Recent Rooster Reports

[Snag]

Grab the Net- Don't tell anyone about my spot. I knew that I never should have added Eastern to my post. That must have tipped off all 3000 viewers of this topic.

Seriously, It's been a ton of fun this year. Won't be back out until Friday. I'm still searching for a second year bird though. Thanks for the reports, it's nice to hear how everyone is doing.

[Scott M]

Roosterless this weekend, but had an interesting encounter. Walked 3/4 of a mile on some CRP ditch, scared out 4 hens. Got to the end and told my buddy on the other side of the ditch, let's see if they're behind that windbreak. We snuck up to a patch of taller shrubby-looking plants. I started walking into it and my buddy was on the other side (imagine us each taking an end of a rectangle) He says "One's running out the back", I cock my head to look, and he says "Nevermind, it's coyotes." Two coyotes run out into the field in Mach 5. My buddy later told me he got within 20 yards of them. Pretty neat. Guess I found a new coyote hunting spot. Empty fields for 1/2 a mile each way, a nice spot to bed down, and decent food around.

Gotta break this pheasant curse sooner or later. I seem to be a better cattail-marshy-late season ice hunter.

[Wild Thing]

Hey, never posted here before.

We had a great hunt in western MN last weekend. Two of us went 4/4 on roosters on friday (even with tons of misses we were done by 2 p.m.) hunting all public land. Lots of birds, sometimes flushing 20-25 birds out of one patch.

On Saturday on pirvate land went 12/12 with 6 guys, again lots of misses but done by 3 p.m. Flushed 25 out of one spot.

On Sunday, even in 25 mph winds and sleet, got 3 and had to quit at 11:30 to head home.

So over about 12-13 total hours of hunting over 3 days, 19 for 20 roosters ain't bad.

Tons of birds in heavy cover. We had very good work out of the dogs, both pointers and labs that point.

Probably the most pheasants in big groups that I've seen in Minnesota since I was a kid in the 70's, maybe ever. Almost as good as southwestern Nodak, although not nearly the total number of birds.

Dry cat tail sloughs were by far the best cover for the most birds, fyi.

Have some photos but don't know how to post them.

Good luck and happy Thanksgiving to all.

[Captain B.R.K]

A HUGE thank you to you that keep us updated on your successes! I have yet to bag a MN rooster yet. Each time I go out (all public land) my pup and I see lots of hens and the rooster get way out in front.

I'm hoping that will change and plan to report back later this weekend.

[Blaze]

Beautiful day yesterday with just me & the dog for a couple hrs of hunting before the big meal. Hunted 2 public land spots and saw 20+ birds in <2hrs hunting. All birds were in the cattails and were very skittish. Only had 1 bird within "realistic" shooting range, and it was a hen. The others all jumped way out in front (60+yds) and just didn't cooperate for solo hunter shooting opportunities.

All in all, I was very grateful to have the blessings of a beautiful day with snow gently falling, a great dog who was happy to get out, and having good public hunting grounds available whenever I want. No birds, but hey - that's just a bonus anyway.

Hope you also had a great Thanksgiving.

[grab the net]

Hey Captain, how far west are you going to find your public spots. You could be right in my backyard. Shoot me an e-mail address and maybe we could hook up before the season ends. I hunt public the majority of the time. Every rooster is a trophy now. I got out this morning and missed once and scored once. No excuse for the miss, bird even got caught in the cattails, slowing him down for the shot. Had me eating humble pie, two shots and I airballed on both. I hate to admit it but the bird was less than 10 yds away. Redeemed myself on the next bird, Duey locked up on a small chokecherry bush, in Duey went, out came the rooster, load of # 4 steel, put him in bag. Few other hunters out today heard quite a bit of shooting.

[2 DA GILLS]

I have to say I was very thankful on Thursday. First, I was cleared to head out hunting for a few hours. This was only my second trip out in MN so far this season (spent time in the Dakotas). I hit some public land and found that I had it all to myself. The dog and I headed out and we did not encounter many birds in the first 30 to 40 minutes. One hen and some clues that birds had been around. Suddenly when we got as far from the truck as possible, the dog locked up on point. This was a likely spot and I had made sure to used the wind to our advantage. This was a high head point, which I am finally learning means multiple birds. Nose to the ground means "I have one right under my nose" and a high head means "I have bunch right in front of me". I forgot this at that the time of the hunt.

I made my approach in front of the dog and a lone rooster burst from the grass about 10 feet in front of me. One shot and he is down. The dog is on the downed bird. I change out the spent shell and feel good about the bird in the bag. As the dog makes his way back to me, another rooster bursts from the grass to the left. Gun to the shoulder, one shot and the second rooster is on the ground. We are done for the day. The dog completes both retrieves and 2 more rooster burst from the area along with 6 hens. We now have a 30+ minute walk back to the truck. The dog points 2 more hens on the way back to the truck and hunts hard. I figured I may as well let him get in the extra field work. He really did not understand that the shooting was done for the day. I did not expect to harvest any birds on this quick trip, but I am thankful for our good fortune on this day.

[123fish]

We had a three man limit on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday we put up eleven roosters out of different road ditches. The poorest we shot for the year though on Saturday. Shot better today and had more road ditch rooster action. Plenty of birds around yet and a lot of them held real nice. My buddies young black lab was pointing up a storm. Really enjoyed hunting like that. It's nice to have a little warning that the action is about to start!

[BLACKJACK]

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We now have a 30+ minute walk back to the truck.

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I think you hit on the key right now to public land hunting, you need to get out and cover some ground far away from the usual spots by the parking areas.

[123fish]

We will be able to hit the cattail sloughs this weekend with the good ice being made. Always enjoy surprising those roosters that have been sitting in their own little watery refuge all season long. There's more to first ice than fishing.

[fivebucks]

That is so true 123fish, can't wait until I can get out again. I went out turkey morning and flushed 4 roosters on small patches of private land but due to my poor shooting I only got one. I winged one that took off running when it hit the ground and then I watched my dog chase after it for 2-300 yards but it couldn't quite catch him. I switched to my full choke on Sunday and got one private land bird and one public land bird (after a dozen hens). I think I need to pattern my modified choke cause I always seem to shoot poorly with it. I am sure it patterns fine but it's good for an excuse in the mean time.

[09ultra]

My buddy and I were out in western MN,saw quite a few birds did not limit out had a blast.Going again this weekend.The birds are deffinetly in the thickest cattails you can find,hard walking but their in there.Will be able to walk easier with this cold weather forming ice.Good luck to all!

[CodyDawg]

What a funny time of year. Dodgeman said they were in the thick cattails. For me last weekend, they were not in the cattails, but were in the grass. Go figure. 2 of us shot 4 on Saturday in 2 hours (one had a 24 1/2" tail) and on Sun we got 3 and couldn't find the 4th. I think we would have, but my dog was on the shelf because....for the 3rd time in 2 years, my brittany got a nasty gash from a barbed wire fence. Tried the superglue thing and it worked at first then she opened it up again. Glued it back shut again and put the lampshade on her and it is holding for the most part. Man, I am sick of that.

[Little Joe]

and I couldn't find any in the grass! Instead, found all my birds grouped up in tree lines or fence rows. Key was to find either next to fields with waste grain in them. Got my two by 11:00 on Sat (SW MN). Some of these pieces were really thin and I was amazed at the # of birds they were holding.

[grab the net]

I have been finding them in different cover, depending on the time of the day. Early and late, intercepting them in the thinner stuff as the migrate back and forth from the feeding areas. Some middle of the day birds are in the thicker stuff, catails, willows or the real tall cane. That cane is tuff to hunt, so tall that if a bird does jump and your inside it, you get a split second to identify, rooster or suzie and then shoot. Cold here this morning, 0 on the thermometer, putting ice on sloughs, should be able to walk it by the weekend, hopefully without finding the 0ne weak spot in a 40 acre patch getting wet up to my cha cha's. Friend reported shooting a long tail, 25.5 inches this past weekend, want to see it on a yard stick, not calling him a liar or anything, just that he passed me up by a good margin, want to keep him honest ya know.

[Captain B.R.K]

grab the net, my e-mail address is brandjenn at charter (Contact Us Please) net. Shoot me a line and hopefully we can figure something out. I live in Sartell and have been going no more than 1 1/2 west of here. Been seeing birds but have yet to connect on a MN rooster yet.

Was out this weekend and on Saturday, I couldnt' believe the sea of orange out there. OK, I guess I can considering it was Thanksgiving weekend and it was a nice day to be out. Saw birds but didn't connect.

Buddy got one and I shot at one that must of been old ironsides because he kept sailing. Sunday I hunted some private land and had we all been able to shot straight, we would of ended up 4/5 roosters in the bag for 3 guys.

I need to reward the pup soon, otherwise she is going to disown me

[ruster]

Hunted in the Madison, Mn area this weekend. 3 of us shot our limit both Sat & Sun. Private land, found birds in cattails, CRP and tree rows.

[grab the net]

We wanted it, I guess we got it in spades. Have been out twice since the snow hit. Fun hunting to say the least. Son was out today and when he found one bird he found a bunch. Saw a lot of birds feeding and scratching in the open fields during the middle of the day. Some groups of 30-40 birds feeding. Said the snow was knee deep in the cats and he and the dog were bone tired after walking for about 4 hours. That was the thing, walk for a long time, no birds no tracks, nothing, then one bird flushed and twenty more jumped with it. He scratched out his two by 3:00 and called it a day. I hope to sneak out on thursday for a couple hours with a friend on some private stuff we have been saving for just this kind of weather. Brushy creek with bunch of red willow bordering it. In the past when there was this kind of snow, they load up in there.

[123fish]

They are definitely in winter mode now. grab the net pretty much hit it on the head. They are hanging out in the cold weather cover. I've got to emphasize to not forget about road ditches. If you got a road ditch that's thick and hairy with weeds and especially cattail patches definitely give them a try. I'm talking as little as twenty yard cattail patches. They are in these patches trust me. A lot of roosters are going untouched by hunters driving right past them. Don't do this though unless you can control your dog and definitely don't do it on busy roadways because no rooster is worth getting your dog run over.

[BLACKJACK]

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no rooster is worth getting your dog run over.

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Amen!!! I won't even hunt next to a busy blacktop when I have someone with me. I trust myself not to shoot a rooster heading over the road but some people just get too excited and bang away at anything they see.

[09ultra]

My son and I were out both days during the snow and got our birds,couldn't beleive they were out in big numbers.Sure was fun.Love hunting the cattails.

[2thepointsetters]

I want to see some pics of the snow birds. I haven't got the chance to hunt the last 2 weeks and its driving me mad and you should see how hyper the dogs are just waiting to go.

[grab the net]

No pictures but here is my report for the brushy creek with the red willows. Birds were there, big numbers, lots of roosters. Not one shot taken. Every single rooster got up just out of range or way out of range. Three of us hunted, 4 dogs. Used a poster on each push. Only thing that would hold were suzies. They would jump at your feet, the roosters, I don't know, frustrating day. We even split up and tried to pinch them between us. We were quiet, no yelling at dogs, no talking, wind in our faces each time, slow methodical hunts, let the dog work. Just not our day, I guess that you should not get over-confident, I was . I would have bet a c note that we would be done in a short time today. Not exagerating, bet we saw 150 birds today. Well there is always tomorrow.

[Wayne Ek]

Cory P. (Smallie) and I hit a couple of cattail sloughs yesterday. Birds are holding in the cattails and are jumpy. We saw good numbers of birds in the fields scratching for corn. I could only hunt for a couple of hours and when I left we had one rooster that held for the dogs. There are still soft spots on the sloughs, I went thru once and both sloughs had water on the ice. About 1 to 2 inches of slush under the snow. Makes walking hard and wet feet could be a problem if you don't have good foot wear.

[Rooster Chaser]

Went out today and got our limit for four guys. The big bunches of birds were flighty, but most of the birds we got were single roosters, and they held really tight, so give the dogs time. The key without a doubt was to get them on the edge of the sloughs with a corn field bordering it. Hunted one side of a slough that had CRP on the edge, no birds...other side with a field and we shot 4 birds, and saw a ton of hens. It also was better when there were willows or plum thickets in the area.

Followed someone elses tracks from the past couple of days, looked like they ran into slush, but it was pretty solid after last night.

[memyself@I]

Was in SW MN the last 2 1/2 days. 2 of us hunted public land under various weather conditions. Didn't fire a shot until the second day was almost done and they were long pokes as roosters were wild. Saw something new at the area we just hunted unsuccessfully-2 high school kids road hunting the area we just hunted, they must have seen a big bunch of birds 1 got out and RAN as fast as he could towards the birds and did get one musta been a slow bird to flush. Now I know why we couldn't get near those roosters I bet these guys hunt that area every day after school or something!! Runnin and gunnin for roosters...............road hunting.

Last day got our limit. That made the trip. If you are hunting public land good luck cause you will work your a.. off and earn any birds you get unless you are incredibly lucky. Some of the sloughs that have seeps and drain tiles going into them are still soft/open so watch out. With the wet fall some of those spots won't freeze good even with the cold weather.

[Jameson]

First day of the year that I saw more roosters than hens. 3 to 2. None were brought home. I'm sure many others got up out of sight of me. Just that, not even the hens were holding tight today.

Saw lots of areas the pheasants had scratched or dug-up the snow in the old soybean fields. The sorghum cane I planted is getting picked at. It's also holding some birds, despite only being a 4-6 foot wide strip. I'll be planting more of it next year. Sure is nice to have some snow to see what those birds are doing.

[UGUIDE]

Hey South Dakota is rockin. Just had a group of 9 at Aberdeen Pheasant Camp limit out by 2:00pm last week and group of 9 at Choteau Creek limit out by days end last Friday. 1st 2 picutres are from Aberdeen Pheasant Camp and last one is group from Illionois staying at my place ( Pheasant Camp Lodge). 19 birds, 2 short of limit.

[Captain B.R.K]

Kudos for you guys that made it out this weekend. The cold really discouraged me from going. After what I just read, I should of been out trying my luck.

Do you guys put anything (booties, etc.) on your dogs when you are out in these cold temps?!

[memyself@I]

Its always a trick dressing in the cold weather isn't it? One always starts out cold no matter what but once you're moving its good..................but easy to get lathered up!! My biggest trouble is my fingers getting cold, I just haven't found a good thin yet warm glove. Course I am getting older so that might be it

I didn't put the boots on the dog but its probably a good idea. Some areas where the snow had a light crust he did not like that at all and didn't hunt those areas well at all. The soft snow didn't bother him. If I go again I'll put on his booties.