Wild Birds

519vx said:
Honey creek is a tough area to hunt. Marginal cover and most of it is wet. They do stock birds there...all roosters. Tichigan is better but gets the krap hunted out of it. In the past I've done OK out near whitewater hunting some of the marginal looking areas near where birds were stocked earlier in the year.

Seems to be more hawks this year than usual...i've been finding puffed birds on nearly every trip out.
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I hunt the same area. Im the guy with the Illinois plates you might see in the parking lot.
For an alternative, try Dark Acres Pheasant Hunts in Cold Spring Township.
Ive been there a few times, great place.
As far as wild birds, seen a couple last year south of Elkhorn.
 
I sadly haven't seen a wild bird in at least 2 years and that was on hwy 43 near Mukwonago. Did you see your wild birds on public land south of Elkhorn? I may have seen your vehicle. I've got a black Tahoe with a Pheasants Forever sticker on the back.
 
Ive hunted the one S of Elkhorn a few times without seeing a bird. I talked to the Walworth Co game biologist and he said I should call him if I see one this year. Sounds like he would be shocked too if a bird was spotted. It will be years before there's any change in bird population in this area.

White Suburban with a PF sticker on the left side window. If you see it, stop and give a shout. I'll be somewhere on the 30th and 31st.
 
I know where plenty of roosters are problem is there is plenty of cover and no snow in the forecast it's tough. Saturday 3 guys and 4 dogs walking through an area, and the birds jumped a ditch only to fly way out. 4 wild rooster all together.
 
519vx said:
Honey creek is a tough area to hunt. Marginal cover and most of it is wet. They do stock birds there...all roosters. Tichigan is better but gets the krap hunted out of it. In the past I've done OK out near whitewater hunting some of the marginal looking areas near where birds were stocked earlier in the year.

Seems to be more hawks this year than usual...i've been finding puffed birds on nearly every trip out.
Click to expand...

Honey Creek is definitely wet. Even with rubber boots I was having problems staying dry. I'll be out this weekend - black Explorer and chocolate lab.
 
I haven't been out in a week since getting back from North Dakota, but I know they only release birds once after deer hunting. I live near Milton and usually hunt Evansville area and Lima, or BadFish. I have several places I usually hunt late because there wet but It's to warm.
 
wisturkeyhunter....I assume that was private land where you saw the four roosters together? I've tried several leased lands between Waterford/Mukwonago and Janesville the last several years and haven't put up any pheasants (woodcock yes however earlier in fall).

I wish it would get cold, real cold...I have had some late season luck hunting cattails when it had been cold enough to walk out in the marshes. Those are renmant stocked birds on the stocked public lands, but they are wily as heck. Anything left on those lands now has gotten smart quick or they'd be in someone's freezer. It's a tough hunt but rewarding and late in the year there's rarely any other pressure.
 
You didn't say where you were at which Walgreens, but I will take a pretty good guess and say it was either on the east side of Milwaukee or in Madison.

The bigger question is why that is your favorite hunting grounds, and whether perhaps you're hunting a different kind of rooster than the rest of us. ;)
 
Hi there..new to this forum..I was really happy to find a forum dedicated to WI pheasant hunting!

(I posted a similar question to a thread I started called so I apologize for any double posts :)

I saw on this thread a lot of info about areas to try for pheasant...I'm looking to get out a few times over the next couple weeks and am wondering if anyone has any tips or suggestions for the St. Croix/Pierce/Dunn county area....I saw on the WI DNR website several 'put and take' areas in Dunn county by Menomonie and was wondering if anyone has any experience with those...??

Any info or help is greatly appreciated!!
 
gostovp this post isn't just aimed at you

Only way to find good wild bird spots is boots on the ground. It's expensive and time consuming but really no other way. Find public land that looks like it should hold birds and hunt it. You need both prairie grass for nesting and winter cover like cattails,heavy marsh grass,willows,or small pines. Look for roost,listen for cackles,stop a mail man and ask him where/if he sees birds,and don't give up after hunting a place one time especially if there is a lot of corn around. Going out after pheasant season with snowshoes and covering a lot of ground is another sure way to fine where birds live. After doing all that you might wonder why you don't just spend your time in SD. :thumbsup:

I've yet to see anybody give out good wild pheasant hunting info about Wisconsin on the internet. I do see a lot of guys looking for gimme info and it's not likely to happen.

I'd guess this might ruffle some feathers. Read over the Wisconsin section. A lot of guys talking about hunting put and take pheasants (I do that some myself) because its the only option,bitching about bird number,saying you need private land,hunting the same places every time with no success,blaming the weather. The thing you don't see is guy spending the time and money to find the birds. They are out there for the taking.

About private land. Most private land in farm country isn't managed for pheasants. Just the opposite its managed for maximum production and who can blame the farmer they have no reason to manage it for pheasants. Not to say there isn't good private land but unless a guy has an in for stumbles across a good spot they can get permission to I believe time spent hunting and scouting public land is better.

I don't think I'm some great wizzbang pheasant hunter or any other such notion but I do know what it takes to kill wild birds in this state.
 
The area I mostly have hunted is the Kinnickinnic River headwaters public land area between Hammond and Roberts...the two roosters I got there were banded by Ellsworth Gun Club...the two opening weekends I saw a few more roosters as well....my neighbor got a couple over there as well but he said they weren't banded...so maybe wild birds?

I hit a private land piece of standing oats with some thick field grass this morning...got one hen up...

I live about 25 mins from some of the areas that the WI DNR has listed as stocked areas in Western Dunn county...just wondering if it is worth the drive over there...
 
Boots on the Ground=Dead Wild Roosters

OK so the gauntlet was thrown down and I took the challenge this weekend. Instead of bitching about lack of wild roosters I dedicated this weekend to putting birds in the bag regardless of the miles driven or the amount of walking I had to do (all land hunted was not stocked)
On Saturday I hunted all day and only saw 1 set of tracks and that rooster flushed way out of shooting range. Day 1 equals 0 birds bagged but saw my first wild WI rooster (while hunting).
Today I hunted different areas. Went the first 4 hours with only seeing 1 set of tracks and we never flushed that bird.
The next 2 hours was nothing short of blast. I saw some tracks that lead to a ditch bordering a corn field hunting the entire thing without flushing a bird. Followed it back to the marsh and picked up the tracks again. It was not very long until the dog locked up and I dropped my first wild WI rooster. About 20 minutes later the dog locks up again, this time it was a hen. Another 30 minutes goes by and the dog points again and then reloctes inching slowly and I went in to flush and from about 25 to 30 yards behind me a rooster flushed and I dropped it. Not only did I bag my first but I picked up my first wild bird limit in WI. Ths was definitely an early Christmas present and I am now a huge fan of boots on the ground.

Thanks WIturkeyhunter. You gave me the push I needed. :cheers:
 
Well-done . . . similar effort yielded 2 wild results for my partner while I was otherwise-detained Christmas shopping yesterday (Bah, Humbug!). Public ground, not planted, good cover & seldom-hunted because it isn't a release site.
Cell phone photo, so resolution leaves a bit to be desired . . .
KOSiPhone3473.jpg
 
Nice Birds

Nice looking birds! Unfortunately I still need to get my shopping completed. Online right now shopping for the wife. Once I find something will be heading out to the store. It's nice to see that we can pull out some tough ones.

Nice work Koja!

P.S. I am definitely going to go through boots alot faster if I have to walk this much for each bird.
 
Awesome birds guys!

I hunted a couple public land patches between Roberts and River Falls....no birds unfortunately. We have no snow left so I was unable to tell if the areas actually had any birds. Well, it was good day for a nice walk at least.
 
as painful as it is right now with the mild weather and no snow at all, I guess its beneficial to the bird recovery for the next few years.
Looks like we're going to finish up the 2011 season w/o any snow on the ground. No reason for the birds to take cover in the thick stuff or cattails.
Nonetheless, I'll be out somewhere, trying to sneak in 5 days before it closes up for the year.
 
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