waterfowl reports?

[snow1]

So,what's the skinny? mid october not one report here my area is void of ducks since opener(youth waterfowl pushed most out early) local canada geese has our city bounderies figured out,did see some migrators (ducks) appear this week,mostly mallards tho,not much color so assume these were ducks from northern minnesota getting pushed south.

anyone getting out?

[Gunner55]

Our new neighbor is a big duck hunter & he went out every day of the 1st week. Said he was getting at least 1 a day, a lot of people too as he never seen so many hunters as he seen opening day on the river between Bowstring & us.

[snow1]

Thanx for the feedback gunner,I agree on hunting pressure this season with canada shut down this year,north dakota said it was a complete "shete show"  for the non-rez opener as a few locals called it,they said they were invaded by "roost jumping,field jumping non rez knuckle heads,even tho ,most years locals bitch about the non rez boat parade coming to small towns of north dakota but this season was the worst,suspect even tho these small towns love the revenue,bet next season north dakota will incorproate a lottery system similar to south dakota,time will tell.

[Dotch]

Not much flying down here unless you're closer to Waseca or Owatonna. Local ducks and geese are long gone on our smaller puddles & ponds. Nothing on mine last week. Dry September & October so far probably didn't help. Did see 3 sandhill cranes this a.m. where the neighbors had chopped silage. Think they're a family unit. Have seen them off & on much of the summer & early fall. One is definitely a smaller less mature version. Corn harvest is moving along quickly so there may be some occasional feeding. Trouble is it gets worked so quickly here there's little opportunity for ducks & or geese either one to feed for very long. My hope for the future and my retirement years is the trend towards more no-till soybeans continues. It should mean more ground left with picked corn stalks. Could be a boon to waterfowl hunting in the area as there are certainly plenty of resting areas. 

[Bobberineyes]

Running around west of the cities last Saturday looking for spots to chase pheasants i did see some decent size flocks of geese. Most of the shallow
 sloughs looked horrible with the lack of rain, the deeper ones had plenty of butts in em. My neighbor tells me over opener they did real well on puddlers around the babbitt area,  which surprised him since they they usually see a lot of divers.

[snow1]

Well this weather has em moving big time,decided not to hunt (geese/ducks) saturday my mistake as we're in a mid season migration slump which happens mid oct in minnesota,but saturday evening wilst sitting in my man cave smoking a cigar at sundown,seen hundreds of migrating mallards dropping down through the low ceiling from the stratosphere,breaking with wings cupped dropping in to a small water shed not far from my house in  the middle of a new home developement,started out with smaller groups dropping in,guesstimate around 30 to 50 ducks,then 100's 20 minutes later this went on till dark,last night samething only honkers visited my town of hugo resting on a small slough/lake across from my house,local hunters didn't go out for the evening shoot missed it.

Central north dakota is loaded up with ducks and geese as well,cut wheat fields are white with snow geese right now...

[glenn57]

when i went to fargo and bismarck on my november visits to our shops it was amazing to see all the ducks and geese in the sky. good thing the road wasnt real curvy!!!!!!!

[snow1]

Agreed glenn,been on a country road in nodak during a spring snow goose hunt,had a field jump with 100's of snow geese as we drove by,shete all over my truck as they flew over the road,even had wheat grain stuck under my wiper blades,ishta

[Gunner55]

Called our new neighbor up at the lake yday & his oldest boy had come up for the weekend, they're avid waterfowlers's. He said Saturday & Sunday was the best shooting he's had all season. Sounded like he was going to pull the plug on the season though as he needs to head home, SW metro, to do a few things before  season starts.

[Dotch]

Agreed glenn,been on a country road in nodak during a spring snow goose hunt,had a field jump with 100's of snow geese as we drove by,shete all over my truck as they flew over the road,even had wheat grain stuck under my wiper blades,ishta

Where I lived on the west end of the Armourdale Dam reservoir, I'd come back from from a day of hunting over field dekes by Sarles. We hadn't seen much. It was after shooting hours for geese so had me a little nap going on. I awoke as thousands of snows & blues got up from greened up barley stubble 1/4 mile west of my Little House on the Prairie. Suddenly it sounded like it was hailing! Sure enough the geese were going right over the house and crapping like mad as they gained altitude. My white work truck and the white siding sustained major stains.   

[snow1]

Sarles? how did ya end up there? must be a woman involved eh?,I've hunt near there  around Rolla,seems the turtle mtn's draws waterfowl on the journey south.

[Dotch]

Actually "no" on the women snow. I dated ND women tho, both of them!  I was up there right out of college in the fall of '81. Lived in Rugby about 6 months, in Cando for another 6 months & the last 2 years between Rock Lake & Rolla. A customer of mine rented me a house just across the road from the far north end of the Armourdale Dam reservoir. I was ~ 6 miles from the Canadian border. I worked with farmers doing a lot of the same stuff I'm still doing, soil sampling, scouting fields, making fertilizer & chem recs. They must've liked me because I had access to hunt just about anywhere I wanted on their posted land. I worked thru the co-ops at Rolla, Rock Lake, Calvin and some non-potato related stuff at Cando.

One of my college buddies who I worked with at the U lived in Devils Lake, roughly an hour away, so we'd get together frequently on weekends to hunt & fish. Still on my bucket list to get back up there someday to see how it has changed. Looking at the satellite image, it looks like the building site where I lived has been altered substantially. Trees are a lot bigger too so they're either blocking the view of the house or it's been torn down. Many of the outbuildings are gone. The area was known as the Finnish Reservation. Indian reservation was west of Rolla, Frenchies to the north, Swedes & Norwegians to the south, Finnlanders to the east. Many of the original building sites had their own rustic wood burning sauna as did mine. Great place to relax after a hunt or in particular with female guests...    

[glenn57]

Sarles? how did ya end up there? must be a woman involved eh?,I've hunt near there  around Rolla,seems the turtle mtn's draws waterfowl on the journey south.

i would of thought running from the law............or running from some sweet gals father!!!!!!!

[Dotch]

 

Well, there was that...