2017 Hunting Reports

hunted west of elbow lake yesterday, like mnydir said, most of the public pieces have had pressure on them. kicked up a few birds though, only got 1 between 3 of us, should have had 3 others. kicked up probably 15 birds, half or more were roosters, close to corn in lighter cover or isolated cattail pockets; nothing in the willows...

200 birds eh gim?
 
Its been nothing short of great hunting since the crops were removed. I went in October when it was a sea of corn and it sucked. There's no place to hide anymore...
 
I thought the birds were way down in EC. Nice to hear that's not the case. I hunted the Dalbo area a few years back and thought there were too many hunters and never went back. I hunt WC where I grew up hunting, and it's been an awesome season! LOTS of birds in my typical good spots. Much better than last year which was still very good. I've limited nearly every day out since the opener. Frozen cattails near to bean or corn stubble has been hot for the past month. Got my 3 yesterday morning and still made the Vike's kickoff thanks to my lab-Jack Black. We trailed my second bird - a 50yd shot in thick cattails which I should have passed on - about 200yds until he found it. Good thing we had fresh snow and a good blood trail. It was a team effort since Jack lost the trail several times when we flushed other birds, but I was able to find the blood and get him back on track. I knew it was a pretty good hit - amazing that it went that far before burrowing in a clump of thick stuff where we finally caught up with it, but we all know how tough a wounded rooster can be. It had 2 broken wings and a some pellets in the back. With the cold weather coming it could be tough hunting for the coming Holiday break but there's still a lot of "surplus" roosters to harvest. Flushed around 40 birds in the hour and a half it too me to fill out yesterday - lots of them were wild flushing roosters that got up way ahead on the edge near the food, but once in the cattails they held quite well.
 
Last edited:
Went out on Saturday about an hour or so west of the cities, hunted for about 1.5 hours and had 3 nice points on hens in and around the cattails. Then I broke though the ice and went in to just below my knee, water filled my boots and did not have a second pair. Ruined the day for me ended up driving home barefoot.
 
epagneulbrit said:
Went out on Saturday about an hour or so west of the cities, hunted for about 1.5 hours and had 3 nice points on hens in and around the cattails. Then I broke though the ice and went in to just below my knee, water filled my boots and did not have a second pair. Ruined the day for me ended up driving home barefoot.
Click to expand...

Yeah, we just haven't had enough of the real cold temps at night to really freeze that stuff thru well. So you take your chances. Unfortunately the season is quickly winding down.
 
Hunted yesterday west of GraniteFalls. Two guys, two dogs, three hens, 0 roosters. Ice was good, birds were not. Spots that are generally good for late season are not producing...maybe we need some snow to concentrate them?
 
mutthunt said:
Hunted yesterday west of GraniteFalls. Two guys, two dogs, three hens, 0 roosters. Ice was good, birds were not. Spots that are generally good for late season are not producing...maybe we need some snow to concentrate them?
Click to expand...

We'LL you will soon get your wish thru the next few days along with some good ole fashion polar air to thicken up that ice.
 
Was out Friday/Saturday SW MN just brother and I. Both were very nice days for hunting, as we have previously battled a lot of high winds this season. Managed 6 between the two of us in two days. Private permission I have accumulated, is majority CRP grass and there were still plenty of birds holding in that type of cover. Cattails we come across are mainly on public grounds and can be hit or miss on whether those areas are even huntable, not only because of ice freeze but the height of the cover along with the sheer size of some of the parcels. Roosters at this point in the year have many escape routes in a never ending natural blocker, or are being pushed up ahead out of range before flushing. It hasnt really been that cold SW MN and there is not much snow accumulation so i feel birds still havent converted much to winter cover, so CRP was still our best bet. Found a cripple on Saturday that was 99% a bird from day before. Found in same vicinity with hardly any tail feathers, which were shot off when hit. Still plenty of alive and mobile, scurrying around in the grass before dog got a hold of him, refused to even attempt to fly, but could tell he'd been hit. Does it still count as a double if found the next day? :p He was the 2nd of 2 roosters that flushed, which we found the first one but we never found him...until next day (nobody else hunts this piece). Also, been waiting a couple years for a real trophy rooster to put on the wall, pretty sure I found my one! I currently have no rooster mounts and about time I have at least one, but been holding out for the right one. Lab POINTED a very mature rooster trying to give the slip in a tiny isolated patch of grass (2ft x 2ft) while pushing the inside of a grove, thought there was no way it was anything, let alone a big ole rooster! The only bird that come out that grove actually. Made the shot just in the nick a time before he cleared the top of the trees. He is the particularly large one in the photo (middle-left), and the photo with the solo bird.

May try one more SW right before new year, we'll how how weather/temps behave. May start doing more scouting straighter out west to provide more options. Been more of a SW person for quite some time and want to be able to mix it up if needed.

View attachment 7841
 
Last edited:
gimruis said:
I'm new here. I've been hunting pheasants in east-central MN this season and it has been fantastic. Everything is froze solid now, there's fresh snow, the crops are out, and I have seen no less than 200 birds the last few outings. It only took me about 2.5 hours an afternoon last week to get my 3 bird limit.
Click to expand...

I have actually had my best luck EC - Central MN on pheasants this year.

If you are getting three that quickly, then you have plenty of time to hit early ice. EC MN has been red hot on 17 inch walleye and 9"+ crappie.
 
BRITTMAN said:
I have actually had my best luck EC - Central MN on pheasants this year.

If you are getting three that quickly, then you have plenty of time to hit early ice. EC MN has been red hot on 17 inch walleye and 9"+ crappie.
Click to expand...

I went again on Friday and it only took me 45 minutes to get 3 roosters. I only hunted one spot. I may or may not go again before the season ends because it looks like its gonna be bitter cold.

Wouldn't bother me if I never went ice fishing again. Zero interest whatsoever. They're all yours Brittman.
 
Last edited:
My apologies, but what exactly defines EC-Central MN? Alex to Pine City? I have never hunted up that way, but I suppose if people are actually seeing birds up there it wouldn't be a terrible option if I only have a free pass for a half-day hunt.
 
I went out west this past Saturday to one of my favorite spots, a WPA, near Jackson for a few hours with the dog. It was a little cold, but sunny and little wind so it turned out to be a really nice day to be out there.

I saw a little bit of everything...a bunch of hens just hanging out in lighter grass, a few long (50 yard+) flushes after birds were spooked, and birds clumped together in heavy cover near water. All in all I probably saw 15+ hens and 4+ roosters. Not bad for the end of December. Dog did managed to pin down and point a bird in heavy cattails. I released him and out came a huge cackling rooster, maybe 20 ft from my face. Easiest shot I've ever had on a wild bird and....I missed. Twice. Ahh! Thankfully he didn't fly too far, maybe 150 yards and when we raced in that direction we managed to flush out a rooster from a scrub tree on the edge of the property next to some picked corn. I'm going to assume that was the same bird...

I really wanted to get out west one more time this season, but with this bitter cold snap I'm not sure it's a great idea. My PP has a thick, wire coat and usually does well in the cold, but a "feels like" temp below -20 isn't always fun. I would be curious to hear if anyone is still planning on heading out this weekend.
 
Not me. :D

But for you hardier die hards do take care of your pooches well being. Shirt haired breeds especially. They need cover from the wind when traveling. A good insulated kennel or kennel cover with hay or something else that will wick moisture from the dog for bedding. Most of all don't discount hydration. Imperative the dog hydrates before and during the hunt with the very dry air. Bait the water with something, chicken broth works good, but make them drink.

Good luck to all you die hards. :thumbsup:
 
Last edited:
We (mostly me, but occasional friends or son along) have shot right around 18 roosters in EC MN the two weeks or so before Christmas. Expect to get another 9 on Thursday. Also did a trip up into SHG's "back yard" and did very well in mid-December.

The friends that I take pheasant hunting typically return the favor with turn key ice fishing. Quite nice with the temps that are occurring now. I ice fish 3-4 times per winter (tops). Last year never went out.

Seve: EC is largely the box formed by >>> St.C. - L.F. - Hinkley - F.L.


That said, I prefer the cover out in Far Western MN and most years EC MN does NOT live up to expectations. I hear a lot of roosters crowing when out turkey hunting. Gotta thank SNG and gimruis for turning me there way this year. My go-to spots did not make the grade in 2017.
 
We're heading to SW mn on Thursday. Weather forecast is for snow so maybe the birds will be holding tight. Hopefully the ice will be solid everywhere but sometimes I feel like it doesn't matter how cold it gets. Seems like there's always a few bad spots in the cattails. Thursday sounds like the last tolerable day to hunt of the season.
 
Seve said:
My apologies, but what exactly defines EC-Central MN? Alex to Pine City? I have never hunted up that way, but I suppose if people are actually seeing birds up there it wouldn't be a terrible option if I only have a free pass for a half-day hunt.
Click to expand...

The DNR defines the EC zone as Pine, Kanabec, Mille Lacs, Isanti, Chisago, Anoka, Hennepin, Washington, & Ramsey counties. I think you can probably exclude Hennepin, Ramsey, and most of Anoka and Washington counties from that as they are mostly residential/developed. Based on my report, that is accurate. My success has come in that zone. I should also add that I exclusively hunt untouched, private land. I'm the only one that hunts it so it doesn't get any pressure until I go back.
 
A little over half our birds have come off EC private land that only gets hunted (by someone else) for deer. That said, in other years that I have run the places with my dogs I am lucky to get one or two shots ... even in years where the bird count is "higher" there.

Usually when I am in that part of MN my eyes and legs turn to the grouse woods.
 
Got out yesterday for my last hunt of the season. 8 above with light winds and fresh snow made for excellent conditions. Saw lots of birds feeding in the open bean fields while driving out - think they can sense the immanent arctic weather. First place my lab Jack and I hit produced a big flock of mostly roosters - and amazingly all in range! Got a double then reloaded and dropped a third. Could have tripled but hard to do with an o/u. Exciting hunt but over way too quickly. 2017 has definitely been a great one for me in WC on both public and private land. Jack and I sure took our share but left a lot of birds out there. Hoping for a mild winter and good survival. Birds are fat and healthy going in with the lack of snow and warm temps up till recently. Would like one more trip but with highs below zero for the last few days of 2017 we're hanging up the boots and collar for the year..
 
Last edited:
We hunted yesterday from windom to madelia. The birds were holding very well and we managed a couple but had decent shots at a few more. My thoughts this year. First, seems like a lot more pressure then the last few years in the areas we hunt. Second, I would say the bird numbers were down like the DNR projected. But we still had a fun year and shot some birds. Always sad when you know it's the last hunt of the year.
 
Good work smokyhillsguide. I went out yesterday afternoon after the fresh snow with a friend and most of the birds we found (which was about 65-70) were hens. A lot of them were holding tight which made for some great dog work. We managed 3 roosters and lost a 4th. Its the first cripple I've lost all season. I'm gonna hang it up for the season now as it may not get above zero again before the season is over. My thoughts on this season is that it was slightly better than last year. I went about the same amount of times and harvested a few more birds. With all the hens I saw yesterday, if we get a tolerable winter and no monsoon rains in June, next season should be just as good.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top