IHAP experiences

Jawilor

Jawilor

Active member
I’m curious to get anyone else’s opinion on IHAP properties. I try to hunt 3-4 new IHAP spots each season. I hunt mostly N. Central Iowa and my luck has been sporadic at best. I’ve never hunted any of them early in the season so wondering if maybe they get pounded early on. I’ve never shot more than 1 bird on any given property and there aren’t any I’m excited to go back to. I hunted a new one today and saw 2 hens and a rooster, and I got the rooster. They were all sitting tight which was surprising since most public birds have been pretty spooky lately.
What has been your experience with IHAP land?
 
I have hunted a lot of IHAP over the years, I would say that 75% of the public I hunt in IA is IHAP and we always find birds. Two weeks ago we put a couple of hens up and then put up a surprise covey of huns. Needless to say my buddy missed on them and was less than happy! I will say that the habitat on IHAP's are amazing and usually have a good diverse mix of grasses and thick cover depending on the piece of ground.
 
Unless it was just added to IHAP (and probably CRP) I have found them to be better habitat and better managed than the other public hunting areas. I am in South Central where we don't have very good pheasant ground unless it is managed for that. It usually takes about 2 full years for the ground/cover to develop and a year or two after that for the birds to move in or populate.
 
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I don’t know of any IHAP program ground in this part of NW Iowa. I put two farms in a few years ago but took them out when it was possible, I believe after three years.

Folks didn’t park where they were supposed to, had some hunters walk right through the house yard of one renter, trash left behind but the topper was the DNR didn’t live up to their side. They put the signs up and that was about it. They seeded one small area but never controlled the weeds, didn’t burn anything they planned on.

But, that’s maybe a local problem.

Edit, I looked on the DNR map and I see two areas near me, they both adjoin existing State owned land. They are probably better managed.
 
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I agree that the habitat is usually exceptional on IHAP properties. I hunted one last year for the first time and it was incredible. I saw more roost spots with droppings than any other place I've hunted, but we only put up one hen during the 2+ hours it took to cover it.
My best guess is that these spots I'm trying are getting a lot of pressure and the birds are moving to private ground before shooting time.
In regard to the trash and stuff, I haven't seen anything like that on the 10 or so IHAP spots I've hunted. Hopefully it's an isolated incident. I see more problems on DNR ground, and those slobs are the reason the DNR did away with target shooting on public ground.
 
There's one IHAP I've tried twice. I never saw a bird. Probably won't hunt that one again.

I've got one I really like. It seems like a good program. I talked to the IHAP lady at the dnr. Really friendly. She said they try and help the land stay up to crp requirements so the owner can keep getting their payments. Once I saw a vehicle parked in a zone clearly marked foot traffic only, I didn't like that.
 
Remember IHAP is private ground.

I was asked about the landowner’s perspective and obligations.

The two contracts I signed were basically we turned over the management of the property to the DNR, they put signage up and it was public hunting for the species we agreed to and only during those time periods. Liability was transferred to the state. Some of what I put it had water and crop ground so it was available for any game in season.

The DNR agreed to seed, burn existing established cover and control weeds. They seeded two patches and that was the extent of their involvement. I put the ground in specifically to be burned since it was a difficult area and they had the equipment. It never got done.
 
I'm sorry it didn't work out for you McHunter.
My favorite spot locally was an IHAP that went out of the program this last year, not sure if it timed out or was because it changed hands. I believe IHAP ground is pretty well utilized here. I started the opener this year on one and had 3 different "groups" drive by before the 8am opening, although I haven't seen any since then.
 
IHAP's tend to be some really good cover in my experience, but relatively small parcels for public hunting, so the birds get pushed out in a hurry due to constant pressure.
 
There are a few IHAPs within 20 miles or so of me, they look OK from the road,. About 3 years ago I hunted one late in season, saw zero birds, which seemed strange. I did step into a hole and fell about as hard as I ever had. Didn't break anything, but that leg turned all sorts of interesting colors. That was my sign to leave public spots to those who don't have private ground to hunt.
 
remy3424 said:
There are a few IHAPs within 20 miles or so of me, they look OK from the road,. About 3 years ago I hunted one late in season, saw zero birds, which seemed strange.
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The public land struggle is real. Now you know how a guy can hunt all day and not get a limit. Good luck hunting this weekend on Remy's pheasant hunting haven. I always enjoy your posts about making good habitat for the birds and bringing new hunters out:).
 
Thanks Bob. The publc land struggle will get worse before it improves here. This fall we are having more terraces, fence lines, old building sites and waterways pushed-out/tiled. It seems like whenever there is a land sale the bulldozers and excavators will be coming shortly to clear everything out. In less than 20 years, if the CRP program isn't bolstered, the only habitat left will be in our imbarassing small amount of public ground. It seems like hunting is a fading activity, if we have fewer hunters, any funding will be drying-up as well...need to get youth and new hunters into the fields while we can.
 
Went out this past Saturday to a new spot of IHAP we stumbled upon opening weekend. We were only able to hunt a small portion of it due to a deer hunter being on the larger section of it, but in the 40 acres or so we got to walk we easily saw 50-60 birds and a covey of Huns. We were only able to shoot one at this spot because of they were flushing well out of range, but it was nice to see that number of birds this late in the season. We went down the road to a piece of state ground and easily put up another 50-60 birds out of a mix of different cover and we shot our remaining 5 birds for our limit by 11:15am. If you find good habitat you will find the birds and they are starting to bunch up with some of the weather they have had recently.
 
waterdog09 said:
Went out this past Saturday to a new spot of IHAP we stumbled upon opening weekend. We were only able to hunt a small portion of it due to a deer hunter being on the larger section of it, but in the 40 acres or so we got to walk we easily saw 50-60 birds and a covey of Huns. We were only able to shoot one at this spot because of they were flushing well out of range, but it was nice to see that number of birds this late in the season. We went down the road to a piece of state ground and easily put up another 50-60 birds out of a mix of different cover and we shot our remaining 5 birds for our limit by 11:15am. If you find good habitat you will find the birds and they are starting to bunch up with some of the weather they have had recently.
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Did you quit hunting in MN for the year?
 
Bob Peters said:
Did you quit hunting in MN for the year?
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No I don't quit hunting MN, but it's a lot closer for my to drive to Iowa from my house than it is to drive to SW or W MN. I can get to really good spots in IA in around an hour, to get to some of the good spots I know in MN I would be looking at 2-2.5 hours. Plus I'm done by 4:30 no matter what in IA and I am home at a decent time.
 
Jawilor said:
I’m curious to get anyone else’s opinion on IHAP properties. I try to hunt 3-4 new IHAP spots each season. I hunt mostly N. Central Iowa and my luck has been sporadic at best. I’ve never hunted any of them early in the season so wondering if maybe they get pounded early on. I’ve never shot more than 1 bird on any given property and there aren’t any I’m excited to go back to. I hunted a new one today and saw 2 hens and a rooster, and I got the rooster. They were all sitting tight which was surprising since most public birds have been pretty spooky lately.
What has been your experience with IHAP land?
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The couple by me get absolutely pounded with people. Especially during dove season, the dnr likes to put dove plots on them now for some reason. The few ive hunted during dove season were full of roosters, but after a couple hundred people dove hunting and then an entire road full of trucks for pheasant opener they are pushed out for the majority of the phez season.
 
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