2025 season reports

Well another eye opener for me, the last bird I shot (the one with the flies) was still warm to the touch when we got home. Pretty crazy how well those feathers insulate such a small body. I assume the flies would have been gone like fleas on a rabbit if it had cooled down further.
 
My old dog mustered enough energy for 2 spots today. Both with standing corn. Snow is about 13 inches deep but not as bad in the corn. I raised about 25 and 3 dumb ones got up within shotgun range. Stunning day out there too, about 20 degrees and sunny.
 

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gim said:
My old dog mustered enough energy for 2 spots today. Both with standing corn. Snow is about 13 inches deep but not as bad in the corn. I raised about 25 and 3 dumb ones got up within shotgun range. Stunning day out there too, about 20 degrees and sunny.
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Outstanding! Glad you were able to get out with your pup again. It was 34 where I was hunting. 4-5 inches of snow other than where it's drifted. Cattail ice still sucks.
 
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The snow/ice was melting all night down in the SW. Drip drip drip. Cattail fringe ice is still in terrible shape despite -20 or whatever Saturday night. I've seen lots of tracks in the grass on the last couple of hunts, but still primarily finding birds in the cattails. Be prepared to get your feet wet, and to work the cattails from the inside of the lake out. Pack cleats and be on the lookout for tile outlets, groundwater inflow at the base of hills, and other running water--saw completely open pockets in places yesterday. There's much better ice where there was open water with no snow in the middle of the sloughs, compared to the insulated/drifted in cattail ring. If you know of smaller wetlands that dried out by late fall, those might be good spots to focus on. Fields are opening up nicely and exposing waste grain again, so there might be some hope that we carry this mini population boom forward to next year in the southern third of the state. It's likely going to be a tough winter for the central MN birds.

Daytime highs above 30 for much of the holiday week ahead, and moderate winds (after today).
 
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nater said:
Be prepared to get your feet wet, and to work the cattails from the inside of the lake out. Pack cleats
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I bought some hip waders that showed up this week. I'm not saying I'm gonna wear em', but I'm gonna pack em. Always spooky walking ice you don't know how deep it is beneath. I'm gonna err on the side of caution.

In map study, it's pretty amazing how many of the sloughs have flowing ditches, tile lines, etc. flowing into or through them.
 
I haven’t even bothered going in cattails this season. It’s too unsafe. Plus they are completely snowed in. I should take a photo of the cattails and post it. It’s unrecognizable with the snow on top.
 
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