Lower duck limit this year in Minnestoa

[CAnderson]

So this year the limit is 4 here in Minnesota. What does everyone think about this new limit?

I'll be frist to say I'm bummed about it, but I'm also glad, duck populations way down here in minnesota the past 2 years.

So what does everyone eles think?

[cam]

I think as duck hunters we made our fair share of noise this summer about declining duck numbers, and habitat. So in a way it is good to know that someone at the state level was listening. But at the same time, there are much more important issues that need to be delt with if we want the ducks to keep coming back to Minnesota. So basically I am ok with the lower bag limit.

[NickHedDOA8]

I was alittle upset with it at first but the reason i was is because of the one hen mallard limit. Although that is good, it is also terrible for us in northern minnesota. I dont see many mature fully plummaged drakes up here and it is very hard to tell the difference. Many times when i shoot what i think is a hen, when the pup brings it back it is a yearling drake with small specs of green on its head. Our birds up here are very immature, locals anyway. But anyway im done fuming haha, i went out this morning at daylight and saw tons of ducks even shovelers and black ducks. I have never seen this many ducks around here so i think its gonna be a decent year. good luck to all the other minnesota duckers. Oh and also geese were barking all over as well!

Nick

[NickHedDOA8]

Oh and when i say more ducks than i have ever seen around here i mean in the last five years. i am 20 and i have only been really scouting for about 5 years, just so you guys dont get too excited haha. Cuz i have heard stories the hunting used to be phenomenal around these parts.

[Mborrman]

I agree. i am seeing more ducks this year than i have in the past couple years. i live south of minneapolis and the ducks are around but the geese are out of control.

I dont agree with the limit changing to 4. I think that the DNR needs to start doing a little better job of stoping those groups of people who shoot way over the limit. I also think the ducks that come through MN get pounded because of the number of hunters. the mississippi flyway gets pounded in MN

[Matt Whittaker]

Me and Borrman gonna wack them any ways even if we can only shoot 4

[gitrdone]

Yeah I agree it does bum me out to see the limit go down even though it is for a good reason.. I hunt the opener an we usually do pretty good but then I wont hunt till later in the year.. Just seems that the ducks disappear for a couple weeks till a front comes threw.. What Im confused about is everyone else gets there 6 birds except us.. I think its time DU an these other organizations step up to the plate an start doing some work on this state.. If thats the case why have a ralley when nothing comes out of it.. I also think that if they would do something in our state on these lakes we woud see more diver especially Bills.. Alot travel threw this state on there way to nesting grounds.. Theres nothing in these lakes for them to eat the fresh water shrimp are gone thanks to minnow farms.. Thats why they resort to the river an feast on the zerba mussles which is killing them.. if the birds had food in the lakes then they wouldnt have to go to the river.. They need to do something .. I love hunting Bills nothing like having 100 or 200 come busting into you.. I havent seen that in years.. Just hope our state is the next state to get some work done on its wetlands an wetlands, it would be great to see..

[gitrdone]

Yeah I agree it does bum me out to see the limit go down even though it is for a good reason.. I hunt the opener an we usually do pretty good but then I wont hunt till later in the year.. Just seems that the ducks disappear for a couple weeks till a front comes threw.. What Im confused about is everyone else gets there 6 birds except us.. I think its time DU an these other organizations step up to the plate an start doing some work on this state.. If thats the case why have a ralley when nothing comes out of it.. I also think that if they would do something in our state on these lakes we woud see more diver especially Bills.. Alot travel threw this state on there way to nesting grounds.. Theres nothing in these lakes for them to eat the fresh water shrimp are gone thanks to minnow farms.. Thats why they resort to the river an feast on the zerba mussles which is killing them.. if the birds had food in the lakes then they wouldnt have to go to the river.. They need to do something .. I love hunting Bills nothing like having 100 or 200 come busting into you.. I havent seen that in years.. Just hope our state is the next state to get some work done on its lakes an wetlands, it would be great to see..

[duckboy1]

i will stick to my 7 duck limit :cool:

[Hunter4Life]

LOL Duckboy,

I hear we cant use motorized decoys on state land at all this year either, that sux. O well, hopefully this 4 bird bag doesnt last long.

[Hunter4Life]

LOL Duckboy,

I hear we cant use motorized decoys on state land at all this year either, that sux. O well, hopefully this 4 bird bag doesnt last long.

[Matt Hass]

Here in MN we have many problems and a 4 duck limit won't go far to fix it. The good news for us here in MN is Canada nested birds this spring so we have a chance to shoot a few latter this fall on a migration. That is also good news for the mississippi flyway states to our south. My opion is the vast majority of nesting birds have been in the Dakotas and thus use the central flyway. I hunt the Central flyway more than I do the mississippi for that reason. With 2 weeks in Sask. Canada, 2 weeks in N. Dakota, 10 days in S. Dakota and a week each of Nebraska and Oklahoma. I don't even go the Arkansas anymore.

[Mark Brendemuehl]

I don't agree with a 4 bird limit at all. I hunt close to the South Dakota border. It drives us nuts when the Dakotas pound birds with higher limits, longer seasons etc. Half the birds I shoot come off a power plant in South Dakota in the late season. They must be different birds when they hit the border? If every state in the flyway went to a 4 bird limit then maybe I could see it. BUT... the DNR said " WE WILL NOT CHANGE THE LIMIT THIS YEAR" (because, they stated that few hunters REACH the limit, so what good would it do to tell guys who shoot 1.8 ducks per day on an average that they can't shoot 6?) Therefore, lowering the limit doesnt help the population, as hunters rarely hit it anyway, at least according to the DNR.
Rather than lowering the bag limits, which other states are not willing to do with us, they need to improve habitat, control predators, stop the expansion of builing on lakes (something they claim is hurting the population, yet have no answers as to how to control it)
My 2 cents-
Mark

[RyanBarthel]

The 4 duck limit is a joke. Its a known fact in Mn that the reduced limit was due to social pressure and not biological facts.

[gitrdone]

Im with you all the way Mark, MN gets the shaft all the time.. Why are we the only state that gets the limit lowered.. How about states like arkansas, louisana, mississippi knock down there limit on mallards considering thats mostly the duck they all go after down there an maybe the population on them will be up as well.. well maybe not louisana I dont think there will be to many hunting there this year.. I sure alot of the duck clubs down there are out this year.. I also travel to ND for one week.. Its a great time to go with a couple friends an have some great hunts.. I know that can be done here in MN as well and as long as they stop building on the lakes an clean up our resources like you said mark.. They need to do that in order to get the birds back here..

[CurrituckBoy]

I know north carolina has reduced its limits to 4 as well and even dropped their limits on divers.

[Rick Hall]

Shoot, I wish Louisiana had a four duck limit. Not just because the birds would get a little break, but because there'd be more happy hunters who could honestly claim killing the almighty limit.

(Remembering the point system days when the possible total of 10 birds was lowered to 5, and a "hunter satisfaction" survey showed that it went up. Folks were killing fewer ducks - but were more apt to limit.)

[Brett Beinke]

They can lower the limits but they can not lower the amount of fun! I remember hunting the little pond hoppers just as hard when there was a 3 duck limit (not too long ago) as I did with a 6 duck limit. The worst part about a smaller limit is that those that hit well limit out real fast. Oh well, theres always camera hunting and they can not limit that!

[Hest]

My thought on this, which I've expressed to many of my MN buds is this...how long have you in MN been able to shoot 4 mallards? Well..you still can! But how many times have you ever sat out and killed four drake mallards, sat around and said "hey, let's just sit here and try to kill two other ducks?" I would be willing to venture NEVER. So...I think it makes sense. But, that's my Iowa opinion...THE MOST backwards state on regs there is!!

[Hest]

sorry...not regs...but LOGIC

[wooduck26]

It was a rediculous decision...For the simple fact that it was based on PUBLIC OPINION when does the PUBLIC starts making the decisions for the State?.....since when does the public know more about waterfowl numbers than the USFWS? My opinion is there should be a 6 Mallard/day limit......If everyone who went to the public hearings that the DNR (Does Nothing Resourcefull) held this spring wanted a 6 Mallard limit would they have proposed that to the USFWS? NO, of course not, so why REDUCE the limit just because some crybabies form Duluth pushed for it...............It pizzez me right off is what it does.

[joneshat11]

Hest,

The senerio you just said happens 75% of the time I go hunting and what makes me ****ed off about the regs this year. Granted yes 25% of the time its doesn't happen cause hunting his hunting but if I done my scouting I can shoot my 4 mallards and wait for the bonus ducks of what I call them. This just means I'll be passing on shooting widgons, gadwalls and others this year!! The logic you speak of is only for the lazy hunter that doesn't do his scouting!!!

[wooduck26]

JONESHATT11>>>>>> Amen to that!

[Ryan Kleinschmidt]

Mark,

You hit hit on the head. I was at the spring meetings that the MN DNR hosted. What upset me was the fact that they gave us all the stats and then they proposed lowering the limit. I don't get it. They told us that MN duck hunters "harvest" 1.7 ducks per hunter per day in the field. Do the math. It's not going to help increase the popluation. Espically if every other state in the flyway has a 6 bird limit. Why don't they focus on improving water quality and preadator control. Thats what will help the duck population. By the way, I have seen more ducks so far this fall thatn I have seen in years.

[Shane Zavodnik]

I think that the whole four bag limit is a joke to be honest.i have to agree with Mark on everything he said. i can understand a four bag limit maybe in the first week for the locals but not the whole year...do you really think it makes a diffrence on the migrators? i dont think so..either way people will be shooting them north south east and west of minnesota and be bagging our locals and others that are coming down south..like most people said it has to be a nation or flyway agreement..one state isnt going to do squat by just lowering the limit. i really beleive duck numbers are up this year in Minnesota. So with that being said...Duck numbers are up....bag limits are lowered...wuts it going to be next year? that we can only hunt noon till four? i wouldnt doubt it.

[Richard Shamla]

I don't agree with some of the comments made about this topic. I personally had the worst year duck hunting last year than I have had since I started hunting. I have seen a good number of ducks this year but, I think the problem is a lack of quality habitat in minnesota I agree the rally did not do much because it has not shown many results. Thankful DU did pledge 10 million dollars to improve water quality in some critical lakes. DU also had one new project in my area north of Montevideo and is planning several more. I think the four ducks is necessary. I really don't think most hunters will even shoot four ducks. Probably most of us on this site might be able to shoot more then four ducks but that is because we usually put alot of time into scouting and hunting.

[Ryan Kleinschmidt]

Originally posted by rshamla:
Probably most of us on this site might be able to shoot more then four ducks but that is because we usually put alot of time into scouting and hunting.I'm not sure I understand your comment. Do you mean that you shouldn't have to put in your time and scout, the ducks should just show up to whatever hole your sitting on? There is a reason people don't shoot a lot of ducks. Either they don't know how to go about it or they don't do their homework and scout. Better habitat and more ducks does not mean you can just set up on some slew hole and the ducks will come there. You have to scout. Thats just part of having good success in any game you hunt. I'm not trying to bash you at all, I'm just stating some facts.

[Richard Shamla]

Maybe I didn't make myself clear. I not stating that you should not have to scout. Lord knows I scout hard to have good hunts and put alot of time into hunting every year. I was stating a fact when I said alot of hunters don't put the time in they should. Their the same one who show up on the slough ten minutes before shooting time. Their the same ones you talk to and they have no clue what hunter ethics are or what they should be doing ot shoot a limit. Again I think the limit is necessary for the limited good habitat we have. Does two more ducks a day make that big of a difference? I don't think so.

[GVGoose]

I think it's a huge joke if you ask me. Look at the following points.

1. They say MN's duck harvest has been down in the past few years. If it's been down, then tell me why it makes sense to lower the limit? If the harvest is down then it's obvious that people aren't killing their limits. If they aren't killing limits, why lower the limit?

2. All ducks migrate (most, some might stay if open water and food permits). So these ducks go through Minnesota and all the states to the south, they're going to get shot or shot at. What I'm trying to get at is these ducks dont stay in MN. Lowering the limit doesn't mean that they aren't going to get shot. Lowering the limit will not do anything to the population in Minnesota. It's plain and simple. What they need to do is get better water quality and habitat to help turn things around. We have a lack of wetlands plain and simple. To be honest with you, I've seen more ducks this year than I have in the past 2 years. SW MN had an oustanding hatch for ducks and it shows, then we can only shoot 4? What good does it do? I've decided that rules are rules and laws are laws, but couldn't we at least have a little bit of sense while making them?

[Mark Brendemuehl]

It's not the 4 bird limit on ducks that bugs me so much. Its the 1 goose per day limit. This state is LOADED with geese. At the end of the duck season when they fly the best, we can't hunt them, and whent he late season opens out west here, there is no open water, so no birds.
Let me get this straight- early season shoot 5 per day. Then lets close it for a week. Then we will reopen it in some places, but only shoot 1. Then lets close it for a week and shoot 5 when there are none around anyway. By the way, all the while this is going on, the hunters in South Dakota 100 yards away are hammering 3 per day. Do these birds become magic when they cross the border? 8 per day in Canada, but cross the border into Minnesota and its 1 per day. Go figure.
Mark

[Ryan Kleinschmidt]

Once again I agree 100% with you Mark. The goose limits and season guidelines are so messed up. The MN DNR needs to re-evalueate that. Goose numbers are way up. Why not make the daily bag limit worth going out. Its all politics. Think of all that extra money the state generates with the early goose stamps. Remember when it was only $3 and you could not hunt on the water? There were not nearly as many hunters who took part in the early season. Now its $4 and you can hunt basically where you want to. The number of hunters who take part is a lot more now than it was 7 years ago IMO. Just wait, the cost of that early season stamp will be at $5 before you know it. By the way, what happens to that extra income when they up the cost??

[MnDuckHunterKellen]

I dont get it! last year was by far the best season my family has ever had!!!!!

[Richard Shamla]

I'm with Mark 100% on the goose limit. I hunt in the same area. It's alot of work to set all the dekes up and then to shoot your goose on the first flock and be done for the day. Last season at LQP refuge the bird where not even there until the season ended and then they had 150,000 plus. This year at least they entended the season to go later. The one thing I can't figure out is the next stop on the migration route they can shoot more then one. I thought the lower of the duck limit was to try and minimize the kill on the local nesting birds. True they migrate and their probably going to be shot elsewhere. I think the effort should have been put into new habitat development. Althought this year I have seen several new ponds on private CREP land. this year so far I have had a great season and shot four times as many ducks this year as I did last year. But, last year I hunted towards the twin cities area and this year I hunted western minnesota.