Michigan Duck and Goose Hunting Report Archive

Posted By:
rick-hungerford
Field Editor

Saginaw Bay Fish Point Area 11-10-2010 21:00
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 50-60 Degrees
A bit late in posting, but there just hasn’t been much to report this last week. I hunted last Friday in a decent wind from my boat blind off a point, shot green wing teal and redheads. An odd combination to say the least. We lost divers over the past week. Redhead and can numbers have declined and were starting to see more bluebills, goldeneyes and mergansers. A sure sign of later migrants.

The Management Unit reports over 20,000 birds using the area. Most fields are flooded and in big wind days, they have been doing well. Birds are leaving the refuge late in the afternoon and morning hunts have been slow. Watch for cold fronts if your are looking to hunt the draw.

Corn is 95% in and most active fields have been disked. As the season progresses, fields will be tougher to get access since we are seeing more guides paying to tie up fields. Still the big push of flight mallards hasn’t started to show up yet.

Hunters on the Bay have been getting mixed bags with puddlers including gadwall, widgeon, gwt, pintails and mallards, along with redheads, bluebills and a few cans.

The last few days have been extremely slow. Hope for wind and dropping temps this weekend. 4 weekends left. Get out and get them!

Everything else is between seasons!

Posted By:
rick-hungerford
Field Editor

Saginaw Bay Fish Point Area 11-10-2010 20:07
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 50-60 Degrees
A bit late in posting, but there just hasn’t been much to report this last week. I hunted last Friday in a decent wind from my boat blind off a point, shot green wing teal and redheads. An odd combination to say the least. We lost divers over the past week. Redhead and can numbers have declined and were starting to see more bluebills, goldeneyes and mergansers. A sure sign of later migrants.

The Management Unit reports over 20,000 birds using the area. Most fields are flooded and in big wind days, they have been doing well. Birds are leaving the refuge late in the afternoon and morning hunts have been slow. Watch for cold fronts if your are looking to hunt the draw.

Corn is 95% in and most active fields have been disked. As the season progresses, fields will be tougher to get access since we are seeing more guides paying to tie up fields. Still the big push of flight mallards hasn’t started to show up yet.

Hunters on the Bay have been getting mixed bags with puddlers including gadwall, widgeon, gwt, pintails and mallards, along with redheads, bluebills and a few cans.

The last few days have been extremely slow. Hope for wind and dropping temps this weekend. 4 weekends left. Get out and get them!

Everything else is between seasons!

Posted By:
rick-hungerford
Field Editor

Saginaw Bay Fish Point Area 11-10-2010 19:58
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 50-60 Degrees
A bit late in posting, but there just hasn’t been much to report this last week. I hunted last Friday in a decent wind from my boat blind off a point, shot green wing teal and redheads. An odd combination to say the least. We lost divers over the past week. Redhead and can numbers have declined and were starting to see more bluebills, goldeneyes and mergansers. A sure sign of later migrants.

The Management Unit reports over 20,000 birds using the area. Most fields are flooded and in big wind days, they have been doing well. Birds are leaving the refuge late in the afternoon and morning hunts have been slow. Watch for cold fronts if your are looking to hunt the draw.

Corn is 95% in and most active fields have been disked. As the season progresses, fields will be tougher to get access since we are seeing more guides paying to tie up fields. Still the big push of flight mallards hasn’t started to show up yet.

Hunters on the Bay have been getting mixed bags with puddlers including gadwall, widgeon, gwt, pintails and mallards, along with redheads, bluebills and a few cans.

The last few days have been extremely slow. Hope for wind and dropping temps this weekend. 4 weekends left. Get out and get them!

Everything else is between seasons!

Posted By:
nurban
Web Member

St. Clair Co. 11-10-2010 10:01
Sunny & Clear, Winds Calm – 35-40 Degrees
Hunted Friday morning and observed no geese.Hunted again late Friday afternoon, a dozen geese decoyed at 6’00pm and shot (1)goose. Hunted again Saturday and Tuesday mornings with no goose movement during daylignt hours. Geese have been moving late and feeding at night. Geese have also moved to other locations and combined with mild weather and drying farm ponds the hunting is poor for the balance of the season.

Posted By:
wberg
Guest

Kochville Township 11-09-2010 18:11
Sunny & Clear, Morning Fog – 40-45 Degrees
Dad hunted plowed corn field dug himself a little nest and put the layout blind in it. Must have worked managed to get a couple honkers today. Me I got a Cape Buffalo some Red Stag’s and a couple Impala’s. I’m guessing he had more fun the me.

Posted By:
wberg
Guest

Unionville area 11-06-2010 17:47
Cloudy, Winds Calm – 35-40 Degrees
Dad finally made it up to the bay, for what reason other then different scenery. Hunted no-til field didn’t see a thing. Took a ride like Rick said most fields have been turned under already. Only plus he said was their is going to be a lot of winter wheat for early goose season next year. My season is definitely over going to see the surgeon on Thursday to see when I can get my knee fixed. Only hunting I have been doing is on the Nintendo WII. Cabela’s Big Game hunter.at least the temperature hasn’t been to bad.

Posted By:
John-Cottenham
Field Editor

sunrise side 11-03-2010 16:29
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 25-30 Degrees – Open Water
Lots of pointy beaks around this morning but not much else that I could ID. There are one hell of a lot of ducks way offshore though. Get ’em!

jacduck Hmmm! MI, ND, SD, NE, TX and anything else I can add. Got a new pup on order too. My youngest YLF is 7 and I promised myself that I would get a pup started so when she is nine she won’t have to work quite as hard. Takes a couple of years to get a pup to where I want ’em so now is the time. A serious hunter has to plan ahead! BSEG!

Posted By:
John-Cottenham
Field Editor

sunrise side 11-02-2010 17:05
Mostly Cloudy, No Precipitation – 30-34 Degrees – Open Water
Went to da Bay to try out a new decoy rig. Got on the water around 10AM and went out on flat seas. As many divers as I have ever seen close inshore. Commercial fisherman says they are all over so check the weather, Play safe and have fun cause they are here.

Sure hope you voted today and if not polls are not yet closed.

jacduck

Hmmm! MI, ND, SD, NE, TX and anything else I can add.

Got a new pup on order too. My youngest YLF is 7 and I promised myself that I would get a pup started so when she is nine she won’t have to work quite as hard. Takes a couple of years to get a pup to where I want ’em so now is the time.

A serious hunter has to plan ahead! BSEG!

[Edited By John-Cottenham on 2010-11-02 17:08]

Posted By:
rick-hungerford
Field Editor

Saginaw Bay Fish Point Area 10-31-2010 07:38
Sunny & Clear, High Winds – 45-50 Degrees
I hunted Wednesday morning in the high S winds, gusts were up to 50 mph. Surprisingly, very few birds flew in our area. Small groups of divers continued to feed in traditional areas. We saw virtually no mallards.

After the hunt, I went scouting inland to get a field status. I was shocked. I drove a rectangular grid roughly 20 miles all told. 90% of the cornfields in the area north and east of Sebewaing are down and plowed under. The few fields that were available to hunt were either disked or mowed leaving very little cover. Within two weeks these will be gone also.

I stated in September, I was worried about an early harvest and the effect on cornfields for migrants. There will be no fields left at this rate to hold birds by the deer season. This does bode well for Thumb deer hunters since the 4 legged critters have no standing corn to hide in.

On a more positive note, my son hunted Friday AM and had a bunch of fresh divers. But yesterday in the light winds, very little flew.

The big push of redheads still are not here. But the storms in the West must have them on the move. Watch for the black and whites next, they may be the last opportunity on the Bay this Fall.

I will be up most of next week. Will post then.

Everything else is between seasons!

Posted By:
jimm@hascallsteel.com
Guest

Southwest Michigan 10-29-2010 12:47
Cloudy, Winds Calm – 35-40 Degrees
Saw several hundred Woodies at day break. They are still here.A few large groups of high flying mallards. 38 degrees at 7:00 this am. Big groups flying high with no interest.

Nice to see the a few new birds working the area.

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