Ditch Hunting

C

cyclonenation10

Well-known member
I am from Central Iowa and have been hitting the public ground pretty hard the last couple of weeks... along with everyone else. Was thinking about trying to do some ditch hunting with the dog to try and get on some more birds now that it seems they'll be chased off of most the public ground for the next few weeks until the weather cools down. I have a good dog and plan on walking ditches, not just driving around looking for birds. What tactics do you guys use when ditch hunting? What areas do you look for to try and hunt, time of day? and what kind of cover? Do you look for standing corn around? Just looking for any tips people might have on ditch hunting.

Thanks!
 
If hunting by yourself, or just one other person, pick small patches of cover that everyone else drives by. It doesn't take much to hold a rooster. Try to find low lying drainages, drop one guy at the top of the hill, you start from the opposite hilltop (be quiet), have him sit still, you work the ditch cover with the dog. The roosters like to run to high ground, then flush. Your buddy will be waiting for them.

If by yourself, I have found it best to just park adjacent to the heavy cover, get out fast and get the dog in the cover before they can run or fly (review the law regarding having doors/hatches etc open when hunting within a certain distance from your vehicle). A word of warning about this technique though. It' can be dangerous to leave your vehicle where another driver can't see it until topping the blind hill. If you can't get it all the way out of the road, it's best to not let it protrude. Also, there is a lot of harvesting going-on, if you want your name to be mud with the farmer, just block the road when he's trying to get his work done.

Some ranchers think it's really cute to fly by at 70 with a trailer full of calves to annoy you and dust you out. Make sure you are aware of what's going on around you and be able to control your dog on short notice.
 
Me and a friend did very well hunting ditches for years. I droped him off, went up the road and we walked toward each other. To bad most of the ditches we used to hunt are planted to the road or cut down by the county commissioner.
 
I used to hunt ditches quite a bit in SD by myself when I used to live there. I would look for ditches that had nice cover and were next to a picked cornfield. I would generally avoid ones that were next to bean fields. Cattails or some type of treeline in the general area were also things to look for.

To be efficient with my time, I would try to look for areas that had what I was looking for on BOTH sides of the gravel road. That way I could park, walk one side of the road down to the next intersection or whatever, then walk the other side of the road back.

The one thing I always had to kind of keep my eye on was if there was a fence between the ditch and the field, and if so, how could my dog get through it if he needs to? I learned the hard way, that if you shoot a rooster that lands into the field next to you, it doesn't matter how much barbed wire the dog has to go through, he's going to find a way to get that bird back to you.
 
Last edited:
We hunt a ton of ditches in IL and IN both in groups and alone.

If I am alone I always sneak into the ditch as quietly as possible. I don't slam the car door. I don't whistle the dog. I don't yell at him. Just hand signals and maybe a little chirp here or there to get his attention.

What you are trying to do is catch them off guard and not alert every cock in the area that you are around. If you do then you're going to see birds, only they will be 200yds out ahead of you and flying away.

What I look for is some cover on top of the ditches. 10 yards out one or both sides is great. Gives me somewhere to walk other than in a plowed field or down in the ditch itself. My cankles can't take that for too long any more.

I like ditches with that tall grassy stuff than looks like bamboo but not that green sticky horrible section weed or joint grass we call it. Not even sure anymore what it is but it is nearly impenetrable. But damned if there aren't usually a few birds buried in it, if you can get to them. Cattails and anything think is what I like to look for.

It's surprising what you will see. Was in a ditch last year and dog goes on point. Out blasts a 6 point buck, followed by a coyote, followed by a cock pheasant. All within 10 feet of one another. Very cool. and buddy missed the cock. We were too busy looking at the other two animals we said.
 
Ditch hunting

If you are hunting ditches be careful your dog doesn't get caught in a trap, I think trapping season starts this weekend here in Iowa. It would be good to watch some videos and make sure you know how to get your dog out of one.

Carry something that you can cut a snare with and some rope to open a conibear trap.
 
Madison COunty said:
If you are hunting ditches be careful your dog doesn't get caught in a trap, I think trapping season starts this weekend here in Iowa. It would be good to watch some videos and make sure you know how to get your dog out of one.

Carry something that you can cut a snare with and some rope to open a conibear trap.
Click to expand...

Thank you very much for that reminder. I keep a high quality pair of cutters in my vest for snares but forgot about the dreaded conibear. Just went out for lunch and made kits for me and my buddies. 36" long heavy duty tie-wraps. I coiled 3 of them in a circle and secured with masking tape for easy access. Fits in game pouch easy. I sure hope I never encounter one of those things. I think the size that fits dogs (220?) should be outlawed on dry land.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top