Our first snowfall has arrived! It wasn’t a huge amount, thankfully, but it was a snowfall all the same. I am still not ready for the snow as it seems a little too early for my liking.
This fall I have done quite a bit of driving to different events. I attended the Governor’s Pheasant Hunting Opener in Owatonna. Most importantly, I attended my grandson Dylan’s marriage to Kloe, his beautiful bride.
In my recent travels I have become quite proficient in using Google Maps. This leads me to wonder how I was able to navigate through life without this app.? I have always looked back at “the good old days” with a longing for those simpler times. I know that we can never go back and, in some ways I would not do well without some of the technology of today.
Fishing today has been taken over by graphs, sonar, underwater cameras and fish finders with pinpoint accuracy. I have a nice locator that I use when fishing; I use it mainly for staying at certain depths, navigating the shoreline and avoiding rocks and sand bars. I have to be truthful, I like using it but I don’t use if for locating fish. My grandsons, Trevor or Dylan will have to give me a few lessons so that I can be more knowledgeable in that area.
I guess that I am pretty “old school” when it comes to fishing. I still seem to have a fishing lure addiction when it comes to purchasing new lures. Although I have cut back, every so often, as I am strolling through the fishing aisles at a store I have a lure catch my eye. Like a fish looking at a chunk of bait, I pick it up, put it back and then circle around before making the decision to snap it up. I will not sugar coat it when I tell you that I have a few lures that have not seen the water. I guess that I am waiting for the perfect opportunity to spring that secret lure on some unsuspecting fish. My wife asked me, one time, why I buy all of those lures when we usually end up using live bait when we go up north. This made me realize that I probably do have a few too many and her words echo through my mind when I am tempted to buy more than one new lure at a time. I have quite a few musky lures and I will not be purchasing any more. Have you priced those things lately?
When I want to get back to the old days I like to take our small 12-ft. fishing boat out on a lake and do a little trolling along the shoreline of one of the many lakes in the area near our cabin. Trolling slowly along the shoreline and casting towards the shallows is a great way to relax on an early morning or any time, for that matter.
2022 small game survey results
The number of small game hunters in Minnesota in 2022 was similar to the previous year but continued to trend below the 10-year average. Overall, 228,143 small game licenses were sold for the 2022-23 hunting seasons, compared to 233,901 small game licenses sold in 2021-22. Notably, hunters who did pursue waterfowl, grouse and pheasants had fairly similar success rates compared to the 10-year averages, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ small game hunter mail survey.
Ducks – 81,864 state duck stamps were sold, which was 3% below 2021 sales and 8% below the 10-year average. Harvest of 470,300 ducks, down 32% from the 10-year average of 693,600 ducks.
Canada geese – Harvest of 127,500 geese, down 48% from the 10-year average of 245,500 geese. There were 27,200 hunters, down 42% from the 10-year average of 46,800 hunters. Hunter success was 71%, with successful hunters bagging 6.6 geese on average, which was similar to the 10-year average.
Ruffed grouse – Harvest of 237,700 grouse, which was 10% below the 10-year average of 264,200 grouse. An estimated 64,600 hunters pursued grouse in 2022, 14% below the 10-year average of 74,800 hunters.
Pheasants – 77,448 pheasant stamps were sold in 2022, which was similar to 2021 sales and the 10-year average. Harvest of 204,000 roosters, which was similar to the 10-year average of 201,600 roosters.
Until next time: Although there weren’t many pheasants reported on opening day, they are around. Luckily, we have quite a bit of public land to hunt in our area. With smaller farms being purchased by bigger farmers or large corporations our habitat is in danger.is disappearing. This is why you don’t see as many birds around. It is important that we do all we can to preserve our habitat for the future generations.
Please show our support for the troops that are serving our country today. These servicemen and women are making that sacrifice so that we may have the many freedoms that we enjoy today.