Deer season looms ahead
A lot has been happening in the past few weeks regarding hunting seasons, as opening day of deer season approaches fast.
Minnesota’s opening day is Saturday and North Dakota will start a week from today at noon.
Pheasant reports from across the tri-state area are excellent. The St. Cloud area is having a record season.
If you enjoy the central Minnesota region, we recommend getting out there and chasing some of these birds.
At this point in the season, all of the young and unwise pheasants are gone, and the rest of them have been well educated.
Be more cautious when entering the field. Don’t slam your doors when you arrive or let your dogs bark before you get out there.
Pheasants have great hearing and now that they know they are being hunted, you can bet that as soon as they hear you they are on the run and won’t stop for a long time.
Take your time when you are not using a dog. This means stopping every 10 steps or so for up to a minute. This pressures the birds and causes them to flush.
If you go too fast, you will walk right by them, sometimes within a few feet. Also, watch the grass in front of you to see pheasants running. Be cautious when doing this though as it may be a skunk or a raccoon.
Last week’s cold blast of air has turned the fall migration into overdrive.
The northern mallards are down and some snow and blue geese have flown as far as South Dakota.
Last week, Highway 2 had thousands of snow geese landing on either side of the road from Devils Lake to Larimore. Come this weekend, I suspect that the geese concentrations should be closer to I-94.
Ice fishing is also approaching fast. Many sloughs are frozen over and will not open up until spring. It might be time to brush up on tactics and get in on what the new big thing is.
For that, Fargo-Moorhead Walleyes Unlimited has a seminar planned for Nov. 30.
Dave Genz, an ice fishing legend, will discuss new technologies, tactics and equipment for ice fishing. The event will take place at 7 p.m. at the Doublewood Inn.
Till next time shoot straight, and keep your lines tight.