Season Assessment

KS Native here, primarily hunt in KS. Last couple years finally started making it a tradition to go hunt IA while at the in laws in Omaha during the holidays. The quality of habitat and number of birds on IHAP isn't even remotely comparable to the "pool tables" (Wiha) I see hunting around KS. So many birds where we've been going, and if you look at the maps the DNR releases we aren't even in what's consider high density areas based on the surveys. 1 out of about every 5 patches of WIHA I drive by has any sort of suitable habitat for ANYTHING to live in, the rest are barren like a pool table like my grandpa used to always say.

I'd say for me personally, it was another average year. Find suitable habitat, find a covey or two per patch of WIHA and another truck or two. Gets frustrating spending half the day hauling ass from WIHA patch to WIHA patch trying to find any sort of resemblance of cover. Feels like the majority of my days were spend driving.

It was encouraging on the final day of the season, hunting public, did see some large coveys still that hadn't been shot out. Encouraging moving forward.
 
Living in eastern/ central Kansas it is nearly as close to me to get to SD as it is to get into pheasant in Kansas. I have access to some family farms up near the Nebraska border in eastern Kansas. Usually make a couple trips up there after deer season since nobody hunts upland on it. Usually I can get a couple opportunities on roosters and a couple covies of quail in a day. Sad to say it is getting worse. I hunted a day and a half and saw three pheasants and one covey. I didn’t go back a second time.15 years ago I would have a chance to limit on both or would consider it a down year. I travel up there for work and am often take back roads home. I have seen exactly one rooster on the road in the last 4 years in this area and there is some good patches I pass by.
 
I don’t know what happened but I have some ideas. I hunted southeast Nebraska for years and had some amazing hunts. Now it is a dumpster fire. Hunted North Dakota the last ten years and it is headed the same way as Nebraska. Things I have noted is loss of CRP, weather events And most of all Clean Farming and herbicides and pesticides. I noted this year in Dakota that in between rows of Sun Flowers and Corn it looked like an interstate highway or golf course. No trashy cover in between rows at all. Not like it used to be. If there were a few birds you could never get close to them. Like a told a friend on another forum after over 50 years of making two to three trips out west from Georgia it no longer makes any sense to spend the time, money and effort. I have had many fabulous hunts, some not so good, some bad, this year was beyond bad. Just doesn’t work for me anymore. I’m hanging it up. Take care.
 
So I listened to a little bit of the rooster road trip podcast yesterday. They hunted Kansas for 5 days I think. They never bagged a rooster and ended up focusing on quail. Sounds like a sad state of affairs in Kansas.
 
Not good neither in North Dakota or South Dakota. You see photos posted of 10 hunters holding ten birds. Sorry that ain’t crap. I hunted with two guys for 40 years. If we didn’t harvest at least 25 birds it was a bad hunt. Many years we got over 50. The last few years being going down hill. This year was unimaginable to me it was so bad. Loss of CRP, Clean farming , herbicides, pesticides, a few weather events. Birds don’t really have a chance. It won’t change only get worse. Sad but true. Anyway I have read a lot of your post. You are a great hunter and good guy. Wish I could be more upbeat. Just can’t I know what I’m talking about. Take care Bob!
 
PS. Bob read my North Dakota post from a day or two ago. I have hunted them all Iowa, Nebraska, North and South Dakota all my life many times three times a season. Yeah some folks have some decent hunts like you did a couple weeks ago but very much on totally wild birds you are an exception. Something is very wrong and I am hopeful of course just don’t see it changing.
 
Dixieman I didn't hunt north Dakota this year, but I know a very good hunter who took a trip to the same general area as you. He said the sharptail and partridge hunting was absolutely terrible, and he's been going for years just like you.
 
Yeah last year we literally saw several hundred Sharptails and tons of Huns. Not so many pheasant but enough. I think they had a hail storm at least near that area but that would not knock the birds down 90 %. Very sad. Thanks Bob for the response man. Like I said lot of respect for you.
 
ben ji said:
I've only hunted 2 days so far in NWKS but the numbers were better than anything I have seen in 6+ years, especially compared to the drought years of 21-23.

I limited out both days but the weirdest part was all the pheasants were killed where I normally don't have much success near the old farm house. I went to my trusty reliable WIHA honey hole about 3 miles away and did not flush one bird when normally its good for at least 1-2 in the bag.
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Update on this - Hunted two more times around New Years and last weekend.

Around New Years the numbers were still good and I think I got 8 in around 3 days (1 man 1 dog) but they were getting sparse and jumpy. At the WIHA honey hole I mentioned above I saw probably 20-30 birds get up and fly onto private land in about 2 minutes but they were all out of range.

I went out on the last weekend of the year just for the hell of it and only hunted on a bit on Saturday afternoon, got a couple of shots off but didn't bag any.

All in all this was probably the best year I've had and I think a lot of that had to do with timely rains and insect/grasshopper populations. If the chicks get tall cover from the rain to develop and the chicks have bugs to eat it will be a good year. I remember in the middle of the drought years the grass was ankle high and brown by July 1st and there were very few bugs around.

As long as there are some birds around and the habitat/weather is good they can rebound quickly.
 
Dixieman said:
I don’t know what happened but I have some ideas. I hunted southeast Nebraska for years and had some amazing hunts. Now it is a dumpster fire. Hunted North Dakota the last ten years and it is headed the same way as Nebraska. Things I have noted is loss of CRP, weather events And most of all Clean Farming and herbicides and pesticides. I noted this year in Dakota that in between rows of Sun Flowers and Corn it looked like an interstate highway or golf course. No trashy cover in between rows at all. Not like it used to be. If there were a few birds you could never get close to them. Like a told a friend on another forum after over 50 years of making two to three trips out west from Georgia it no longer makes any sense to spend the time, money and effort. I have had many fabulous hunts, some not so good, some bad, this year was beyond bad. Just doesn’t work for me anymore. I’m hanging it up. Take care.
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Read "catching falling pheasant in the NW" I don't know how to attach something..lol
Idaho and Washington used to have pheasant hunting on par with the midwest....or what the Midwest used to be.
2 words are the primary driver in the collapse of pheasant populations....and butterflies....FARMING PRACTICES.
That's everything from crop choices to crp and even all the chemicals used. Not many insects survive the weed free sterile monoculture that we see. No insects..no baby chicks...simple as that.
Not condemning or putting a judgement on those who farm...
It is what it is .....and my hat is off to those who have land and are willing to sacrifice some $$ for wildlife conservation in general...even if they don't allow hunting
Amazing just how fast it has gone downhill in some (a lot) of these states
 
Dixieman said:
Yeah last year we literally saw several hundred Sharptails and tons of Huns. Not so many pheasant but enough. I think they had a hail storm at least near that area but that would not knock the birds down 90 %. Very sad. Thanks Bob for the response man. Like I said lot of respect for you.
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I spent 5 days in North Dakota hunting north and northwest of Minot up towards Crosby. I was there the last week in October and it was warm, extremely wet and much of the crop was still in. I will concur on the Huns and grouse. I saw very few and only shot one hun. The year earlier they were thick. Pheasant were fair in some spots although a couple areas held a lot of birds. I harvested 14 in probably 3 long days and a couple short ones. Not great but still decent . I still question my sanity as it is 13 hours or so I don’t know if I would do it from Georgia unless it was spectacular.
 
Thanks buddy for the response. I always have thru thick and thin. After over 50 years I have had my shining times no more full time in the golf course and a couple of trips to Aruba. I have done my thing and the Lord blessed me with incredible hunts and memories. Hanging it up. One less hunter you got to deal with right. God bless. Take care.
 
Dixieman it would be interesting to hear from the landowners where you hunted how it went later in the season. I do appreciate your honest report and good luck in your future endeavors. I lived in North Georgia for 3 years, beautiful state.
 
Thanks guys. Yeah North Georgia is great. I live right on Lake Lanier. Used to be I knew where 10 coveys of quail were not a mile from where I live. They left 15 or so years ago. Haven’t heard a bob singing in forever. I guess it’s just the way it is. I guess my setters can retrieve out of the lake and our pool. One thing I know for sure I’m not driving 1640 miles one way for the nothing that is not there anymore. Not bitter just sad.
 
Haretrigger. You are right. Something is happening and it’s not good for the future of upland hunters that don’t want to spend 5000 dollars shooting frigging pen raised birds. Not me. I done better and know better.
 
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