Re: Mott ND Pheasants

[LOW Lover]

Last fall had a great trip to Mott for pheasants with my boys. I am planning another trip but have heard mix reports because of the drought. How is the CRP, is it being cut? Is there water in the Cannonball River? How was the spring hatch? Did the birds survive? Any word from Mott or that area would be appreciated! Thanks!

[Bird Dog]

Last year I went just south of the Mott area and found lots of birds I was going to return.But from talking to the locals through the course of the year I decided not to return this year they received 3/4" of rain total from spring through late August
that can't be good for the pheasants Sharptails probably faired better.I heard that they even opened up some of the public land on a limited basis for farmers to make hay for there cattle and that there were a lot of large grass fires out there.I will be heading more towards the center of the state.I have talked to several duckhunters that have also changed there plans because the potholes in some of the areas are dried up.I would like to know if you heard some of the same info

Bird Dog

[LOW Lover]

Bird Dog,
I have heard that birds are down, how much, it seems that is the question. One person said that it might be as much as 60%. There is also talk that the chicks did not fair well because the lack of moisture and late spring did not create a good bug hatch which limited the amount of food for the chicks. So it sounds like a lot of the birds will be second year roosters. Another problem will be cover. If there are birds and no cover, what will we be hunting?
A writer in ODN mentioned to bring water and a shovel to put out fires. Sounds a little bleak!
Have you heard how much water is in the Canonball?
LOW Lover

[Snowman]

I talked to a friend of mine who ranches near Bowman on Sunday. It is true that the drought has hit this area very hard, nearly al of the CRP in his area has been hayed, and cover is virtually nonexistent. The last rain of significance they had was in July. He also said that because of the fire danger, the ND Game and Fish will more than likely go to 1/2 day hunting West of the Missouri River. He did say that pheasant numbers in his area are O.K. I hope this helps you out!

[LOW Lover]

Snowman,
Thanks for the informatiom. I e-mailed the assistant director of DNR in ND. Hopefully he will give us some information about the early closing and the conditions out there.

LOW Lover

[early007]

Hi I was just out there last week. The rumors are true. The drought has been pretty bad. The farmers said that they haven't had rain since July. The re are still a lot of birds. But they are just more condensed now. Mostly into places that were good before. The crops were terrible this year. I guess they didn't even harvest, they just bailed them up. It is very dry so I'm planning on carrying water with me for the dogs.

[LOW Lover]

Thanks early 007 for the information. Did you notice if there was much water in the Canonbball River? Is it still worth making a trip with my boys? Last year we had a fantastic time! Is there much cover at all? One should get those canvas/leather booties for the dogs so they don't rip up their pads.
I heard from the assisstant director and there are no plans in the works to shorten the hunting day!