How was the opener
- Thread starter PTH
- Start date
NOPLCLKNEB3
New member
Opening day, hunted hard all day. Lots of corn still in. 7 guys, 3 dogs, 11 roosters, 2 quail, 1 coyote.
Sunday. Hunted until noon. 5 guys, 2 dogs, 6 roosters. Numbers seem to be down from last year, but hard to tell with so much corn still in.
Hunted 20% public, 80% private. 3 of the 17 roosters taken on public ground.
Southwest Nebraska
Saw 7 coyotes, most I have ever seen out there.
Overall a very good and fun hunt.
Sunday. Hunted until noon. 5 guys, 2 dogs, 6 roosters. Numbers seem to be down from last year, but hard to tell with so much corn still in.
Hunted 20% public, 80% private. 3 of the 17 roosters taken on public ground.
Southwest Nebraska
Saw 7 coyotes, most I have ever seen out there.
Overall a very good and fun hunt.
Pheasant.Esq
New member
Opening weekend didn't go as planned. Four out of the seven public spots we normally hit were all grazed down to the dirt by cattle. Very frustrating to say the least. Ended up stumbling onto some birds but had to work for them. Walked 9 miles both Saturday morning and Sunday morning. Finished with 2 roosters per day and 12 quail Saturday and 10 Sunday between five guys and two dogs. Saw the most people out hunting I have seen in awhile.
Still was nice to get out and I am looking forward to the rest of the season.
Still was nice to get out and I am looking forward to the rest of the season.
pheasantquailhunter913
New member
Looks like it’s going to be a good year. Was done by 8:15 AM. Moved 4 coveys in 45 mins. Got one rooster. I was primarily in quail country. If someone explains to me how to get a picture on here. I will try I have several times with no luck. Good luck. Chris
Bilbo Baggins
Member
Enjoyed the opener. Four guys bagged four roosters, one each so everyone had a great time. Plenty of walking and not many birds but lots of corn is still in. Most hunters I have ever seen in my hunting days in Nebraska. Considering the numbers of hunters out, there was actually very little shooting going on. Good luck to all.
vrepola
Member
Got up here yesterday evening. I hunted all day today not to hard. Spent sometime checking spots to see what's planted this year. Had my chance at 2 roosters. I'm gonna blame not firing a shot in 9 months.
From what I can see the bird numbers are down in the southwest. I would say 60% of the corn is still in. The combines are rolling though. I would say next week most all will be out. I'll update if things get better
From what I can see the bird numbers are down in the southwest. I would say 60% of the corn is still in. The combines are rolling though. I would say next week most all will be out. I'll update if things get better
trenton-palisade area report?
Guys,
Hunted opener around Grant, lots of corn up and seemed to be fewer birds than in the past? Didn't see any quail.
My son has a 7 month old wirehaired pointer and his friend has a 1 1/2 year old wirehair. Wanting to get them out and find some quail so I can have my 14 year old wirehair teach the young dogs how to work quail. Any reports on the trenton-palisade-republican river area for pheasants and quail?? I used to hunt alot down that way.
Thanks in advance. Best of luck this season.
Guys,
Hunted opener around Grant, lots of corn up and seemed to be fewer birds than in the past? Didn't see any quail.
My son has a 7 month old wirehaired pointer and his friend has a 1 1/2 year old wirehair. Wanting to get them out and find some quail so I can have my 14 year old wirehair teach the young dogs how to work quail. Any reports on the trenton-palisade-republican river area for pheasants and quail?? I used to hunt alot down that way.
Thanks in advance. Best of luck this season.
I was excited when I first saw the NE hunting atlas and again when I saw the small grain management supplement but my excitement has dwindled down to questions.
I was down by Grant last weekend and saw a lot of additional CRP added. When I drove to some of my old spots and some of the new ones, I found they had all been mowed down. No cover whatsoever! I'm not sure why the Game and Parks would pay for mowed CRP fields, especially new ones.
Yesterday I went over to check out all of the SGM areas south of Oshkosh and most of that isn't very good either. There are several 1/4 sections of winter wheat, no cover. Some of the wheat stubble is only 6" high and very little cover.
I know that Nebraska has been trying to build up the pheasant myth to bring in more hunters and they have. I talked to some guys from Colorado yesterday who walked one of those mile long wheat stubble fields that are only 6" high and they never saw a pheasant, just two jackrabbits. They had driven up for a day hunt and were pretty disappointed, since they hadn't even seen a pheasant.
I wonder why they (NE Game and Parks) pay for winter wheat and mowed CRP?
I was down by Grant last weekend and saw a lot of additional CRP added. When I drove to some of my old spots and some of the new ones, I found they had all been mowed down. No cover whatsoever! I'm not sure why the Game and Parks would pay for mowed CRP fields, especially new ones.
Yesterday I went over to check out all of the SGM areas south of Oshkosh and most of that isn't very good either. There are several 1/4 sections of winter wheat, no cover. Some of the wheat stubble is only 6" high and very little cover.
I know that Nebraska has been trying to build up the pheasant myth to bring in more hunters and they have. I talked to some guys from Colorado yesterday who walked one of those mile long wheat stubble fields that are only 6" high and they never saw a pheasant, just two jackrabbits. They had driven up for a day hunt and were pretty disappointed, since they hadn't even seen a pheasant.
I wonder why they (NE Game and Parks) pay for winter wheat and mowed CRP?
HS Strut
Active member
I'm heading out in a couple weeks and I'm gonna be really upset if the CRP is mowed. This is the second report I've seen like this. I was out there in January and I saw a couple places that didn't have much cover but 90% of it looked good and held a few birds.
I was out there the first week of the season with a ton of other out of stater's looking for another option because of the drought in the Dakotas. Most of the CRP had been hayed at some point during the summer and was not thick enough to hold birds. There were a ton of disappointed hunters that were expecting a "Dakota" like experience. Having said that, if you have a good dog, put the miles in, and make the most of your opportunities you should do alright. If you are missing any of those pieces you are looking at a 1 bird day. It's definitely hunting!
Pheasant.Esq
New member
This season has been a lot harder than I thought it would be. Maybe it is the late harvest, but I am just not seeing as many birds as I have in the previous couple years. Hoping for some cold weather to come through to bunch them up. Still has been fun to get out though!
Just got back from 3 days in the southwest portion of the state. Nice weather, Pretty tough hunting, not near as many birds as I expected. Quite a few hunters out hunting. 3 of of us with 2 dogs ended up getting 12 birds in 2 1/2 days of hard hunting. Not sure what to think, for a supposed pheasant hunting state the numbers of birds seemed pretty weak. They sure were Wiley, better have some blockers or you'll have a rough time. Maybe we'll come out in a month or so and give it another go.
Nebraska walkin marginal
Yep,
I do think there are less birds from my 2 trips to Nebraska so far this season. The game wardens are always talking up the walk in stubble but in my experience these fields are sprayed so completely with herbicides there is no cover to hold birds. The CRP has been consistently taken out of the program only to plant dry land corn. If you plan on traveling a long distance to hunt Nebraska I suggest you look for other options. The hunting pressure is getting worse especially given the reduced good CRP.
My 2 cents.
Yep,
I do think there are less birds from my 2 trips to Nebraska so far this season. The game wardens are always talking up the walk in stubble but in my experience these fields are sprayed so completely with herbicides there is no cover to hold birds. The CRP has been consistently taken out of the program only to plant dry land corn. If you plan on traveling a long distance to hunt Nebraska I suggest you look for other options. The hunting pressure is getting worse especially given the reduced good CRP.
My 2 cents.
,
Why would you be mad if a farmer mowed his/her CRP? If they did mow it, they either had permission from the feds or its been withdrawn. It's none of our business what they do. And hunters wonder why land owners don't like hunters on their property. Good luck on hunting your public lands.......
HS Strut
Active member
Because when I pick up the "Atlas" and drive 800 miles I'd like to be able to hunt what the State "Advertised" as huntable land. If they had a drought in southern Nebraska (I've not heard that area was effected? Maybe it was?) and they gave the landowners who've been paid to let the CRP grow and allow hunters to use it, permission to mow it for hay, that's fine...then I think we should be notified that if we drive 800 miles, the land we thought we could hunt is now a putting green. That's all. If the farmers need that hay? Fine. Hay it. But send out an email or make an updated online atlas that shows CRP that's no longer there.
While I can't exactly know what was meant by that comment about moving the CRP, I can tell you that I am upset with the Nebraska Game and Parks for enrolling mowed CRP and winter wheat in the program. I understand mid term CRP management where the framer is required to do maintenance on their CRP by the Federal government where they may may mow it, burn it or disc it as required but I don't understand NE Game and Parks enrolling winter wheat or wheat stubble that is so short that it won't hold birds.
A farmer that put some of his ground in this year told me the Game and Parks contacted him and asked him if he would enroll. They asked him what he had and he told them how much CRP and how much wheat stubble. They asked him if he would enroll it all for what they offered, one year contract and he said yes. The CRP is good, the wheat stubble isn't. He doesn't even think they went by it to check.
The Game and Parks has wasted a bunch of money on ground that will never hold a pheasant this year.
AM
A farmer that put some of his ground in this year told me the Game and Parks contacted him and asked him if he would enroll. They asked him what he had and he told them how much CRP and how much wheat stubble. They asked him if he would enroll it all for what they offered, one year contract and he said yes. The CRP is good, the wheat stubble isn't. He doesn't even think they went by it to check.
The Game and Parks has wasted a bunch of money on ground that will never hold a pheasant this year.
AM
I think they hayed the CRP to send to the Dakotas and Montana. I have no issue with that. There are plenty of places to hunt and there are some birds but as I said before you have to work for them. I did hunt some of the wheat stubble and there were birds but it was tough to get them to hold. If you are hunting with someone you could work together to push them to each other or cover that they will hold in. It's pretty tough for one guy and a dog. A lot of places do not look to great from the road but once you get to walking you find areas that hold birds. You walk and walk and nothing but all of the sudden wham you have 2 birds. I kind of enjoyed the challenge.
s.davis
Well-known member
It’s absolutely our business. The water is ours, the air is ours, the money that subsidizes farming and the markets they sell trade their products on are all ours.
Good luck farming without public investment and infrastructure. They tried that for a while and people mostly starved.