By John Weiss

Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN 

The fall flight has begun in earnest on the Upper Mississippi River.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service flew along the river from Red Wing well into Iowa last week and found very few ducks and geese above Wabasha, but 280,612 below it.

Of those, 133,830 were canvasbacks. Most of those, in turn, were hanging out in closed areas of pools 5, 7, 8 and 9. There were also about 50,000 bluebills and ringnecks. The number of smaller ducks, such as wood ducks and teal, has dropped dramatically, which is normal for this time of the year.

Also, the service counted 975 swans.

In other words, the big flight is starting. But it's far from it's peak. Last year, the peak for canvasbacks was 359,850 Oct. 28. The peak for swans was 20,755 Nov. 24.

This week's count, by the way, should be out late today or Friday. It's on the service Web site at www.fws.gov/midwest/UpperMississippiRiver.

STANDING CORN AND DEER: The Department of Natural Resources is alerting firearms deer hunters that a lot of corn will still be standing when the season opens Nov. 7, and that could be a safety problem.

Many hunters walk through corn hoping to push deer, but that can be a problem if hunters shoot at running deer and don't check what's behind the deer, said Capt. Mike Hammer, a top DNR officer.

Hunters need to establish who will be where and who will shoot, he said.

DEER DONATIONS: The deer donation program is going to be in effect again this year. Last year, there was a controversy about some donated deer having particles of lead in it. The DNR helped teach processors how to avoid lead and the program is up and running this year.

Money comes from donations when hunters buy their licenses. Last year, they gave $50,000, enough for about 715 deer. All meat goes to local food shelves.

Here are the guidelines:

• Only whole carcasses with hides on will be accepted.

• Hunters need to give information about the permit area where they shot the deer and their DNR number.

• Only deer free of any signs of illness, decomposition, contamination or mishandling will be accepted.

Hunters should check with processors before they take in a deer.

The list of processors in the program will be updated as more register. The list is on the DNR Web site, www.dnr.state.mn.us.

POPE AND YOUNG CLUB FUNDRAISER: The Pope and Young Club is holding a raffle to get money to continue its programs and expand the museum in Chatfield.

Tickets are $5 each of six for $25. Grand prize is an African safari, followed by a deer hunt in Buffalo County, Wis..

For more information, call (507)867-4144 or go to www.pope-young.org.

A REMINDER: A report of two people fishing for trout in the Whitewater River after the season closed at the end of September came into the Post-Bulletin recently. That brings a reminder that all trout fishing is closed in Minnesota until the catch-and-release opener Jan. 1. Also, all smallmouth caught have to be released.

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