2024 Central MN Waterfowl Hunting Reports by Great Day on the Water Guide Service and Troy Smutka

September 26

Has been a warm, but fun start to the 24 waterfowl season. Got out for the first two days of the early teal and early goose season. Got my son out both days of the Youth Hunt, and got out both days of opening weekend. Mostly singles and doubles coming in so far, so my son Parker has harvested most of our birds. Not great numbers, but good variety for a very warm September in central MN. We have harvested bluewing teal, greenwing teal, shovelers, mallards, wigeon, pintails, a nice drake ruddy duck, and geese. Water levels are much higher than last year, with one of the lakes we hunt being about two feet deeper than last season. Hopefully some cooler, more seasonable temps will settle in and start bringing the calendar migrators through the state. Good luck, and I will see you out there somewhere.

November 8

The calendar migrators from the Dakotas have been passing through central MN in trickles the past few weeks, and the recent cooler weather has some Canada ducks starting to show up. We have been harvesting mallards, pintails, gadwalls, wigeon, shovelers, greenwing teal, canvasbacks, redheads, bluebills, and ringnecks in decent numbers.

November 18

11/15/24 The ringnecks are finally here, and some mallards and gadwalls are starting to show up. We have decoyed some flocks of 30-50 ringers the past couple weekends, with one mixed flock of ringnecks and bluebills number around 100. Some new, more cooperative mallards have joined the bag as well. The cold coming up this week should get the late migration of the hardiest ducks (mallards, bluebills, buffleheads, goldeneyes, common mergansers) as well as big Canada geese and Tundra Swans started. Still worried the best mallard, bluebill, and goldeneye hunting will come after our early closure of ducks before Thanksgiving this year. Good luck, and happy and safe end of the season everyone.