One thing is for sure. The outlook for grouse is good. This winter from a grouse standpoint was very good. There was good roosting snow statewide and decent snow conditions in most of the grouse's range. We had some cold weather during the middle of winter, but that was no big deal; these hardy Minnesota grouse are used to it. The extended winter didn't hurt them. They'll always drum, they'll always breed, and they'll still nest.

Will this grouse peak seem as good as some of the others? Probably not. The 1970 and 1971 peak will always be remembered as the best of the best. It was the perfect combination of variables that led to a banner year of grouse hunting. Even southeast Minnesota experienced phenomenal grouse hunting during this period.

From 1979 through 1881, there were high expectations, but the cyclical peak didn't peak as high as we spoiled grouse hunters would have liked it. Too many memories of the hunting 10 years ago made some decent hunting seem less than desirable.

The 1989 and 1990 seasons were good. The birds were plentiful, but so were the hunters. All the hype about a big peak brought plenty of hunters, and while the success ratio was high, it was tough to find a spot that wasn't being pounded by shotgunners on ATVs.

In the early 1990s, I made the transition to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness to hunt grouse. Legendary guide Bill Slaughter and I portaged boats up to Basswood Lake where the hunting was decent considering the grouse were on the low point of their cycle. I discovered the Boundary Waters don't follow the deep valleys and high peaks of the cycle as much as the central part of the state. I've been going up there every year to chase grouse and have never been disappointed.

In 1998 and 1999, the grouse cycle was high again and hunting was great. It was phenomenal in the Boundary Waters. In general, 2001 through 2005 were awful years, but now we're back on the rising leg of the cycle. Once again, my best hunting on those down years was in the Boundary Waters regions around Ely. East of there, even in the wilderness areas, was tough.

This year we will be on the front end of the cusp when it comes to grouse numbers. The next three years have the potential to produce some great grouse hunting if all the conditions come together. If you're a grouse hunter who can remember that period almost 40 years ago when the hunting was too good to be true, well, we can only hope for something that good again. If you're too young to remember, then the best for you may not have happened yet. So, get off the trails, stay intense whether you are seeing birds or not, and if you can get the gun up as fast as I do when a bird flushes, consider resting that 12 gauge and getting something smaller.