2004 Year in Review....

[MattKeller]

Snowgoose.

Thank you for leaving our state to hunt ducks and geese.

And even more, I hope that you will always think Minnesota duck hunting is poor.

I've hunted many states for waterfowl and few compare to what I have hunted here in NW Minnesota.

When I have to drive 800 miles to get "hooked" on waterfowl "hunting", I'll pick up a new passion.

Matt

[Dean Schellinger]

Well said Matt, there is a lot more to waterfowling than goin somewhere with so many birds you would have to be shooting blanks not to limit. If you spend the time to scout and plan and set up a good spread you can hammer them here too. I think that is more rewarding than going somewhere and just slaughtering them, basically because your wallet is big enough to pay for it. I shoot plenty of birds here in MN and I am just a poor college kid. And I am "hook" you might say, prolly more than you are to your uneducated, unlimited Canadian birds.

[snowgoose]

I am sorry if I affended anybody. I was only trying to state that you could go on a really good trip for the money you put into talking a couple of trips here.

As far as my wallet goes. It is not thick! I save all year to do these trips. I am very fortanate that I have relitives is Canada. The cost of the license, gas and shells is what it cost me to go.

I was a college kid a few years ago myself. I know how tuff it can be.

Matt, not everyone lives in NW Minnesota. It would cost me plenty to hunt the areas you do. Probably more than going to Canada due to lodging.

[jblabsnduck]

Snowgoose, I understand what you where trying to say but there are guys here that will tell you if you think the hunting here is No good then you are not hunting or scouting good enough, I would be one of those guys.

This year was my worst by far but I only blame the weather for that. I have a buddy who grew up in ND so he knew what duck hunting was. I took him to a couple of my spots and his exact words to me where " who needs ND with duck hunting like this" we banged limits all three days within 30 minutes each day(last season). Now I would like to hear someone tell me that the duck hunting here in this state sucks. I will say I know ducks where hard to come by this year for a lot of people. If I had that many guys with me on each trip I know we would have killed just as many if not more. Not trying to sound like a arse here but that is what you will get from the hardcore MN BOYS who love to hunt in this state and have no need to travel to kill birds.

[snowgoose]

I do understand you put a lot of work into your hunting and that there are birds here to be had. I have spent a lot of time in the Winnie, Bowstring area hunting. When I was a college student at ICC and many years after that.

If you think going to Canada to hunt birds is a automatic limit! You are wrong. Don't tell me that I don't scout or put my time in. I work harder on those trips than I do the rest of the year. Yes, we hunt productive areas. Only 1/2 of the time there is spent hunting. The rest is spent scouting and finding birds that Minnesota and other state hunters don't have permission to hunt. We put on 2000 miles in 9 days this year scouting.

Please read my first post again.

1) I never said hunting in Minnesota sucks! I said we don't have the habitat that it takes to be a great waterfowl state. I do relize that we do have some good areas. But, by no strech of the imagination, does Minnesota compared to North Dakota.

2) My original post commends the efforts put in by waterfowlers that go out 15 to 20 times a year. I in no way critisized your effort. I myself hunt that many day a year. Just may be in a different state or providence than you.

3) I personally would rather hunt geese than ducks. I find it very challenging to get 100 to 1000 snows to commit to your spread at a time. Putting out the right spread of decoys takes a lot of time. When snow hunting it is not uncommon to have 800 - 1000 texas rags out. That is not counting 10 dozen siloquets, and 5 dozen shells. Do I spend time putting out decoys and nice spreads? You bet! On average, we set decoys, brush blinds, and prepare to hunt for 2 hours evry morning.

Again, I apologize if you have taken this a critisism in any way, shape, or form.

Good Luck

[jblabsnduck]

WOW, snowgoose, I think you took my post the wrong way. I was trying to say that you can find outstanding hunting in this state but you have to look for it. it isn't just down the road. I never said you didn't scout or you don't know your stuff. I was pointing out that you do not have to leave this state to find outstanding hunting. As you pointed out that we should save up our money and head some where else to kill big numbers. I can kill big numbers all I want here in this state and yes I have to work my arse off to do it. your average hunter here in MN is not going to find that to be easy. As to compare MN to ND, to each his own. I have hunted ND and yes it is very good hunting but I have done just as good if not better here in MN.

I laugh when people tell me I have to go to SD or ND or even Neb. to kill snow geese. I can go kill them here in MN. I have had better hunts here in MN for snow geese than I have in SD. I have hunted from MN to CA so I know what hunting is all about. As you said about putting out decoys, Yes we put out about 2000 for snows. Some days a little more some days a little less.

I was pointing out as to why you may have rubbed some people the wrong way by stateing that we should save our money and go some where else. Some of us have no need to.

I ma not saying I never leave this state to hunt because I do, I go for the thrill of hunting a new place not because I think that place has better hunting to offer.(Argentina excluded)

[snowgoose]

J

Enough said.

I would be more than happy to hook up with a fellow waterfowler such as yourself. You are committed to the sport and are willing to do what it take to get birds.

I would like to know the area you hunt. If I thought I could do that well on snows here I might not leave. Not many people talk about good snow shoots here in Minnesota!

Point Taken

[bassman222]

Trapper:

No, I'm at BSU now, I Graduated from ICC 2 years ago.

Sorry I didn't see your question till today.

[honker23]

I think people that criticize those for shooting "too many" birds are just a little jealous they weren't there too. Some hear numbers like 150 or 200 and think it's outrageous because they hunt 4 time a year and complain about lack of ducks. This year was poor for many due to the weather, but there are always local birds to shoot if you go looking.

For example in southern MN we had 10-13 inches of rain days before the season, and the hunting in the sloughs was slow. If you were lucky enough to find a flooded field of corn, you could shoot a limit of birds in 10 min. I even shoot limits of woodducks out of flooded 7 foot tall standing corn, definately a first.

For two or three guys, shooting 15- 20 birds a weekend isn't too unheard of even during poor years like this, you may have to hunt 8 or 9 hrs a day, but if you enjoy it, great. Sure we may not have got to enjoy the flocks of 100-200 mallards working the decoys, flock after flock for the last 4 weeks, but that's hunting.

If you did get into them somewhere in the state, as a fellow waterfowler I think thats great and I wish I was there too.

I just get a little sick of people jumping on others that love hunting, and making them out to be the bad guys. If some are so concerned about the population, buy a license and support DU, but go shoot trap on Sat and Sun. For me, as long as the season is open, I'll be out chasing the ducks and geese without a guilty conscience.