Advice for a novice?

R

rackNcrack

New member
Hi everyone,

New to pheasant hunting. I was working with my dog last fall to get him trained and this fall I was looking forward to the pheasant season with him. We have been out a couple of times with no success and this last trip I came to the realization that I need to see if I'm doing something wrong.

Everything I read and people I talk to they have no problem finding birds on public land in the SE WI area. I hunt at Jackson (church road is all I know of), Theresa (gravel road off Mohawk), and Allenton (went once last year, approached from the south, forget the road). It's frustrating beating my dog up running through the grass/brush and he isn't getting the reward of a bird in his mouth. I'm worried the training we did last year could start to go wasted if he doesn't get his nose on some birds soon.

My dog is very very birdy. I've come across a few pheasant feathers here and there and if he gets his nose into those he is off and in the zone.

I'm curious if some people can give me a few pointers- where to hunt at these places, what type of area to work in a field, when do you have success at these fields, etc. Does anyone know the approximate stocking schedule? I know some of these fields are restocked on consistent days of the week.

I know some people can be a bit protective of their spots, advice, etc just as fishermen don't want to give up their honey holes. But any help you can give would be great. I have fun doing this, I don't want to waste my dog, and I don't really have anyone with experience to hunt with. Figured this would be a great place to make my time more worthwhile.

Thanks in advance
 
Most cover on these public lands a thick.Try to hunt the week days.I would think they drop pheasants on a Wed,thurs. or Friday.These areas get pounded!
Try hunting around horicon marsh..a lot of public land.
 
This year, in some spots, DNR is putting birds out twice a week--once early in the week for the week-day hunters, and a second time for the week-end folks.

They may switch the times around, but I've found more birds this year than in at least the past five years. That's not to say you stumble over them, but DNR kept its word about stocking #s.

Have fun, be safe.
 
What kind of dog? What is the dog's experience level? While they aren't "wild" birds, stocked birds learn quick to avoid hunters if they get poked at once in a while. If your pup isn't that bird experienced, a few afternoons at game farm can be money well spent.

Do you usually hunt alone, or with others?

One very effective tactic with a flushing dog is to hunt edges of water. Phez hate water. Follow the edges of a lake, creek, river, etc. You hunt 20 or so yards from the edge and work your dog between you and the edge of the water. The birds wont cross the water, they will either flush or run ahead until they hit a clear patch of ground then will flush.

Good luck. Post a picture here with your first phez of the year. :thumbsup:
 
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Hunt the small chunks of cover away from the big blocks of cover that everybody else hunts.

Small thick trees or a fence line close enough for a kicked up bird to fly to from where they drop the birds off can be your own little honey hole.
 
Thanks for the help everyone.

I hunt with a 3 year old vizsla. We had him set to train with a local trainer for 5 weeks but after 3 he called to let me know he was ready. We had him in hunting trials last fall to get more experience on birds since I did not have a gun at the time, and he easily received his junior hunter title. We don't have plans at this time to go for senior hunter.

I usually hunt alone. My wife enjoys to be out hunting as well, but right now she is unable and she doesn't have off during the week. I can pretty easily take off on a Friday or even take off a morning during the week. I don't go on weekends to avoid the mad rush.

I've considered going to a farm to get a guarantee at getting my dog working on birds. I figured since it's open season on public land I would take advantage of that now and then go to a farm

I appreciate all of the info. Sounds like I just need to keep at it and I'll succeed. I may try the horicon marsh. I've heard that is better with more land. It's not too much further for me than Theresa.
 
public land

I like to do the opposite of what the regular hunter does. He likes to hunt the big fields near parking spots on weekend late mornings and afternoons. Look for smaller areas far away from the parking spots. Hike into the public land a mile or two and then start your hunt. Go during the week and go at sunrise. I use Google Earth to find these spots. Secondly all the birds the guys miss in the big fields fly to these areas. Have fun!
 
I too haven't been having the greatest luck this year on the public land. Last season we must have been lucky, or the DNR isn't planting as heavy in the normal spots we hit, or all the birds are simply enjoying all the standing corn around me.

Still fun to get out though. but I do understand where you are coming from. I feel like I am letting the dog down a little by not taking him to spots with birds. I sort of expected that we wouldn't find as many after last year, so I bought some birds at a somewhat local to you game farm. I have been going out there every couple of weeks. First it started as training, but now it is sort of a reward for my four legged hunting partner.


The recommendation to hit the Horicon was a good one. I haven't been out there in a few years, but we always did really good out there, and I know there was always wild birds. Just remember to take steel shot.
 
If your having problems locating birds on public grounds, then get him to a game preserve. Birds are birds and the dog doesn't care. You can still continue to hunt public land, but don't discount a game preserve to get the dog on birds, especially for a younger dog who at this point is still learning. At this stage it's a numbers game and the more birds the quicker the dog will figure this all out.
 
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