Here's a really good tip I figured out

B

Bob Peters

Well-known member
First off, I got to qualify this to my own hunting. When I'm out by myself and the dog, I'm hunting public land in Southern MN or northern Iowa 90+ percent of the time. There's great habitat here, but often the birds are educated. As anyone knows whose been hunting a while, there's theories, patterns based on weather, time of year etc. But often it comes down to all this and then going on your hunch, following your gut, whatever you want to call it. I usually don't get a limit, but my luck has been getting better now that I've got several seasons under my belt. I've already gotten more birds this year than I did last, etc. One thing that has gotten me some great opportunities this season, is doubling back to an area I've already hunted. Let me explain. At a public spot in Iowa the dogs hit scent and were going 100 mph right out the gate. They were working a bird in bluestem and we got to a low spot with some forbes on the edge and foxtail in the low spot. They put up a rooster in range and I plugged away with both barrels and missed. We walked a long time on the wma and flushed hens but no other roosters. Back near the truck, I figured that foxtail patch wasn't too far away and took the 10 minutes to walk ground we already hunted and sure enough, right on the foxtail edge Roxy (the young dog) flushed a rooster and I came through with one shell. Was he there the whole time or had he walked in? I'll never know. Fast forward a month and I was on private ground in Waseca county MN. I'd hunted the spot two other times over the years and never seen a bird. We walked a bunch of stuff, light brome, cattails, marsh grass, nothing. Near a woodlot there was a thin strip of canary grass that had forbes mixed in, so that it was still standing very vertical(much of the other grass is knocked somewhat horizontal). I walked into this thicker vertical grass and managed to flush a rooster due to proximity, i.e. getting too close for comfort. He was hit well and retrieved. Continuing on walking the edge of a cornfield we saw no other birds. I realized that there was about 25 yards of that strip of forbes/canary grass we hadn't pushed through, so I circled the woodlot and pushed through the small strip of cover we hadn't walked. Sure enough the dogs put up a rooster right in front of me that I sadly missed! I realize that if you're hunting some money private ground anywhere in the pheasant belt this isn't worth worrying about. But if you're hunting pressured public ground, or even marginal private ground, this might be worth some thought. Anyways, I thought I better include a picture. Here is Skye with the retrieve in MN. I only wish I would have gotten the second bird when I doubled around on the spot!skye with elysian rooster.png
 
Bob Peters said:
First off, I got to qualify this to my own hunting. When I'm out by myself and the dog, I'm hunting public land in Southern MN or northern Iowa 90+ percent of the time. There's great habitat here, but often the birds are educated. As anyone knows whose been hunting a while, there's theories, patterns based on weather, time of year etc. But often it comes down to all this and then going on your hunch, following your gut, whatever you want to call it. I usually don't get a limit, but my luck has been getting better now that I've got several seasons under my belt. I've already gotten more birds this year than I did last, etc. One thing that has gotten me some great opportunities this season, is doubling back to an area I've already hunted. Let me explain. At a public spot in Iowa the dogs hit scent and were going 100 mph right out the gate. They were working a bird in bluestem and we got to a low spot with some forbes on the edge and foxtail in the low spot. They put up a rooster in range and I plugged away with both barrels and missed. We walked a long time on the wma and flushed hens but no other roosters. Back near the truck, I figured that foxtail patch wasn't too far away and took the 10 minutes to walk ground we already hunted and sure enough, right on the foxtail edge Roxy (the young dog) flushed a rooster and I came through with one shell. Was he there the whole time or had he walked in? I'll never know. Fast forward a month and I was on private ground in Waseca county MN. I'd hunted the spot two other times over the years and never seen a bird. We walked a bunch of stuff, light brome, cattails, marsh grass, nothing. Near a woodlot there was a thin strip of canary grass that had forbes mixed in, so that it was still standing very vertical(much of the other grass is knocked somewhat horizontal). I walked into this thicker vertical grass and managed to flush a rooster due to proximity, i.e. getting too close for comfort. He was hit well and retrieved. Continuing on walking the edge of a cornfield we saw no other birds. I realized that there was about 25 yards of that strip of forbes/canary grass we hadn't pushed through, so I circled the woodlot and pushed through the small strip of cover we hadn't walked. Sure enough the dogs put up a rooster right in front of me that I sadly missed! I realize that if you're hunting some money private ground anywhere in the pheasant belt this isn't worth worrying about. But if you're hunting pressured public ground, or even marginal private ground, this might be worth some thought. Anyways, I thought I better include a picture. Here is Skye with the retrieve in MN. I only wish I would have gotten the second bird when I doubled around on the spot!View attachment 6877
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Good idea.I don't usually double back.
 
I'd bet that the first rooster you bagged got pushed into that spot when you guys were working the rest of the property. Or came in from somewhere else. Your observation is correct, though. There is wisdom in doubling back. A couple years ago, I was hunting one of my favorite properties, worked up to that juicy ravine/phragmite patch and there was nada. Sage didn't even get birdy. We worked to the south and checked out a couple little patches of cattails and some shoreline. Came back and hit that ravine/phragmite patch again and there was at least 20 pheasants in there. While I am pretty confident they were feeding and came back to roost, it just goes to show that those buggers are always moving.
 
Golden Hour said:
I'd bet that the first rooster you bagged got pushed into that spot when you guys were working the rest of the property. Or came in from somewhere else. Your observation is correct, though. There is wisdom in doubling back. A couple years ago, I was hunting one of my favorite properties, worked up to that juicy ravine/phragmite patch and there was nada. Sage didn't even get birdy. We worked to the south and checked out a couple little patches of cattails and some shoreline. Came back and hit that ravine/phragmite patch again and there was at least 20 pheasants in there. While I am pretty confident they were feeding and came back to roost, it just goes to show that those buggers are always moving.
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I rarely hunt before 10.30 ish.My dad taught me to be leisurely. These early morning gentlemen are rubes. Yes,pheasants and sharptails move around. Look for water and trees.
 
Goosemaster said:
These early morning gentlemen are rubes.
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LOL there he goes again with the rubes. Apparently anyone who hunts deer, or birds before 10:30am in the morning is a rube.

I hunt deer and wild turkey well before 10:30am. So I guess I'm a rube. And damn proud of it too.

I think Goose is a chinese bot that's messing with all of us.
 
doubling back when hunting alone makes sense. will remember this while afield tomorrow.
 
I have had the same experience as you Bob, I think alot of times when the dogs are working/trailing birds on the move they get locked in on the hottest sent and other birds split away from the danger and the dogs continue their pursuit and either flush or point the bird(s) they were tracking. I think sometimes birds are missed/passed by when this happens too. This happens as well if you follow after a group has just hunted the property, I like to think my dog is better then the dogs that just worked field. It is a good practice to double back especially on large parcels. I am always amazed when I walk into a CREP parcel that 160 or larger and we find birds, we are literally looking for the preverbal needle in the haystack. I cannot imagine ever hunting without a dog(s).
 
gimruis said:
LOL there he goes again with the rubes. Apparently anyone who hunts deer, or birds before 10:30am in the morning is a rube.

I hunt deer and wild turkey well before 10:30am. So I guess I'm a rube. And damn proud of it too.

I think Goose is a chinese bot that's messing with all of us.
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Yep....been thinking "bot" for some time now....definitely a poster child for the concept.
Has turned into comedy central with all the "rubes".."dumping mud" etc.,etc.
Seriously....who talks like that? I don't know and have never known someone who talks like that and uses those phrases...but it's all good. No harm no foul....
 
I think Goose probably started out as his true self, which I believe to be an older gentleman, a bit rough around the edges, and has strong opinions he likes to share with others (warranted or not.) He probably got enough flak and backed off a bit, not wanting to create enemies. Then he realized what folks responded well to, and is having a lot of fun with it. More power to him. I like Mr. Goosemaster. While I am new to this site, I don't think it would be as much fun without him. Plus I know he can take a jab as well as he can give one. Everyone knows someone like Goose in real life. You just take them where they are at and enjoy the ride!
 
Bob Peters said:
First off, I got to qualify this to my own hunting. When I'm out by myself and the dog, I'm hunting public land in Southern MN or northern Iowa 90+ percent of the time. There's great habitat here, but often the birds are educated. As anyone knows whose been hunting a while, there's theories, patterns based on weather, time of year etc. But often it comes down to all this and then going on your hunch, following your gut, whatever you want to call it. I usually don't get a limit, but my luck has been getting better now that I've got several seasons under my belt. I've already gotten more birds this year than I did last, etc. One thing that has gotten me some great opportunities this season, is doubling back to an area I've already hunted. Let me explain. At a public spot in Iowa the dogs hit scent and were going 100 mph right out the gate. They were working a bird in bluestem and we got to a low spot with some forbes on the edge and foxtail in the low spot. They put up a rooster in range and I plugged away with both barrels and missed. We walked a long time on the wma and flushed hens but no other roosters. Back near the truck, I figured that foxtail patch wasn't too far away and took the 10 minutes to walk ground we already hunted and sure enough, right on the foxtail edge Roxy (the young dog) flushed a rooster and I came through with one shell. Was he there the whole time or had he walked in? I'll never know. Fast forward a month and I was on private ground in Waseca county MN. I'd hunted the spot two other times over the years and never seen a bird. We walked a bunch of stuff, light brome, cattails, marsh grass, nothing. Near a woodlot there was a thin strip of canary grass that had forbes mixed in, so that it was still standing very vertical(much of the other grass is knocked somewhat horizontal). I walked into this thicker vertical grass and managed to flush a rooster due to proximity, i.e. getting too close for comfort. He was hit well and retrieved. Continuing on walking the edge of a cornfield we saw no other birds. I realized that there was about 25 yards of that strip of forbes/canary grass we hadn't pushed through, so I circled the woodlot and pushed through the small strip of cover we hadn't walked. Sure enough the dogs put up a rooster right in front of me that I sadly missed! I realize that if you're hunting some money private ground anywhere in the pheasant belt this isn't worth worrying about. But if you're hunting pressured public ground, or even marginal private ground, this might be worth some thought. Anyways, I thought I better include a picture. Here is Skye with the retrieve in MN. I only wish I would have gotten the second bird when I doubled around on the spot!View attachment 6877
Click to expand...
What have you done to that dogs tail??
 
Good tip. Pheasants move around a lot, both short term (like within the hour) & long term (like over the course of a day). I believe little to none of their movement is random, meaning there's always a reason for it. Take Saturday for example. At 10:30, GH, Sage, Ace, & I hunted a small to medium sized slough near picked corn, & right by a public parking area, hoping we'd find a couple loafing around the edge after breakfast. We flushed 3 roosters, all around the edge. We hunted the middle, just to be sure, and saw nothing. About 3 hours later, we got back to our trucks & neither dog showed any interest in that same slough. We ate lunch & went somewhere else nearby to hunt. Toward sunset, GH had to head home, but Ace & I really wanted to hunt more. A little more, to be clear, as it'd been a long day. I put my money on that same little slough we'd started in, thinking there were probably others in the vicinity that would roost there & that we hadn't educated earlier in the day. It took literally less than 10 minutes outside the truck to find one & finish up our 2-man limit. God only knows for sure where that bird had been earlier, but with an aerial picture of the area, it wouldn't be tough to determine the most likely spots. Even in the same relatively small area (like 1 section of land), they don't all spend their days the exact same way, especially when there's still lots of cover around.
 
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