Manager's Updates - State of Michigan
Manager's Updates - State of Michigan
Manager's Updates - State of Michigan
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Fennville Farm Unit Manager’s Update<br />
2013 Season - Week <strong>of</strong> 12/15<br />
Weather<br />
Cold & snowy with wind – perfect goose hunting weather for the Farm. We continue to get excellent<br />
weather. Right now we have about 8” or more <strong>of</strong> snow on the ground – more has fallen but the wind<br />
has been blowing into ditches and drifts.<br />
Waterfowl Abundance<br />
More geese have moved in over the past week. I am estimating 8500 but it has been difficult to see<br />
and count the birds on the Farm in the snowy weather, especially when they are sitting a distance<br />
from the road as they are in spots today. Right now they are feeding in the corn strip right behind the<br />
Farm headquarters. Duck numbers started to increase rapidly through the last week <strong>of</strong> the season<br />
until now. If they keep flying the way they have been we should see a good 2-day split and hopefully<br />
good numbers for the youth hunt.<br />
Hunting Conditions<br />
The corn strips are holding together OK. Snow is making it difficult for 2WD vehicles to get in and out<br />
<strong>of</strong> the hunting spots. Bring your 4WD if you can.<br />
Hunter Numbers<br />
Hunter numbers were down last week, ranging between 1 and 8 parties through the drawing during<br />
the weekday. The weekend proved to be busier with 29 and 22 parties on Saturday and Sunday,<br />
respectively. Monday there were 4 parties and today, for the 11 AM draw, we had 20 parties and I’ve<br />
heard some shooting so far.<br />
Waterfowl Harvest<br />
To date, we have harvested 405 geese, which exceeds the total number shot during last season.<br />
Harvest has been good. Since last Monday, we’ve had 199 hunter trips and 128 geese shot, so<br />
that’s a success rate <strong>of</strong> 64%. If more hunters would have been out last week our harvest would have<br />
increased much more dramatically. But, the weather was bad so that drove participation down. My<br />
rule <strong>of</strong> thumb is that a day where the roads are nasty due to snow and wind is a day that will be good<br />
at the Farm (in other words, if I wake up and have to leave early in order to get here on time and drive<br />
white-knuckled most <strong>of</strong> the way – that’s a good day to hunt).<br />
What To Expect This Week<br />
The weather seems like it will be OK for hunting this week. Sometimes these warmups like we are<br />
due to experience on Thursday produce good hunting – especially if the rain on the snow produces a<br />
thick fog.<br />
Upcoming Events<br />
The Farm Unit is closed on Christmas (but the rest <strong>of</strong> the Goose Management Unit will be open).<br />
December 28th is the PM Youth Hunt so hunters through the 5:30 AM draw will hunt til noon – the<br />
youth hunt drawing will be at 11:00 AM with lunch probably provided by Macatawa Bay Waterfowlers<br />
– our local chapter <strong>of</strong> the <strong>Michigan</strong> Duck Hunters Association.