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Ed: Zippel Bay on the Lake-of-the-Woods.

lloyd, your pictures brought back fond memories of a trip to northern mn, about 15 years ago...

thanks for posting them here...

Wish we didn't have to create URLs to post pics here. Had the tinyurl site going for awhile, but it folded. Had Imgur for a bit also. My other forums don't require image hosting.

Likely will not get another chance to do a boat hunt on a river in conditions like this. Swans still there today after almost three weeks in the flooded beans. All I will need is a few family groups heading downriver. Would be over a mile to row upriver to where they are and they would all see me coming. Should be small flocks of ducks and geese on the move. Plenty of snow geese down now, as my buddy saw a hundred thousand yesterday west of Jamestown. So far Gus not too enthusiastic about jumping out of boats, but I likely will be in weeds and shallow water. Carrying push pole, lopping shears, a few duck decoys, and may throw in some hay.
My problem will be seeing them in time to get a shot. I'll also turn my hearing aids on max!
And if I can nail a Great White that has been eating soybeans it will be the first record for the state.

Sorry no pix

Shooting them on the ground is for slobs and not sporting at all. My bet is that opposed to giving encouragement for meager success you only instilled a lesson of laziness and instant gratification. Poor characteristics for a sportsman.

NCA, you just don't understand truck window hunting. A ground shot hardly ever happens. The bird flushes and it is tricky as heck to get the the barrel out the window and adjust your lead on the bird with the momentum of the truck. Or so they tell me. I've quit judging...Geo

The natives in that part of the world are something to behold. The Red Lake WMA is a patchwork of state owned land with Indian lands scattered throughout. While the Indians are permitted to hunt the State land, non band members are expressly forbidden from hunting or trespassing on band land, and it is poorly marked. Native wardens have zero tolerance for trespassing, and if you are a non band member, you can expect to be arrested.
I�ve have come on minivans with all the doors open, driving slowly along roads and logging trails, and four or five kids sitting with shotguns waiting to see a grouse or deer, and shooting them from the van. This behavior is expressly forbidden to, say, Lloyd or myself, but band members have State blessing to hunt in almost any manor they wish. The van on several occasions had dead grouse stacked like cordwood in the middle.
Of course my son asked me about that.
I explained to my son that we can�t and shouldn�t hunt like that, and that the State of Minnesota is governed by liberal people who wish to put groups of people in boxes to determine how they live their lives, instead of governing with the idea that we are all equal and free, and should abide by the same laws.
I think I mentioned something about maybe those guys didn�t like dogs, or buying dog food, and, that it appeared they weren�t real keen on fresh air and exercise, as all the shooters were overweight and smoking cigarettes, even though the oldest was perhaps 12 or 13, but, that was beside the point.
I�ve never been a road hunter. The dogs don�t tolerate it. If I didn�t own dogs, I might not hunt.

Best,
Ted

I wondered when somebody was going to notice that. We call them "bonus" birds. They eat just as well as the ones killed on the wing and it seems to be the only way the locals hunt them. I tend to walk between two and three trails a day when I'm up there and my average mileage walked per-day is usually between 4 or 5. I used to drive-by or around those birds but that began to strike me as rather impractical. I hunt grouse because I thoroughly enjoy them as table fare. I'd much prefer to shoot them on the wing but...that doesn't always happen to be the shot you get up there. I pay for the licence and follow the rules, and in Minnesota that is considered a legal "take". Moralize if you will, but that's how it's done up there.

Instant gratification produces a sense of entitlement. You should be careful what seeds you sow.

Great pictures and fun times out in the woods. Thanks for sharing them Lloyd.