How Minnesota's Pheasant Opener Went With Warm Weather

The warmer than normal temperatures last weekend negatively impacted the pheasant opener in Minnesota. Glen Schmitt from Outdoor News joined me on WJON to discuss. He says license sales were down due to the windy and warm weather and too much standing corn.

Pheasant Hunting was Mixed Bag on Opening Weekend

Schmitt says reports in southwestern Minnesota indicated that most hunters called it a day by about noon last Saturday due to the weather. He says there were some good reports in the Marshall and Ortonville areas. Schmitt believes there are better days ahead for pheasant hunters because the pheasant numbers are good in the state. He says the corn is about 25% harvested so far. Schmitt believes if the remaining corn is harvested soon and we get some cooler weather, the pheasant hunting season will improve.

New Duck Proposal Won't Happen in 2027

The Minnesota DNR announced they won't be moving forward with the proposed 3-duck limit option in 2027. Schmitt says this proposal would have given hunters another option as opposed to the 6-duck limit. He says the 3-duck proposal would have allowed hunters to shoot any variety of ducks. Schmitt believes the idea behind it was to get more young hunters duck hunting. He says they do this in South Dakota and Nebraska.

Archery Deer Hunt Has Picked Up

The archery deer hunting season has really picked up. Schmitt says as of Monday, there have been 8,000 deer registered to archery hunters in the state. At the same time last year we were at 4,200 deer shot. Last year 30,000 deer were shot in Minnesota with vertical bows and crossbows. Schmitt says the addition of allowing crossbows has increased the amount of kids and women who hunt deer during the archery season.

Fall Fishing Hasn't Changed Much

Fall fishing hasn't changed much as water temperatures in Central Minnesota continue to be around 60 degrees. Schmitt would like to see those temps drop into the 50s to increase fish activity. He says the temperature variations have confused the fish and they haven't fallen into typically fall patterns. Schmitt suggests looking for crappies in shallow water along weed lines with some suspended. He still believes good fishing can still happen this fall and there is less competition with fewer people on area lakes.

If you'd like to listen to my conversation with Glen Schmitt, click below.