Late Season Last Hurrah Roosters

[Arago]

Heading out soon again. Hope to find a few. Lack of snow is crazy... Looking at Marshall area or LQP.

[R. Miller]

yea they seemend to be bunched up more could be fun, we could really use a little snow though, but I can't complain...the lack of snow is really helping them. Lets just hope for a not so wet Spring.

[BLACKJACK]

Made it out pheasant hunting both Sat and Mon mornings, weather was too nice for good hunting but needed to walk off some Christmas cheer, ham, lutefisk, plus all the other goodies that go with it.

Sat morning I went to a big Waterfowl Production Area, actually wanted to scout it for deer hunting next year, big hills with ponds in the valleys, with some woods on the south, barely got going and the lab got hot down a hill side, into some cattails, I was blocked by a thicket, debating go around left or right, rooster gets up to my right, blast one shot thru the brush, did I get him?? No hes still flying when I see him clear the brush , so we wander off in that direction, following the cattails. Didn't take long, about 150 yards away, when the dog surges forward and up he comes, leg dangling, must have partially hit him with the first shot, anchor him this time. Hunted the rest of the area, found one possible deer hunting spot, dog fell thru the ice on a beaver run, couldn't get out, so I had to creep forward and grab her by the collar.

Monday morning tackled a big swamp, walking on the ice, letting the dog pop in and out of the cattails, with the big wind, I tried to keep her on the downwind side, had to be careful on the slippery ice. Didn't see any birds or tracks, ended up being a nature hike, good exercise after all the holiday chow, checking out some duck blinds, both old and new, people never retrieve their old pallets, checked out an eagle nest, mind was starting to drift as I walked, thinking I need to get my chain saw out after the holidays, etc, when all of a sudden the little black doggies tail started twirling, I followed her into the cattails, up came a rooster, I dropped him, and she did a nice job finding him in the cattails!! Bonus bird!!!

Both the birds that I got on Sat and Monday were the only birds I saw!!! I feel like I'm hunting down the last of the buffalo!!

My lab is eight now, all the years of work have paid off, she knows how far ahead to stay, and when that tail starts going, you know theres a bird around!!! Really a pleasure to hunt behind!!

Weather is supposed to be nice next weekend, too nice for good peasant hunting, but I plan on getting out one last time, walk my required three miles per bird, get some exercise, get the black dog out one last time!!! Love to pheasant hunt!!!

[fivebucks]

Was out Monday and put the miles on. My lab will be 8 in a month also so I have to get him out while I can. Got up 1 bird and it was a rooster. Should have let him get out a little bit further but I got anxious. Anyhow he dropped with a nice puff of feathers. I will ahve to be carefull eating that one tonight.

[TylerS]

I'll be out this weekend, rain (hate to have to type that this time of year) or shine. After a banner trip out west, it's going to be tough to hunt the meager numbers closer to home. But I'm looking forward to it regardless. Watching my dog work has got to be one of the most fulfilling feelings I've ever had.

[BLACKJACK]

Made it out Sat and Sun mornings for the final hunts of the year. Sat got one bird - and never fired a shot, my lab caught it on the ground!!! She had taken off like a shot, that run that tells me a bird is coming up soooooon, I off after her, doing the 'Labrador trot', catch up, shes frantically circling some thicker grass and clover, then dives into a clump and pins a rooster!! I set down my gun, extracted the rooster from her mouth and grass, and as I get ready to do the neck wring, he gets the final revenge and spurs me!!! He was an old bird with 1/2 inch spurs and nailed me for a 1 inch gash on my wrist. Gave the bird to my mom and told her to cook it long and slow.

With the big wind on Sunday I wasn't going to go out but then the wife says 'its the final day of the pheasant season, are you going???' With an opening like that, I started thinking about where to go, the sun was popping out, so I said heck yeah!!! Tackled a big cattail swamp, heading into the wind to start, not too bad except my eyes were watering, saw a rooster and hen at about 80 yards, no shot, then started tackling the bigger portion of cattails.

Biggest problem I was worried about losing my dog, normally she keeps track of me by the noise of me walking, with the wind, she couldn't hear me, a couple times I had to stop and call her, she came from behind, tracking me. Thought screw this, a pheasant isn't worth losing her, made my way to the edge, with her popping in and out of the cattails. Lots of tracks, most old and melted down from the previous warm day, when a rooster gets up at about 35 yards. Good shot would have had him but didn't get a second shot, with the wind, he was gone.

Kept working the edge and as it narrowed down, a hen got up, then a rooster at about 15 yards, nailed him, he dropped into the thick cattails, I started working my way to the spot, yelling for my dog, and she comes crashing up with the bird in her mouth!!! She had already spotted it and retrieved it!!!

Nice way to end the season!!! Sure hope we get some decent weather next spring for the hatch!!

[fivebucks]

Way to get that last bird of the year Blackjack! I went out Saturday for 3 hours working a big WPA with no birds flushed. Dog got real birdy 2 times but no bird got up. That's all I could hunt on Sat. Drove way west on Sunday and put up quite a few hens but no roosters. That wind was a challenge. If a rooty gets up it would be 1 shot and gone - too bad I didn't need to worry about that. I can relate to the possibility of losing the dog in the cattails. It was impossible to track the dog in those with the wind. I started just working the edges also and he would go in the cats and sometimes come out in front of me and then in back. Anyhow - no last day roosters for me but I was glad to get up about 8 hens.