Best Pheasant Day Yet!

Saturday December 13.

Before hand I wasn’t sure how this day’s hunt would go.
Some parts were looking good. It was supposed to be up to 40 degrees for a high. There was some fresh snow on the ground and I was taking a buddy with who would be running his GSP. On the negative side I had hunted this farm the previous weekend and had only seen 2 roosters and gotten just one. In looking at the harvest reports it wasn’t looking as if anyone else was seeing many more birds. There was also a storm due to hit that night or the next morning.

We started by walking the east side of the unit that bordered a plowed under field. No luck there. We turned right and worked along the swampy wet area that will usually hold a few birds. Again nothing. I was getting concerned that it was going to be another thin day. We moved over to the south side of the cover and walked the edge of the field. This edge borders a field that was the last one in the area to have the corn taken off of it. The were lots of tracks along the edge, but we had seen tracks all over already and hadn’t seen any birds. As we got closer to the end of the field the dogs started to get really birdy and were stopping and going. A couple of hens broke and finally a rooster got up and I was able to hit it and bring it down. While Stone, the GSP, was retrieving the bird a few more broke long and we watched where they flew to.

We split up a little bit and I sent my buddy, Tony, towards another thicker area that usually holds a bird or two. It was also an area that a few of the flushed birds flew towards. If nothing else we figured he would get some hen points. I followed Tina towards some thinner cover as she seemed to be working some scent. We worked for a fair amount of time with her pointing soft a few times and finely she locked up hard. I walked in and kicked up another rooster. It looked like I hit him on the first shot but he was still flying so I tossed out two more at him. He climbed and flew towards the farm house, over the house, over a barn, and over a tall set of trees. To me it looked like he then took a hard turn left and landed. Tony said that from his vantage it looked like he just fell from the sky. We started to work around the edge of the farmyard to see if we could find him. Going around was going to be a long walk. As we worked through the thick cover the dogs were able to point another hen and we saw another rooster flush wild so we marked him down. We made it around the farmyard and stared to look around and there in the snow was the rooster just lying there.

We headed along the edge of the cattails hoping to put another one up. We did see one break from the cattails and fly across the thick cover and looked like he landed by the edge of the dirt road. I took Tina and Marge towards the far corner and Tony went to a near corner with the goal to trap the rooster between us. I hadn’t even made it half way back when I heard Stone’s beeper collar start to chirp. I saw Tony walk in, the bird flush, the bird fall, and then I heard the sound of the shot. It was kind of cool.

We moved back to the edge of the cattails and worked the rest of the side. No points no flushes. We cut across the frozen pond and started to follow the dogs to the other side to try to find the wild flush from before. Marge and Tina went on point almost right away. I started to kick around and a hen came up. Just as I let my guard down rooster also flushed. I thought I hit him hard as he went down pretty hard. I walked over to pick him up as Tina was pointing him in the snow. As I picked him up I could tell he wasn’t hit too hard and was surprised that he hadn’t run. Tony slid him into my game vest and we continued down the cattail edge following the dogs. I wasn’t too hopeful as I had never gotten a bird in this area before and had just gotten one. 100 yards later the two Setters went on point again and another rooster got up and another easy shot put him in the bag. 50 more yards and the scene was repeated again. 2 hours and we had our six bird limit. I felt bad because I kept sending Tony towards the areas that I have had good luck before but I was the one getting the shots. We’ve hunted together long enough that the other guy doesn’t get too worked up when it happens this way because we know that the next time it could work out the opposite way.

We walked back to the trucks and were going to arrange the birds and dogs and try to get a good photo or two. I started to pull the birds out of my game bag, put them on the ground and one of them took off running. Fortunately the dogs were still close by and they caught him in a flash....

It ended up being one of those days where things just work out well. The dogs listened and the birds cooperated. I think that the birds were on the move and were eating heavily in anticipation of the incoming storm that was predicted.

Sunday it was snowing too hard to make it worth risking the drive. It is looking like we are having a real winter in MN this year.



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December 5th - A Brisk Start To December

The 3 day weekend... not.. again

So, I had planned on taking Friday off and making it a full weekend of hunting.
The time and temps on the banks were saying 5 above as I was driving out to start the day just South of Hutchinson, MN. I even decide to put in the fleece liner in my Columbia Ptarmigan hunting jacket ( an older model ). Tina, Marge and I got off to a good start by pushing the unit towards the of the field. We didn’t move any birds at the corner this time. We worked around the small wetland with heavy cover and still no birds, not even a wild flush. I was starting to worry. We then worked along the plowed cornfield moving towards the highway. The dogs were working through the pine trees and brush that border the field. After about 100 yards they both locked up, I swung wide past them and approached the points from the cut field. My thinking was that if I did miss at least the bird would flush towards the property and we could attempt to hunt it after it did land. I didn’t miss. It was a decent shot and the dogs were on it right away. We worked the unit for another hour plus hitting all of the usual hot spots. Only saw one hen during the rest of the hunt on the unit. It is starting to seem like it may be played out for the season.

Loaded up the dogs and headed west towards Sacred Heart, MN I took Fergie out at the next location. The next three units are all by each other and can be walked to from one parking spot. The two units that hunted Fergie on were 25 and 35 acres. On the 25 acre unit we put up 4 hens that we pushed off of the edge. It would have been nice to get her a Rooster. We put a fair amount of time into the 35 acres and didn’t move anything. On returning to the Trailblazer I kenneled Fergie and brought out Tina. The third unit was a little bigger and we did get 2 nice hen points but no Roosters. Loaded back up again and drove 5 miles to another unit. This one is about 40 acres. Tina and I worked a set of pine trees that usually holds birds but none were to be found this time. I did see one flush wild towards a good sized cattail area. We angled towards the area that he looked like he landed. Tina ended up going in one area and I cut in a little ways away. There is a path cut through the cover and Tina and I were working towards each other. I happened to look down the path and could see the Rooster looking towards Tina as she was approaching. I took another step and it flushed. I was able to connect on the shot and we had to do some digging around the cover but were were able to find it. We continued to work the unit and hit a second set of trees and had a number of birds flush long on us. We watched where they landed and worked that way hoping to get lucky again. it wasn’t to be.

The next spot was a bit of a drive up to Benson area. The temp was up to 20 degrees This is a bigger unit and from the harvest reports always seems to hold birds. It was just my second time ever hunting here. We only had about 90 minutes of daylight left. There is a area of larger trees and Tina, Marge and I started towards them. We had a number of birds flush long on us with no shots taken. A short ways later I did get a shot at one that the dogs had been working. It looked like he was hit but he was flying strong. He ended up doing the fly straight up in the sky and spiral down. Unfortunately he landed in some 10 foot high cover and we looked quite a while but still couldn’t find him. I hate losing birds, just seems like a waste. We worked along the the tree line and had more wild flushes. After another 15 minutes we pushed through the trees and the dogs both went on point. I was able to bring this one down and we went right to where i had him marked. He tried to make a break for it but Tina got on him and we were able to put him in the game bag.

Our first Minnesota 3 bird Pheasant limit.

After cleaning the birds we started to make the drive home. As we were pulling out of the field the snow started to fall. The drive that was normally 3.5 hrs was closer to 5 hours. Left the house at 7 and got home at 9:30. A long day of hunting and driving but well worth it.

Saturday and Sunday both had highs of around 10 degrees and were windy. We bagged it. I just don’t find it fun to hunt when it is that cold. Hopefully the rest of the season won’t be that cold......

Innotek Customer Service

Innotek is pretty much out of the sporting dog business and concentrating on their inground fence deal. I am running a 1600 track and train and have been for the past 10+ years. At first I had a fair amount of problems but after a couple of years they upgraded the products and I have had good luck with them.

This past weekend I did have one of the tracking collars lose the tracking function. It wouldn't even make a noise when I turned the unit on. I called the 800 number hoping for some assistance but not really hoping for much. The took my call right away, confirmed that it wasn’t working correctly. Shipped my a new unit for $50. I got the unit in three days. When it arrived I needed help resetting the beeper tone options. Another call to customer support and they helped me out right away.

I’m bummed that they are leaving the business. At least I now have a new collar that should last a while. I usually am running two dogs and two collars at a time so they see a fair amount of use.

Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving Weekend

With family in town I was able to get out every other day.

Sunday
Started out south of Hutchinson. We got a late start and it still seemed cold.
We pushed a tree line towards the end of the CRP area. When we got towards the end the two dogs split up and I followed Tina as she seemed like she was going hotter. She ended up pulling off of the scent and head back towards the tree line. I started to work towards Marge as she had gone on point. I was still a ways away two Roosters took off from the corner and flew into heavy cover off of the property. Worked around to the other side of the willows and was able to put one up out of there. It was a pretty easy shot and I didn’t miss this time. While I was picking up the one I got the dogs put up another one. By the time I could decide if I should drop the one in my hand or shoot while holding it the flushed bird was a ways out and I missed. We spent about 2 hrs on this unit today.

Drove west to by Montevideo to hunt another unit. After pushing one section of CRP towards the road the dogs went on point and I was able to put up a Rooster. He got up pretty close but I wasn’t able to put him down. I looked for him for a fair amount of time but we didn’t find any trace. We did move 8 does on this unit. The unit borders a WMA so I am sure they pushed right off of it. We worked out way around to some more of the CRP cover and got another point after about another 2 minutes of work. This time I was able to get a good hit. He still was able to bury himself in the cover before Tina went after him and caught him.

Friday
Today was a lot of walking. The weather was nice so it wasn’t too bad.
Started out south of Hutchinson. Worked my normal route and didn’t see anything. We were pushed one small set of cattails out towards some thinner cover and we were able to put up a nice Rooster and put him in the game bag. We kept working the area and saw 3 hens but no Roosters.

Took Fergie to a spot west of Hutchinson and worked her on a unit that had not been hunted that day. We put a few hens but no Roosters. It was fun to see her works some fresh scent. She usually has to hunt some spots that have been hit hard by us already that day.

Tried a new spot that is North of Hutchinson that has a lot of good looking cover. Ended up seeing 4 Roosters but they all got up quite a ways away and flew into the middle of a large cattail swamp. If it would have been a smaller area I would have gone after them.

Ended up going back to the first spot and trying to get a bird that was coming into the cover to rest for the night. We moved a few hens but no Roosters.

6 hours of walking but it was worth it and the dogs were tired.

Wednesday
Only had one unit reserved and it was west of Hutchinson, MN
I worked the unit 3 different times in the day and didn’t see any Roosters UNTIL..
We were coming back towards the truck past an area that had been covered at least 5 times already and sure enough while I am day dreaming about fishing a Rooster gets up nice and close to us. By the time I woke up he was flying past my truck.. past the house across the road.. finally in the clear and he was a little ways away and I didn’t bring him down. 4.5 hrs of walking and my best chance is right at the end and I blow it. Just served to remind me to finish out the hunt and to watch my dogs all of the time.

November 22/23 An easy weekend.

November 22/23 An easy weekend.

I hunted a unit south of Hutchinson. 90 acres of CRP and wetlands.

I was lucky enough to hunt this unit the first weekend after they had taken the corn out of the field next to it.

On Saturday I was able to get my two bird limit in 30 minutes and on Sunday it took me 40 minutes. I kept working the dogs afterwards to get them some more exercise. Felt lucky to have gotten the birds I did because we didn’t see any others in the next hour of work.

On each of the days I missed at least one easy shot. I’m finding that I am doing well on the shots that are coming off of a point but if they are getting up early I am missing. It seems like I am worst at the crossing shots. Not leading or following through.

A Chilly and Wet One

Only hunted Sunday this past weekend. I started out with my two English Setters. We were west of Hutchinson, MN.
Started out at about 25 degrees and sunny which actually wasn’t too bad. Started out by seeing 4 hens grouped together. We continued to work around the edges of the field in hopes of pinning one there. We ended up pushing towards the drainage ditch. One Rooster got up a little ways out and I hit him but he dropped on the far side of the ditch. By the time we walked around the ditch to get to where it went down we could find him. We worked around the area for quite a while and still no trace. Tina and I worked that side of the ditch while Marge was holding on the other. As we pushed along Tina started to work a hot track. After about 50 yards she locked up. I kicked around and out up a Rooster. I thought I heard him drop into the grass along the ditch. I looked and couldn’t see him. Tina was searching and wasn’t finding any scent. I was starting to get upset and then I heard some splashing, Looking into the ditch I saw just the bird’s feet sticking up from the water. Tina didn’t see it and certainly couldn’t smell it. I ended up going in after him. The water was over my knees and dang cold. After putting the bird into the gamebag we worked along the ditch back towards Marge. As we closed in on Marge Tina started to get birdy again. We had one trapped between the two dogs. It was an easy shot and an easy pick up.

Back at the Trailblazer I put the two dogs away and put on some dry socks and boots ( I usually hunt with spares of everything ) and took Fergie out for a nice workout just to stretch her legs. We put up a hen which was fun even though she can’t see them she still knows that something is / was there.

A big change one weekend to the next

It was quite a change in one week. Last Sunday it was 65 degrees and dusty, too warm to hunt the dogs for too long. This Sunday it topped out at 25 degrees.

We were hunting just South of Hutchinson, MN. It is a 90 acre parcel. Mostly CRP with a good sized section of cattails. I started the two Setters and we worked along the fence line. When we got to the end of the field I was surprised to see that the corn was still up. It had snowed 2 days earlier and I could see a lot of tracks from the corn into the CRP. 4 or 5 hens were hiding in an area of thick short trees. As we worked around the thick cover we put up a Rooster. I got off two shots and saw him wobble after the second shot. He kept flying strongly towards the cattail section. We started to work towards where he went down. There was so much bird sign that it took a while to get back across the field. When we hit the cattails we worked the edge for a while. Tina went on point so I kicked and stomped in the likely area. No bird. I told her to go on but she held her point. She stuck her nose into the thick clump right in front of her. I heard and saw something moving. As the Rooster started to emerge. Tina almost caught it on the flush. I was able to bring it down on the far side of the cattails. We had to search for a few minutes to find it in the cover.

The dogs kept working the edge of the cattails and came across some wet sections. Unfortunately the water wasn’t frozen over so they got pretty wet and when they came out the water started to freeze on their coats. Marge the 12 year old was starting to get cold so we headed back to the truck. I pit a coat on Marge and wrapped her up in a sleeping bag and put her in her kennel. We took a lunch break and drove around to see how much corn was still up in the area.

After out break Tina and I headed back into the field. We worked for another 90 minuted and put up another half dozen hens but no more Roosters.

The day left me wondering what happened to the days where the temperature was a litter more moderate... maybe December...


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