Minnesota’s regular waterfowl season will open a half-hour before sunrise on Saturday, Sept. 26, with similar bag limits and season dates that were in place last year, according to the Department of Natural Resources.
“While the season structure is similar to recent years, we adjusted the duck season dates in the south duck zone based on hunter preferences,” said Steve Cordts, DNR waterfowl specialist.
The waterfowl seasons are based on a federal framework that applies to all states in the Mississippi Flyway.
Duck season will be open for 60 days in each of the three waterfowl zones. In the north zone, duck season is Saturday, Sept. 26 through Tuesday, Nov. 24; in the central zone, duck season is Saturday, Sept. 26 through Sunday, Oct. 4, closes for five days, then reopens Saturday, Oct. 10 and runs through Sunday, Nov. 29; and in the south zone, duck season is Saturday, Sept. 26 through Sunday, Oct. 4, closes for 10 days, then reopens Thursday, Oct. 15 and runs through Friday, Dec. 4.
The re-opening coincides with the annual statewide teachers’ conference on Oct. 15-16 when many schools do not schedule classes.
The only bag limit change from the 2015 season is for canvasback, which increases from one to two per day. The daily duck bag limit remains six ducks per day. The mallard bag limit remains four per day, including two hen mallards. The daily bag limits remain at three for wood duck and three for scaup.
More information on duck, goose, sandhill crane and other migratory bird hunting seasons will be available in the 2015 Minnesota Waterfowl Hunting Regulations, available in mid-August in booklet form and online.
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