12/7 report

Bob Peters

Well-known member
I wasn't able to hunt very long as I was helping a buddy at his house most of the day. Grabbed the dog and drove 45 minutes out of the cities to hunt the golden hour. Went to the first spot which I had never been to before and there was a car there. Next spot was empty but the cover looked poor and no crops nearby. Spot 3,4,5 had either bird or deer hunters on them. Finally found a spot open and jumped out to hunt a cattail edge, only to sink through and get wet up to my knees. Left and drove to another spot I had hunted a month earlier and seen birds at. The grass was beat down good by the snow and did not flush a bird. On the walk back to my truck after shooting hours closed I saw 6 pheasant walking on the gravel road directly behind the tailgate of my pickup. Couldn't identify all of them, but the last one to flush was a rooster.
 
Nice report Bob; we went out around the Herman area and it was disappointing. Saw a few birds on the private sections on the edges of fields at sunrise, but the public pieces all have had tracks from the recent snow along with plenty of competition finding fresh pieces for the day without a truck there and driving around. Lost a runner in the cattails; got 1, and missed 1. Saw 1 standing corn field next to a WPA but someone had hit it prior to us hitting it at the last hour with no birds. I think, as you observed, alot of birds were coming to roost past sunset. When we drove back home, we saw a few birds flying into cover or in the ditches
 
My group was also hunting this past weekend and ended up bagging 5 roosters and should have had more with a few easy misses which always keeps you coming back! We hunted a small public field on Monday morning and wow that wind and snow was brutal so we packed up after walking for 30 minutes. We saw lots of birds throughout Saturday and Sunday on the roads picking at the gravel so we know the birds are out there. Now that there is all this snow, you better step right on them in the cattails or else you'll walk right by them, at least that was our experience.

I was planning on getting back out this weekend but the cold temps might keep me in the ice shack. I'll definitely be back out Dec 28th weekend for the final weekend hunt of the year.
 
I went on 12/13 in Benton County and the snow is VERY deep up there. Its up to my knees in most spots and some drifts are past my waist. I haven't seen this much snow this early in December in 15 years. 50% of the typical bird habitat is gone because of all the snow. Anyways, the first two spots I went to had nothing...not even a set of tracks. And these are spots that have produced in the past, including earlier this season. The third spot I went to was a medium sized standing corn field and adjacent areas. I found about 60 birds there. Unfortunately the corn is over my head so when a bird would flush, it was very difficult to get off a reasonable shot. I got 2 roosters when it was all said and done, probably should have had 3. Next time I go, I'm heading directly for any standing corn. That's where the birds are now. Doesn't do any good to waste time or energy anywhere else. Cold temps generally don't bother me because I work up a pretty good sweat anyways, but deep snow is really an obstacle now.
 
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