Opening Day.... How did you do?

[kansasbrittany]

Yes it does. The areas I went to last year were overrun with more people than I had seen EVER. I'll preface this with the fact I have always hunted the area since I lived there a few years back so my trips last year were not influenced by the internet chatter.

A lot of the traffic I believe had to do with the internet. :thumbsup:

I hate getting into this, but can't seem to leave it alone

First, yes the internet affects areas. I for one never thought I was doing any harm by giving fairly specific locales b/c I always thought, "What kind of silly....would go to an area based on my report?" How naive/stupid I was The area I hunt was infiltrated with ppl over the next couple of years and it is still full of 'em.

That being said, I always assumed that as more and more ppl came to this site, they'd tell success stories from all over the state, thus spreading the pressure out over the 80 counties that you can shoot a rooster in. Again, I was wrong. If EVERYONE named the counties they've had success in, an internet scouter would be confused. There are at least 40 counties in KS that you can have a good pheasant hunt in and probably another 20 that I'd consider decent. Emil, I'm with you buddy, I wish we could be more specific. KSHusker, I'm also with you in that the internet scouting/reporting does affect certain areas negatively.

NW, SW, NC, SC, NE, SE probably isn't too much information, though when a guy says I hunted WIHA N of Hays, internet scouters probably tend to go to the first cluster of WIHA they see N of Hays. I wish I'd never mentioned the counties I love so dearly. Those that have went to those counties solely based on my reports have certainly been disappointed though for various reasons. Eventually they'll do as I did and find their own places to hunt. In the mean time, the masses have enlightened me of my poor decision making and willingness to share as a fault.

 

[kansasbrittany]

The community here is fairly friendly and helpful. Ask any question about anything related to hunting, dogs, guns, or pretty much anything else and you will get tons of help. I find the notion that people would get on here and ask specific info on hunting and bird numbers to be immature. Myself and my two boys shot 6 birds in 2 days. Also i missed the same almost exact shot both mornings, in the same field, at almost the same time. I hate the flush to the left, and quartering away. If it's on my right...... dead bird. Left side i suck.

I agree with everything said here except the strong-side/weak-side statement. We'd make a great team b/c I don't miss 'em passing to the left. Passing to the right.....my % goes WAY down.

 

[Dog Gun Time]

Emil,

I understand your frustration, but really would you expect somebody to tell the masses where the birds were found? Many of us spend much time researching, scouting, and developing places to hunt. I would be willing to share what little intel i have with you through a pm, but the only specific locations you will se posted on here are people who got skunked or hunt mostly private. That is not to say that you won't pick up little tidbits on here from time to time, but there are many who are watching this site and others who never even post. Check out the bottom of the page always more visitors than members.

That's why it's called "Hunting". I personally consider it poor etiquette to ask any hunter "where" they found birds.

 

[V-John]

I hate getting into this, but can't seem to leave it alone

First, yes the internet affects areas. I for one never thought I was doing any harm by giving fairly specific locales b/c I always thought, "What kind of silly....would go to an area based on my report?" How naive/stupid I was The area I hunt was infiltrated with ppl over the next couple of years and it is still full of 'em.

That being said, I always assumed that as more and more ppl came to this site, they'd tell success stories from all over the state, thus spreading the pressure out over the 80 counties that you can shoot a rooster in. Again, I was wrong. If EVERYONE named the counties they've had success in, an internet scouter would be confused. There are at least 40 counties in KS that you can have a good pheasant hunt in and probably another 20 that I'd consider decent. Emil, I'm with you buddy, I wish we could be more specific. KSHusker, I'm also with you in that the internet scouting/reporting does affect certain areas negatively.

NW, SW, NC, SC, NE, SE probably isn't too much information, though when a guy says I hunted WIHA N of Hays, internet scouters probably tend to go to the first cluster of WIHA they see N of Hays. I wish I'd never mentioned the counties I love so dearly. Those that have went to those counties solely based on my reports have certainly been disappointed though for various reasons. Eventually they'll do as I did and find their own places to hunt. In the mean time, the masses have enlightened me of my poor decision making and willingness to share as a fault.

Nice post. One other thing that needs to be considered...
For every ONE of us that is posting, how many 100s if not more are just simply reading as unregistered? If I'm not mistaken, you can simply read the content of the site simply by coming to the site, and not registering.

So, that being said, I'm guessing for every one of us that is posting, there could be 100 or more that aren't, but are reading.

Just a thought.

 

[Emil]

But you see, I'm not asking for specifics.

 

[P4PLABS]

Well the forecast certainly scared folks this weekend, but there were birds to be found. We found that most of our roosters were mature birds, and although we did not see what we saw the last couple years, it looked to be no worse than slightly below average. We saw a ton of hens, good news for the rebuilding!!!

 

[Rusty Trigger]

Glad to see you came around KansasBrit! You and I hunt some of the same areas....lots of hunters these past several years. Don't know about it this year as I will be moving on.

 

[cheesy]

The anonymity of the internet can sure bring out the immaturity in people. So much for my hopes of a friendly "community".

NOT anonymous at all on here. There are several on here the have my phone number and email address, have met some in person, and have exchanged bird information down to the exact plot of land on the WIHA maps.

I think some of the others have covered it already as to why the elusiveness, so I'm not even going to bother with that.

This group as a rule is as good as it gets on the outdoor forums. Have seen more than once somebody didn't have the money or the knowledge to get themselves into birds. Guys on here took them under their wing, let them join their groups on private ground, provided them with food and beverage and a truck to ride in. If that isn't a friendly community, then I don't know what is.

If you think my remark was immature, then so be it. Most also saw the and understood the sarcasm as a joke.

Welcome to the forum!!

 

[homeboy]

Tmi

There is a real nice Cutthoat steam I like to fish. It's about an hour and a half hike to get up there. I am in sales and told several of my customers about it, thinking the hike would discourage most. Over the next two years this pristine place developed trails and trash and the fishing dropped off dramatically. You tell one person and they tell a couple more and they tell....... You get my drift. The number of eyes on this forum is my story time 1,000.
The good news is that after about five years of lowsy fishing, the trails and trash went away and the fishing got back to where it was. Lesson learned.

 

[kansasbrittany]

Glad to see you came around KansasBrit! You and I hunt some of the same areas....lots of hunters these past several years. Don't know about it this year as I will be moving on.

Yeah, about that....it is what it is. Me trying to see others through my eyes.

Moving on is a good thing. I've had a lot of fun with it recently and I get to see new things.

I heard there were still plenty of trucks in the area. Sounds like fewer than last year and the year before (I noticed a decline first-hand last season). The WIHA access there has dwindled a bit, which I'm sure has contributed to the decline.

A lady that works in a local cafe said everyone that came in was complaining of poor luck. Those folks will move on. Every area will have its cycles.

What was the title of this thread again?

 

[-Wildcat-]

This weekend was TOUGH! Every downed bird was definitely earned. Brought home a few, but this is by far the worst season I've seen in years. And as usual, it was magically hot this weekend. Next weekend it will be in the 20's probably.

And like others... My 1,000 miles on the road and feet on the ground, maybe $400 total will not be easily shared. :cheers:

 

[Bilbo Baggins]

So how many do you think you checked? I heard that two years ago B. J. checked something like 140 in one section of ground at Hugoton.

Beautiful day at the Ponderosa, but it was very quiet. The usual crowing has been absent there since the drought started. Usually I would sit on the hill and watch the majestic sunset, or as tonight the beautiful moonrise and listen to a symphony of critters, but tonight it was silent.

Yes Maynard, the SW was quiet, you could hear a pin drop all day Saturday. I saw exactly two roosters and brought them both home. Your Game Warden Captain from DC checked me late Saturday about 15 minutes before official sunset. A really nice fella and even served in Iraq last year at this time. He said he knows you (In a good way).

Hugoton was quiet all day, almost NO birds and many farms are closed to hunting this year to let the birds recover. Hope for better days just ahead if the rains return. BUT, I sure had a wonderful time breathing the rich Kansas air and walking my legs off. Never even saw an old pheasant track in the dirt while walking my honey holes.

 

[M. R. Byrd]

He said he know you (In a good way).

I try my very best to maintain a good name for the Byrd family.

And yes, the CO is a good guy.

 

[paidin]

We hunted southwest of Mankato on WIHA. We had access to one piece of private land just north of Lebanon but the owners grandson was deer hunting on it and we did not wanted to disturb his hunt.

Our first stop was at WIHA 116 on map 3 south of lebanon and we flushed up one rooster. I had a lucky shot and tagged it on the head. It was a spur of the moment thing and I did not get a chance to turn on my video camera. I did video the retrieve though:
http://contour.com/stories/first-rooster-killed-for-the-day
Funny thing is, the dog the retrieved the rooster was a lost dog from Denver. My dog was too busy putzing around I think. We found the owner of the dog a short while later and learned the dog came all the way from Denver to fetch that bird for me.

The rest of the day was not so good though. We trudged through WIHA's in that area and concentrated south of 36 because our farmer friend that lives near Lebanon said that the only birds in the area were south of 36 and there were none north of it.

We scoured WIHA 111, 113, 101, 112, 95, 79, 92, 83, 62, 75, passed up 93 because it was too hilly and pretty much gave up after only seeing hens. I think either 101 or 83 was a really nice patch of milo that looked real promising. Here is a video of my friends dog, Buddy on point in that field:
http://contour.com/stories/buddy-on-point-with-two-hen-pheasants

We gave up at about 4pm sore, tired, and beat up. The dogs gave up at around 2pm.

The next morning, we decided to stop at an old honey hole in Jamestown. We hunted just north of Jamestown in the Jamestown Wildlife Area. Our dogs pointed several hens but no roosters. I did see one rooster cross the street and run like crazy to the next field. I suspect we were chasing that one rooster for half a mile because the dogs kept pointing at nothing. Here is a video of some points on hens in the Jamestown area. The start of the video shows me just flushing up a hen and my dog Mattie finding yet another hen a short time later:
http://contour.com/stories/mattie-and-buddy-on-point

I wish I could have recorded a shot of a rooster but it just did not work out for us. We ended the weekend sore achy feet and one expensive rooster! I have it hanging to "age"
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-1lTvt-1iL0g/TsB89IA5OMI/AAAAAAAAH3U/sWG4qHr9DvQ/s800/IMG_6709.JPG

in a couple days, I will be able to eat eat him I got the idea from this forum!

 

[BritChaser]

Had a pretty good opener in NW.

 

[nwkansnative]

Opener

We had a good Saturday and a mediocre Sunday in Rooks County. Bird numbers down significantly, WIHA acres down (and some WIHA you look at and just shake your head as to why it is in the program), hunters down and shooting around us down. We got into some birds on private land in the right places, we shot well and 3 of us had 9 by 11 a.m. Talked to a big group (12 or so) in local cafe and they has 4 birds after hunting hard all morning. My little setter (1 1/2 years) was a star. Lots of points on hens, a couple on roosters. She busted a covey on Sunday and need to get her to hunt dead better (suggestions?) (we lost a couple of birds saturday afternoon and sunday morning) but overall, wonderful. she is still a very tired dog. I think I have attached a pic.

 

[BritChaser]

Started the w/e SICK Hunted for 2hrs, puked in the field a few times, then drove home w/o seeing a single bird of either species. Went home and slept for 3hrs, then worked to replenish for the next day.

Got out to a public spot at 8am. Walked for 2hrs before coming across a covey. It was a nice size covey 15-18. Took 2 birds out of the covey and wearily meandered toward the road.

As I was driving out of the place I saw a PF/QF sign. I thought about hunting but wasn't feeling so great. Maybe 1/4 mile down the road, there was a rooster in a row of plum thickets. I wanted to work the dogs into the wind, so I turned around. It was nice to hear him cackle as he flew away. The dogs and I made a pass around the inside of the field. That walk yielded a nice hen point. Made me feel better about having bought memberships to those organizations.

This was a humbling opener. HOWEVER, I found it very enjoyable to be away from the crowds today. I was check by a friendly game warden. It's nice to know guys like him are out there. He said I was the only bird hunter he'd seen. There was a deer hunter somewhere, but I never saw him

FYI . . . I think those PF/QF signs are for promotional purposes only and do not indicate that the land is open for hunting including to PF/QF members unless the land is enrolled in the walk-in program and posted as such.

 

[BritChaser]

It's frustrating when the report has no location associated with it. How are we supposed to learn anything?

Our group had 10 hunters for half the day on Saturday and 6 after lunch. We hunted SW of Larned and saw a total of 4 roosters in a day and a half of hunting. Even the hens were scarce, we saw maybe 12. Got in to a few quail, 2 covies had less than 10 and one was about 20-25 birds. The group took a couple out of the big covey.

Many of the posts above your post did have location info. With the majority of the Kansas pheasant population decimated by drought, it is understandable that some people are reluctant to give location info. Your post reported poor hunting. Had your hunting been excellent, would you have been as detailed about where you hunted if you intend to hunt again in that area?

 

[kansasbrittany]

FYI . . . I think those PF/QF signs are for promotional purposes only and do not indicate that the land is open for hunting including to PF/QF members unless the land was enrolled in the walk-in program and posted as such.

Yes, it was public land. Thanks for the head's up though. I didn't hunt there simply b/c the signs were there. I stopped by those signs to ponder what those organizations mean to guys like us and look over the work they'd done. A game warden spoke to me while I was there and told me how he'd been on the burnt up piece of farm equipment in the field when it went up.....he said that was where his quail habitat projects ended for the season. Very funny story first hand from a young man with great intentions.

 

[Emil]

Had your hunting been excellent, would you have been as detailed about where you hunted if you intend to hunt again in that area?

Absolutely. I'd rather go to sleep at night thinking that I may have helped someone than go to sleep trying to think of more ways to take instead of give. And let's face it, my information still leaves a lot of ground in the discussion, so I don't think that it's too much to ask or tell. I may very well be in the minority on this, but I'm not wired for selfishness.