Public land

[Snag]

Just bought six PRIM maps. There seems to be quite a few places to hunt within an 1-2 hours of Minneapolis. How crowded do the WMA's get on weekdays? I should be able to get Wednesday's off and would like to get the dog on some birds without having to drive too far.

[irvingdog]

Some of my best memories, best hunting trips ever, have been on WMA's on weekdays. It is more like fishing than anything else. You've got to do your legwork. Put in your time, and eventually you'll find the walleyes stacked up on a rockpile somewhere...........

[stayman79]

I'm going to have a similar schedule this year except Tuesdays off. Last year I took a few weekdays off for hunting and hardly ever saw anyone else. For ducks you don't have to go far if hunting public land but in general if you want to find pheasants you should go south and west. The DNR makes a pheasant density map based on their roadside counts and I've found it really makes a difference to go to the highest population areas if you are limited to public land as I am. It might mean a 2-3 hour drive each way which is a lot for one day, but if you get your birds and the dog gets lots of scent it's worth it! I've spent a day or two on the close-by public land and didn't see much to keep the dog or I interested. Still beats workin'!
Good luck!

[kpj5br]

I have hunted the WMAs that are in close proximity to the Twin Cities extensively.

I can tell you honestly that on weekdays I have RARELY seen another hunter on most of them, even the ones that are REALLY close (one is only 8 minutes from my house).

Weekends and holidays are another story but that's expected.

As posted above, you have to do your homework, be patient, and hunt well, because the weekend pressure sticks to the game, and they tend to be wary, but wary or not, they are there!

I love the days of fall, I run out to a WMA in the early morning, hunt for 2 hours, pack up, take a quick shower, and into work by 9:30am.

This is a wonderful state to live in!!

[BDR]

Almost exclusively I hunt WMA's on the weekdays. I see some people but goto areas with lots of them, finding one to myself is never a problem. On a regular basis I will drive 2 hours to a likely area to hunt a short time to get my two birds and drive home. The 4 hours driving is just the price I am willing to pay to do what I love to do.

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Brian Rogers

Iceleaders
JR's Tackle
Catch-N Tackle and Bio-Bait

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