Bemidji Area Waterfowl & Grouse Report

I spent Saturday and Sunday just north of Bemidji with fellow IDA member Bob Bowman (MUSKIES). We hunted a 400 acre lake, with mixed results. With bluebird skies forcasted on both days we knew the hunting was going to be tough, but were pleasantly surprised both with numbers and the mix of birds we encountered. We shot six ducks (5 mallards, 1 woodduck) on Saturday and were off the water at 2:00. The spot we were hunting had a lot of emergent vegetation with a very pronounced weed edge. Most of the birds we had circle would not come close to shore for our decoys but would land out from us about 70 yards out on the edge of the weeds. It was very frustrating, and made us really miss the Robos, we have two that just sat and gathered dust this weekend. Sunday was a bit better with the earlier start, but with little to no pressure on the surrounding lakes once the birds were up, they were gone. We ended up with 3 mallards and one goose, a loner that came all the way across the lake to some aggressive calling.
The grouse are all but non-existent not only in the area we were in around Bemidji, but also around the NW side of Leech Lake. We stopped on the way back and hit a few spots that have been great in the past. Nothing, not even one bird flushed.
So now it is back to some spots around the North Metro, with Carlos Avery at the top of the list for a before work pass shoot. If you see me in the field say hi.