Waterfowl Numbers Looking Good in Minnesota So Far
The early teal hunt concluded Wednesday and the goose hunt is underway in Minnesota. Glen Schmitt from Outdoor News joined me on WJON. He says the early teal hunt from September 3-7 saw an increase in hunters and success for those hunters this year as opposed to last year. This is the 2nd year Minnesota has offered an early teal season. Schmitt says based on the reports he's heard from hunters in Central Minnesota and throughout the state things look good for teal hunting. He says hunters told him they saw lots of other ducks too. Schmitt indicates those reports are promising as Minnesota approaches the traditional waterfowl opener on September 24.
Schmitt says the opening day of goose hunting went pretty well but it got pretty thin after that. He heard reports of people in Sauk Centre shooting 30 to 50 geese opening day. Schmitt indicated reports show a better teal hunt than an opening weekend goose hunt. He says it is possible hunters chose to hunt teal instead of geese this year which could have impacted the numbers. Schmitt says we are seeing lots of geese lingering on golf courses and people's lawns this time of year.
The DNR released bear hunting numbers through Monday. The bear hunt goes through October 16th in Minnesota. Schmitt says there were 1100 bears registered which he says isn't bad. Last year's totals were approximately 2900 bears harvested. He expects these numbers to increase and possibly approach last year's numbers.
If you'd like to listen to my conversation with Glen Schmitt it is available below.