October 10, 2025 • 24 mins
The Great Lakes are gearing up for fall migration! Ducks Unlimited’s Waterfowl 360 Great Lakes migration contributor Jay Anglin joins host Matt Harrison for a timely update on what hunters can expect this season. From spotty drought conditions to wood duck surges and early pintail movement, Jay breaks down the latest waterfowl activity across the region and shares what it could mean for your next hunt.
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Episode Transcript
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VO (01:41):
Can we do a mic check, please? Everybody, welcome back
to the Ducks Unlimited podcast.I'm your host, doctor Mike
Brasher. I'm your host, KatieBurke. I'm your host, doctor
Jared Hemphith.
And I'm your host, MattHarrison. Welcome to the Ducks
Unlimited podcast, the onlypodcast about all things
(02:03):
waterfowl. From hunting insightsto science based discussions
about ducks, geese, and issuesaffecting waterfowl and wetlands
conservation in North America.The DU podcast, sponsored by
Purina Pro Plan, the officialperformance dog food of Ducks
Unlimited. Purina Pro Plan,always advancing.
Also proudly sponsored by BirdDog Whiskey and Cocktails.
(02:25):
Whether you're winding down withyour best friend or celebrating
with your favorite crew, BirdDog brings award winning flavor
to every moment. Enjoyresponsibly.
Matt Harrison (02:47):
Hey, everyone, and welcome back to the Ducks
Unlimited podcast. I'm yourhost, Matt Harrison. And today,
we have with us very specialguest, mister Jay Anglin. Jay
Anglin is Ducks Unlimited'swaterfowl three sixty Great
Lakes migration editor. If youhave been following the Ducks
Unlimited podcast for any lengthof time, you've probably had a
(03:07):
heard episode of Jay and maybeChris Jennings talking about
migration updates, but we havehim on the podcast today.
We're gonna talk all thingsWaterfowl. We're gonna talk
about maybe a migration upupdate on where he's at, also
what he's seen, what he's heard,and just talk a little bit about
the upcoming waterfowl season.But, Jay, how's it going? Last
(03:27):
time me and you were together,we were chasing some ducks for a
media account. But how you
Jay Anglin (03:31):
been, bud? Been pretty good, man. You know, just
super busy chasing collegevolleyball games and fall ball
and baseball for the kids andand guiding fishermen and, of
course, riding in between and,of course, holding the fort down
outside, tending to my flowersand lawn and stuff too just like
everybody else.
Matt Harrison (03:50):
So now you have sounds like a really full
schedule chasing volleyballgames, fishing, writing, the
whole nine. How do you how doyou balance all that?
Jay Anglin (03:59):
Well, you know, Angie and I share the burden, of
course, but as a self employedguy, you know, contract writer,
and I have my own guide servicethat might coming up on my
thirtieth year doing that. Wow.You know, it gives me the it
gives me a lot of flexibility.And I know, you know, I could I
work more? Absolutely.
But, you know, these kinds ofsituations where you have
(04:21):
family, and especially my kidsinvolved with something like
that, it's just the best excusein the world to say, I can't
guide you tomorrow because Ihave to go watch a baseball game
my kid's pitching in.
Matt Harrison (04:33):
That's awesome.
Jay Anglin (04:34):
Yeah. Yeah, We we do pretty well. My wife's a
teacher, so she doesn't havenear the flexibility, but we
manage. We do alright.
Matt Harrison (04:41):
No doubt. And now tell us a little bit about your
guidance service that
Jay Anglin (04:45):
you have. So I've been guiding since, you know,
the mid to late nineties. Flyfishing guide, conventional
tackle guide, fishing guide,primarily on rivers in Northern
Indiana and Southern Michigan.I, you know, I've guided all
over the Great Lakes States. Itwas a hired gun in some cases
for, you know, musky fishing inWisconsin, and, of course,
(05:05):
guided all over Michigan.
Went to school up in the UpperPeninsula, Northern Michigan
University, where I got my biodegree, so I've got, you know, a
lot of background up there aswell. And I did quite a bit of
hunting guiding over the years.A little bit of everything, man.
I got paid once to take a kidI'd take a guy and his kid
turtle hunting. I've taken guysI've taken guys rabbit hunting.
You you were with me. You sawit. I know my way around the
(05:27):
territory pretty well. No. But,yeah, waterfowl wise, it's one
of those things I do a trip hereand there, but for the most
part, I try to keep that part ofmy outdoor experience to myself
and my family and friends.
It's sort of sacred. So I don'tdo a ton of waterfowl guiding,
and, you know, I do turkeys andand occasionally some upland
(05:48):
birds. So, yeah, it's it's I'man all arounder, you know?
Matt Harrison (05:51):
Well, let's talk a little bit about some
waterfowl. You know, the seasonis, in some areas has opened.
You know, we haven't opened downhere in the South yet, so we got
a little bit of little bit oftime. But, I mean, it's here.
You know?
We're finally starting to getsome cool mornings, and I have
been itching to get out. Ihaven't been able to chase any
teal or anything like that insurrounding states, but I'm I'm
(06:13):
excited. I mean, like I said,we're we're we're here. I mean,
season is right upon us, andsome up north have already
opened, and it's it's excitingto see. You're starting to see
some pictures on social mediaand people having good hunts and
such.
But you told us that you'rearound the Great Lakes. What's
kinda the vibe going into thisseason? What are, you know,
(06:33):
kinda some of the updates, andwhat what have you seen so far
as far as the upcoming waterfowlseason?
Jay Anglin (06:39):
Well, you know, I did a piece here a week and a
half or two ago for DU, kind ofa preview, season preview, and
gleaned quite a bit ofinformation from that, although
it may have changed just alittle. I think we're kind of in
the same boat in that regardintel wise. But Minnesota opened
along with the northern zones,the UP Of Michigan, Wisconsin,
(07:02):
and Minnesota opened. CentralMichigan opened. Some of these
middle zones are opening, andthen the south zones will open
in either this coming weekend orthe following.
And the general consensus aroundthe Great Lakes is it's really
been an ongoing issue, but thisyear, it's I guess, if I had to
pick one word, it'd be variable,and and what I'm referring to is
(07:23):
is the drought situation. AndYeah. It's spotty. And so, you
know, if you go throughMinnesota and look at their
waterfowl reports this week, youknow, there's some areas that
are kinda dry, and there's someareas that are really, really
wet and even have some sheetwater on crop stubble. Wow.
Yeah. Michigan, you know,Southern Michigan, right across
(07:44):
the state line from me, 10 milesaway, it's kinda spotty, but
overall dry. I mean, the riversI fish are just absolutely as
skinny as can be. Crystal clear,low, which of course presents a
challenge to anglers and guidestrying to get a water, a drift
boat down a river. But I thinkthe biggest thing is, you know,
we did get some rain this week,and in some places, pushing an
(08:09):
inch in Southern Michigan,Indiana, Northern Illinois.
A few plot spots in Ohio gotsome rain. But overall, the
Great Lakes water levels aresimilar to last year, maybe just
a skosh lower. And I think onething people don't realize is
that, you know, despite thedrought, the Great Lakes, you
know, when you drop asignificant amount and you
maintain temperatures like weare right now, the water temp's
(08:32):
really warm, and that's thatalso creates sort of a
microenvironment adjacent to theGreat Lakes. So we have we have
a fair amount of water in theGreat Lakes, but it's still a
little on the low side. Butthat's important because a lot
of the wetlands associated withthe Great Lakes, the huge areas
like Green Bay, Saginaw Bay,Lake St.
Clair, West Coast Of Lake Erie,etcetera, those areas are
(08:57):
they're wetlands. They're marshyareas that are shallow anyway.
So if you get super shallow,it's good for the birds,
frankly, but not so good forhunters trying to gain access to
those areas. And that's gonnarequire either hiking in or real
specialized equipment, you know,mudboats or or canoes or what
have you. So that's something toconsider too.
Matt Harrison (09:17):
Yeah. No doubt. We did a migration update about
a week or so ago in Louisiana,and we talked about that. You
know, the places some places aredry, some places are are wetter
than others, but they were theywere saying what they've seen so
far, you know, is if you hadsome water, more than likely,
you had some birds in your area.
Jay Anglin (09:35):
Yeah. So up here, local hatch, fair to Midland, I
think, overall, at least where Iam here, and I do get around,
too, all over Indiana. CentralIndiana's really, really dry,
but a lot of the areas that hada little bit of water in the
spring and potentially producedsome local broods, they're dry.
(09:56):
So there's a couple things.There's moist soil vegetation in
some cases that's popped up inthose basins, small wetlands.
And so when we do get some rain,if we do recover, and I assume
we will here in the next month,those areas are gonna have a lot
of duck food. So that'ssomething I think a lot of guys
forget when they don't havewater, or they see their marsh
(10:17):
that they love to hunt, youknow, is dried up. You know,
it's good for that marsh, it'scertainly good for waterfowl if
you get water, and it sort ofalso knocks down some of the
other stuff, the invasives andstuff like that. So it's a good
thing. But bird wise, the woodducks are plentiful on the
river.
I'm seeing tons of woodiesbecause if the wetlands are
(10:37):
dried up, they'll tuck in alongthe rivers and the bottoms and
stuff, and I'm seeing a ton ofwoodies right now. I mean, a
bunch. And that's a good thing.TOIs, just like everybody else,
they scooted through early. I'mhearing reports out of
Minnesota, the Dakotas, andNorthern Wisconsin that a
significant number of the BlueWings that didn't come down
(10:59):
before You know?
So there's always that secondwave, and that has kicked in in
earnest over the last four orfive days. So I would expect you
know, obviously, the early tealseasons are gone are done, but,
you know, you've got guys thatare gonna have openers. I would
guess you're gonna have acombination of malar local
mallards primarily, a lot ofwood ducks, maybe some teal. And
(11:21):
then there's also been some niceearly migration of pintails,
widgeon, redheads, andringnecks. I'm hearing those
species for the last two weeks,really, out of the big wetland
complexes like Saginaw Bay,Green Bay, etcetera.
And that's, you know, that's agood sign too. That means
they're not hanging up. Youknow, like, everybody talks
(11:43):
about when we have warm we're upin the prairies in Canada,
everything hangs up. But there'sbirds pushing already for sure.
Absolutely.
100%.
VO (11:58):
Stay tuned to the Ducks Unlimited podcast, sponsored by
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Matt Harrison (13:56):
And is your area you know, I got to spend a
little bit of time up there. Iguess that was two years ago
now, and it was awesome. But isis your area typically an area
that that houses a lot of woodducks throughout the season?
Jay Anglin (14:07):
Yeah. You know, Matt, this area has a a lot of
small wetlands. And andgenerally speaking, they're
associated with topography thatmade it impossible to farm those
areas. So the ones that were outin the flats out here, you know,
they were drained long ago, a100 plus years ago. So in those
areas, in Michigan, Indiana,Ohio, you know, Illinois,
(14:31):
there's all these littlepockets.
And, you know, you could bedriving down the expressway,
look out the window, see littlewoodlot. And I think people
forget, know, there's a reasonthose trees are still there.
Yeah. And it's not because, youknow, great great grandma would
fell in love with some hickorytrees typically. It's because it
was too difficult to plow it,and it wasn't feasible for
(14:51):
someone to put the work in.
So a lot of times in the core ofthose wooded areas, which are
extremely plentiful in this partof the country, you're gonna
have a little wooded wetland.And those are just obviously
magic for wood ducks. So I guessthe long and short of it is,
yes, we do usually have quite afew wood ducks. The other thing
is, I am, I'm at the bottom ofLake Michigan here, and this is
(15:14):
a big funnel. So all the woodiesthat migrated north or pushed
down further south or whatever,they're streaming through here
in numbers right now.
I'm seeing a ton. And it's ahuge mass crop this year of
oaks, acorns. So that yeah. Thatyeah. They're gonna show up down
(15:34):
by you guys real plump.
I can tell you that much.
Matt Harrison (15:36):
Yeah. No doubt. Especially if, you know, where
we hunt, if it's a good acorndrop, that you will have the
wood ducks plentiful, which wetypically have. You know, we we
have a lot of a lot of rivers, alot of creeks, a lot of sloughs,
swamps down here, you know, inthe South, and those wood ducks,
like you said, that cover thatthey can get in and, you know,
(15:59):
hide, they they eat it up. So wewe typically have a a great,
great number.
You know, I haven't seen just Ihaven't gotten to get out a
whole lot and do any boat ridingor or walking creeks or rivers
anytime as of late, but Iimagine we're starting to get
some. And, you know, we havesome that hang out all year
round as well. Those locals thatjust don't like to don't like to
(16:23):
go anywhere, they haven't made,but it's typically the same, you
know, same thing around here.But as far as weather goes, how
has y'all's weather been so farup until this point?
Jay Anglin (16:34):
Well, it's just been real interesting. Overall, we're
way above as of last night, wefinally got this north wind,
cool front, and we've had acouple minor ones. It feels a
little more like fall, althoughit still feels Indian summer
like too. Really hot. I've beenon the river on days where
(16:56):
bright sunny, high sun, and it's88 degrees in the last few
weeks, and that's just unusualfor this latitude.
And that goes all the way up tothe north and well into the
eighties. So when I hear reportsthat Minnesota, for example,
opening day was success rateswere below average according to
(17:17):
the DNR overall. I mean, therewere some highs. Anywhere you
go, there's gonna be guys thatlook out and get into them real
good, but For sure. Or they justdid their due diligence and
scouted well.
But at the end of the day, Ithink, you know, all these kinda
sketchy reports I'm hearing hasa lot more to do with the fact
that if it's 85 sunny andthere's no wind and you're a
duck and you're well fed, youreally don't have a whole lot of
(17:41):
reasons to go buzzing around thecounty. No. So I I think that
has a lot more to do with it. Ido think it's one of those years
where we're going and this isjust my opinion. It's based a
little bit on climatologicalpredictions I've read, but I
have a feeling we're gonnaswitch gears pretty quick at
some point in next month.
(18:03):
And sometimes when that happens,it's almost too much for us,
because down here, we're waitingand waiting and waiting, and all
of a sudden, pow, they come, butthey go right past.
Matt Harrison (18:12):
Yeah. So yeah. Yeah. No. Totally understand.
You know, it's one of thosedeals, like you said, especially
where you guys are, where oneday they're here, one day
they're gone, and just nature ofthe beast. But so as far as, you
know, just overall view, areyour expectations high, about
(18:34):
average, low for this upcomingwaterfowl season for the Great
Lakes? What would you say as farand I know this is opinion
based. You know, I know that wedon't have to dive off into all
the reasons. But would you saythis is a season that you're
really looking forward to or onethat you're just hoping that you
come out par, or or is this theseason your your hopes aren't
too high as far as just theGreat Lakes region?
Jay Anglin (18:57):
Well, I would call it par this year. And, I mean, I
expect it to be relativelyaverage if you consider the
last, you know, five years orso. You know, on the upside, we
do have open water. We havelakes and big rivers and some
managed marsh areas all overthis geographic region. Anybody
(19:18):
that has the ability to get intosome moist soil or crops that
are crop stubble, what have you,food plots, that can pump water
and hold some water, I thinkyou're just gonna be absolutely
covered with birds in the in theprime time during migration.
And then in areas where you havea lack of marsh, wetland,
(19:41):
flooded areas, whatnot, you'regonna have to hunt big water.
And, of course, you know,fishermen fish well into
November and December, reallyyear round up here if they have
open water, and that does havean impact on birds, you know,
that that tend to stage up onlarge recreational lakes and
then go out and feed in some ofthe crop area, you know, the
crop stubble. But I would sayit's probably gonna be about
(20:03):
average, I'm guessing. I wish Icould say it's gonna oh, man,
it's gonna be a barn burner. Butanymore, you know, man, I've
been doing this for forty threeyears or whatever it is, and the
second you start saying, oh,man, I've got the waterfowl
world in the palm of my hand,It's not gonna work out.
(20:25):
So I keep it I I keep I keep mymy expectations measured, I
guess, would be a good way to tolook at it.
Matt Harrison (20:33):
Yeah. No doubt. I I feel like it's the same, you
know, where we're at. It's oneof those years that you you're
you're going into it and youalways, as a waterfowl hunter,
you always have highexpectations. You know, you
wanna have a good year, but wehadn't really got to that point
to see a good push of birds oranything like that, you know, as
far south as we are down here.
It'll be a little bit later forus to really start seeing seeing
(20:56):
some migration and seeing somebirds start showing up. But
hopefully, before too muchlonger, we'll we'll get to that
point. I mean, it's right aroundthe corner for us again. But,
Jay, I can't thank you enoughjust for taking some time to to
hop on the DE podcast and justtalk about the the Great Lakes
region, and thank you so muchfor all that you do for Ducks
(21:17):
Unlimited and also just theconservation world as a whole.
You've you've done a lot of goodthings for us.
Like you said, for over fortyyears, you've been a part of
this this mission. So we thankyou so much for it. But thank
you thank you so much again fortaking some time out of your
super busy schedule and andtalking to our listeners.
Jay Anglin (21:35):
Oh, anytime. I love being on here, and, I hope
everybody has a great seasonand, you know, stay stay safe
out there, enjoy it, and by allmeans, contribute to, you know,
wetland conservation. And, youknow, every year that goes by,
it's that much more importantfor us to to fight that. That
that's the good fight we'refighting. You know?
Matt Harrison (21:55):
No doubt. No doubt. Well, thank you all so
much to our Ducks Limitedpodcast listeners. We also wanna
thank our podcast producer,Chris Isaac. Y'all take care and
God bless.
VO (22:08):
Thank you for listening to the DU podcast, sponsored by
Purina Pro Plan, the officialperformance dog food of Ducks
Unlimited. Purina Pro Plan,always advancing. Also proudly
sponsored by Bird Dog Whiskeyand Cocktails. Whether you're
winding down with your bestfriend or celebrating with your
favorite crew, Bird Dog bringsaward winning flavor to every
moment. Enjoy responsibly.
(22:30):
Be sure to rate, review, andsubscribe to the show and visit
ducks.org/dupodcast. Opinionsexpressed by guests do not
necessarily reflect those ofDucks Unlimited. Until next
time, stay tuned to the Ducks.
Can we do a mic check, please? Everybody, welcome back
to the Ducks Unlimited podcast.I'm your host, doctor Mike
Brasher. I'm your host, KatieBurke. I'm your host, doctor
Jared Hemphith.
And I'm your host, MattHarrison. Welcome to the Ducks
Unlimited podcast, the onlypodcast about all things
(02:03):
waterfowl. From hunting insightsto science based discussions
about ducks, geese, and issuesaffecting waterfowl and wetlands
conservation in North America.The DU podcast, sponsored by
Purina Pro Plan, the officialperformance dog food of Ducks
Unlimited. Purina Pro Plan,always advancing.
Also proudly sponsored by BirdDog Whiskey and Cocktails.
(02:25):
Whether you're winding down withyour best friend or celebrating
with your favorite crew, BirdDog brings award winning flavor
to every moment. Enjoyresponsibly.
Matt Harrison (02:47):
Hey, everyone, and welcome back to the Ducks
Unlimited podcast. I'm yourhost, Matt Harrison. And today,
we have with us very specialguest, mister Jay Anglin. Jay
Anglin is Ducks Unlimited'swaterfowl three sixty Great
Lakes migration editor. If youhave been following the Ducks
Unlimited podcast for any lengthof time, you've probably had a
(03:07):
heard episode of Jay and maybeChris Jennings talking about
migration updates, but we havehim on the podcast today.
We're gonna talk all thingsWaterfowl. We're gonna talk
about maybe a migration upupdate on where he's at, also
what he's seen, what he's heard,and just talk a little bit about
the upcoming waterfowl season.But, Jay, how's it going? Last
(03:27):
time me and you were together,we were chasing some ducks for a
media account. But how you
Jay Anglin (03:31):
been, bud? Been pretty good, man. You know, just
super busy chasing collegevolleyball games and fall ball
and baseball for the kids andand guiding fishermen and, of
course, riding in between and,of course, holding the fort down
outside, tending to my flowersand lawn and stuff too just like
everybody else.
Matt Harrison (03:50):
So now you have sounds like a really full
schedule chasing volleyballgames, fishing, writing, the
whole nine. How do you how doyou balance all that?
Jay Anglin (03:59):
Well, you know, Angie and I share the burden, of
course, but as a self employedguy, you know, contract writer,
and I have my own guide servicethat might coming up on my
thirtieth year doing that. Wow.You know, it gives me the it
gives me a lot of flexibility.And I know, you know, I could I
work more? Absolutely.
But, you know, these kinds ofsituations where you have
(04:21):
family, and especially my kidsinvolved with something like
that, it's just the best excusein the world to say, I can't
guide you tomorrow because Ihave to go watch a baseball game
my kid's pitching in.
Matt Harrison (04:33):
That's awesome.
Jay Anglin (04:34):
Yeah. Yeah, We we do pretty well. My wife's a
teacher, so she doesn't havenear the flexibility, but we
manage. We do alright.
Matt Harrison (04:41):
No doubt. And now tell us a little bit about your
guidance service that
Jay Anglin (04:45):
you have. So I've been guiding since, you know,
the mid to late nineties. Flyfishing guide, conventional
tackle guide, fishing guide,primarily on rivers in Northern
Indiana and Southern Michigan.I, you know, I've guided all
over the Great Lakes States. Itwas a hired gun in some cases
for, you know, musky fishing inWisconsin, and, of course,
(05:05):
guided all over Michigan.
Went to school up in the UpperPeninsula, Northern Michigan
University, where I got my biodegree, so I've got, you know, a
lot of background up there aswell. And I did quite a bit of
hunting guiding over the years.A little bit of everything, man.
I got paid once to take a kidI'd take a guy and his kid
turtle hunting. I've taken guysI've taken guys rabbit hunting.
You you were with me. You sawit. I know my way around the
(05:27):
territory pretty well. No. But,yeah, waterfowl wise, it's one
of those things I do a trip hereand there, but for the most
part, I try to keep that part ofmy outdoor experience to myself
and my family and friends.
It's sort of sacred. So I don'tdo a ton of waterfowl guiding,
and, you know, I do turkeys andand occasionally some upland
(05:48):
birds. So, yeah, it's it's I'man all arounder, you know?
Matt Harrison (05:51):
Well, let's talk a little bit about some
waterfowl. You know, the seasonis, in some areas has opened.
You know, we haven't opened downhere in the South yet, so we got
a little bit of little bit oftime. But, I mean, it's here.
You know?
We're finally starting to getsome cool mornings, and I have
been itching to get out. Ihaven't been able to chase any
teal or anything like that insurrounding states, but I'm I'm
(06:13):
excited. I mean, like I said,we're we're we're here. I mean,
season is right upon us, andsome up north have already
opened, and it's it's excitingto see. You're starting to see
some pictures on social mediaand people having good hunts and
such.
But you told us that you'rearound the Great Lakes. What's
kinda the vibe going into thisseason? What are, you know,
(06:33):
kinda some of the updates, andwhat what have you seen so far
as far as the upcoming waterfowlseason?
Jay Anglin (06:39):
Well, you know, I did a piece here a week and a
half or two ago for DU, kind ofa preview, season preview, and
gleaned quite a bit ofinformation from that, although
it may have changed just alittle. I think we're kind of in
the same boat in that regardintel wise. But Minnesota opened
along with the northern zones,the UP Of Michigan, Wisconsin,
(07:02):
and Minnesota opened. CentralMichigan opened. Some of these
middle zones are opening, andthen the south zones will open
in either this coming weekend orthe following.
And the general consensus aroundthe Great Lakes is it's really
been an ongoing issue, but thisyear, it's I guess, if I had to
pick one word, it'd be variable,and and what I'm referring to is
(07:23):
is the drought situation. AndYeah. It's spotty. And so, you
know, if you go throughMinnesota and look at their
waterfowl reports this week, youknow, there's some areas that
are kinda dry, and there's someareas that are really, really
wet and even have some sheetwater on crop stubble. Wow.
Yeah. Michigan, you know,Southern Michigan, right across
(07:44):
the state line from me, 10 milesaway, it's kinda spotty, but
overall dry. I mean, the riversI fish are just absolutely as
skinny as can be. Crystal clear,low, which of course presents a
challenge to anglers and guidestrying to get a water, a drift
boat down a river. But I thinkthe biggest thing is, you know,
we did get some rain this week,and in some places, pushing an
(08:09):
inch in Southern Michigan,Indiana, Northern Illinois.
A few plot spots in Ohio gotsome rain. But overall, the
Great Lakes water levels aresimilar to last year, maybe just
a skosh lower. And I think onething people don't realize is
that, you know, despite thedrought, the Great Lakes, you
know, when you drop asignificant amount and you
maintain temperatures like weare right now, the water temp's
(08:32):
really warm, and that's thatalso creates sort of a
microenvironment adjacent to theGreat Lakes. So we have we have
a fair amount of water in theGreat Lakes, but it's still a
little on the low side. Butthat's important because a lot
of the wetlands associated withthe Great Lakes, the huge areas
like Green Bay, Saginaw Bay,Lake St.
Clair, West Coast Of Lake Erie,etcetera, those areas are
(08:57):
they're wetlands. They're marshyareas that are shallow anyway.
So if you get super shallow,it's good for the birds,
frankly, but not so good forhunters trying to gain access to
those areas. And that's gonnarequire either hiking in or real
specialized equipment, you know,mudboats or or canoes or what
have you. So that's something toconsider too.
Matt Harrison (09:17):
Yeah. No doubt. We did a migration update about
a week or so ago in Louisiana,and we talked about that. You
know, the places some places aredry, some places are are wetter
than others, but they were theywere saying what they've seen so
far, you know, is if you hadsome water, more than likely,
you had some birds in your area.
Jay Anglin (09:35):
Yeah. So up here, local hatch, fair to Midland, I
think, overall, at least where Iam here, and I do get around,
too, all over Indiana. CentralIndiana's really, really dry,
but a lot of the areas that hada little bit of water in the
spring and potentially producedsome local broods, they're dry.
(09:56):
So there's a couple things.There's moist soil vegetation in
some cases that's popped up inthose basins, small wetlands.
And so when we do get some rain,if we do recover, and I assume
we will here in the next month,those areas are gonna have a lot
of duck food. So that'ssomething I think a lot of guys
forget when they don't havewater, or they see their marsh
(10:17):
that they love to hunt, youknow, is dried up. You know,
it's good for that marsh, it'scertainly good for waterfowl if
you get water, and it sort ofalso knocks down some of the
other stuff, the invasives andstuff like that. So it's a good
thing. But bird wise, the woodducks are plentiful on the
river.
I'm seeing tons of woodiesbecause if the wetlands are
(10:37):
dried up, they'll tuck in alongthe rivers and the bottoms and
stuff, and I'm seeing a ton ofwoodies right now. I mean, a
bunch. And that's a good thing.TOIs, just like everybody else,
they scooted through early. I'mhearing reports out of
Minnesota, the Dakotas, andNorthern Wisconsin that a
significant number of the BlueWings that didn't come down
(10:59):
before You know?
So there's always that secondwave, and that has kicked in in
earnest over the last four orfive days. So I would expect you
know, obviously, the early tealseasons are gone are done, but,
you know, you've got guys thatare gonna have openers. I would
guess you're gonna have acombination of malar local
mallards primarily, a lot ofwood ducks, maybe some teal. And
(11:21):
then there's also been some niceearly migration of pintails,
widgeon, redheads, andringnecks. I'm hearing those
species for the last two weeks,really, out of the big wetland
complexes like Saginaw Bay,Green Bay, etcetera.
And that's, you know, that's agood sign too. That means
they're not hanging up. Youknow, like, everybody talks
(11:43):
about when we have warm we're upin the prairies in Canada,
everything hangs up. But there'sbirds pushing already for sure.
Absolutely.
100%.
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Matt Harrison (13:56):
And is your area you know, I got to spend a
little bit of time up there. Iguess that was two years ago
now, and it was awesome. But isis your area typically an area
that that houses a lot of woodducks throughout the season?
Jay Anglin (14:07):
Yeah. You know, Matt, this area has a a lot of
small wetlands. And andgenerally speaking, they're
associated with topography thatmade it impossible to farm those
areas. So the ones that were outin the flats out here, you know,
they were drained long ago, a100 plus years ago. So in those
areas, in Michigan, Indiana,Ohio, you know, Illinois,
(14:31):
there's all these littlepockets.
And, you know, you could bedriving down the expressway,
look out the window, see littlewoodlot. And I think people
forget, know, there's a reasonthose trees are still there.
Yeah. And it's not because, youknow, great great grandma would
fell in love with some hickorytrees typically. It's because it
was too difficult to plow it,and it wasn't feasible for
(14:51):
someone to put the work in.
So a lot of times in the core ofthose wooded areas, which are
extremely plentiful in this partof the country, you're gonna
have a little wooded wetland.And those are just obviously
magic for wood ducks. So I guessthe long and short of it is,
yes, we do usually have quite afew wood ducks. The other thing
is, I am, I'm at the bottom ofLake Michigan here, and this is
(15:14):
a big funnel. So all the woodiesthat migrated north or pushed
down further south or whatever,they're streaming through here
in numbers right now.
I'm seeing a ton. And it's ahuge mass crop this year of
oaks, acorns. So that yeah. Thatyeah. They're gonna show up down
(15:34):
by you guys real plump.
I can tell you that much.
Matt Harrison (15:36):
Yeah. No doubt. Especially if, you know, where
we hunt, if it's a good acorndrop, that you will have the
wood ducks plentiful, which wetypically have. You know, we we
have a lot of a lot of rivers, alot of creeks, a lot of sloughs,
swamps down here, you know, inthe South, and those wood ducks,
like you said, that cover thatthey can get in and, you know,
(15:59):
hide, they they eat it up. So wewe typically have a a great,
great number.
You know, I haven't seen just Ihaven't gotten to get out a
whole lot and do any boat ridingor or walking creeks or rivers
anytime as of late, but Iimagine we're starting to get
some. And, you know, we havesome that hang out all year
round as well. Those locals thatjust don't like to don't like to
(16:23):
go anywhere, they haven't made,but it's typically the same, you
know, same thing around here.But as far as weather goes, how
has y'all's weather been so farup until this point?
Jay Anglin (16:34):
Well, it's just been real interesting. Overall, we're
way above as of last night, wefinally got this north wind,
cool front, and we've had acouple minor ones. It feels a
little more like fall, althoughit still feels Indian summer
like too. Really hot. I've beenon the river on days where
(16:56):
bright sunny, high sun, and it's88 degrees in the last few
weeks, and that's just unusualfor this latitude.
And that goes all the way up tothe north and well into the
eighties. So when I hear reportsthat Minnesota, for example,
opening day was success rateswere below average according to
(17:17):
the DNR overall. I mean, therewere some highs. Anywhere you
go, there's gonna be guys thatlook out and get into them real
good, but For sure. Or they justdid their due diligence and
scouted well.
But at the end of the day, Ithink, you know, all these kinda
sketchy reports I'm hearing hasa lot more to do with the fact
that if it's 85 sunny andthere's no wind and you're a
duck and you're well fed, youreally don't have a whole lot of
(17:41):
reasons to go buzzing around thecounty. No. So I I think that
has a lot more to do with it. Ido think it's one of those years
where we're going and this isjust my opinion. It's based a
little bit on climatologicalpredictions I've read, but I
have a feeling we're gonnaswitch gears pretty quick at
some point in next month.
(18:03):
And sometimes when that happens,it's almost too much for us,
because down here, we're waitingand waiting and waiting, and all
of a sudden, pow, they come, butthey go right past.
Matt Harrison (18:12):
Yeah. So yeah. Yeah. No. Totally understand.
You know, it's one of thosedeals, like you said, especially
where you guys are, where oneday they're here, one day
they're gone, and just nature ofthe beast. But so as far as, you
know, just overall view, areyour expectations high, about
(18:34):
average, low for this upcomingwaterfowl season for the Great
Lakes? What would you say as farand I know this is opinion
based. You know, I know that wedon't have to dive off into all
the reasons. But would you saythis is a season that you're
really looking forward to or onethat you're just hoping that you
come out par, or or is this theseason your your hopes aren't
too high as far as just theGreat Lakes region?
Jay Anglin (18:57):
Well, I would call it par this year. And, I mean, I
expect it to be relativelyaverage if you consider the
last, you know, five years orso. You know, on the upside, we
do have open water. We havelakes and big rivers and some
managed marsh areas all overthis geographic region. Anybody
(19:18):
that has the ability to get intosome moist soil or crops that
are crop stubble, what have you,food plots, that can pump water
and hold some water, I thinkyou're just gonna be absolutely
covered with birds in the in theprime time during migration.
And then in areas where you havea lack of marsh, wetland,
(19:41):
flooded areas, whatnot, you'regonna have to hunt big water.
And, of course, you know,fishermen fish well into
November and December, reallyyear round up here if they have
open water, and that does havean impact on birds, you know,
that that tend to stage up onlarge recreational lakes and
then go out and feed in some ofthe crop area, you know, the
crop stubble. But I would sayit's probably gonna be about
(20:03):
average, I'm guessing. I wish Icould say it's gonna oh, man,
it's gonna be a barn burner. Butanymore, you know, man, I've
been doing this for forty threeyears or whatever it is, and the
second you start saying, oh,man, I've got the waterfowl
world in the palm of my hand,It's not gonna work out.
(20:25):
So I keep it I I keep I keep mymy expectations measured, I
guess, would be a good way to tolook at it.
Matt Harrison (20:33):
Yeah. No doubt. I I feel like it's the same, you
know, where we're at. It's oneof those years that you you're
you're going into it and youalways, as a waterfowl hunter,
you always have highexpectations. You know, you
wanna have a good year, but wehadn't really got to that point
to see a good push of birds oranything like that, you know, as
far south as we are down here.
It'll be a little bit later forus to really start seeing seeing
(20:56):
some migration and seeing somebirds start showing up. But
hopefully, before too muchlonger, we'll we'll get to that
point. I mean, it's right aroundthe corner for us again. But,
Jay, I can't thank you enoughjust for taking some time to to
hop on the DE podcast and justtalk about the the Great Lakes
region, and thank you so muchfor all that you do for Ducks
(21:17):
Unlimited and also just theconservation world as a whole.
You've you've done a lot of goodthings for us.
Like you said, for over fortyyears, you've been a part of
this this mission. So we thankyou so much for it. But thank
you thank you so much again fortaking some time out of your
super busy schedule and andtalking to our listeners.
Jay Anglin (21:35):
Oh, anytime. I love being on here, and, I hope
everybody has a great seasonand, you know, stay stay safe
out there, enjoy it, and by allmeans, contribute to, you know,
wetland conservation. And, youknow, every year that goes by,
it's that much more importantfor us to to fight that. That
that's the good fight we'refighting. You know?
Matt Harrison (21:55):
No doubt. No doubt. Well, thank you all so
much to our Ducks Limitedpodcast listeners. We also wanna
thank our podcast producer,Chris Isaac. Y'all take care and
God bless.
VO (22:08):
Thank you for listening to the DU podcast, sponsored by
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Unlimited. Purina Pro Plan,always advancing. Also proudly
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(22:30):
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