Mark Morrison

Waterfowling is not supposed to be like bowhunting, where for every successful day there are plenty that have zero action. Unfortunately, Minnesota duck hunters just finished enduring a season so filled with down days that some have permanently hung up their duck gear.
That reaction may be a bit extreme, because no one can control the vagaries of Mother Nature. While more anecdotal than scientific, my observations from spending countless days on vast Swan Lake this past spring and summer were that the upcoming season would be below average.

The Minnesota waterfowl season has been a head-scratcher at times. The year began with pretty good success, as reported by a wide range of hunters across the state. But that enthusiasm quickly waned as mild weather kept ducks from migrating from northern haunts to Minnesota sloughs.
Then, local ducks soon wised up, giving even grizzled waterfowlers fits. Perplexingly, even when an arctic blast hit North Dakota, blanketing outstanding duck habitat in snow and ice, ducks seemed to have skipped over vast sections of our state.