2011 Pheasant Hunting Season

[crothmeier]

been out a few times and am seeing birds. flushed 6 roosters almost all at oncem shot the second one and watched the res fly. i'll shoot another the next time i head out there.

they're definitly around, just not as plentiful.

[grey ghost]

I've been out twice this week and seeing good numbers of birds. Got 1 each time and missed 1 other. Been picky on the shots I take making sure my Weim is holding solid on point before I take a shot which limits my shooting but should pay off for me and my dog down the road.

[WildFan10]

What area of the state have you been hunting?

[NWBuck]

Bird numbers waaay down here in NW Iowa. So much so that I kind of thought I'd skip the season entirely and spend the extra time in a deer stand. But then Pepper gave me the look that said "come on, let's go...I'll find one out there somewhere". So we've been out twice for about an hour each time, and managed one bird in each trip.

[QueticoTim]

Been down to Iowa twice and limited out both times. Lower number of birds but less hunters too. Areas that had good winter cover still producing well. Pleasantly surprised so far. I almost didn't get a license this year

T

[QueticoTim]

Here is last weekend. Let my Dad shoot one too

[QueticoTim]

Sunday Opener in the AM terrible windy conditions dog did well.

[Arago]

Hey Folks, Where are all the reports?! I'm heading out soon and will post results. Just waiting for the deer hunters to clear out.....

[bhs91]

Glad to see some guys doing well in iowa! Spent 20 years hunting there, but not the last 2 years due to low bird counts. Good luck to all that are smarter than I!

BHS

[123fish]

We were out Saturday here in the extreme southwest and five of us shot two. Only saw two other roosters and this was pretty good cover. What's really disappointing is we only put up one hen and this was with three dogs. It's really feast or famine in my area. We found out if you have cover within a reasonable distance of anywhere where they could have survived last winter there are some birds around. Even a single sheltered farm acreage providing winter survival cover and a decent waterway close by will have birds in it. A good example is on my buddy's 40 acres we shot 20 roosters last year and ZERO this year so far. None on the 80 acre WMA which is a quarter of a mile away either. His six year old red cedar shelterbelt isn't tall enough to provide good enough shelter from the likes of a winter like last year and the farm acreages around him are too clean also. End result no pheasants. Two miles away we walk a 50 X 50 yard red willow patch and out come ten roosters plus a nice group of hens. It's all about the habitat.

[NELS-BELLS]

Went out yesterday, mid-day, by myself and shot my biggest rooster so far this season. I saw 3 roosters and 2 hens in about 3 1/2 hours. I've been having a really good season so far and I've only hunted public land, all in an area from Regal to Glenwood and Sauk Centre. I think I've managed to shoot at least one rooster per outing.

I have to give a lot of the credit to my black Lab. She is 4 yrs old now and has been unreal for finding the birds for me this year.

Nels

[fireman]

One positive to a very disappointing deer season, were the number of birds that we saw. We hunt in Clay/Ottertail counties and was suprised by the numbers of birds out there. Time to start chasing some roosters...

[WildFan10]

Were you seeing the birds on public land? Good to know.

[fireman]

Were you seeing the birds on public land? Good to know.

We hunted public and private, saw birds on each.

[TylerS]

Numbers in Nodak are definitely down, but we've still managed to find birds.

Hunted hard all day Sunday, and thanks to some excellent dog work between mine and my buddy's GWPs, we managed to scratch 7 roosters and 2 sharptails for three people. Day before I went out with my wife and shot 2 roosters (one scud that must have been from a very late hatch). Should have had a limit, but the third rooster somehow ran off after getting pillow cased and we never did find it. Considered my limit filled, regardless, and called it a day. Besides, Remy got sprayed by a skunk, so that put a damper on things

My friend's dog (my dog's litter mate) is the liver GWP, and my pooch, Remy, is the liver and ticked GWP.

[pureinsanity]

OMG you shot hens??? Jk Nice bonus birds! It is always nice to flush a chicken! Way to go!

[TylerS]

OMG you shot hens???

Shhhhh...keep it down! You're gonna get me in trouble!

[MNpurple]

The first 4 outtings of the year resulted in 6 birds from public land. Birds numbers are definitely down, but walk enough and bide your time and you can usually find some birds. Tuesday, me and the dog hunted for 3 and a half hours and never flushed a single bird. Especially on public land, be prepared to take the good with the bad this year. Tuesday I finally said forget it, snapped some pictures and we both took a quick nap in the bluestem!

[wormdunker]

Nothing better than a nap in the grass but usually much better with a pillow of roosters.

[mnmofro]

Hunted two different public areas in Meeker cty. saw no birds at one and found the hen hangout at the other! Found about 10 hens in a 100 by 20 yard area, otherwise only two jumpy roosters that got away, took one shot and missed. Good dog work though steady through my one shot, so he is getting there which is tricky with low bird contacts.

[herm]

Oldest son and I got back in the field today now that deer season is done. He bagged 1 and we both missed another rooster. Also kicked up about 10 hens. Thought that was pretty good for this point in the year and the new snow. All birds were in thick cover and holding very tight. We hunted 2 different public spots. Dog really loved it, due mostly to the 15-degree temp!

[grey ghost]

I got out twice over the weekend. Yesterday our group got 3 and I went out by myself today and took 1. Had about 10 birds pointed between the 2 hunts and they all held nice and tight. Saw more hens this weekend than maybe all season.

[djlong]

I watched the forecast for days and wanted to be out for the first snow. Woke up early on sat and headed west. Drove past Benson and hit snow. Hunted some good winter habitat and had a blast. Something about that first snow that makes phez hunting so good. Had a rock solid point within 5 minutes and had about 10 hens get up and 3 roosters. Bagged one and passed on the others as I didn't want to be done. Passed up on a few more before getting to cold and wet and taking another nice bird. God I love pheasant hunting.

[CodyDawg]

we hunted Saturday in the snow and also took part in a long tail contest. We took 4th, so that was cool.

we have 2 farms that are managed for wildlife. Each year they produce about the same amount of roosters and this year will be no exception. Down a little, but still birds. One of these we deer hunt and we KNOW there area some birds there. So we started out at the non-deer hunting place and in 2 hours, 3 of us bagged 5 and saw more. Decided to try for that last one on the deer hunting place and we couldnt find a bird! They are there, but they were tucked in. If I didnt know better, I would say there are no birds on that place. So keep trying guys, sometimes a place doesnt produce, but that doesnt mean there are no birds there.

[2thepointsetters]

So keep trying guys, sometimes a place doesnt produce, but that doesnt mean there are no birds there.

Get a dog, then you will know if there are birds there or not.

[pureinsanity]

A dog increases your chances by 10979217349174071203 %, BUT, it doesn't mean they might not hold or run around you and your dog.

[CodyDawg]

We have 2 very good, very experienced dogs. But hunting in the middle of the snowstorm, I believe those birds were hunkered down and the dogs just didnt get their scent. Sometimes that is just the way it works. If the dogs go around the bush the wrong way and are down wind of the bird, they arent gonna smell it. that is just the way it works and why they call it hunting.

[brittman]

Wild pheasants are simply unpredictable. Sure a car door slam or a voice can make many flush wild. But how many didn't?

I have walked the same little spot on a WMA four times (well twice - there and back, there and back)consecutively and picked up roosters on passes two and four. I knew birds were walking around me because I could see fresh tracks in the snow on each pass. In this case the dog point birds on each pass. I guess the only reason I stopped at four was I had my two birds for the day.

I have watched birds leave a slough and run across a road while hunters and their dogs were heading into the same slough. Dogs had no idea.

I have watched pheasants leave a grassy creek bed and run across a plowed field (black dirt)? Hunters or dogs did not seem to notice.

There are more examples, but I will stop with these for now.

[herm]

Hunted solo for about 4 hours today. Got 1 rooster, flushed another wild and kicked up 8-10 hens. Hit 2 public spots. Didn't see any other hunters - and I drove by several public spots in my travels.

[TylerS]

Well, got out Sunday for some pheasants. Each time I go out, it seems like we see less birds than the previous excursion.

My uncle, a good friend and myself hunted sunrise to darn near sunset and bagged two birds. It was dismal. Should have had one more, but that was about it.

Highlight may have been the weather. Boy, if it could be mid-30s with a slight breeze until January, I'd be one happy camper. Talk about ideal conditions!

We did witness some excellent dog work. The GWPs are brothers, and are just 18 months old. Here's a picture of my dog, Remy, backing my buddy's dog, Asic:

After the first spot was a bust (well, not a total bust, we did flush about a half dozen hens) our next spot was a bit better. My uncle walked the edge of a cattail slough as me and my buddy pushed through it with our dogs. I meandered my way to a little berm where I had an advantage point. Wouldn't you know it, my buddy flushes a rooster right at me, and I toast it on the second shot. It landed out on the ice, and Remy was on it in a second. I can definitely tell his progression from the beginning of the year. There was no hesitation in this retrieve. He got to the bird, grabbed it, brought it back to me, heeled, and plopped it in my hand. Force fetching pays dividends!

I always seem to stumble across some ancient piece of farming history while I'm out and about. Whether its an old dump site with ancient cans of beer, or this little gem I found in the middle of Sunday's slough. It was on a small outcrop of grass. Made me wonder what else the dense vegetation hid. Pretty neat. I had to snap a picture:

We hunted two more spots, and I wound up with the group's second rooster, as well. Remy got super birdy in a small piece of cattails. He was stopping, then moving, then stopping, then moving. About 20 yards out the rooster flushed, and I had about a millisecond to react before it was out of view. Luckily, the shot connected, and Remy got to make another great retrieve.

But that was about it for action. Except for a rooster that flushed behind my buddy and that we all collectively missed, birds were few and far between. The final spot yielded some more hens, and a couple very jumpy roosters, but that was it for us. As I said, compared to years passed, this one is markedly different when considering bird numbers. But some birds are better than no birds, and I'd rather spend an entire day tromping through the outdoors than inside watching TV or completing a growing honey-do list. I'm looking forward to a bit of snow for our next foray, but a guy sure could get used to this weather. Season goes until January, so you can bet I'll be out a few more times before then: