MN Waterfowl Opener

[Mdclinks]

Is anyone else fired up to get out into a duck blind this weekend? Hopefully this cooler weather is pushing some northern birds out of Canada.

[Dakotared]

Hell yea I am pumped!!! Worked last night cammoing up the boat getting all set up.

[Mdclinks]

Has anyone been seeing any flocks flying locally? I have a feeling I will have my limit of wood ducks within about a half hour of opener.

[Terry]

Has anyone been seeing any flocks flying locally? I have a feeling I will have my limit of wood ducks within about a half hour of opener.

They are all over the place in Apple Valley! Too bad I can't shoot them there. I would limit out in 10 minutes!

[yukonjasper]

Should be a good opener. I have a report from one of the guys I hunt with who was out in the area of the state we own land and he believes it may be the best for at least a decade. The dry weather has concentrated the birds on fewer bodies of water, so they are flocking up. Add to that the cooler temperatures and some rain and over cast and you've got a great day in the blind.

[Dakotared]

Well today I did a little scouting of my favorite places to hunt, and 1 of them some moron tried to post as private land!!! There is a Lake right next to the road, like from the shoulder of the road there is a MAX of 5 ft to the water, probably closer to 3 ft. Well I went to the DNR office to see if this is a public right of way or not. Every one there seems to think that I am OK and who ever posted the sign is wrong, but they wanted me to put a call into the local Conservation officer to make sure. Well I left a message and now the wait is on.

Thank god this is not where I was planing on hunting tomarrow morning or I would be really pissed.

[photogpat]

:x Well today I did a little scouting of my favorite places to hunt, and 1 of them some moron tried to post as private land!!! There is a Lake right next to the road, like from the shoulder of the road there is a MAX of 5 ft to the water, probably closer to 3 ft. Well I went to the DNR office to see if this is a public right of way or not. Every one there seems to think that I am OK and who ever posted the sign is wrong, but they wanted me to put a call into the local Conservation officer to make sure. Well I left a message and now the wait is on.

Thank god this is not where I was planing on hunting tomarrow morning or I would be really pissed.

There was a situation up by where I hunt like this a few years ago. For years (50-60?), everyone just parked on the road and launched their car-toppers into this lake. Fast forward to 2006, a new property owner sees that, doesn't like it and posts the edge of the roadway. There was a fight at a county board meeting, a few confrontations along the roadway...and as it turned out, he's within his rights. In my case the county had a permanent easement on the landowner's property for the road, unlike in other cases where the county or state actually owns the roadbed. The public county road abuts a body of water that everyone wanted to fish on, but the water is not technically legally accessible since the road is on an easement and not county land.

[Dakotared]

And that is why I went to the DNR to find out if I am good to go or if he is in the right.

I do not want to brake any laws or get into any trouble so that is also why I will wait to find out what the ruling is before I go on the lake.

[photogpat]

And that is why I went to the DNR to find out if I am good to go or if he is in the right.

I do not want to brake any laws or get into any trouble so that is also why I will wait to find out what the ruling is before I go on the lake.

Good call! Good luck on Saturday!

[plblark]

Apparently they're worried about a population explosion amongst the Canada Geese.
http://www.twincities.com/sports/ci_21601884/dave-orrick-wildlife-officials-worry-there-arent-enough

[Mdclinks]

So how did everyone do today?

[JJ]

I didn't go myself, but my brother and Dad ran down to the farm west of Marshall. They took 11 total, and lost a swimmer for their limit. 3 mallards, and the rest were teal.

Another group I know that hunts the same area took a full 9 person limit, mostly teal, with a couple geese mixed in.

[Dakotared]

I went out this morning if just about every thing went wrong including having the blind for or boat getting destroy, Some guy blocking the boat access just because he did not want hunters on the lake ( not the same place I was talking about earlier ), finding another way on the lake and not getting set up until damn near 7:30. So it was not a good day.

[BemidjiDweller]

I'm excited, but don't need a blind. Someone down the beach feeds them and they swim their way over to my dock couple of times a day. Gotta head into town to get all my licenses and stamps squared away though.

[smurfman]

Limited out on mallards and gadwall Saturday morning, got lucky and found a pond Friday while looking for sharptails so made a plan for the next morning. Good thing I did as that was all the shooting I got for the weekend other than skunks and red squirrels at my bait pit.