East Central Report

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IOWA_Tallgrass

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Was originally hoping to head about an hour west of Cedar Rapids metro this weekend in an area in line with higher DNR counts, but mandatory family activities Saturday morning had me decide to stay closer to home.

My son and I hunted public about 20 min east of our acreage in Jones Co as our first outing of the year. We saw some birds on a gravel road on one side of the property, which was good to see, but walked darn near 2 miles in some of the best maintained habitat in our area and only had one point on a shootable rooster.

Comparing to a similar hunt in the same are last year, and I'm no biologist mind you nor do I spend tons of time at this place, we saw a few more birds. We have a long way to go in our area. As I live in the country just east of Cedar Rapids, I purposely try drive in to work (once a week or so) in the morning on gravel through some of the last "messy" farms in my area on those damp days, and the birds are few and far between.

Chomping at the bit to head to either Forest City or Spirit Lake. Weather looks perfect this week and a lot of the guys are hanging up the orange for the next 2 weeks to chase bambi. :D

Good luck out there fellas, let's hope for another mild winter! :thumbsup:
 
Water?

Hopefully you have read some of my other posts. Was there water on or very near the 2 miles of cover that you and your son walked? I am definitely seeing a correlation between bird numbers and water this year.

To be direct, if you have great cover and food source, you may only see a few birds if water is not present or very near. Areas with water may be less for cover but contains many more birds.:)

Until we receive some rains, I am certain that this pattern will hold. Hopefully this helps you and your son as you travel this weekend.:)
 
Me and a buddy are heading to Spirit Lake this weekend! KBell - I plan on taking your advice as i've never hunted that area. I know there is a lot of water in that area, so it shouldn't be too hard.

Tallgrass - I live in CR too. My short bird hunts are usually out around Palo, which isn't too far for you to drive. I wouldn't say there are a ton of birds out there, but it's a lot better than it has been in the past. I try to get just one and then just let the dog work. So far this year, I've seen a crap load of hens, That's good in my opinion.:cheers:
 
Muskrat Slough

Its no secret fellas, we hunted the south end of Muskrat Slough. Very dry over there, just a a trickle of water in the ditch draining out the north side, and 2 of the three birds we saw were in that narrow strip surrounding the old railroad ROW gravel that runs east-west.

I usually get a few ducks out of there each year, but its so dry, they have no place to go. There are some smaller ponds on the west side that I did not scout, they probably have a better chance of having some water in them.

I've been at it in these parts for the last 9 years or so-when we moved to IA from back east, so I have developed a milk run of public spots I hit in the CR area-especially east of town near where we live. Not much in the way of strict WMAs, but there are a suprising number of county conservation areas that are very well managed where with dedication you can scratch a limit in a more average year.

Appreciate the line on the water linkage pattern, we'll note it as things evolve here. Nice rain today, then a dry stretch before (if they are correct) winter tries to make an appearance early next week. :eek: (actually, I like chasing roosters in the snow) :cheers:
 
Christmas present

Hello Tallgrass,

The first snow of the year during pheasant season is my Christmas present every year!:) I look forward to no other event more.

I am a big believer this year in the water pattern. Even a drizzly day like today does not do much for our streams and ponds.:(
 
I hunted NW Iowa last week and we hunted all public. The areas we hunted usually have a lot of water in them but not this year. We seen good numbers, but the are sticking to the wettest areas.
I heading to SD this weekend and I'm hearing them same thing, find water, find the birds.
Good Luck
 
blabs said:
I hunted NW Iowa last week and we hunted all public. The areas we hunted usually have a lot of water in them but not this year. We seen good numbers, but the are sticking to the wettest areas.
I heading to SD this weekend and I'm hearing them same thing, find water, find the birds.
Good Luck
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input! Two more work days and we are on the road!
 
charles city area is slow but the population is much better than last year. l
Last year was the first time in 40 years i didnt shoot a bird. up to 3 so far this year. and seeing many more birds. Commenting on the water close by statement. i will agree, but it is not a hard fast rule in my area. my favorite spot for years and it is still crp ground after 20 years, two NICE flood plots on 140 acres and the river running along the north side of the whole 140 acres. been out on it three different days, spent some real time working it. and have not seen one bird, and the dog hasnt been birdy at all. lots of deer and several turkeys. but not a phesant in sight. Where i am seeing the birds is on a 2 mile crooked creek. only one spot about 20 yards in length holds any water. yes there is birds there, but the farther i get away from it, the bird population seems to be better. i really dont understand it, but..... my area the water thing isnt holding true, yet any ways. happy hunting
 
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