Marengo to Belle Plaine

[Vet_WingChaser]

I tried out a new area this weekend, which is shameful cause it's only 30 miles from my house. Along the Iowa river from Marengo to Belle Plaine, there is loads, and i mean LOADS of public ground. There is a lot of every kind of cover you can imagine. Some corn still in but not much. Saturday morning I found a spot that didn't already have someone parked in it. It's just myself and my 8 mo old brittany Luke. It was roughly 50-60 acres in size and had corn on two sides and the river being flying distance, i thought it seemed like decent enough spot. Well my thoughts were correct. I didn't even have my gun loaded and Luke kicked up a hen. I didn't really go about it in any organized fashion since I had that piece to myself. I just followed the dog. 13 hens total we saw, most were found by Luke. only 1 Rooster though, but it was nice cause Luke half pointed him (he's still learning). I saw a lot of signs of good numbers though, a lot of droppings, a lot of small feathers, which tells me they are young. My thoughts is that this area gets hit pretty hard and unless you and your dog can walk in silence, it would be tough to get close to em. Sunday I went back to the same area, there is enough land to take up 5 fulls days of hunting. Highlight was seeing two different roosters on the road side, first time seeing any along a road all year. I'm assuming the time change and the wet weather had them moving a little earlier than normal. conditions were great for the dog, being cool and wet. We didn't have as much luck as saturday. Only saw two birds in shooting range and only a couple more the flushed way ahead. But none the less I was still seeing a lot of good signs. lots of droppings and lots of bedding areas. Conclusion is that there has to be a lot of birds out there, but might be tough to get close to until later in the year when it gets real cold. Seems like the more the temps drop the less hunters I see, which is fine with me!

Heading to NW Iowa, Dickinson County next weekend! I've heard good things already, but I'm sure I'll be seeing lots of orange as well.
Happy Hunting!:cheers:

 

[birddog456]

Iowa River Corridor west of Marengo...got stuck on a "B" road in '01. Saw 20 pheasant carcuses on the fenceline when I walked into public area along side of my truck. Went back in '02 opening day, walked out with a limit in 30 minutes. Ah...the good old days