Weekend Expectations

[schr0563]

I've watched reports closely this week. It sounded like major activity occured last Saturday and Sunday with substatially fewer birds around the remainder of this week. Much of the water in SD, ND, and Canada is frozen with very few birds being spotted.

So does this mean that this weekend will be a bust?

Over the last three weekends I've gotten a combined 1 duck. All along I've expected things to improve as the season closes. The last two years were great right up thru the end of November. Will this year be different? Is it over for the year???

[jeepguy]

Not by any means, I have been out a lot in the last week. Last saturday morning we saw a ton of ducks, we managed to drop some nice ring bills, they were foresure migrators, nice and fat. I went out the last two nights by myself and dropped a few, but missed out on some big ole' mallards (another gun and set of eyes would of helped). A couple of the guys I hutn with are off work today and said that there were a lot of ducks flying this morning where they were. I think that there was a push this week and this warm weather may keep them around for the weekend, the next cold snap will re-freeze everything and they will be gonzo.

[Jordyn Kaufer]

hopefully the hunting will be pretty good!!

Going this weekend and will tell to how it goes

[kobear]

I just got back from ND 11/11 & 11/12. Only water open was Devils Lake and Stump Lake main bays with not the numbers of birds you would expect. I saw maybe 100 mallards total up there, a few hundred geese, and a few hundred divers. The Sheyenne River was open but again almost no ducks, one flock of 40 mallards. Saw some open water around Jamestown and shot some birds there. Don't expect any new birds from ND it's over, over there. Heard Winnipeg is icing up, sounds like MN got flown over again. Still a few birds around so get out after'em I don't think it's gonna get better before it freezes.

[jeepguy]

Yeah this might be the last weekend for decent hunting. I am confident from what I have been seeing the last two days out on the water that we did get some of the migration and some of these birds will be here until everything freezes up. I am looking forward to one more good duck hunt this season, then a late season goose hunt in Rochester, then its ice fishing time. I can sit in my fish house and dream about next years waterfowl season.

[Scott Stein]

ive been hearing complete opposite ive heard nodak guys have hardly hunted any canadian ducks or geese yet heard it from 3 guys and 2 were just in nodak hunting by devils lake

[kc0myy]

i went out this moring and saw maybe 100 divers on clearwater (near Annandale). I did not shoot anything to day. I am laid off from work (luckey me). so I have been hunting alot for the pass few weeks. I keep seeing the same amount of birds everyday. I think in like 2 weeks like things around here start freezing it should start to get better. well at least hope.

[winniewalleye777]

if you can find open water, you will find birds. All of the sloughs in SW minnesota are locked up if they are 1-2 ft. deep. Went out this morning and stepped on an inch of ice... not real happy. Drove around and found a lake with a 50/50 yd opening in the middle that was loaded with big mallards and geese.

[Scott Stein]

was out on swan today from 1 to 5 seen pretty good numbers of ducks pry 150-200 all afternoon trying it again tomorrow.....there was ice in the channels this afternoon

[cat-man]

This morning was the slowest so far this week for me no birds at all only seen 6 mallards. I can't tell if we are on the front or the back of the migrating mallards.

[jeepguy]

This morning we went to a spot that produced some decent #'s of mallards yesterday, but today we only managed 2 goldy's and a goose. We saw a lot of swans migrating so that may help in determining what stage the migration may be in. Although there seems to be alot of geese, the goose we had this morning was on a scuicide mission, the darn thing locked up and came right to the decoys (3 mojos and all). We will be out this week again, hopefully we see some more birds or it is time to start thinking about ice fishing.

[mnwaterfowler13]

Out in ND, main lakes continue to be at least partially open and filled with TONS of birds- snows, blues, canadas, and ducks(divers and puddlers. if you can get on a good field it would be crazy with the amounts of birds that i saw out there today while upland bird hunting