Dick Herfindahl, Woods & Water

In case you haven’t noticed the weather in Minnesota can change at the drop of a hat. One day it can be in the high 80s with almost unbearable humidity and the next you are looking for a jacket. This is indeed what the weather in our great state is all about. I guess it’s what keeps me wanting to live here. No, not the heat and humidity but the change that is always taking place.

Each year after the fair is over I always seem to get the same feeling that is hard to describe. It is the one that tells me that summer is about to turn the page and fall is fast approaching. Although fall is my favorite season I never want to rush it. As I get older it seems as if all the seasons go by faster than when I was younger. As a youth I always knew that once the fair was in the books it meant that school wasn’t far behind. This meant football, hunting and everything else that went along with that season. That fall feeling that I mentioned is almost a lonely one, it’s like when the last of the waterfowl have headed south and you know that the lakes will soon be sitting cold and empty just waiting for the freeze over to happen. This feeling is somewhat peaceful yet almost sad at the same time.

In the year 2003 I was invited to attend the first Minnesota Governor’s Deer Hunting Opener. Although I am not a deer hunter I was excited to be able to attend and observe first hand what the tradition of these annual deer camps was all about. The first thing that I noticed at the kick-off banquet was the camaraderie between fellow deer hunters. It was fellow hunters sharing stories with fellow hunters and everyone seemed willing to share a tale or two about that “big buck” that they almost got. It seemed like these hunters were more excited about talking about “the one that got away” than one that they had shot. Like one speaker so amply put it “once you’ve bagged that big buck the trip for me is all but over and that‘s a pretty empty feeling.” It seemed to me that to most of these hunters the thrill of the hunt is far more exciting than the actual bagging of a deer.

I also got to witness first-hand the camaraderie of a deer camp and I came away with an appreciation of this long-standing tradition carried on by families and long time friends. Now I can understand why this event is so important to a lot of sportsmen and women.

Fall has always been my time of the year and I’ll take that over any other season. It’s literally a sportsman’s smorgasbord; hunting season for most critters is in full swing by the end of September and continues until the end of the year. The fall colors will soon become more prominent and most of the hunting seasons will be in full swing. This really is an exciting time of the year because you can hunt and still do a little fishing if you’re so inclined. It’s also a great time of the year to catch that lunker so keep that in mind before you hang up the rod and reel for another year.

While you’re cleaning up that gun for the upcoming season don’t put away those fishing poles just yet because there’s still plenty of time to wet a line.

Please remember our brothers and sisters who are proudly serving our country so that we can enjoy the freedoms that we have today.

Dick Herfindahl’s outdoors column appears in Friday’s Tribune.

Hunting and trapping dates for this year:
07/15/10 – 10/15/10 – Crow Hunting (2nd season)
09/01/10 – 10/17/10 – Bear season
09/01/10 – 10/30/10 – Mourning Dove season
09/01/10 – 11/08/10 – Snipe and Rail Hunting season
09/04/10 – 09/22/10 – Early Canada Goose season
09/18/10 – 02/28/11 – Small game – Rabbits, Squirrels season
09/18/10 – 12/31/10 – Deer hunt – Archery season
09/18/10 – 11/30/10 – Sharptailed grouse season
09/18/10 – 01/02/11 – Small game – Grouse, Gray Partridge
09/25/10 – 11/08/10 – Woodcock season
10/02/10 – Waterfowl Season Opener
10/02/10 – 10/31/10 – Fall Turkey Season
10/02/10 – 10/17/10 – Moose hunt – northeast season
10/16/10 – 01/02/11 – Pheasant season
10/21/10 – 10/22/10 – Deer hunt – Camp Ripley archery hunt – 1st season
10/23/10 – 03/15/11 – Badger, Opossum and Raccoon season
10/23/10 – 03/15/11 – Fox – Gray and Red Fox season
10/23/10 – 01/09/11 – Furbearer trapping – Otter – north zone
10/23/10 – 02/28/11 – Furbearer trapping – Mink and Muskrat – north zone
10/23/10 – 05/15/11 – Furbearer trapping – Beaver – north zone
10/23/10 – 10/27/10 – Prairie Chicken season
10/30/10 – 01/09/11 – Furbearer trapping – Otter – southeast zone
10/30/10 – 02/28/11 – Furbearer trapping – Mink and Muskrat-south zone
10/30/10 – 05/15/11 – Furbearer trapping – Beaver – south zone
10/30/10 – 10/31/10 – Deer hunt – Camp Ripley archery hunt – 2nd season
11/06/10 – Deer hunt – Firearm opener
11/27/10 – 12/12/10 – Deer hunt – Muzzleloader season
11/27/10 – 01/09/11 – Trapping season – Bobcat
11/27/10 – Fisher and Pine Marten opener