

MTT. Minnesota Tournament Trail
NWT. National Walleye Tour
AIM. Angler’s Insight Marketing
Chili Bowl, Border View Lodge
Arnesen’s, Summer Tournament
River Bend Resort, Ladies tournament
Zippel Bay Resort, Northern Pike Tournament
AND MORE!
Fall is in the air and the fall migration is on. Ducks are flying, geese are landing and feeding and flying over in practice formations to head further south.
Waterfowl hunting. Waterfowl hunting kicks off in early September and remains open until late October. Hunters come to Lake of the Woods, the Rainy River, NW Angle and surrounding
The Fall Migration often gets overlooked. After all, this is The Walleye Capital of the World and the fish are biting excellent both on the lake and in the Rainy River. There are also hundreds of thousands of acres (no exaggeration) of cropland around with a stable food source attracting and holding birds.
In addition, Lake of the Woods with it’s diversity of water opportunities is the other vital part of the waterfowl equation that is attractive to a variety of birds. Diver ducks love the NW Angle and raft up there by the thousands.
Puddle ducks and geese love the thousands of miles of shoreline along the south shore along with the many bays offering cover and a variety of aquatic food options. The nice thing about water is it is public! That means with minimal scouting, finding an area of water holding birds, a boat ramp close by, you are in business.
With all of those possibilities, the great waterfowl hunting, and in this case, duck hunting gets overlooked by many. If you are a waterfowl hunter, you may want to consider a trip to LOW.
Youth waterfowl hunt
On September 7-8, 2024, waterfowl hunters age 17 and younger, when accompanied by a non-hunting adult (age 18 and older) may take ducks, geese, mergansers, coots and moorhens from ½ hour before sunrise to sunset.
There is also a weekly outlook (PDF) which is updated on Thursdays of each week during the waterfowl hunting season. It is compiled from state and federal wildlife manager reports and waterfowl surveys from across Minnesota.
Some “go to” spots.
One of the unique things about duck hunting this area is the wide variety of ducks. Puddle ducks, divers and even a few sea ducks show up each year. If you are an avid waterfowler, you recognize the enjoyment of identifying ducks in the area, listening for their different sounds and harvesting a wide variety that perhaps you don’t see back home. Here’s some info from the MN DNR about Zones and Seasons:
MN Early Teal Season. This season runs from September 1 – 5, 2024.
Layout Boat Hunting. Lake of the Woods is actually one of the few lakes in Minnesota where layout boat hunting is legal. Imagine, laying back in your small boat designed for this type of hunting out in the open water with decoys all around you.
With the onset of fall, sounds overhead are heard making a lot of noise. Yes, that’s the sound of geese flying overhead practicing their formations as they head to their feeding grounds. It’s a happy sound and can be heard for quite a distance.
Early Goose Hunting is part of the fall migration and the season begins in September and typically runs for 16 days and has a six-bird daily limit for licensed hunters. This year’s season begins September 1, 2024 and runs through September 15, 2024.
You can find the
Public land is also another option if the geese are feeding or resting in wildlife management areas, waterfowl production areas, or other state or federal hunting areas. If you’re not hunting near the water, seek out permission from private land owners before attempting to hunt on dry land.
Be sure to plan your trip to Lake of the Woods soon as fishing is hot and the fall migration is beginning.
For more information see our website at www.LakeoftheWoodsMN.com
For lodging: www.LakeoftheWoodsMN.com/Lodging
See our Facebook page at: www.Facebook.com/LakeoftheWoodsMN