Struggling

L

leadshot1969

New member
Need advice in finding birds right now. I've tried near recently harvested field, willow shelter bays, tall grass and pretty much everything else.

I'm struggling to find birds. Any advice or suggestions.
 
First, are you hunting with or without a dog? Were there any bad summer storms in the area that might have killed birds so that there aren't many to begin with?

Did you get any snow in your part of IA? If not this is my favorite part of the season. I feel most people hunt too heavy of cover in November. Many of the birds are loafing a lot of the day because it has been so nice, they haven't needed a lot of food yet. These do have a tendency to run on a dog some but if you can keep them close they will catch up to them.

Pheasants are sort of where they are at. Sometimes they break the rules but usually they are somewhat predictable. Time of day has a lot to do with it. Mid day usually means loafing cover near food and water. This can be fairly thin stuff. Unless there is snow I stay out of thick tall cover in the middle of the day. They usually only go to heavier roosting cover only in the last hour. That can be a little problematic in IA. I'm not a big fan of hunting in willows unless there is snow.

Tim
 
Yesterday (Sunday)

Where were you hunting and do you have a dog?

I hunted in NE Iowa yesterday with my dog. In the morning we hit some pollinator plots ( small blocks about 2 acres of wildflowers and grass) and found a couple birds, I noticed the birds were hiding in the shorter grass early in the morning.

Later in the day we hunted taller grass and I noticed there were many birds out eating in the cut cornfield next to us. About 3:30-4:00 we walked some thicker grass and put up at least 10-15 birds.

If you have any shelter belts they can hold a lot of birds. The only problem I have hunting them by myself is when we are walking in one end the birds are sometimes flying out the sides or the end.

Good luck hunting:thumbsup:
 
There were five hunters with five dogs. We were hunting by a picked corn field. There was tall grass and shelter bays. Additionally, there was a small river running to the west and tall grass along the river.

I couldn't imagine better habitat. I am just confused as to what I could've done differently. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
It could be that the area just doesn't have many pheasants. If an area had heavy snow last winter and a wet spring that wasn't conducive to nesting then it can take a few years to come back, even if it is just a few square miles that had these conditions.

There was an area that I hunted many times last season that after one trip this year I knew I probably wouldn't go back there. The cover was ok but not as good as last year and I think they had some trouble nesting close by. If an area loses a year of production it can take a couple to come back.

Don't over think it. If all the cover was hunted and nothing was there then nothing was there...at least for that day. It might be worth another try after a substantial snow to see if there are tracks or if new birds have moved into the areas of heavier cover.

Tim
 
He's right, or maybe the birds are on another farm nearby due to pressure or food source. With that much thrashing around you should have seen birds if some were present. Move down the road if you can, and keep trying.
 
Next Question

So, let me paint a clearer picture, so that I don't come across completely unclear. I am in NW Iowa, Dickinson County. We've had some crappy weather the past few days. We've had all that rain and some sleet come through with some vicious winds as well. Today, it seems to be more of the same. It was drizzling on my way to work this morning and it is expected to be this way, rainy and 30s, through the next few days.

So, I would like to get the feedback from the group. When it is rainy and crappy out, what terrain/cover would you pursue? Would you go to the thickets and willows, would you to go the tall grass, hillside cover, river bottoms, or something else?
 
I don't really know if the birds move around that much due to weather. They stay pretty much were they are and try to find the best micro habitat they can, even if it means going up into some trees.

There's plenty of water so they don't need to stay close to that, and the food this time of year is not an issue. I would say they stay were they feel safe which in this part of the world means cattails.

I hunt Clay county, just south of you. Five guys with dogs may be to many, they head out on the run while you are loading your guns.

They are where they are.
 
leadshot1969 said:
So, let me paint a clearer picture, so that I don't come across completely unclear. I am in NW Iowa, Dickinson County. We've had some crappy weather the past few days. We've had all that rain and some sleet come through with some vicious winds as well. Today, it seems to be more of the same. It was drizzling on my way to work this morning and it is expected to be this way, rainy and 30s, through the next few days.

So, I would like to get the feedback from the group. When it is rainy and crappy out, what terrain/cover would you pursue? Would you go to the thickets and willows, would you to go the tall grass, hillside cover, river bottoms, or something else?
Click to expand...

rainy, go to the trees. windy, go to revines and habitat out of the wind. whatever you do, go in stealth mode.. dont work in a group, work together, but independently, so to speak. When I go with my partner, he goes one way, I go another and we work together, but separately. This messes up the running birds immensely.

For what its worth, Dickinson public has been pounded, and the weather hasnt been bad enough to bring the birds back to that cover, (if youre hunting public)

Even seasoned veterans hunting now on private are struggling, so its not just you..
 
I agree with that. I am going to hunt private for the next couple of days and see what happens. Right now, it's not so much the kill count as it is determining if I lost my mind. Strategies that have worked very well in the previous years have failed me this year on public ground. I am hoping that the Spirit Lake Area has just been pounded and that's the root cause.
 
I agree w/ reddog. In wet weather, don't just find trees (cedars #1 imo), but go out of your way to AVOID thick, wet cover. Trees should be near feeding areas. Also, they'll go out to feed, but won't stay out in the mud any longer than they have to, as opposed to just kind of hanging out for the afternoon on a sunny day. They don't like muddy boots any more than we do. Then, if it happens to dry up for the afternoon, they'll want to go dry off too. Find light cover, preferably w/ some sun on it. Windy weather, again trees, or something else kind of sheltered.
 
Lots of birds inhabiting cattails in the water where they are pretty much inaccessible to hunt. A few more weeks and some solid Ice will change that situation.
 
A Little Update

Whole different game this weekend. Moved a number of birds Friday, Saturday and Sunday. What's interesting about of all of this is that they ALL were in ankle high grass. It didn't matter what time of the day, they were all in the short grass.

Just to prove a point to myself, I walked through shin deep slop in cattails. I wanted to see what was holding in the cover. Much to my amazement, nothing.

The older I get, the more confused I become. I just need to stop overthinking and trying to treat this as though it is a science.
 
leadshot1969 said:
Whole different game this weekend. Moved a number of birds Friday, Saturday and Sunday. What's interesting about of all of this is that they ALL were in ankle high grass. It didn't matter what time of the day, they were all in the short grass.

Just to prove a point to myself, I walked through shin deep slop in cattails. I wanted to see what was holding in the cover. Much to my amazement, nothing.

The older I get, the more confused I become. I just need to stop overthinking and trying to treat this as though it is a science.
Click to expand...

Almost exactly what my friends found over the last week also, except they did find lots of hens in standing water /catttails. Most of their roosters came from short grass. They are where they are..
 
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