Pine County, MN

Seve

Member
In looking at the 2015 Pheasant Map, it would appear that there is some decent pheasant hunting just outside of the metro in Pine County. Or as the map calls it "fair." But when I look at the public land map there is almost no public land to hunt in the area.

Just curious, what's the deal up there? Why are there so many Pheasants? Am I missing anything...for example, am I missing some WPA spots to hunt up there? Or is it just all private land closed to hunting?
 
I spend a lot of time in Pine County and to be honest, I don't think there are many birds in that area. You'd have much better luck in many other areas of the state within an hours drive of the TC area.

1) There is little public land, and the land that's there isn't good pheasant habitat. I think the WMA's in southern Pine County are some of the worst in the state in terms of upland bird hunting (no grouse, no pheasants, no doves).

2) Much of the country is habitat, that in my opinion, isn't ideal for pheasants. Big woods, not a lot of food for them, etc.

3) I think there are a high number of predictors in the area. Bears, coyotes, skunks, and many others in the area wreak havoc on the population.

Have I seen birds in the country, yes, but if you don't have time to scout or hunt private land with a population established, you won't see much.
 
Yeah there isn't a ton of public land up there. I also think there may have been some anomaly with the count. There are quite a few game farms up there but as far as great habitat not so much.
 
I have found pheasants running the dogs on public land north of the cities. There is a lot of idle land and wetlands/winter cover in the area compared to other agricultural parts of the state. Not the first time this area has indicated some respectable pheasant numbers.
 
There is actually a lot of birds in that area. Well they are at least visible ...

In the spring I am in Chisago and Pine Counties and the number of pheasant roosters crowing is amazing. As the sun comes up you can see them everywhere.

Much of the area where the birds are - is a patchwork of houses and small farms. A slough the birds are using might be shared by 2, 3 even 4 landowners. How do you hunt that if you get permission.

I have never bother to hunt this area in the fall.
 
Thanks, guys.

It's interesting in that it sounds like the area's pheasant population benefits greatly from a lack of available hunting options.

It would be nice to be able to get on some birds so close to the cities, but it sounds like without access to private land it's a tough proposition.
 
Pine City

I hunt up in this area fairly often during the weekends I'm home, since its such a close drive.

-In terms of the public hunting areas there, I have checked out damn near every single one of them within a 50 mile radius of the city (last year, ended up spending an entire day just scouting) and found 2 that I thought were decent "pheasant hunting" areas. One of them i have hunted every year for 3 years, and have yet to get a bird, or even take a shot, but it always looks so promising that I keep going and spending 45 minutes putzing around with the pup in hopes that one will pop up.

-Many of the public areas are absolutely massive, and I avoid those. I try to stick to ones that 1-2 people can theoretically walk with a possibility of success. I would say 90% of the "public hunting areas" that atlas's say have pheasant present are swamp/wetlands. You can hunt certain pockets or outskirts, but your dog will most likely be swimming while water pours over your boots within 100 yards.

-I have consistently walked 3-4 of them, but one the big issues in this area is how suburban it is becoming...some of the public areas run up to people's backyards, and it ends up restricting your safe shot zone. Ditch hunting is practically impossible since you're going to be almost right in front of someone's house. To add to this point-a lot of the people in Pine City are extremely protective of their property's and adverse to hunters. More time's then i can count i have hunted on property with permission (ex. field with a tree grove in the middle), and within 10 minutes of hitting a certain point in the walk, I have had a swarm of angry people out there barking at me for trespassing. I explained that I had permission and they continued on that half the field was their property,etc, etc..Other times you will barely make it out of your car before an owner is running out of their house saying "you can't hunt here, it is way too close to my house". I always tend to lean on the side of caution and refrain from hunting anything that I'm not positive of the boundaries and preferably if there are no houses within a shotgun's range, so that limits any area you can feel safe about hunting.

-This is not to say there are some nice farmers in the area, as I have a few that have always welcomed me to hunt on their property each time I go up, but be prepared to deal with some owners that want absolutely nothing to do with hunters, ESPECIALLY during deer season.

-Nevertheless, i have had luck getting birds here, otherwise I wouldn't go back, but if it was any more than an afternoon/day trip, it definitely would not be worth it and I would revert to SW Minnesota and drive the extra hour and a half.


Just my insight, but a slow day hunting with the pup beats a day doing just about anything else.
 
-Many of the public areas are absolutely massive, and I avoid those. I try to stick to ones that 1-2 people can theoretically walk with a possibility of success. I would say 90% of the "public hunting areas" that atlas's say have pheasant present are swamp/wetlands. You can hunt certain pockets or outskirts, but your dog will most likely be swimming while water pours over your boots within 100 yards

Wait until late November when the water is frozen and you've found a pheasant paradise! They will have become comfortable with the lack of pressure, plus they hold tight in the cattails that prohibit their ability to run.
 
This has worked well at times a few years ago, but last winter was extremely warm compared to past years, so after taking a couple dips, I avoided these. Further- a lot of these "WMAs" that I was talking about do no even have proper pheasant habitat (cattails, sloughs, thick grass, etc..). You'd be lucky to even see some ducks in there. IMO, they are just native areas you can stop with binoculars and bird watch...just not the right kind of birds.
 
Thanks for the intel guys. Doesn't sound like there are too many opportunities to find birds on public land up there.
 
I have seen a few ... but the swamps they inhabit would be impossible to hunt right now and when it freezes the alders, cattails and brush are still 6 - 10 feet high. If you did shoot one - finding it would be difficult.

Very little in the way of grass strips between this "whitetail cover" and the bean and corn fields.

If you have permission on farmland and can catch them between roost and field ... you will kill birds in Pine County.
 
I have flushed a total of one rooster in this area so far this year, however it has been on multiple occasions. I'm positive it is the same lone rooster that inhabits this field. Kicked him up a few times walking the dog preseason, he is usually in the same spot and flies the same flight path every time towards the houses and into the no shoot zone a few hundred yards off. I really wouldn't have a lot of interest in doing this but I live in this area and figured if I'm going to take the dog on a walk anyway, why not drive 10 minutes to the spot, strap on an orange vest and see what happens. As of last week a guy pulling out told me he kicked the rooster up twice but missed. The bird will most likely be his or mine within the next few weeks, as he is the only other person I've seen onto this. I support everyone in getting birds but was bittersweet to hear him say Mr. Rooster is still out there :thumbsup:

As others have mentioned, this is a field surrounded by timber, swamp, and distant residential housing not ideal for pheasant hunting, but it is legal to the public and only takes me a half hour to run through.

Stay tuned ;)
 
Back
Top