Spirit Lake area question

R

Rooster Roaster

Banned
I see there is a lot of public ground in the general Spirit Lake area. Is it mostly cattails? Are there public areas with more "pointer friendly" cover in that general area? Please feel free send me a PM if you don't want to go into it on this thread. Thanks!
 
Welcome

Hello RoosterRoaster,

You will encounter various types of cover in this area. Cattails are present but not the norm. You will have cover that is over your head(iron weed) and cover that is shin high.

Are you hunting with a group? If alone, as I am most of the time, focus on smaller areas to hunt. Even 40 acres appears large when one tackles it alone. Hunt the edges and work in a non-linear pattern.

If you visit during the first weekend or two, expect larger groups of hunters in these areas. They are not a secret:) Additionally, be careful of your surroundings. It is easy to get in front of one of these larger groups and safety can be a concern. Numbers are up in this area this year.
 
Thank you, KBell. I will be there Nov. 6-9 alone with my two experienced wire-haired pointers. I'd rather be off the beaten track a bit and have no problem driving a ways to get away from the harder hunted areas.
 
If that heavy cover is available, that's where they generally are. Especially later in the season.
 
My wife and I hunt that area several times a year. There is a some very good public areas but they do get some pressure. However, if you hunt slow and quiet you should have success. Do you already have motel reservations? If not, I know of a very nice hunter friendly motel. Good luck.
 
I would agree with KBell, lots of various cover in this area.

Much of the public land in the lakes region gets pounded pretty hard all season long.

Don't overlook the public lands in Emmet, Palo Alto, Clay and Osceola counties.
 
Well I booked the a room at the Northland Inn for that first week in November. Nice owner and excellent rates. Now where to begin hunting?
 
You would be well advised if you started your morning off at 530/6 am at the Family Diner in downtown Spirit Lake. Make sure you're hungry when you get there. No one, and I mean no one has ever left there hungry. The owner is 6-9 and xxx lbs and feeds everyone like he wants to be fed.

When you getting to town?
 
reddog said:
You would be well advised if you started your morning off at 530/6 am at the Family Diner in downtown Spirit Lake. Make sure you're hungry when you get there. No one, and I mean no one has ever left there hungry. The owner is 6-9 and xxx lbs and feeds everyone like he wants to be fed.

When you getting to town?
Click to expand...

My kind of diner and one of the things I enjoy most about a bird hunting trip!

I should get there around 8:00 pm Nov. 5. I'll hunt 4 days then head back Sunday afternoon.
 
I'll be out there in three days! No doubt the three longest days of work ahead in the existence of man.

Hunted NE IA Friday (Howard and Mitchell counties) and it was awful! Saw two birds all day and that part of the state has just been decimated by a string of bad winters and wet springs.

Hoping to turn things around this coming weekend.
 
There are over 20,000 acres around the Spirit Lake area.
Just talk to the owner of the Northland Inn. He will point you to plenty of places to keep you busy.
I would suggest food plots and working the edges of cattails.
I have been seeing plenty of birds in these areas.
 
Thanks!

Now to keep some sort of focus on work today.....my work focus might be measurable on the molecular level.

Truck packed and ready! Dogs rested! Weather looks decent!
 
If I hadn't spent the past two weekends in a row there, I would come and show you some good spots to hunt. Unfortunately, I would seriously be in the dog house if I went a third weekend in a row.
My best suggestion for you, is to go north on hwy. 86 from the Northland Inn.
There is lots of public ground on both sides of the hwy. You can go all the way to the Minnesota state line. From there, work your way east.
Make sure you bring non-toxic shot. The whole county is non-toxic only.
The land is well marked with green public hunting signs.
There is a Canada Goose refuge, which you may hunt ducks and pheasant in, but there is also a Waterfowl Refuge in the Jemmerson Slough complex which is closed to all hunting until the waterfowl season closes, then upland hunting is allowed after that.
 
Good info there vike. Not sure about the whole count y being non to though. You can literally walk north from the Northland Inn for twelve miles and stay on public by crossing 86 a couple times.

Life's good in the doghouse. :)
 
It was a windy, tough hunt. We scratched out 8 birds and not an easy one in the bunch. The birds we encountered were very skittish and not holding for points. Odd to see so much public land with nobody hunting. I didn't see a hunter on Thursday, and any a very few Friday and Saturday. There were birds, but not many. Maybe they are concentrated in the cattails? I didn't push the cattails because my old dog was just barely able to keep up as it was, and my 7 1/2 year old was starting to get worn down after a couple days. I did hunt the edges of the cattails, but didn't get anything going there. I did hunt some of the neighboring counties and most of the birds I got were on the MN side. It wasn't "bad" hunting, but not quite as good as I was hoping. Definitely better than northeast IA tho!
 
The area receives a lot of hunting pressure. I was out Sat morning my first two spots were taken. Still birds but many are just running ahead especially on pointers right now. Looked like a lot of hunters at the Inn when I drove by.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top