Minnesota's duck hunters are experiencing the midseason doldrums, but the recent cooler weather could prompt an influx of ducks into the state.
"I think we'll see some movement [of ducks] in and out of the state; that's what we've been waiting for,'' said Steve Cordts, Department of Natural Resources waterfowl specialist.
But don't expect a big push of ducks. There is no major cold front forecast in the near term to send large numbers of ducks south from Canada. Meanwhile, hunting has been slow in many areas, but decent in some.
"It's been very good in the northwest at Thief Lake and Roseau River,'' Cordts said. "They were averaging 4.5 ducks per hunter at Rosseau, which is phenomenal.'' Rice Lake National Wildlife Refuge near McGregor is still holding around 200,000 ducks, Cordts said, down from about 300,000 last week. Most of those are ringnecks, which should depart the state soon, Cords said.
Overall, the waterfowl season has been OK, he said. So far, the DNR has sold about 87,000 state duck stamps, about 1,000 more than t this time last year.
Harvest should help
Both deer hunters and pheasant hunters are helped when cornfields are harvested, and after a slow start, that's finally happening.
As of Monday, 41 percent of the corn crop has been harvested, still about 10 days behind average. That percentage should greatly increase by the time the firearms deer season opens Nov. 8.
For pheasant hunters, action should pick up as harvest progresses and birds don't have cornfields for refuge.
