Nemadji State Forest

[hey__bob]

Has anyone ever deer hunted in this area. I did some 20 years ago and we were the only ones around. I am wondering how busy this area is during the firearms season. How good are the trails and logging roads and is the use of ATV's or 4 wheel drive trucks allowed? I remember as a kid being treed by a bear.....

[protrapper]

ATV'S, 4 wheel drive mud trucks, and dirt bikes have destroyed the place. People everywhere. I would find a better place to go. Thats my opion.

[metrojoe]

There is plenty of good areas to hunt but protrapper is right. I hunted up there last year and there are areas that are all torn up. I have yet to see any enforcement up there and believe me there are plenty of law breakers running around them woods. At least during the gun hunting season there are rules for ATV use during prime shooting hours. I wish the hours of operation would be expanded to include Bear and Deer Archery season.

[Muskieguy]

I don't bird hunt at all, but this whole ND thing sounds pretty messed up. I definitely think something should be done for out of state fishing lisences. We have 10,000 + lakes and they have like 4. So I bet the lakes close to the border are just packed with ND fishermen and women. Although I bet the resort owners in that area don't want to see fee increases, might hurt their business.

I hunt only MN, as I deer hunt maybe a weekend or two. With the exception of a fly in fishing trip every few years, MN is the only place I fish. The MN DNR is the only state that gets my $$

I would hope that my $$ goes to extra CO's to protrol lakes and public hunting land. Especially with the hunting group I mentioned earlier..I swear I saw a bananna clip or two in the rifles they were carrying..kinda scarry..

Muskieguy...

[Muskieguy]

I hunted up there the last 2 years, guest of a friend who hunts up there a lot. Opener morning when the sun came up I saw no less than 6 orange jackets with 200 yards of my stand. Needless to say, too many people not enough deer. Only 1 deer, in the last 2 years for 3 guys. Going somewhere else this year. Also, last year there was a hunting camp with about 50 hmong hunters. Opening morning I heard about 25-35 gun shots..turns out this group was doing some driving and using their guns to spook up deer and get them moving. Too many bullets flying around for my liking..

Got a new area all picked out for this year..cannot wait..

Muskieguy...

[fishface5]

Gee, I wounder why Minnesotans go out of state to hunt? When are we going to put some effort into changing this state for the sportsmans benefit, instead of everyone elses benefit, Or just hunting in another state or country?

[hey__bob]

Wow, that is quite a story Muskie....I guess we won't be trying that. Are there any other places that may be safer up that way? I am one of those guys that likes to sit in my portable stand from dawn until dusk and don't care to have lots of people wondering around by me. I don't really care if I get to shoot a deer or not but I would much rather see some wildlife as apposed to a bunch of lawless bastards shooting up the woods. Where are the game wardens when you need them?

[wdgold]

I don't deer hunt in the Nemadji but do a fair amount of grouse hunting up there, and I mainly try to hunt during the week to get away from the crowds. I do my deer hunting farther north in public hunting areas and don't seem to have much trouble with to many hunters. What do you expect from a place like Nemadji that is only about 2hrs. from the cities, of course your going to see the masses up there.

[huskminn]

Being a "Muskieguy", I'm surprised you don't know more about ND's fishing opportunities. Their lakes, on average comparison, are better than Minnesota's. And there's about 3 million fewer people to contend with, as well. That's why they raised their fees...they would like to see things stay pretty much the way they are.

As far as deer hunting in Nemadji....been there once....orange all over the woods, although I admit I was sticking close to the trails, as I was there on short notice and was doing more scouting than hunting. The numbers of hunters encountered was discouraging enough that I never went back.

Any place I've ever hunted within 3 hours of the cities has been a swarm of hunters. Some nice, others not.

I guess that's why I choose to primarily hunt out of state. I can go to public land in other states, see no one in a day of hunting and shoot a deer nearly every trip.

Other than the license fee, my other expenses are nearly identical. Motel, food, gas. I'll spend the extra $120 for a better chance at a deer and a much more pleasurable experience in the outdoors.