It's easy to see how wet it is in the grouse woods even through the lense of a poor quality camera phone.
Minnesota's ruffed grouse hunting season is still three weeks away, but I couldn't wait any longer. So on Saturday morning, my pup and I headed to the grouse woods of northeastern Minnesota for a scouting look around. What did we find?
1) It's REALLY Wet in the Woods. Trammell, my shorthair, literally went on point when a creek chub startled her from a puddle in the middle of a logging trail. Creeks, streams, swamps, and bogs are all overflowing their normal banks. Every path I took led to wet feet. Plan to wear your knee high rubber boots for the grouse opener unless we experience a significant lack of rain between now and mid September.
2) The Mosquitoes are Hungry. To most of you reading this, the obvious reaction is "Duh!" Well, here's what I was thinking: it was noon on a sunny summer day in the high 80s. It was also incredibly windy. How bad could the blood suckers really be? I got my answer. I'll be hoping for a hard frost in the coming weeks.
3) Not a single bird. That's not really a surprise when you consider I never wandered off the main trails and the ATV traffic was INTENSE.
In any event, I for one am looking forward to Wednesday. Wednesday is September 1st and the door opens to autumn. I understand the ruffed grouse drumming counts to be down in the Great Lakes states this year; however, I've heard excellent reports from friends and family in northern Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Three weeks till ruffed grouse season also means pheasant season is quickly approaching on the horizon. On your mark, get set . . .
