Minnesota duck hunters may be down 50% over the last 30 years... but you wouldn't know it if you were out in the northern metro area for 2011 opener.

My wife and kids, who are excited to join me in the duck blind, were feeling under the weather and my father, whom I have always hunted with, was away so my opening day of duck season would be alone this year. I scouted extensively this year so I had a plan for just such a situation and felt confident of the spot I had in mind.  Waterfowl numbers are up this year and I hadn't seen any traffic around this spot.

The night before duck opener, I went to check on my spot. Water levels were down but the birds were there! Not as abundant as just two weeks ago before the cold front moved through but more than enough for an easy limit especially considering we had an ideal weather forecast of calm winds, cold weather and fog to provide some overcast. My excitement was high but I knew it would require careful planning to go it alone.