My buddy Travus and I hunted the Paynesville area on Thursday and did very well. I have been hunting by myself mostly this year, but Travus had a rain day and some free time. He is also a dog trainer so we grabbed one of his young labs as well as mine and headed West. The first spot we hunted was a large piece of public land with a huge food plot and both grass and brush for cover around it. At 9:15 I connected with a nice rooster that tried to run from the corn to the grass until it saw me blocking the trail and decided to take flight. We then moved into the grass where the dogs kept getting birdy, but no flushes. Next we worked some tree lines and found the jackpot. The only problem was finding a rooster to present a shot in the thick cover. Both dogs were having a blast, but we just couldn’t get into position for a good shot. We moved to another WMA with willows adjacent to a picked corn field and had the same action. This time our shots were doing more educating then knocking down. On our way to spot 3 we drove by a freshly worked field with some tree lines, brushy areas, and a couple big sloughs. I have never attempted to get on private land in MN, but Travus was determined so we inquired. That proved to be the best decision we made all day. A 96 year old man greeted us, we listened to some stories about the old old days, and obtained permission to walk his land. He didn’t say “yes” right away but after a little chit chatting he felt comfortable. The birds were everywhere. I thought I was back in ND. We got our birds pretty quickly and watched many more flush out of range. It was amazing. We thanked the farmer and headed home to clean some birds.
The first 2 on my muddy truck.
I used to pound them out in that area, when I lived out thatta way…. I miss it this time of year 
I could still get out there, but it was nice being right there…. 
