WATSON -- Goose hunters at Lac qui Parle are enjoying one of the best starts ever.
There were over 50,000 geese counted in the refuge earlier this week, making it the highest count for this time of year since 1993, said Dave Trauba, refuge manager.
The 2006 season opened Thursday on the refuge, and will continue for 40-days through Nov. 27. There was lots of anticipation for this season long before the first geese arrived. For the first time in 37 years, hunters are being allowed to harvest two geese.
Along with a two goose limit, hunters are able to carry 12-shells to the state blinds and make two trips a day to the blinds.
The expanded hunting opportunities come with a large influx of geese for the opening weekend, which was purposely set to coincide with the Minnesota Education school break. Trauba said earlier this week that geese were expected to continue to ride a cold front and push the number of geese in the refuge above 50,000 for the first weekend.
ADVERTISEMENT
He added that there were also signs that many of the geese in the Oak Hammock reserve and City of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, could be on their way as well.
