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Minnesota Waterfowl Migration Report
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| Weekend Weather Forecast: |
Highs: In central Minnesota expect highs in the mid to upper 20’s through the weekend.
Lows: Low temps will be in the low to mid teens each night.
Precipitation: Skies will be partly cloudy through the weekend with no precipitation in the forecast. |
| N.W.R. Activity: |
Big Stone NWR: Reported that as of December 3, 2009 the regular fall waterfowl hunting season is now closed in the area. They reported that as of the final day of the season they were holding 12,000 Canada geese and 19,000 ducks on the refuge. They also stated that there is still open water on the refuge but they expect that will be frozen over by this weekend. They felt that overall the waterfowl season this year was down from past years due to the fact that the birds did not arrive until late in the season.
Lac Qui Parle Refuge: Reported that as of December 3, 2009 the Canada goose hunting season in the West Central Zone is now closed for the year and the refuge is now open to pheasant hunters. On their last official survey there were just over 44,000 Canada geese on the refuge. Since then there have been a few new birds that have moved into the area but no big numbers.
Upper Mississippi River Valley NWR: Reports that as of November 30, 2009 Pools 7 – 9 were holding 36,765 puddle ducks and 148,360 diver ducks. Of those the majority consisted of 105,095 canvasbacks, 19,240 scaup, 11,980 golden eyes and 18,480 mallards as well as 12,650 gadwalls. There were also 7,270 Canada geese. |
| Reports From The Field: |
Phil Schmidt of Goosebusters Guide Service (612-325-9746) guides out of the western suburbs in the Twin City area. Phil reported that they ended the duck season with a bang taking 15 mallards and two geese earlier this week. He also noted that he has heard from many hunters and guides around the state that this has been a down year for duck hunting however he took 50 more ducks than they have ever shot in one season this year. Phil also noted that they saw a big migration of Canada geese over the Thanksgiving weekend and the goose hunting around the west metro continues to be very productive.
Matt Kostka of Top Gun Guide Service (507- 696-0208) guides out of Rochester, MN. Matt stated that the Canada goose hunting has been a little tough lately. He said that the hunting has been decent on cloudy days and they are getting new birds moving into the area daily now so he is hoping that the rest of the late season hunting will be good. Matt had heard an estimate of around 28,000 geese in the Rochester area right now but he is not sure how accurate that count is.
Adam Johnson of First Flight Finishers (651-442-7259) guides out of the Twin City Metro area. Adam said that the duck season ended on a down note this year as they did not see any ducks the last few days of the season when they normally have a few thousand mallards in those traditional areas. Overall Adam felt that although they did well on puddle ducks early in the season again overall it was a down year for Minnesota duck hunting around the metro area. Adam did note that there are more Canada geese around right now than normal and they have been having excellent success throughout the season for geese. Adam is looking forward to the last few weeks of the goose hunting in Minnesota!
Chuck Ellingson of the Watson Hunting Camp (952-484-8717) is based out of Watson, Minnesota near the Lac Qui Parle Refuge. Chuck said that with the mind weather this fall the refuge is still not holding the numbers of geese that are normally there by the end of October. Check feels that this was one of their tougher years overall due to the lack of birds in the area but they still did well once the crops came down in his area. Chuck also noted that the duck hunting in western Minnesota was good at times but overall, was a tough season.
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Iowa Waterfowl Migration Report
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| Weekend Weather Forecast: |
Highs: In central Iowa expect a high of 27 degrees on Friday, then jumping up to 36 fro Saturday before dropping back down to 29 degrees for Sunday.
Lows: After a low temp of 14 degrees on Friday night, expect lows in the mod 20’s through the rest of the weekend.
Precipitation: Skies will be partly cloudy on Friday and Saturday with a 30% chance of snow flurries on Sunday. |
| Refuge Activity: |
The most current data available as of November 25, 2009, shows the following survey counts for their respective areas:
Spirit Lake Area: 12,000 Canada geese and 1,100 ducks of which there were 93% mallards, 0% other dabblers and 7% divers.
Big Marsh Area: 4,000 Canada geese and 2,000 ducks of which there are 52% mallards, 47% other dabbler ducks and 1% diver ducks.
Sweet Marsh Management Area: 3,400 Canada geese and 3,800 ducks of which there are 58% mallards, 28% other puddle ducks and 14% divers.
Otter Creek Management Area: 400 Canada geese and 3,900 ducks of which there are 64% mallards, 28% other puddle ducks and 8% diver ducks.
Red Rock Management Area: 1,200 Canada geese and 30,100 ducks of which there are 93% mallards, 3% other puddle ducks and 3% diver ducks.
Odessa Management Area: 1,200 Canada geese and 64,900 ducks of which there are 80% mallards, 16% other puddle ducks and 4% diver ducks.
Green Island: 2,600 Canada geese and 4,900 ducks of which there are 62% Mallard 37% puddle ducks and 1% diver ducks.
Riverton: 200 Canada geese and 47,000 ducks of which there are 89% mallards, 6% other puddle ducks and 5% diver ducks. |
| Reports From The Field: |
Blake Schoh of Wings Over Water Outfitters (563.419.7546) guides near Lancaster Iowa on the Mississippi River. Blake said this has been a very tough year overall for duck hunting on the river. Blake noted that this past week they finally started getting a few more mallards and canvasbacks but before that, with the warm conditions all fall, the duck hunting was slow at best.
Shawn Eldredge of Prairies Edge (515-321-4667) runs his camp out of the Des Moines area. Shawn stated that his guides have had excellent Canada goose hunting in the area this past week. They are seeing new geese moving into the area all week but not a lot of mallards around yet.
Field Reporter Scott McLelland stated that this week things are looking up. He feels that the hunting has gotten a lot better each day after Thanksgiving. He also saw a lot of new Mallards and was able to shoot many. He still has not seen many geese yet though, but is sure it will pick up soon. Scott’s only real concern now is that will everything freeze up with the cold weather predicted.
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North Dakota Waterfowl Migration Report
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| Weekend Weather Forecast: |
Highs: In central North Dakota expect highs in the mid teens through the weekend.
Lows: Low temps will be right at 0 degrees each night.
Precipitation: Skies will be partly cloudy on Friday and Saturday with a 20% chance of snow flurries on Sunday. |
| N.W.R. Activity: |
Lake Alice NWR / Devils Lake Wetland Dist: Reported that as of December 3, 2009 although there is still a little open water on the big lake, most all of the waterfowl have vacated the area for the year. They stated that there may be a divers left but no huntable numbers and what is left of the few snow geese still hanging around the area are moving out quick.
Tewaukon NWR: Reported that as of December 3, 2009 they do not have too much for waterfowl left in the area. They stated that although they do have open water on some of the big lakes, it is getting really cold now and as soon as they have a no wind night everything should completely freeze over for the year. They did say there were some decent numbers of snow geese still around earlier in the week but they have not seen anything in the last couple days. They also stated that they have not seen any big numbers of ducks in the area for some time now and there may be a few greater Canada geese still around with the open water, but they couldn’t say for sure. |
| Reports From The Field: |
Kyle Blanchfield of Northern Flight Guide Service (701-662-5996) is stationed out of Devils Lake, ND. Woodland Resort where Kyle guides out of reported that there are few Canada geese in the area, but with the recent cold and snow the only thing really not frozen are the large bodies of water.
Brad Finneman of Honker Down Guide Service (701.674.3304) guides out of McHenry North Dakota. Brad said that the season this fall contiued to get better and better until the end. Brad has now concluded his 2009 season.
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South Dakota Waterfowl Migration Report
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| Weekend Weather Forecast: |
Highs: In central South Dakota expect highs in the low to mid 20’s through the weekend.
Lows: Low temps will be in the single digits each night through the weekend.
Precipitation: Skies will be partly cloudy on Friday and Saturday with a 20% chance of snow flurries on Sunday. |
| N.W.R. Activity: |
| Sand Lake NWR: Reports that as of December 2, 2009 they have seen the snow goose numbers began to drop on Sand Lake the last two days. There are currently 2200 Canada geese, 100,000 snow geese, 40,000 ducks, and 900 tundra swans on the refuge. The pools on Sand Lake have been iced over the last two mornings. They opened back up with the wind on Tuesday December 1st, but it looks like they may remain iced over today. There are still some small, open-water areas remaining. Low temperatures are predicted in the low teens tonight and into the single digits the next few nights. Most of the smaller wetlands in the area surrounding the refuge are frozen over, but mallards are still using some of them in the soybean and corn fields. The corn harvest is continuing, but there are still quite a few fields of standing corn in the area. |
| Reports From The Field: |
Bruce Prins of Prairie Sky Ranch (605-738-2411) is located in the NE corner of the state near Sisseton, SD. Bruce reported that there are still a lot of mallards and Canada geese in the area. Bruce noted that this is as late as they have ever had these kinds of numbers of ducks in the area that he can remember.
Josh Kiesow of Outdoor Adrenaline (605-262-0802) is located out of the north east region of the state near Aberdeen. Josh said he’s seeing tons of birds in the area. They are primarily mallards and snow geese. There are only a few small pockets of Canada’s left in the area.
Hunters in the Aberdeen area stated that this past week there were more mallards than they have ever seen there before. They said that with the standing corn and flooded fields they couldn’t shoot their ducks fast enough. They also reported seeing huge concentrations of snow geese in the area as well but were not geared up to hunt snows.
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Wisconsin Waterfowl Migration Report
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| Weekend Weather Forecast: |
Highs: In central Wisconsin expect highs in the low to mid 30’s through the weekend.
Lows: Low temps will be in the low 20’s through the weekend.
Precipitation: Skies will be partly cloudy on Friday and Saturday with a 30% chance of snow flurries on Sunday. |
| N.W.R. Activity: |
Horicon NWR: Reported that as of December 2, 2009 they were still holding 125,000 Canada geese. This was down 50,000 from the last survey conducted 2 weeks ago. They also noted that the ducks numbers over the last 2 weeks dropped considerably down to 5,000 at this time. The majority of the ducks remaining were mallards and shovelors. There were also a few green wing teal, pintails and gadwalls left as well. Although normally at this time of year the refuge is frozen over, due to the mild area temps, there is no ice on the refuge at this time.
Trempealeau NWR: Reported that as of November 30, 2009 they were holding 745 puddle ducks, 1,550 diver ducks and 800 Canada geese. Of those ducks they were holding 485 golden eyes, 645 ring neck ducks, 400 mallards and 276 gadwalls
Upper Mississippi River Valley NWR: Reports that as of November 30, 2009 Pools 7 – 9 were holding 36,765 puddle ducks and 148,360 diver ducks. Of those the majority consisted of 105,095 canvasbacks, 19,240 scaup, 11,980 golden eyes and 18,480 mallards as well as 12,650 gadwalls. There were also 7,270 Canada geese. |
| Reports From The Field: |
Todd Lensing of Flyway Fowling Guide Service (608-734-3235) guides on Pool 9 on the Mississippi River near Ferryville, WI. Todd stated that the mallard hunting on the river has finally picked up this week but the diver duck hunting has been really tough all season. Overall Todd felt that this has been his hardest season of guiding on the river since he started.
Robb Kaminskis (262-497-4954) of Beavercreek Outfitting near Racine, WI (eastern, WI). Robb reported that the duck hunting in the area has been very tough all fall. At this point Robb hasn’t seen much of any northern mallards in the area to speak of at all. Robb also noted that he feels the Canada goose hunting in his immediate area has been below average as well due to the late crop harvest. Robb feels that most of the migrants have moved on south and all they have at this point are some wary local Canada geese. Robb is hoping that with the crops now out, they will have a late season push of new birds into the area before the goose hunting ends for the year.
Mike Thun of Big Water Outdoors (920.377.0929) guides on Lake Michigan and Green Bay. Mike reported that they are still seeing good numbers of Old Squaws on Lake Michigan but the Scoter numbers are down a little bit. On the bay they are seeing good numbers of mallards, golden eyes and buffleheads this week. Mike also noted that they had a nice little push of new Canada geese into the area as well. Overall Mike felt that although the Old Squaw numbers were good this year and the scaup numbers were good on the bay, the rest of the diver duck hunting was marginal. His hunters had very good success throughout the season but they had to work for it at times.
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Missouri Waterfowl Migration Report
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| Weekend Weather Forecast: |
Highs: In northwestern Missouri expect a high of 31 degrees on Friday and Sunday with a jump up to 40 for a high on Saturday.
Lows: Low temps will be in the low 20’s each night with a chance of hitting 16 degrees on Friday night.
Precipitation: Skies will be partly cloudy on Friday and Saturday with a 30% chance of snow flurries on Sunday. |
| N.W.R. Activity: |
Squaw Creek NWR: As of November 30, 2009 they reported holding 1,217 Canada geese and 0 Snow geese this week. They were also holding 77,400 ducks. Of those there were 63% mallards and 16% ring neck ducks and 10% gadwalls.
Swan Lake NWR: As of November 23, 2009 they were holding 89 Canada geese and 5,500 snow geese. They were also holding 91,323 ducks. Of those ducks there were 66% mallards, 9% gadwalls and 9% pintails.
Grand Pass Conservation Area: As of November 30, 2009 they were holding 85,000 ducks. Of those, the majority of the ducks included 65% mallards and 15% teal. There are no Canada geese or Snow geese reported at this time.
Bob Brown Conservation Area: As of November 30, 2009 they reported holding 43,265 ducks. Of those ducks the majority included 77% mallards and 8% pintails. There were no geese reported at that time.
Nodaway Conservation Area: As of November 30, 2009 they reported holding 24,750 ducks. Of those ducks there were 50% mallards, 20% widgeon and 15 gadwalls. There were also 5,000 snow geese as well
Four Rivers Conservation Area: As of November 30, 2009 reported holding 52,530 ducks. Of those there were 60% mallards and 20% teal. There were also 40 Canada goose.
Schell-Osage Conservation Area: As of November 30, 2009 reported holding 200 Canada geese and 5,000 snow geese. They were also holding 19,500 ducks. Of those ducks the majority included 43% mallards 30% gadwalls and 15% pintails. |
| Reports From The Field: |
Dan Guyer of Iron Duck Hunting (816.210.3969) guides around the Smithville reservoir and Squaw Creek NWR. Dan reports that this past week he feels that although the waterfowl hunting around squaw Creek NWR continues to be great, they have lost a good chunk of the mallards in the area. Dan said that currently they are covered up with snow geese and mallards as well as a good number of Canada geese but there are not many little ducks left in the area at this point and it is getting cold right now!
Shawn Eldredge of Prairies Edge (515-321-4667) guides near the Squaw Creek NWR. Shawn stated that this week the snow goose and mallard hunting has really picked up. He noted that ever since the last week of October they have had good concentrations of waterfowl in the area but things have really picked up this week. Most evident were the big concentrations of snows and blues as well as mallards right now and they are picking up new Canadas into the area each day now. Shawn did note that most of the specklebellys have moved out of the area recently though.
Johnny Porter of Webfoot Guide Service (870.634.6661) guides near Stockton, Missouri in the southern region of the state. Johnny reports they are seeing numbers of mallards increasing and Canada geese are even starting to get abundant now. His hunts have been spectacular recently and expects it to continue into the near future.
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Nebraska Waterfowl Migration Report
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| Weekend Weather Forecast: |
Highs: In southeastern Nebraska expect a high of 30 degrees on Friday and Sunday with a jump up to 41 for a high on Saturday.
Lows: Low temps will be in the upper teens each night through the weekend.
Precipitation: Skies will be partly cloudy on Friday and Saturday with a 50% chance of snow flurries on Sunday. |
| N.W.R. Activity: |
| Kearney GFP Office: Reported that as of December 3, 2009 the waterfowl hunting in the rainwater basin continues to be tough. They noted that they have seen some big flocks of migrating Canada geese moving through the area this week. But the only good duck hunting to speak of has been in the western side of the state. They also stated that there has been some decent Canada goose hunting on the Platte river recently but as for the Se region of the state they are worried that everything will be froze over after the weekend. |
| Reports From The Field: |
Larry Frimann (402-660-1220) of Black Goose Outfitters near Valentine, NE reports they had slow week, but they expect a pretty good push of birds this week with the expected forecast. His best hunts this week were for Canada Geese.
Kalend McCurdy (402-615-2210) of Midwest Migrators in East Central Nebraska says they are getting some goods numbers of Canada Geese and mallards on the river and he expects it to really continue to pick up this week.
Jason Randolph (435.901.3825) of JJ’s Central Flyway Guide Service is based out of in Western NE / Wyoming. Jason reports he is in SE Nebraska working on Snow goose leases for spring, but back in his normal hunting areas mallards showed up in force and the Canada geese are also showing up in steadily as well. His peak waterfowling in still yet to come and they have solid goose hunting into February.
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Manitoba Waterfowl Migration Report
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| Weekend Weather Forecast: |
Highs: In southern Manitoba expect highs in the mid to upper teens through the weekend.
Lows: Low temps will reach 3 degrees each night through the weekend.
Precipitation: Skies will be overcast on Friday and then clear and sunny for the duration of the weekend. |
| C.W.S. Reports |
| Brandon Field Office: Reported that as of December 3, 2009, everything is frozen over now and they have about 5 – 8 inches of snow on the ground. They reported that there still may be a few Canada geese around if they can find some open water some where but for the most part all waterfowl have moved through the area for the year at this point. |
| Reports From The Field: |
Craig Henry of Ace Woodlands Guiding (204-795-9191) is based out of Oak Hammock Marsh near Winnipeg, MB. Craig closed his duck season this last week and he could honestly say he’s never had this good of a year waterfowling in Manitoba EVER! One local said they had never seen bird numbers like this in over 40 years. Craig’s local areas are about froze up and as of about Sunday his bird’s moved south for the year in good numbers.
Scott Barmby (240-372-1864) of Blackduck Outfitters on Delta Marsh area reports that he is done outfitting in Manitoba for the year and is now focusing on his operation in Maryland. Overall they experience very good hunting this season on ducks but the goose hunts were quite dismal compared to past years.
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Saskatchewan Waterfowl Migration Report
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| Weekend Weather Forecast: |
Highs: In southern Saskatchewan high temps for the weekend will drop from 19 degrees on Friday, down to 12 degrees by Sunday.
Lows: Low temps will be at around 0 or just below 0 each night through the weekend.
Precipitation: Skies will be overcast through the weekend with no precipitation in the forecast. |
| C.W.S. Reports |
Weyburn Field Office: Reported that as of December 3, 2009 they have been completely frozen over now for about a week and most all of any species of waterfowl has moved south. They stated that there may be a few Canada geese and mallards still hanging around near the border on some of the big water that might still be open but that is about all they have heard for any waterfowl left in the province.
Wadena Field Office: Reported that as of December 3, 2009, they are almost completely frozen up now. They still have seen some flocks of swans and a few Canada geese still around but the highs for the next few days is 10 below and getting down to 20 below at night. After this weekend they feel everything will be completely gone for the year.
Last Mountain Lake Field Office: Reported that as of November 25, 2009 they are still holding some decent numbers of Canada geese in the area. They also noted that they have seen a few nice sized flocks of snow geese in the area this week as well but not much as far as any ducks left around. They also noted that all of the smaller lakes and sloughs in the area are now frozen over but the big lake is still wide open and they feel they will still have birds around until that freezes up. |
| Reports From The Field: |
Ryan Marsh of RJM Outfitters (306.961.6926) guides in the Quill Lakes Region. Ryan reported this week that most all of the snow geese and ducks have vacated this region of the province but they still have a few late season Canada geese hanging around. Ryan is not sure how much longer they will be around with the cold evening temps now though.
Mike Franklin of Prairie Adventures (509-967-2303) guides out of south western Saskatchewan. Mike stated he’s back in WA for the rest of the year, but before he left, he got into a lot of snow geese including a lot of juvenile blues, and a lot of White fronted Geese including up to 50% young birds as well. Ducks and Canada numbers were slim in the area.
Cory McLachlan (866-453-9270) of Highland Outfitters guides near Outlook, Saskatchewan. Cory had his last hunt for the 2009 season and reports duck populations had been a little thin overall for them this year, but Canada Geese were very abundant.
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