Duck season offers more options, opens one week earlier

A season of change is coming for Minnesota waterfowl hunters. Opening day, opening day shooting hours and the annual youth waterfowl hunt all will be earlier than in the past. Bag limits for wood ducks and hen mallards will be higher than last year. And north and south hunting zones have been added to provide additional hunting opportunity.

“We needed a change,” said Tom Landwehr, commissioner for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). “We heard from waterfowl hunters that they supported these changes, and with waterfowl hunter numbers at record lows, we don’t expect season changes to negatively affect breeding populations.”

Landwehr said the 60-day, six-duck limit waterfowl season will open Saturday, Sept. 24, opening day shooting will start one-half hour before sunrise and youth waterfowl day will be Saturday, Sept. 10. Duck bag limits are consistent with most other states in the Mississippi Flyway. This year’s earlier-than-usual opener will allow hunting when greater numbers of migrating wood ducks and blue-winged teal are around, yet maintains late-season opportunities.

Hunting north of Minnesota Highway 210 – the North Duck Zone – will be allowed continuously through Tuesday, Nov. 22. Hunters in the South Duck Zone – anywhere south of Highway 210 – will have a split season. Hunting will be allowed Sept. 24-25 to take advantage of early migrations then close for five days. The season in the south will resume on Saturday, Oct. 1, and continue through Sunday, Nov. 27, Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Legal shooting hours on Sept. 24 will be one-half hour before sunrise rather than the 9 a.m. start that has been in place for the past seven years. Shooting hours end at 4 p.m. daily statewide until Saturday, Oct. 8, when hunting will be allowed until sunset.

Hunters will be able to keep up to four mallards, two of which may be hens, and three wood ducks. The hen mallard and wood duck limits increased by one compared with recent years. Daily limits for pintail, scaup and redhead remain at two. Hunters may still take one canvasback and black duck. The possession limit is twice the daily bag limit.