Looking for locals to guide?

C

Canadianvizsla

New member
Hello

We are headed to Iowa from Canada for opening weekend again. Likely setting roots in Ft Dodge area. We are 4 buddies unfortunately without our viszla this year as she is too old to come.
We were wondering if there were any locals around who would be interested in guiding us. We are only looking to hunt 2 or 3 hrs each morning and then head back into town for drinks and relax. We have no real expectations as we have only bagged 1 or 2 birds each time we came in the past. We are wanting to reimburse anyone for their time. We are willing to drive a few hrs or so. If anyone has any ideas or is interested please feel free to contact me at my email below. Thx in advance
Enjoy your summer!
mikegrant409@gmail.com
 
Opening weekend, that is a tough ask. 4 guys and you only shoot 1 or 2 birds....I am afraid you would not have enough shells to go for 2 or 3 hours with me. I hope you mean, per guy, each day...if not, you need to shoot much better or find better ground. Coming from Canada, you need to find better cover, even if you have to pay a bit. Family around Ft Dodge?
 
I wish it was from bad shooting!! Although our shooting is bad we just dont have much knowledge and hunted what I suspect to be hi pressured state game areas. Thats why we decided to head farther NW to Fort Dodge area in hopes of seeing a few more birds.
I never gave any thought to the opening weekend difficulties until you mentioned it. Thats a good point. Unfortunately we booked our time off already.
If we cant find anyone there will still be some state areas we can walk and have a good time.
 
remy3424 said:
Keep in touch as that gets close, maybe we can work something out. I hate to see you make a journey like that and not see a pile of birds for your efforts.
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Hi Mike , nice gesture from remy. Reminder to have some one GUIDE you they have to be a licensed outfitter. Remy could not solicit funds from your group. You might consider a couple or three days on your own, using info from others on this board, as well as state wildlife biologists. Then you may consider a day or two from an outfitter on his managed and controlled lands.
 
Ok. Thx for the info. I certaintly dont want anyone to get into any trouble. I did talk to the local DNR guy for some advice on legalities to assure we wouldnt cause any issues before I posted. I know we can walk state game areas and thats our fallback plan. I know that there are some great ones near Ft Dodge. They just can be overwhelming without a dog. We will keep networking for info. Thx for the reply
 
You might call Blaine @ Winas kennel in Ft Dodge - he may have some contacts he could hook you up wifh
Heard good things about his kennel
 
If you are referring to Blaine. WINANS, his British Labrador kennel is in Dodge City, KS.

Contact — Winans Retriever Kennels

Contact Winans Retriever Kennels to learn more about available gundogs, puppies, or our gundog training programs.
www.wrkennels.com www.wrkennels.com

If not, my apologies for the intrusion/sidetrack.
 
dustin mudd said:
Hi Mike , nice gesture from remy. Reminder to have some one GUIDE you they have to be a licensed outfitter. Remy could not solicit funds from your group. You might consider a couple or three days on your own, using info from others on this board, as well as state wildlife biologists. Then you may consider a day or two from an outfitter on his managed and controlled lands.
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Oh, I wouldn't be guiding anyone. It would be exchanging some currency for you to follow my dog around our CRP and shoot pheasants until you each had 3! And I will be shooting my 3 also.
 
Hey guys. I am taking all this info in. I want to thank remy for his reply as well as all the others. All great gestures to an outsider coming in.
We have in the past used all the Iowa resources and bird survey, ihap maps and even the latest road atlas. They are the reason we decided to head further north west from our earlier trips. Finding actual fields to hunt especially private is the reason we are reaching out. In the past we have spent most of our day touring and trying to get permission before falling back to state game areas where educated and pressured birds tend to outsmart us.
Thx again. And any new info is always appreciated.
 
remy3424 said:
Oh, I wouldn't be guiding anyone. It would be exchanging some currency for you to follow my dog around our CRP and shoot pheasants until you each had 3! And I will be shooting my 3 also.
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Rem,
I though your exchange was for bottles of Bourbon to test in the evenings after you and the guys walked around following the pup? LOL
 
Canadianvizsla said:
Hey guys. I am taking all this info in. I want to thank remy for his reply as well as all the others. All great gestures to an outsider coming in.
We have in the past used all the Iowa resources and bird survey, ihap maps and even the latest road atlas. They are the reason we decided to head further north west from our earlier trips. Finding actual fields to hunt especially private is the reason we are reaching out. In the past we have spent most of our day touring and trying to get permission before falling back to state game areas where educated and pressured birds tend to outsmart us.
Thx again. And any new info is always appreciated.
Click to expand...
Where in Canada are you coming from? Is South Dakota closer?
 
Iowa city is where we used to come and stay. Thats 8hr drive. We moved slighty mire west to Marshalltown and Newton which are 9 hr and niw we think ft dodge may get us into highrer bird population which is 10hrs. SD is another 5hr i think. Just a little too far for us for now
 
My Lab is from a breeder in Marshalltown! It is a cool area, but I think you are better off with going more NW like you have talked about. it was about an 8hr drive for me to go get the pup. I too have been thinking about making a hunting trip up that way. I usually hunt NW Kansas and South Dakota.
 
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