Attention MN Duck Hunters

[Feathers Rainin]

MN Duck Hunters,

The email I recieved from Cordts stated that the season will end the Sunday before Thanksgiving in the north and central zones, and the Sunday after Thanksgiving in the southern zone. Since he is intimately involved in the decision-making, I have to assume what he told me is accurate.

I regret where this post has gone. It is just my opinion that we should be able to hunt ducks through the Thanksgiving holiday, and I gave my reasons for having that opinion. I then asked anyone who shares that opinion to contact the DNR because they seem to be operating under the assumption that no one has the opinion that I do, so I wanted them to have accurate hunter opinion data to work with when they make their decision. I am not trying to force my opinion on anyone else, and have no intention of having anyone else force their opinion on me. I did not intend for anyone to insult the DNR or anyone else as a result of this. The argument about when there are more ducks around is moot--that varies from year-to-year depending on weather and duck populations. The assertions made by some in these posts that there are no ducks around in late November is not accurate from my experiences. I can recall several years whee I have seen and shot more mallards over the long holiday weekend than the rest of the season combined. As far as hunter migration reports determining if there are any ducks around, there are likely less hunters out in late November, so hunting reports would not neccesarily be an accurate reflection of the migration. It is unfortunate that the "My way or the highway, I'm right and everyone else is wrong" people had to rear their ugliness in this post. If you would like to see the duck season run through the Thangsgiving weekend, then pelase contact the DNR and let them know. If you disagree, then contact the DNR and tell them that. Please don't attack and insult anyone that has a different opinion than you, and understand that this is a matter of opinion and there is no right or wrong. Thanks!

Dude you need to relax. No one is insulting eachother and I would not call this an arguement. This is a public forum and people share their opinions.

Godie it sounds like you will be able to hunt in late November in MN. If you still want to go south I would suggest Iowa or South Dakota. Less pressure and lots of birds late in the year if you know where to look. Of course for South Dakota you missed the lottery deadline but there is always next year.

If your goal is to pile up as many ducks as you can I would not suggest hunting MN. Personally I have many other goals when I go out hunting. When I go out of state I get my fill of birds. If the DNR changes the season by one week it certainly isn't going to change much for me (espcially if you can hunt in the south zone until December or close to it). Fall is just around the corner boys! Gonna be a teal bonanza if the propsed changes get set!

[Feathers Rainin]

Why did the DNR split up the State in the first place? How dumb is that. Lets have a starting /opening day - and a closing date - seems simple to me.

ND - as well as probably all the other 49 States in the US have a starting date and an ending date. And Yes, there is influence from the Feds on Waterfowl seasons, which impacts MN.

Many other states have splits. When you have a state that stretches as far north and south as MN I think a split is great. Most folks I talked to seemed pretty satisfied with the split changes the DNR implemented last year.

I think the splits were pretty easy to understand but maybe some folks struggled with it...

[walleye18]

curious as to what States have split zones..like MN....besides California.

I look forward to some replies.

[Feathers Rainin]

curious as to what States have split zones..like MN....besides California.

I look forward to some replies.

Google can be your friend.

A quick search yielded the following states that have or have had a split season MO, WI, IA, NY, CA, OH, TX, NH, IN. I am sure there is more as I did not spend much time looking into this.

[walleye18]

FeathersRainin - thanks for the info.

[Scott M]

This year is the earliest calendar date that the season can open on, about a week earlier than years past, so yes, its true Smuts can't hunt Thanksgiving weekend this year, except in the south zone, which is designated south of Highway 212 which runs smack dab into the Twin Cities. Good luck in the south zone Smuts, you'll still get your wish to hunt with your kids that weekend!

The migration reports referenced are not actual count of harvested birds - those would be a horrible indicator of birds in the state. The counts referenced are from flyover routes flown by Minnesota DNR wildlife biologists. Those routes include most of the major waterfowl refuges and are a pretty good indicator of migration timing and volume.

The DNR has an open door policy on taking public comment, but if you guys want to make changes I'd do my best to give it when its solicited and before a change is enacted. The multi-zone change was vetted through an open comment period before last year's multi-zone split. That's not to say things can't change and that you shouldn't make your opinions known, just that its best to strike when the iron is hot.

Opinions are like anuses, everybody has one. Just remember - those opinions matter to the DNR, but there is more stock put into facts when it comes to setting seasons and limits. That's why migration counts, hunter bags, HIP certification numbers, breeding surveys, flyway governance treaties, and other inputs are collected to make such decisions. The social data was supportive of the rule change, at least based on what was collected in years past. You guys against the split season can contact Cordts for that information too.

[WALLEYENUTZ]

My guess is that they will close the season again for a few days in the middle. Hopefully they will figure out that late November is the best part of the season.

[outdoorsmanwilly]

IMO if they want to make it so fair weather hunters can go out and shoot teal in September they should just make a teal season at the beginning of the month for a week or two. Then they could start the regular season in the beginning of October like they used to do.

[dfricke1010]

Where can you find the migration stats for last MN duck season on the Minnesota DNR HSOforum?

[Smuts]

Scott M,

I live in Chaska, which stradles 212, and I hunt land and water west of Chaska, which is north of 212, so I won't be able to hunt those places with my kids or my hunting buddies. I don't have the time or money to scout or lease other land or water or stay out of town on the weekends. Sounds like the decision is already made, so nothing I can do about it. Just wanted to make sure the DNR heard from hunters, and maybe thinks about hearing from us before they make any major changes to the hunting season that aren't required or controlled by the Feds. The Feds gave the DNR permission to open on the 21st, and permission to hold an August goose hunt, but did not require them to do either of these things. Just thought it would have been nice for the DNR to survey hunters about the changes before making them. Also was concerned about starting so early this year with the late spring and late nesting.

[Smuts]

Feathers Rainin,

Dude, I am relaxed, but I do consider the post stating that the DNR is run by idiots as insulting other people, because it is. I happen to disagree with the DNR on this one, but that doesn't mean I am right and the DNR is idiots. I have met and talked with many of the people high up in the DNR, and they were and still are very intelligent. I was just hoping to head off any more of that stuff which doesn't accomplish anything, and because I don't want to be responsible for starting people disrespecting one another, including the DNR. We should be able to respectfully disagree with individuals or agencies.

[surewood]

I like the change. Of course I live farther north then most. Usually by the first week or second of November it's frozen up around here. So up here we get more opportunity then previous seasons. We get to take a few more cracks at some teal and woodies that typically seemed to be few and far between after the first week with the old framework.

[BoxMN]

My two cents - if you quit duck hunting because you haven't seen/shot as many birds in the past few years as you need, you never were an avid "duck hunter". You just liked killin stuff, which is truly fine with me. But a true duck hunter, IMHO, is one who can't stay out of the marsh/lake/slough even if he knows there are few birds. I grew up hunting the same place, did travel a bit when I got older to chase birds, and it was fun. But I still go to that same place now with grandkids, and sometime the skies are full, sometimes they are empty, but it is a great morning each time.

Now, I also go out of state for a long weekend or two, so I get my fill of shooting stuff too but I will never, ever, quit duck hunting MN whether before Thanksgiving ending or if fences a mile tall keep all the duck out of MN.

But I also believe people should do what they want, and if you aren't happy with the seasons, or the bird counts, or whatever, I hope you have fun doing whatever you want. BTW Leech, I got my sleds because my nephew gave it up due to lack of snow 4 years ago, hehe! My gain the past 4 winters for sure! I will watch for your duck stuff on the list

[Finlander]

+1 BoxMN!!!

[dan z]

Seen some fuzzies today, hopefully they have steroids so they grow fast they were iddy bitty.

[poutpro]

curious as to what States have split zones..like MN....besides California.

I look forward to some replies.

Nebraska, which is shorter lattitudinaly, has 4 duck zones and several different Canada goose zones, and again different snow goose zones all with different start dates with splits between. I think it's pretty common practice, and it makes perfect sense to me for MN to utilize these splits.

In my area (west central MN), the best mallard and combo goose/mallard field hunting is undoubtedly at the end of November.

[BigTen]

It wouldn't be the end of the world if there was no duck hunting on the holiday weekend. It used to be my favorite hunting weekend of the year when there was no pressure, now you had better have a couple hunts in during the early part of the week because by Thursday afternoon its just a parade of shiny trucks/toppers and SUV's, each equipped with a couple blinds and 8 spinners.

Last year I saw a new Escalade in a cornfield. LOL.

[leech~~]

BTW Leech, I got my sleds because my nephew gave it up due to lack of snow 4 years ago, hehe! My gain the past 4 winters for sure! I will watch for your duck stuff on the list

Your my Hero BoxMN! I'll let you know when the stuff is for sale. I'm waiting a little closer to the season for the feeding frenzy!

[benbosh]

It wouldn't be the end of the world if there was no duck hunting on the holiday weekend. It used to be my favorite hunting weekend of the year when there was no pressure, now you had better have a couple hunts in during the early part of the week because by Thursday afternoon its just a parade of shiny trucks/toppers and SUV's, each equipped with a couple blinds and 8 spinners.

Last year I saw a new Escalade in a cornfield. LOL.

Wearing black sweatshirts and a gazillion decals in the back windows? You can't shoot birds otherwise