2015 MN Goose and duck hunting seasons announced by DNR

DNR announces fall duck and goose seasons
Minnesota’s regular waterfowl season will open a half-hour before sunrise on Saturday, Sept. 26, with similar bag limits and season dates that were in place last year, according to the Department of Natural Resources.

“While the season structure is similar to recent years, we adjusted the duck season dates in the south duck zone based on hunter preferences,” said Steve Cordts, DNR waterfowl specialist.

The waterfowl seasons are based on a federal framework that applies to all states in the Mississippi Flyway.

More information on duck, goose, sandhill crane and other migratory bird hunting seasons will be available in the 2015 Minnesota Waterfowl Hunting Regulations, available in mid-August in booklet form and online athttp://www.mndnr.gov/hunting/waterfowl.

Duck seasons and limits
Duck season will be open for 60 days in each of the three waterfowl zones.

• In the north zone, duck season is Saturday, Sept. 26, through Tuesday, Nov. 24.
•In the central zone, duck season is Saturday, Sept. 26, through Sunday, Oct. 4, closes for five days, then reopens Saturday, Oct. 10, and runs through Sunday, Nov. 29.
• In the south zone, duck season is Saturday, Sept. 26, through Sunday, Oct. 4, closes for 10 days, then reopens Thursday, Oct. 15, and runs through Friday, Dec. 4. The re-opening coincides with the annual statewide teachers’ conference on Oct. 15-16 when many schools do not schedule classes.

The only bag limit change from the 2015 season is for canvasback, which increases from one to two per day. The daily duck bag limit remains six ducks per day. The mallard bag limit remains four per day, including two hen mallards. The daily bag limits remain at three for wood duck and three for scaup.

All states in the Mississippi Flyway were offered the option for a September teal season or two bonus blue-winged teal during the regular season. Minnesota did not participate in either teal option last year and again made the choice not to take a teal season or bonus blue-winged teal option this year.

“We’ve had nearly two decades of liberal duck seasons with 60 days of hunting and six-duck daily bag limits,” said DNR Commissioner Tom Landwehr. “In recent years, the duck season has opened one week earlier than in the past, which has afforded Minnesota hunters more opportunity to take teal and wood ducks.”

In addition, waterfowl hunting in open water on five large water bodies in Minnesota has also been allowed.

“For these reasons, we don’t believe that an early teal season or further liberalization by adding two bonus blue-winged teal to the daily bag for the first part of the season is needed,” Landwehr said.

Mallard abundance from a continental spring survey that includes Minnesota is used to determine overall duck season length. This year’s estimate was 11.8 million mallards, which was well above the long-term average. Since 1997, duck season length has been 60 days each year and the mallard population has ranged from 6.8 million to 11.8 million mallards.

“The status of mallards, and most other species of ducks important to Minnesota hunters, is very good this year based on spring populations surveys,” Cordts said.

Youth waterfowl day
Youth Waterfowl Day will be Saturday, Sept. 12. Hunters ages 15 and under may take regular season bag limits when accompanied by an adult age 18 or older. Youth may take Canada geese, mergansers, coots and moorhens from a half-hour before sunrise to 4 p.m. Motorized decoy restrictions are in effect. Five geese may be taken statewide. The accompanying adult can’t hunt ducks that day and does not need a license. However, an adult may take Canada geese if properly licensed.

Canada goose seasons and limits
Canada goose hunting is open in the three duck zones, and also in an intensive harvest zone. For a map of the intensive zone and other information, seehttp://www.mndnr.gov/hunting/waterfowl.

The August Canada goose management harvest is Saturday, Aug. 8, through Sunday, Aug. 23, in the intensive harvest zone only. The bag limit is 10 per day. A $4 permit is required. This is the third year Canada goose harvest has been allowed during August due to high populations of Canada geese and the damage they cause to agricultural crops.

The early September Canada goose season will open statewide on Saturday, Sept. 5, and run through Tuesday, Sept. 22. Bag limits for Canada geese are 10 per day in the intensive harvest zone and five per day in the rest of the state. A $4 permit is required to hunt Canada geese during the September season. The restriction prohibiting hunting within 100 yards of surface water remains in effect in the northwest goose zone, Carlos Avery Wildlife Management Area, Ocheda Lake Game Refuge and an area surrounding Swan Lake in Nicollet County. Early season goose hunters should consult the 2015 Waterfowl Supplement for zone maps and additional details.

Minnesota’s regular goose season will open in conjunction with the duck season statewide on Sept. 26, with a bag limit of three dark geese per day the entire season.  “Dark” geese include Canada geese, white-fronted geese, and brant. Goose season will be closed in the central and south duck zones when duck season is closed.

Sandhill crane season
The season for sandhill cranes is Saturday, Sept. 12, to Sunday, Oct. 18, in the northwest goose and sandhill crane zone only. The daily bag limit will be one sandhill crane per day. A $3 sandhill crane permit is required in addition to a small game hunting license.

No Comments

Leave a Reply

When is the best time to go goose hunting in Lac qui Parle MNCombo Hunts for Waterfowl and Pheasants

NEED MORE INFO

CONTACT MAXXED OUT

OUR CLIENTS REVIEWS

MaXXed Out Guides
4.5
Based on 83 reviews
powered by Google
Sheri BrengmanSheri Brengman
22:17 07 Oct 22
I have hunted with Maxxed Out three separate trips, two early season goose hunts at their lodge in western MN and one snow goose hunt in Kansas. Graham, Andrea, Ashley, and the guides are great! They work hard to plan and run these hunts and it shows. I highly recommend their guide service! 👍🏻
Bill HarrellBill Harrell
14:29 05 Sep 22
What a great weekend. Graham and his crew (Mike, Hayden, Soren,…) were fantastic. Our group of seven had an awesome time and got to shoot a bunch of geese. The lodge was very nice. Although we didn’t really get to take advantage of the grill, fire pit, or sand volleyball court, it is a great place to stay. Highly recommend MaXXed Out Guides and Lodge! 👍🏻
Sean FoySean Foy
21:59 21 Mar 22
Our group hunted with Maxxed Out in Kansas and South Dakota this year. Had a great time in both states. Great housing accommodations. We’d hunt with these guides anytime. Already have dates booked for next year.
Patrick McAllisterPatrick McAllister
23:50 02 Jan 22
Tons of birds.Great guides.Accommodations are great.Always a good time.Wish we didn’t have to leave.
Jim DeanJim Dean
23:49 02 Jan 22
Second year with Graham and his crew in Kansas . Guides are a blast to hunt with and they get the birds in your face. Limited on mallards, Shot snows and darks the same day. Made memories with my sons they will never forget
Brady FrewenBrady Frewen
23:21 02 Jan 22
First hunt of the trip did not pull the trigger once and all the birds were a mile away. The next day we had below zero temps crazy winds, and Graham and his guys put us on a hunt of a lifetime that made every single penny worth it. Third day even though very few birds were killed, seeing the 10s of thousands of snow geese was an experience it’s self. I will be coming back and tell everyone looking for a guided hunt to go through graham and his guys.
Dylan HoflockDylan Hoflock
18:26 21 Nov 21
Had a great time with maxed out guides! Great people that put us on more birds then I’ve ever seen before!!
George LagoniaGeorge Lagonia
22:27 14 Nov 21
My group has hunted all over the USA and Canada for Waterfowl. My hats off to Graham and his crew. He runs a great show. Their gear is great, their efforts are greater. We are all about our retrievers, Graham made sure that was a priority. No other guide service has ever made sure the set up for our dogs was so important. Super grateful for that guys!!! We had a couple of magical days in S. Dakota with Maxxed Out Guides and will definitely be returning!!
Morgan Von SeggernMorgan Von Seggern
01:21 23 Sep 21
First time hunting Canadian Geese, and it was great time!!! Graham and his crew do a phenomenal job guiding and setting up for hunters. Hit our limit the first morning and did well the second day. They do their very best to scout and set you up for success, even though the birds might not always cooperate.I went on this hunt not knowing a single person and came back with a new group of friends! Will definitely be back for the hunt next year! 🙂
Robert LucasRobert Lucas
19:55 15 Sep 21
We had a great experience with Maxxed out! They are the best at what they do! As professional as it gets from arrival to clean up! Highly, Highly recommend these guys!
js_loader
BACKED BY THE BEST

OUR GREAT PARTNERS

To do what we do for 8 months out of the year it truly requires the best equipment in the waterfowling industry. These companies put the products in our hands that allow us to be successful day in and day out.
Call - 651.335.0780