The Minnesota firearms deer season is underway and the weather is unbelievably mild. Hunters have been sitting in stands or blinds in shirt sleeves during the height of the day. Preliminary report show it’s been a good season for many hunters. The mild weather may be a hindrance as much as a help, there are plenty of theories on that.
Meanwhile, some of the die-hard anglers have taken advantage of the exceptionally mild weather too, and the reports have been good. Word is large walleye and smallmouth are very aggressive right now. jigging with a minnow will do the trick. In International Falls, the next big event will be the “Twas the Lights before Christmas parade the day after Thanksgiving. The Chamber of Commerce has set up horse-drawn wagon rides in the downtown from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm that Friday. Santa and Mrs. Clause will also be on hand, they will be serving hot chocolate and cookies following the parade. That will be at the Centennial Park. If you’re not familiar with International Falls, the park is located at the intersection of Third Street and Third Avenue. Click on “Events” in the tool bar above and you can find out more about the Christmas Parade and other events planned here in Minnesota’s Vacation Paradise. Reports from anglers have about disappeared, everyone with an outdoor recreation plan in Voyageur Country is concentrating on hunting. The firearms deer season open on Saturday and the forecasts at this point look good. The weather should be pretty mild for early November. There are vast tracts of public land in Koochiching County open to hunting but keep in mind that hunting is not allowed within Voyageurs National Park.
Local deer hunters are often concentrating on portions of the forest where they have a shack and know the lay of the land very well. If you can tell you are in the area of a traditional shack, give them some leeway. There are lots of other areas where you can bring a portable stand or blind or just give a try at still hunting. Grouse hunting continues through the firearm season and you can still hike voyageur country forest trails just for the hike of it. If you do, put safety first and be sure to wear blaze orange. This weekend also brings a timely change, the change to standard time. We go off Daylight Savings Time at 2:00 am on Sunday morning so you will want to set your clocks back before going to bed Saturday night. Comic George Carlin figured DST into one of his eternal questions, asking: “What do they do with it, and where do they keep it?” Yes, there have been reports from people getting out to fish Rainy Lake at the end of October, and yes, they are catching fish. They also report that when they catch fish they are stuffed full of various bait fish. In the late fall, there are lots of minnows and other smaller fish hanging in anywhere from 10 to 30 feet of water, so they are relying on electronics more than any known structures. The fish are feeding on minnows, so the best bet to catch fish is going to be minnows. Try jigging if it’s relitvely calm and slow trolling if there’s a bit of wind. Anglers report they have pulled in quite a few walleye, smallmouth bass and northern pike and sometimes from the same general areas.
Those that aren’t fishing are paying attention to the hunting seasons. Some are trying to flush a bird or two and some are preparing for the firearms deer season. Bird hunters are providing quite different reports, some are flushing a lot of birds, others claim there are no grouse left in the woods. That’s probably due to the feeding situation, right now, more grouse are picking buds from tree branches rather than foraging the forest floor for food. If you’re not looking in the generally right place, you won’t see any birds. If you want to stay toasty warm and have something fun to do, head for the Backus Community Center for the Borealis Bards performance of “The Wizard of Oz” a fun musical production presented Friday and Saturday evening with a Sunday afternoon matinee. The information is posted on our events page, along with many other fun events throughout the year. Just scroll to the top of the page and click on the events tab on the top tool bar. |
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