Archery deer hunting season starts Saturday along with rabbit and grouse in Minnesota.  Glen Schmitt from Outdoor News joined me on WJON.  He says grouse hunting is huge in Minnesota and there is about 104 thousand bow hunters in the state.  Schmitt explains that number has been pretty consistent in the last several years.  Bow hunters in 2021 shot 24,400 deer.

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The archery deer hunt goes from September 17-December 31.  Rabbit, cottontail and snowshoe hare starts Saturday and goes through February 28th. Ruffled and Spruce grouse hunting takes place starting Saturday and goes through January 1st.

Schmitt says the best deer hunting will take place once the crops are out but there will be a fair amount of bow hunters looking for deer this weekend.  He says Minnesota has lots of different management zones to be aware.

Map showing boundaries of Minnesota's deer permit areas and the zones in which they are contained.

Schmitt continues to be an active angler in the fall.  He says the best fishing is just around the corner when the weather cools a bit causing water temperatures to drop.  He says this will spur more activity from all fish species and they prepare for the winter.  The forecast next week starting Wednesday has temperatures in the 60s which could start the trend of cooler temperatures and even better fishing conditions.

If you'd like to listen to my conversation with Glen Schmitt it is available below.

 

 

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