Late Season

T

Tooling

New member
Pup and I are going to spend a few days hoping to scare up a few Roosters. We're heading to York Co. and maybe Adams which is a bit of a drive. Hoping somebody might share how the ground conditions look. Haven't been since late November and pup is ready to go!!!
It would be great to find a bird or two : )
 
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Welcome to the site!

That's bauerline's stomping grounds and I'm sure he'll fill you in.

How has your season been so far? What type of bird dog do you have?

Enjoy the site, and we love pictures.
 
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Thanks for the welcome :)

Season has been short but has been awesome...in two short trips spanning 5 days total pup and I limited on all but one. I'm in MD and had no idea of the program in your state only having learned of it in late November of this year.

Since learning of it and in those 5 days we have beaten the ground at 46, 156, 280, 249, & 243..did a lot of driving hunting one spot in the a.m. and another in the p.m. but it was all well worth it as we had a blast and have seen a lot of very nice cover. The number of birds we let fly either because we were limited already or pup didn't get it quite right was incredible. Pup is young and I certainly don't have to shoot my gun to have a great time. Besides, without making mistakes he won't learn and on each outing he seems to get better and better. (He's steady in the yard). I really liked Blue Marsh and our last trip was to 243 which is just incredible. We're going to head back to 243 and also plan to check out 242 on this trip as well.

Pup is a GSP and he is 20 months now...the program in your state is fantastic for my dogs education and it sure is a lot of fun watching pup work....those flushes sure don't hurt my feelings much either : )
 
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Glad your having a good time in PA. I'm out of town for another day but the ground conditions will be wet. Some of the cover got knocked down from the recent snow/ice that has melted. There are still some birds around but you will need to work for them. Check out the real heavy cover. Good luck.
 
Tooling said:
Thanks for the welcome :)

Season has been short but has been awesome...in two short trips spanning 5 days total pup and I limited on all but one. I'm in MD and had no idea of the program in your state only having learned of it in late November of this year.

Since learning of it and in those 5 days we have beaten the ground at 46, 156, 280, 249, & 243..did a lot of driving hunting one spot in the a.m. and another in the p.m. but it was all well worth it as we had a blast and have seen a lot of very nice cover. The number of birds we let fly either because we were limited already or pup didn't get it quite right was incredible. Pup is young and I certainly don't have to shoot my gun to have a great time. Besides, without making mistakes he won't learn and on each outing he seems to get better and better. (He's steady in the yard). I really liked Blue Marsh and our last trip was to 243 which is just incredible. We're going to head back to 243 and also plan to check out 242 on this trip as well.

Pup is a GSP and he is 20 months now...the program in your state is fantastic for my dogs education and it sure is a lot of fun watching pup work....those flushes sure don't hurt my feelings much either : )
Click to expand...

I am glad you are enjoying the Pa. upland season, we are too.You've done very well considering you started so late. With the mindset that our current Game Commission has I think the best is yet to come.

There are still birds out there, but like Brian said it will take some work. This time of year I no longer bother with the fields at the SGL's, they have been hit pretty hard since opening day . I look for SGL's that have swamps or other type of cover that a lot of hunters don't bother with during the regular season. Sometimes in these areas you can only hunt them after a good freeze. I'll also hunt the "thick" woodlots next to the large fields that had been stocked, many guys don't bother with this thick stuff earlier in the year.Of course the Co-Oops are your best bet, but I've stopped hunting them this time of year, it's just something we do.

There ARE birds out there, good luck and be sure to report back!
 
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Thanks for the tips and the info!!

Going into the thick stuff is exactly what I anticipate doing. The beaten path is nice but it's not where we "have" to be. On one of our days we didn't limit and only got one. We left the beaten path because the birds were coming pretty easily truth be told which is great for dog work but..

It got old finding a rooster in the hedgerows only to have pup do his thing and have Mr. Rooster start hauling a$$...poor pup just couldn't handle it..lol. He would actually relocate and point again which was awesome but just too many temptations and a running bird got the best of him so he would try to pounce flushing the rooster out the opposite side of the hedgerow...OF COURSE!! As days progressed and we got it right a couple of times he definitely seemed to "get it" ( I don't say much to him) and started to tighten up on his points big time but then we had a sequence where everything went picture perfect..pup solid and bird in the woods..pup contained his excitement and held solid while bird was running...I flush bird and miss :thumbsup:

I got this--->:cool: from pup for the rest of the day...lol

We left the beaten path and went in deep...got a single Rooster but actually could have gotten two. The one we let fly was one that jumped just after pup pointed and I flushed a hen...Rooster was right in the area and pup pointed it but we thought it best to let it fly as it was obviously with the hen so..

Although it was brutal navigating the terrain, the one we got that day was probably the most satisfying bird we got during our few short trips. I have no problem "going in" and actually prefer it because it just seems like it's earned plus pup and I may or may not get a payoff which only adds to the hunt so far as I'm concerned. In our couple short trips I've actually found some spots that may hold birds right now. They are not easy spots to navigate...those "easy" birds sure do help for dog training/experience though. I will say this...sometimes it was great dog work and sometimes not so much but EVERY bird was put in the bag because pup did his part to put it there so in the end he got it done...that makes me happy and it's awesome watching his confidence build. If given enough opportunity I seriously believe (with fingers crossed) that he will learn to circle around and establish his points so that the bird will flush MY side of the hedgerow...he's a pretty clever dog.

I'm glad to see on this board that you guys in PA know and appreciate what you have in your backyard...not everybody in PA seems to. I'll also thank you for welcoming pup and I into your state :cheers:

Trip got delayed for a day but am hoping to head up this afternoon...wet ground, wind, and plummeting temps...this is going to be fun :laugh:

Lefty- I'm in So. MD near Port Tobacco/LaPlata and thanks for complimenting my pup...I like him
 
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Thanks for the nice compliments on my pup.

I did make it out and just got home this a.m.

Only got to go for two days...Tuesday & Wednesday

Tuesday a.m. we worked a new area and really put in some unproductive boot time..did find one Rooster who was giving my poor pup fits in a stretch of thick standing corn about 40 yards wide and about 100 yards long. Pup went in and pointed...then relocated and pointed again then came bolting out of the corn and started circling but staying close to me. This went on for about twenty minutes until he went in again and locked up hard...I started to approach and pup took off in a straight line finally flushing the bird once it ran out of cover...I was about 60 yds back and the bird went off of the game lands :( (smart bird and not enough pup sav) Outside of that not another bird all morning. Plenty of Doves in the fields and we flushed two Woodcock

Headed to a different area to check it out, paired up w/ a nice fella who had his dog out as well...something didn't seem right w/ my pup and about twenty minutes in he became violently ill. Pup is not a "puker" so I scooped him up immediately and spent the afternoon/evening at the vet...he must've eaten something w/out my noticing as he was as sick as a "dog" the rest of the night...but he was o.k. otherwise :)

Although not plentiful - this area did have some birds as we encountered some fresh kills from predators etc. The hunt was cut short and perhaps we should have headed back there but that's hindsight now.

Wednesday pup was himself again so we spent the day starting at about 10 (just to be sure) beating the ground...not a single bird however I do believe another bird gave him the slip w/out a flush as his points were as honest as could be. It was in some very tall thick grass with plenty of escape routes toward thick woods etc. He worked hard and searched the area well but no bird :(

It was fun anyway and was a bummer we had to leave with the bit of snow in the forecast. Although we didn't encounter too many birds, the ones we did come across were wiley!! We went deep into the thick and worked some swampy stuff too.

Bauerline - in your thread I noticed you had some good bird contact :cheers:
 
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After re-reading my post..perhaps the bird in the corn was my lack of sav...pup had him pointed and instead of coming up toward pup I should have circled around and tried to pin the bird between pup and I forcing a flush <sigh> :eek:
 
Tooling,

Sounds like you have the "addiction" as bad as most of us here at Ultimate! lol. This time of year them Roosters are really something else. When you do bag one, both you and your pup have really earned it. You're really doing great for getting such a late start.

Glad to hear it was nothing serious with your pup ' name ?'. That can be real scary.

What kind of bird hunting is available in Maryland? Is there still a wild quail population?

Have you tried any Pa. grouse hunting?

Dan
 
PA Game Lands

Many people do not realize that PA has more public hunting land then any state in the US. We are lucky to have this open land. I believe the Game Commission and the DCNR get a bad rap.I belong to Pheasants Forever and the Ruffed Grouse Society, and active in both. I would hope everyone on this blog belongs to both. I hunt the Blue Marsh area and have enjoyed many days bird hunting in this area. Also hunt Game lands 110 and 210 for grouse. The RGS Chapter I am a officer in has done many habitat projects on these game lands. I would like to see the Game Com come out with a habitat stamp for upland bird hunting, this could be used for bird stocking and or habitat. I hunt out west for upland game and quite a few state require a $20 habitat stamp to be purchase with your hunting license. Might meet up with some of you at the sportsman show in Harrisburg, will be working at the RGS display on Thursday. Good luck in the late season.
 
Glad to hear your pup is okay..those running roosters are a challenge especially in standing corn..they will run forever! I am glad you had some action!
 
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