I got a choice tomorrow and a rooster tonight.

[Bob Peters]

I boogied down to Faribault to hunt the golden hour. In the back corner of a field I almost pinched one, but he took off running down the hill. Lucky Skye caught the scent and I hustled after her. I took a bomb shot right before he disappeared under the rise and saw him fall. I was nervous on this one running off into 10 acres of giant ragweed, but saw the dog nose down and tail a'waggin' soon as I crested the rise. Good job Skye!

Now I gotta decide if I try SD or IA tomorrow. MN deer is this weekend so I took Friday off and don't have to be home till 7pm Monday.

 

[BritChaser]

A hard to bag pheasant is always a great pleasure.

 

[Skadergen]

Nice job, keep us posted on the weekend’s venture!

 

[goldenboy]

Bob, as the old saying goes, follow the dog. Which state do they want to hunt in? I think you should ask them. Have a great time.

 

[Nick]

I boogied down to Faribault to hunt the golden hour. In the back corner of a field I almost pinched one, but he took off running down the hill. Lucky Skye caught the scent and I hustled after her. I took a bomb shot right before he disappeared under the rise and saw him fall. I was nervous on this one running off into 10 acres of giant ragweed, but saw the dog nose down and tail a'waggin' soon as I crested the rise. Good job Skye!

Now I gotta decide if I try SD or IA tomorrow. MN deer is this weekend so I took Friday off and don't have to be home till 7pm Monday.View attachment 12024

That's a beautiful rooster.

 

[Bob Peters]

Today's report. I bought an Iowa license while gassing up in Mapleton MN, the birthplace of curling. I ended up hitting an old favorite in MN for 9am opening bell. Saw two roosters flush there after the dogs got their scent, but they knew the game and too far out for a shot.

Got to a good spot in Iowa at 11am. I suppose sometimes places that have been so good to you in the past change, and a hunter needs to learn to quit hunting memories. Had a first here, Roxy hit a scent and I was super-ready to pop my primers on a rooster. She charged in the cattails and all hell broke loose!!! Hissing and barking and all the vegetation shaking like a Hawaiian Hula dress. Finally through the screen of grass I caught glimpses of Roxy in a scrape with a whole pack of Raccoons! WOW! I was hollering her name at the top of my lungs but she told me to pound sand, she wasn't backing out of the ring. Finally there was space between and I got her out of that scrape for good. I keep a copy of vet records in the dog bag, they revealed she's up to date on rabies, and luckily I didn't find any bite marks or scratches on her.

Here I was, hunted all day in two states and nothing to show but smart roosters, swamp squabbles, and hens. I almost called Kim Reynolds and asked if she'd refund my license. Instead I drove to an old gnarly piece of public that's always gotten the better of me in forays past. Alternating dogs Skye jumped out for her turn. Just because a dog's older doesn't mean they can't do it well. Her stamina isn't what it used to be, but she knows all those old rooster tricks at this point in her career. I'm just a washed up middle aged guy who thinks he's a pheasant hunter. My confidence wasn't high to put it mildly with the days results. But Skye sniffed through the food plots, searched the bluestem, hopped into the cattails and scoured the fencelines that last hour of the day, and at 430 we had two roosters in the game bag. I'm a pretty simple man and was happy as a clam at high tide.

 

[Glock]

Looks like things ended up pretty well! Dang raccoons can be nasty.

 

[benelli-banger]

Scary !!!

 

[PairOfLabs]

Your Goldens pose well for the camera.

 

[Bob Peters]

Your Goldens pose well for the camera.

Here's my tips. Compose the shot first, get birds positioned, turn camera on, lastly get dogs in position and have a treat in your hand to get their attention.

 

[Bob Peters]

Hit Iowa again today. Always hear first snow is a pheasant hunting bonanza. In this case hunting during the first snow was challenging. It stuck on the ground but was wet. Didn't take long pants, vest, hat, gloves were all soaked. I started at a honey hole from last year... had turned into a pheasant ghost town. Walked farther than I'd planned, got lost, took a shortcut through cane grass that had water over my ankles and tripped on a snow-covered log stuffing my muzzle with snow. Didn't wear contacts and my glasses had water-spots all day.

Not many hunters out, very little pheasant activity. From 3 till close they came out of the woodwork. Wish I coulda shot like that summer day I hit a 25 straight at 5 stand or a 50 straight on trap. Should I blame it on soggy gloves and numb fingers, the dog, or the gun? Maybe I shouldn't blame it on anything and just be happy for the chance to chase and see so many public land wild roosters. Roxy and I did manage one. We also had a talk about teamwork. Even after the toughest days pheasant hunting I'm still glad I went.

 

[redhaze]

Thanks for sharing, great times.

 

[Vitalwon]

Today's report. I bought an Iowa license while gassing up in Mapleton MN, the birthplace of curling. I ended up hitting an old favorite in MN for 9am opening bell. Saw two roosters flush there after the dogs got their scent, but they knew the game and too far out for a shot.

Got to a good spot in Iowa at 11am. I suppose sometimes places that have been so good to you in the past change, and a hunter needs to learn to quit hunting memories. Had a first here, Roxy hit a scent and I was super-ready to pop my primers on a rooster. She charged in the cattails and all hell broke loose!!! Hissing and barking and all the vegetation shaking like a Hawaiian Hula dress. Finally through the screen of grass I caught glimpses of Roxy in a scrape with a whole pack of Raccoons! WOW! I was hollering her name at the top of my lungs but she told me to pound sand, she wasn't backing out of the ring. Finally there was space between and I got her out of that scrape for good. I keep a copy of vet records in the dog bag, they revealed she's up to date on rabies, and luckily I didn't find any bite marks or scratches on her.

Here I was, hunted all day in two states and nothing to show but smart roosters, swamp squabbles, and hens. I almost called Kim Reynolds and asked if she'd refund my license. Instead I drove to an old gnarly piece of public that's always gotten the better of me in forays past. Alternating dogs Skye jumped out for her turn. Just because a dog's older doesn't mean they can't do it well. Her stamina isn't what it used to be, but she knows all those old rooster tricks at this point in her career. I'm just a washed up middle aged guy who thinks he's a pheasant hunter. My confidence wasn't high to put it mildly with the days results. But Skye sniffed through the food plots, searched the bluestem, hopped into the cattails and scoured the fencelines that last hour of the day, and at 430 we had two roosters in the game bag. I'm a pretty simple man and was happy as a clam at high tide.

View attachment 12033

Love the Goldens! My first hunting dog after getting married (decades ago, LOL), was a GR, and super-fine gun dog, upland and waterfowl. BTW, he was a gentle soul.., unless field beasts and other canines wanted to scrap. He could turn from Jeckyl to Hyde if the moment called for it. My brother and I were hunting some cattails when, as you described, all of Hades broke loose. It happened in front of my brother, I was to his left in legendary thick catts trying to get over there as my brother hollered “HE’s FIGHTING A COON!!” We all know how moving quickly through cattail quagmire is futile. By the time I got there I just caught site of the arse end of the 35 lb coon getting the heck out of Dodge with my Golden growling and nipping his backside as he left. Just like yours, there wasn’t a scratch on the dog (and his rabies vax was up to date). A nanosecond after, he was wagging his tail with his classic expression, “Come on man, there’s roosters in these parts!” We limited out that day.