Minnesota Waterfowl Hunting

Anyone else seeing what appear to be a fair amount of molt migrant geese arriving early?

^^^ I haven't seen any bona fide molts yet (high, big flocks using N or NW winds) that I do in late Sept.

I have seen a bunch of waterfowl moving though in general. Lots of geese bouncing around. Ducks also.

Ive been watching a family of mallards all summer on a tiny cattle pond between my house and town. All summer without fail they've been there. Last week they we're joined by about 20 teal.... for no rhyme or reason. Hadn't saw a teal all summer until that point.

I only really have been seeing YOY flights in the morning and evening.

Teal are starting to push in.

With the rain from the last few days and then saying more on the way there should be some hot teal hunting and duck hunting coming with them shallow wetlands that were dry but now are going to be having under a foot of water in them. Duck food everywhere.

Sent from my moto g power (XT2041DL) using Tapatalk

Been a ton of geese flying mornings and afternoons around me. Too bad we don't really have an early season spot anymore

I've actually had the geese go non-existent. I'm honestly wondering if they're hanging out in all the rice and not moving.

That is the one downfall of a lot of rice. Your local fowl have a spot with food, water, and shelter. They can roost where they eat and not leave....just sit there all day 24/7 getting fat as fukc until something finally pushes them out.....if it's not human, avian, or other predators then ice, unless they eat themselves out of food first.

Have not scouted for geese yet. Not seeing much around home but I don’t live in a goosey area. Did not see much where I teal hunted. Could have shot a couple off my beech. If I catch em shitting on my lawn they’ll be in danger

Waiting on the farmer I have permission to hunt to cut the corn and plant winter rye. Last I talked to him it sounded like that would be done by about now. Maybe check it out next week some day after work. Usually he has barley cut but it was a waste due to the drought so he disked it early and is planting winter rye in hopes of getting an early spring crop to cut for his cows. Anybody ever hunt winter rye? I’m assuming geese will be after the fresh sprouts. I’ve only hunted winter wheat.

I'll be honest, I had to Google "Winter Rye" just to make sure I didn't make myself look like a total dipshit trying to talk about it. You're literally the first person I've ever heard mention "Winter Rye" in my entire life.

I'm actually impressed in being right with my guess that it was the same grains/seeds that can get stuck in your teeth when eating a Reuben.

I've got to imagine that any cereal grain geese are going to love.

Especially....Especially.....when that cereal grain is being planted on top of what I believe is the absolute best.

If I had land....I'd be growing barley. If I had five acres? One or two acres minimum would be barley. If I had forty acres? I'd have ten minimum in barley. If I could wind some fields throughout the property I'd do twenty or even thirty. Keep in mind I'm talking about land in East Central MN where I'd almost for sure be converting timber stands to barley fields.


Homey, you had me at "disced under barley field."

The farmer planting winter rye over it is just the icing on the cake.

I'm calling it now in you having one of your best years hunting this land with what you've described....got a really good hunch feeling on this one.

It was the first time I had heard of it too. I assumed he’d want me to stay out of it but he said I am welcome to go in to it to kill every god damned turkey, goose and crane. Told him I probably can’t help with cranes.

Sounds like he has been doing a number on the turkeys already. They pick open his wrapped bales which causes them to rot. Don’t mess with a farmers cow food.

He’s got the only corn in 50 miles in any direction. He said it loads up within a week of cutting it. Last year he only had a little field in corn but this year he has several fields. Hopefully there is a lot of goose jerky in my future this fall.

Nershi wrote:It was the first time I had heard of it too. I assumed he’d want me to stay out of it but he said I am welcome to go in to it to kill every god damned turkey, goose and crane. Told him I probably can’t help with cranes.

Sounds like he has been doing a number on the turkeys already. They pick open his wrapped bales which causes them to rot. Don’t mess with a farmers cow food.

He’s got the only corn in 50 miles in any direction. He said it loads up within a week of cutting it. Last year he only had a little field in corn but this year he has several fields. Hopefully there is a lot of goose jerky in my future this fall.

I once knew a rancher out Dakota way that would let us hunt turkeys as long as we killed every last one we saw, which we saw a lot but only ever shot a couple....and had tags for them, were legal, etc.

The turkeys liked to stand/roost on top of his bales, and once they shit on it the cattle wouldn't eat it. The way he explained it to us was that it didn't take much turkey shit on a bale for him to lose a third to half of it.