Greetings Fellas! First time poster here. Myself and a few hunting buddies have been trying to put together a pheasant hunting trip for this upcoming fall. We hunt down in Western Side of Iowa mostly were we have a few birds, but they are few and far between and what birds you do find are very skittish! We hunted up in the Jamestown/Medina area last fall for waterfowl and noticed a few roosters driving the back roads, and of course hadn't bought an upland license. We were shooting at going to the Bismarck area to begin our 5 day trip beginning Oct 18 thru the 22nd. I do notice that there is a drought and could be affecting the bird numbers, and not sure if this is something to worry about and putting off the trip. Just seeing if you all could give some helpful insight and tips on some public ground " plots" opportunities in the area, also not at all worried about putting some miles on. Not looking to run right into someones hunting area, but would be very appreciative on some helpful advice to make the 11 hour drive a well spent one! It'll be four guys and two young eager labs making the trip. Thanks!
2017 Roadtrip
- Thread starter IAROOSTER
- Start date
pheasanthunt
Member
That is the area I hunt in. I was hunting Over thanksgiving in 60 degree weather, the we got 15+ inches of snow on Dec 2nd and another similar amount Dec 15th. So between the drought and the winter I am not very optimistic. I usually am super optimistic. We did get some rain in the last 10 days. The area you are talking about holds pheasants and I would definitely do it. might not be the best this year, but will help out in future years of hunting when numbers get better. If you have any question about the area or need some advice txt me 262-893-7216 or send me a PM.
That is the general area that I hunt as well. The CRP acres are way down compared to years ago and I see more bird hunters. There are still good areas there. Just make sure that PLOTS are open to non residents when you are there. Only residents can be on PLOTS the first week. This will open thousands of acres to hunt for you. If its dry , Don't be afraid to literally get in head high cattails and ankle high water around the sloughs. You can pick up a few shirttails there too.
I have 4-5000 acres on 3 different farms in the area I regularly push myself and a couple buddies into the rotation. I got texted a couple of pictures of broods tonight as one of the farmers was on aphid patrol looking at beans. The recent rains are evidently great for putting beans on and there is alot of hope for the beans as money maker this year. IT won't be great, this is where the ice fell last winter instead of snow, some birds made it and hatched decent broods. It is wet there now for August and at least there will be huntable numbers of phez. I'm taking my walleye rods, "cause you"ll definately need them"
bellahunts
New member
IA Rooster, you gotta start sometime. This may not be the best year for numbers, so start laying the groundwork for future years. Knock on doors, develop relationships, find a few sweet spots and drop GPS pins. Each year builds on the previous ones. This will be the 11th year a dozen of us out-of-staters hunt the week before ND deer season opens. We used to depend on PLOTS but now rarely hit PLOTS ground because we have cultivated so many relationships with farmers/ranchers over the years. Our problem is hitting them all each year. We load up the trucks with various beers, wines, and bratwursts (made from previous year's kills) and give liberally to any farmer who lets us onto their land. Those relationships take intentional effort but they can make or break how much fun a trip to ND can be. btw, I also grew up in NW Iowa chasing pheasants but North Dakota is a hunter's paradise by comparison. Good luck!