Canada Freezes Up

[kobear]

Winnipeg is currently below freezing and is not forecast to get above the teens for a high for the next ten days. Oak Hammock marsh is froze over and Lake Winnipeg is icing in protected areas. If there are birds north of here we will see them tonight, tomorrow, or the next day.

Here in OT County many of our BIG shallow lakes are partially frozen Star, Dead, West Lost, Gourd, etc. And smaller lakes and sloughs have been iced for a few days. Goose numbers are holding steady yet but roosts are changing daily as lakes ice and birds will likely leave soon as options are eliminated.

[Will]

Good, just in time... Oh wait a minute.

[oilguy]

For the last 10 years a family of trumpeters sits in front of my house when the Fat Lady sings. Also, we usually have from 500 to 2000 goldies out there. So far, both are no-shows along with at least 80,000 EPP geese at Lac Qui Parle over the weekend. I think some goose harvest management changes need to be made again. Those birds seem to start arriving later every year. Do any of you recall $10,000 goose leases for a single farm down there? Times have certainly changed.

[srj]

Kobear, anyone out tomorrow MIGHT see a good fight...however, there still isn't snow to speak of on the ground and there is lots of food in the fields. We returned from our second Sask trip last Thursday. Usually we don't go that late but the farmer we stay with called and said "you really need to come back". The snows and specks were long gone but the mallards and Canadas were thick. Different than early season as the small waters were all frozen so the ducks/geese were concentrated in big bunches. Lots of big water, both lakes and rivers holding ducks and geese. Pretty much void from Estevan/Weyburn to Regina. Not much water in that area except for the Rafferty reservoir. But Regina north there were enormous flocks working the fields. It was very dry in western Sask this year with lousy crops but wet to very wet in areas to the north. Supposed to get really cold this week up there but still very little to no snow. The waterfowl just seem to stay north later and later-why leave when the table is set? Our farmer says he has 30 more days to farm now than he did 30 years ago--in the fields two weeks earlier and working then two weeks later in the fall.

Good luck to those giving it a try tomorrow.

[BrdHunter01]

^^^^ yep, No snow in CA = no ducks for MN. Still plenty of food for them and enough open water to get a drink....

[Gordie]

let it freeze so i can start spearing wait here come the geese