I'm not scared of Clifton Clowers...

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11 minutes ago, Kettle said:

I'm not scared of Clifton Clowers...

Don’t go!!!

 

I mean, that’s what they say anyway.

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13 hours ago, Kettle said:

I'm not scared of Clifton Clowers...

Bet you would enjoy a nice paddle down the Cahulawassee River, too then. 😏

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3 hours ago, monstermoose78 said:

Got one pretty drake woodduck and Finn was one proud dog with his duck! See some ducks and I pulled the trigger more in one morning then I have in the last 3 years.

IMG_7729.jpeg

That’s the best looking wood duck I’ve seen this year, even that other people have gotten.

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Went to wealthwood gun club to sight in my nephews rifle and my 223. Such a nice day and relaxing. Only a few people there. It was great 

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15 hours ago, monstermoose78 said:

Went to wealthwood gun club to sight in my nephews rifle and my 223. Such a nice day and relaxing. Only a few people there. It was great 

Very nice, hope you added a few clicks for wind drift today!  🙃

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This heat is brutal.  I don't hunt anymore in September but I used to.  Have to imagine sitting in a marsh, tree stand, or walking the woods when its 80 degrees out gets pretty old quickly.

 

At least it "feels" more like fall today.  Although it does appear that we're headed right back into the 70's again tomorrow.  And no rain the entire month of September either.  Its getting dry out there big time.

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3 hours ago, gimruis said:

This heat is brutal.  I don't hunt anymore in September but I used to.  Have to imagine sitting in a marsh, tree stand, or walking the woods when its 80 degrees out gets pretty old quickly.

 

At least it "feels" more like fall today.  Although it does appear that we're headed right back into the 70's again tomorrow.  And no rain the entire month of September either.  Its getting dry out there big time.

Bow hunting early always seemed to be a worry if you could get a deer taken care of soon enough in the heat? 🙁

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    • gimruis
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