Gunning for U.P. Canadas.

During the fall, the Mississippi Valley Flyway (MVF) infuses the U.P. with hundreds of thousands of migrating Canada geese. The interior Canada geese of the MVF nest primarily in northern Ontario, especially the Hudson Bay Lowlands, west of Hudson and James Bays. MVF giants nest mostly in southern Ontario and in the upper Midwest. A 2006 survey showed that the MVF had over 384,000 nesting pairs, an 11-percent increase from 2005 and the most recorded since 1999.

Faye McNew said, "The MVF geese are made up of four distinct subspecies and all of them pass through the U.P.

They are: giants (Branta canadensis maxima), interiors (B.C. interior), lesser (B.C. parvipes) and Richardson's Canada geese (B. c. hutchihsii). Richardson's are commonly referred to as cackling geese. Giants and interior subspecies make up more than 99-percent of the Canada geese in the MVF."

McNew went on to say, "Interiors typically migrate through the U.P. in peak numbers during Mid-September; however weather in the nesting grounds can really influence the timing of those migrations." When the migrations are peaking, it's not uncommon too see flock after flock of flight birds pouring through the area. It can really provide some world class hunting action."

The U.P.'s Ducks
McNew said, "Duck numbers have been fairly stable in the U.P. in recent years. A trend of lower Great Lakes water levels have denied waterfowl of some traditional habitat, however good nesting conditions in recent years seem to have made up for it. There are currently about 60,000 nesting pairs of mallards that call the U.P. home. Because wood ducks are so reclusive, it's hard to count them, but we estimate that there are upwards of 17,000 nesting woodies in the U.P. Hunters can also find good numbers of blue winged teal, buffleheads and other waterfowl species, too. Due to habitat loss, the once numerous black ducks continue to decline and now only number about 500 nesting pairs in the U.P. McNew concluded, "Diving ducks are very numerous in the U.P. during the fall, however most of them nest in Canada."

A short rest after a long retrieve.

Where And How
Last year I hunted the opening day of waterfowl season along a scenic river on public land. Despite easy access, in over 10 openers there, I've never encountered another hunter. I simply position myself in some brush on a point where the large river narrows, throw a dozen decoys out, and then sit back and enjoy the action. This river gets a consistent early morning flight of wood ducks and mallards during the first week of the season. I have never failed to take my limit from that spot. Last year I took my limit there so fast I was glad I'd brought a rod and reel along because the fish were biting there, too. It doesn't get much better than a lunch of fresh trout and wood ducks on opening day.

I have worn out several DeLorme Michigan atlases and gazetteers. Their topographic map books are a great source for freelance water fowlers showing roads, trails, public land, streams and lakes along with other details such as floodings and noted waterfowl areas. The U.P. has hundreds, if not thousands of streams draining it, and beavers occupy most of them. Beaver ponds are one of my favorite places to find good numbers of U.P. ducks. I locate them by first finding streams on my Gazetteer and then I use the Internet to find the ponds. Go to maps.yahoo.com and zoom in on your area of interest. Click on "Satellite" to see an aerial and pan around to examine streambeds for ponds. I like to key in on areas where beavers have made a series of dams. One can either just jump shoot the ponds or better yet use a pushing technique to really tear up the birds. Positioning one person at a strategic funnel along the stream. He's the blocker. Have another hunter jump shoot a series of ponds upstream from the blocker. The pusher or jump shooter will get some action, but if properly positioned, the blocker will often heat up his barrel picking off ducks that are pushed down stream. This hunting technique takes plenty of planning and strategy, and often takes hunting a location twice to pattern the birds' escape routes.

Hunting on inland lakes is another favorite tactic in the U.P. There are thousands of small, medium and large sized inland lakes peppering the U.P. and most of them have public access and good numbers of ducks and geese at times. The best lakes will feature marshy areas. Many provide shore bound hunters with some good opportunities, but having a small boat or canoe will open up the possibilities immensely.