Northern Flights.. see inside..

[The Yeti]

Any predictions on when the northern flights/flocks of ducks will be coming down from Canada? We are skipping this weekend and are going up next week near Mcgregor. I ask because it looks like it's going to be colder than normal for this time of year. Thanks for any replies.

[IM4DUX]

If anyone can predict it, I would like to know their secret. It is so weather dependent, it would impossible to predict 100%.

Looking at past years, I would say that next weekend is too early for any real northern flights to head our way. The earliest push seems to be around the MEA weekend (mid-October), but it varies so much. If it never gets too cold and water stays open up north, they will stay there as long as there is food available. The birds don't migrate because they have some internal clock that tells them to head south, lack of food and open water moves them south.

I know that the southern boys have been ticked the last couple of years because the majority of the mallards never got down as far as them. They were accusing the nothern states of using aerators to keep the lakes open and dumping grain in the fields to feed them and keep them north. They will think of any accuse to extend their seasons down there.

[honker23]

The way the ducks haved moved, I get much more excited about the Western flight, as I call it. We need strong west winds to move the Dakota ducks over here. The 10 best days over the last 8-10 years have come after, during, or slightly before a strong west wind.
We seem to see some flocks of divers from the large MN lakes with the north winds, but most of our late season mallards are coming from the Dakotas. Just what I think

[Farley]

Dam rednecks, what do they know about seasonal migrations anyway? All they know is one day they wake up and there's 50 million ducks flyin around the ol pond, I'd like to see Jed come up here and sit there all day and maybee get one shot off.

[icehousebob]

Every year we hunt Lac Que Parle for three days in the third week of October. Last year, late morning on the second day, the wind northwest wind started. It got stronger, so that boats on the water in the afternoon had lots of trouble getting home. Blew all night. Next morning, you had trouble walking into the wind and there were THOUSANDS of northern mallards [and others] everywhere you looked. Couldn't get a boat on the water or get a field decoy to stay put, but we sure saw lots of birds. Some years, they've stayed in Canada into Dec. as long as they had food that wasn't snow covered. If you could predict when they'll come down, you'd be rich.

[Riverratpete]

yeah, your all right, who knows...could be the wind, food, ice, snow. Seems to me it has more to do with ice up. Except for the last 2 years I've gotten jacked on the end of the season because it would ice up and didn't have any field shooting opportunities available to me. I must say though that some of my best shooting in quality and quantity were on or about deer hunting opener. Me and the boys are setting up a LQP weekend third/fourth weekend in October so hopefully... for that fact does anyone know of a hotel/motel in the area that isn't totally booked up?

[High-ball]

Im about 30 miles from the canandian border and all i can see so far is a few local birds and mergansers......weather will only tell when/..ill keep you posted on flights from up here in the north country

[High-ball]

Amen IM4dux...those southern rednecks are just whiners

[duckbuster]

High-Ball what lake do you hunt 30 miles from the border? I don't want to know for hunting purposes just curious to know is all. Our duck shack is up that way.