Northern flights of ducks and geese have arrived! With mild weather in the basin they will not be leaving any time soon. November 2012 is playing out like the hunting of old. Large groups of mallards have been reported everywhere from farm ponds to the reservoir and even with mild weather hitting dry corn fields in the evening. Duck hunters have been enjoying consistent limits all week with mallards and pintail comprising most of their bags. With the mild weather there still are numbers of widgeon, teal, and gadwall around mostly on the smaller water.

Goose hunting has been great also. Large numbers of geese are everywhere in the basin with a much better percentage of big ones compare to the past few Novembers. Reports of fast limits have been coming in all month on everything from corn to alfalfa fields.

The dry corn productions are the highest acreage to date in the Columbia basin this year. What that spells is food and the ability to hold birds in the area for the long hall. November has been awesome and weather permitting it will just improve throughout the season as more and more birds begin their migration.

Winter fishing has been as nice as the weather so far. Walleye fishing on the humps on the face of the dunes has picked up to a very consistent pace with 10 to 20 fish days being reported by multiple groups. Same old winter tactics are working. Ripping blades, pitching jigs and pulling spinners are the ticket. Trout fishing has been good on Medicare beach both trolling needle fish and cranks on lead core or down riggers and still fishing from the bank with worms and power bait. The perch bite has stayed good in the Lind coulee and around Goose Island with 10 inch plus 25 fish limits. Swedish pimples and a hook and a worm are the bait of choice.