# Minnesota Duck Hunting



## tilley (Jul 28, 2011)

It looks like Minnesota will be the hot spot for this coming season. According to a guy by the name of Steve Cordts,who is a waterfowl"specialist" with the all knowing DNR,he is guaranteeing that if you are out you will at least see a duck,not necessarily shoot one,see any to shoot at, or see more than one, but for sure one!!. That is pretty damn good if you ask me. Now Brad Nylin,who heads up the Minnesota Waterfowl Association will not go quite that far and remembering that it is Minnesota and there are purportedly record numbers of birds,will not guarantee that you will see anything much less shoot any. I like this guy Cordts,he's a leader, a maverick sort a guy and has got some kahonies. Imagine going out on a Minnesota opener and actually seeing a duck!!. And you guys say Minnesota duck hunting isn't as good as it used to be. Obviously those guys back in the 50's and 60's didn't have a clue about good duck hunting,besides they didn' have any spinners,trailers and had the wrong camo. These are the"good ole day" Thanks Steve,cant wait to go but I may have to re arrange my sock drawer instead.


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## sabo38 (Sep 15, 2010)

So you're saying there's a chance!-Dumb and Dumber


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## dakotashooter2 (Oct 31, 2003)

Everyone knows if you are hunting in MN you won't see any ducks......You have to be fishing to see ducks........... Fishing rods make the best decoys.......... oke:


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## striped1 (Aug 17, 2005)

Duck hunting is dying in MN. The DNR is clueless to save it. 
1. Lose the youth hunt. Just take you damn kid hunting on opening day
2. Allow spinners without limitation
3. Start early goose 3 weeks earlier
4. Don't add any additional restrictions to the limit over what the feds allow. 
5. allow boat hunting w/o being fully contained in vegetation.


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## tilley (Jul 28, 2011)

Striped1
I totally agree with you as far as the youth hunt. It is a total joke and I have said for years like you,just take the damn kid with you on opener the way every other kid learned to hunt for generations.
As for your other points I disagree totally. You sound as if you want to just make it easier to somehow kill the last 6 ducks remaining in Minnesota. This early goose season has become a bit of a joke in places as well. The original intent was to lower high resident goose populations that were causing damage..mission accomplished to the point in places there are virtually no geese anymore and the early goose season remains. 3 weeks earlier and some would still be flightless but I spose that you make it easier for you to get some.
Minnesota's main problem with ducks is very simple..Way overbuilt too damn many people and the traditional duck zone in most of the state is a biological desert,drained,tiled,farmed fence row to fence row,woodland lakes devoid of duck food(freshwater srimp,scuds etc) thanks to unmitigated minnow dealers,trappers etc. I am here to tell you that with the type of gutless ,no nothing leaders that are the DNR today..it is not coming back period. They are more concerned with bike trails and going to training meetings.


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## deacon (Sep 12, 2003)

I like youth hunt but go to ND because MN has no ducks! :******:

Land conservation has to be long term goal. DNR and Feds need to use duck stamp funds to acquire land and restore. Short term solutions are just that short term.


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## Mike Kortum (Aug 26, 2011)

striped1 said:


> Duck hunting is dying in MN. The DNR is clueless to save it.
> 1. Lose the youth hunt. Just take you damn kid hunting on opening day
> 2. Allow spinners without limitation
> 3. Start early goose 3 weeks earlier
> ...


1. Agree 100%
2. Sure. If someone is so bad at hunting ducks they need a spinner that bad, I doubt they are going to shoot very many even with it.
3. Why? What would that do? Like was mentioned, shouldn't even have it some places. What should be started three weeks earlier is duck season!!! Give the state that raises the ducks a chance to shoot them before they are pushed south by 3 weeks of early goose hunters on water, youth day, and the fact that bw teal's peak migration is weeks prior to the current opening day.
4. Not going to do one thing to get more hunters back.
5. Yeah, sure, and have absolutely no ducks left in the state anywhere.

I'm not so sure its the DNR that is clueless. I think its a lot of the hunters in the state sometimes.


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## striped1 (Aug 17, 2005)

talk to the farmers who lose wheat and other grains to flocks of resident geese. By the time we get a crack at them, they have done all the damage they can do to the farmers crops. The season should be starting as the grain is being harvested.

You are right. Every thing in MN is tiled and drained. That is the number one problem. But the DNR for the last few years has been intent on sending more ducks south through smaller limits and other rules. Those ducks don't come back. It just means there are more ducks to kill in IA and KS, MO and TX.


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## Chuck Smith (Feb 22, 2005)

Another thing people are not realizing is one of the best resources for ducks is the Mississippi River. They are finally doing some draw downs to help get the natural veg. back....or duck food. They also need to plant more rice on the Mighty Mississippi. All of this will help keep ducks around.

The field hunting that you can experience in other states won't happen here until we get our wetlands back. The thing with the Dakota's is they have been really wet for the past 20 years. This means a duck factory along with the available food in the grains. 
MN is starting to get some of this stuff straightened around....but not fast enough.


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## DUCKWHISPERER (Aug 20, 2009)

All Valid points. I like getting a few more Teal & Woodies...but would prefer a split season. It seems like here in MN when the Migration is at it's Peak the Season has been closed for a week or so.


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## Drakesonly (Sep 26, 2011)

Minnesota has supposedly raised a high number of ducks this year. this is a great thing. As a duck hunter I would like a chance
to get a shot at them. With the early goose season hunters can shoot over water three weeks before the opener. Sure the
goose hunters can't shoot ducks, but where I hunt a lot of goose hunters jump shoot geese. What this means is, if there is one
goose and a hundred ducks on a slough that one goose is going to be shot at and 100 ducks are going to be scared off. Then
there is the youth opener, shooting at ducks two weeks early. We should make the opener the opener,let the kids hunt free
that day. The few ducks we raise in MN we all need a fair chance to get a shot at them. If the DNR is concerned with hunters
having good hunting experiances then let us have a chance to shoot at the ducks our licences help pay for.


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## Chuck Smith (Feb 22, 2005)

Duck.... that is the hardest part with MN. The state is so long....think of it. It is as long as ND & SD. So to appease the whole state with only 60 days of hunting is hard. Because the divers are around in the north for a long part of the season where the boys in the south get teal, woodies and locals. Then like you mentioned....season over when the push comes. This year they have a decent idea with the split season. But only closing it for a week is not going to be long enough unless weather co-operates.

They need to do a split season....ie north gets 30 days....south gets 30 days....with 15 days that over lap for the two....ie north zone opens 15 days sooner than the south. If the feds would allow that?


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## DUCKWHISPERER (Aug 20, 2009)

I too think they should not let you hunt water for early season Goose. This would help keep Local Duck #'s up & force the roost busters back to land. I am completely on board for a split season as Chuck mentioned...mainly would like to hunt Ducks well in to December not the end of November :eyeroll:


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## PJ (Oct 1, 2002)

DUCKWHISPERER said:


> All Valid points. I like getting a few more Teal & Woodies...but would prefer a split season. It seems like here in MN when the Migration is at it's Peak the Season has been closed for a week or so.


MN does have a split now and it's about time. Until this season we were the only State in the Mississppi Flyway without a split. Sunrise opener and a week early also was nice.










Four man limit taken in Central MN. Done by 8:05 am. 5 mallards, 9 bluewings, 9 wood ducks and a spoonie. (the ninth teal is missing from the pic beacause it was left on accident in my freinds game bag)


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## DUCKWHISPERER (Aug 20, 2009)

Nice Shoot & Bonus Spoonie...All I'm saying is that I wish it were to stay open longer than the 27th of Nov. Thats usually when we get the Main Push. It was nice to get out & Shoot Ducks a little earlier, but a split season not a partial split( ie.. 1 week shut down). I'm guessing it will change again next year, Hopefully not the Sunrise shoot, that needed to change a long time ago. :beer:


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## Buck25 (Mar 27, 2008)

DUCKWHISPERER said:


> Nice Shoot & Bonus Spoonie...All I'm saying is that I wish it were to stay open longer than the 27th of Nov. Thats usually when we get the Main Push. It was nice to get out & Shoot Ducks a little earlier, but a split season not a partial split( ie.. 1 week shut down). I'm guessing it will change again next year, Hopefully not the Sunrise shoot, that needed to change a long time ago. :beer:


X2 the most mallards i see is after the season is closed for the year


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