IsThisHeaven?
Active member
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2013
- Messages
- 133
I pheasant hunted Saturday and Sunday in Minnesota. This was my first time pheasant hunting in Minnesota. The roadside counts from the summer were down 26% statewide compared to 2016. I don't put much stock in roadside counts and they don't impact where and when I hunt. I was hoping the decline in the roadside counts would mean less pressure on opening weekend. Well, my hopes were not realized. Saturday was a zoo. The temps were good (upper 40's) and it was cloudy and rainy in the afternoon. We managed to find a smaller spot that was overlooked. There were good bird numbers on this property. The birds were still bunched up. We flushed three groups, including 10 hens and 5 roosters. We managed to take 2 roosters. The first rooster was very young and did not have all his color yet. The second bird was a mature bird that was a holdover of from last year. We finished up about 11 at this spot. We went to 3 more spots the rest of the day and only managed to flush hens (15 or so). Throughout the day, in spite of the rain, there were people out hunting all over. It was difficult finding a spot to hunt.
Sunday was clear and cool in the morning (mid 30's). We decided to try a completely different area. We wanted to avoid the pressure we say the day before. We went to an area where the counts were down quite a bit, but has good cover and good amounts of public land. The experience was much better. There was significantly less pressure. I should have known the areas with lower counts and not the traditional "hotspot" would have less pressure. Anyway, we hunted until about noon when it got too warm and too dry, so the scenting conditions were tough. We flushed multiple groups including around 20 hens and 5 roosters. We were fortunate enough to land 3 of the roosters. The last of the 3 roosters my buddy missed on his first two shots. I killed the rooster on a longer shot. The bird landed in the middle of a pond. My springer made a great retrieve on the bird.
I tried posting pictures but I can't get through the process with these pictures. All in all we had a great weekend. I can't wait for Iowa to open in 2 weeks.
Sunday was clear and cool in the morning (mid 30's). We decided to try a completely different area. We wanted to avoid the pressure we say the day before. We went to an area where the counts were down quite a bit, but has good cover and good amounts of public land. The experience was much better. There was significantly less pressure. I should have known the areas with lower counts and not the traditional "hotspot" would have less pressure. Anyway, we hunted until about noon when it got too warm and too dry, so the scenting conditions were tough. We flushed multiple groups including around 20 hens and 5 roosters. We were fortunate enough to land 3 of the roosters. The last of the 3 roosters my buddy missed on his first two shots. I killed the rooster on a longer shot. The bird landed in the middle of a pond. My springer made a great retrieve on the bird.
I tried posting pictures but I can't get through the process with these pictures. All in all we had a great weekend. I can't wait for Iowa to open in 2 weeks.
