2015 Rooster Reports

[herm]

Thought I'd start a thread aimed at sharing rooster reports this season. Here's mine: Been out 3-4 times. Bagged 5 birds, including a solo limit. I hunt public land in Central Mn. Seeing equal numbers of hens and roosters....not as many hunters as I expected....so far. Also, quite dry in most places I've hunted so far. Might be a while before I get out again thanks to kids sports and deer season. How are you doing?

[CaptainMusky]

Made my first real outing of the season Saturday. My 16 month old shorthair did AWESOME! Pointed 3 roosters and 5 hens on public land. The most rock solid points ive seen in a long time. Birds held tight with the exception of one hen that flushed wild. Hunted until noon and bagged two birds.

I wasn't sure what the expect this season with the young dog, but he certainly impressed me Saturday. Looking forward to many more days in the field this season so hopefully continuing the positive trend.

Ran into a ton of water because the birds dropped in the cattails. Water up to my knees which my Danners were no match for. Sooo, I invested in a boot dryer (cant believe I didn't have one yet) and then purchased a pair of Mucks. Looking forward to trying them out because my Danners are shot after 10 years.

[jparrucci]

Made it about 10 minutes into the morning today before my youngest dog started having sneezing bouts. Started to bleed from one nostril.  Found a vet in SW MN (3 hours from home ).  Sedated him and checked nostril with a scope, but no obvious obstruction found.  He doesn't sneeze when sleeping or laying,  but as soon as he starts moving goes crazy.   Anyone else been through this?  Probably has to wait till Monday morning when a vet office opens for another look.  No pheasants bagged. Did take a nice big drake merganser when the other dog and I walked around a small slough. 

[IceHawk]

My lab had  a sneezing bout last season. We were pheasant hunting some real dry grass milo areas. The next day I, took her to a vet they also looked in her nose and said everything looked good. Well she still kept sneezing  , next day  lo and behold she finally sneezes hard and  out  flies a small little weed. it was about the size of a toothpick. The sneezing halted right after.  They must of somehow missed it so don't rule out there still something lodged in there.

[gregg52]

Musky where bouts where you hunting ??

I havnt been pheasant in 25-30 yrs ,been working out in ND and seeing lots and lots of birds

Got my blood flowing going to head out toward yellow mendince  county are lots of public hunting out there

[brittman]

Two of us picked up three roosters yesterday on a WPA closer to the metro than not.  Steel #3s did the job, but I still prefer lead unless hunting Federal land.

 

Found them where they usually are not meant to be. 

Edited November 30, 2015 by brittman

[herm]

My update: hunting continues to be consistent. Opportunities every time out, and enough hits to put some food on the table. Roosters, though, are getting smarter. Be an interesting last month of the season. Hope heavy snow stays away!

[CaptainMusky]

Musky where bouts where you hunting ??

I havnt been pheasant in 25-30 yrs ,been working out in ND and seeing lots and lots of birds

Got my blood flowing going to head out toward yellow mendince  county are lots of public hunting out there

Greg, I was hunting near Glenwood.

Over Thanksgiving I made a trek down to where I spent a lot of years chasing pheasants in my younger days, Montevideo. The lack of snow and cold really isn't helping things. I had two opportunities at roosters, 1 flew right into the sun so I couldn't tell what it was right away. The second one I flat out missed. Very few birds on this outing, but I know there its just too easy for them to be sitting in very little cover.

The snow we have now should have helped bunch them up a bit, but now its supposed to get warm for the next week. Grrrrrr.

[gregg52]

Thanks Musky

just curious to see where guys go

think i'll be heading out west this week

kinda get myfeet wet again sorta speak...been awhile since I even shot a gun ....so the pheasants might be pretty safe ....lol 

hoping there is still some snow on the ground but don't look good

[CaptainMusky]

The further South you go you will likely have a better chance for more snow. There is still about 4 inches on the ground here in St Cloud, but further South did get a bit more I think. By Sunday it will be mostly gone.

Even if the snow melts, I think that heavy wet snow did its job. It should have effectively eliminated the very light cover and pushed the birds into the heavier stuff. I just wish we would get some cold to make good ice. I love pheasant hunting, but I have 2 weeks off over Christmas and I wanted to get some ice fishing in, not just pheasant hunting.

Good Luck Gregg if you get out. Its been hit or miss for me this year. First outing was really good. Second outing poor. 3rd outing below average. I am heading out somewhere in the morning tomorrow, just not sure where.

[gregg52]

Well went out to Marshall area

1st time hunting in over 25 yrs ,hard on the feet and legs...lol

Was impressed with the amount of birds I saw,and where there was a little bit of snow left

birds running in front of me ,

Very hard to get birds up ,only flushed one that I could get a shot at and it was a good shot but missed

Which I was alittle surprised it was an easy shot, guaranteed in the bag 25 yrs ago...lol

Differently in the market for a well trained dog now ....near impossible to get birds up alone

Might go back the week after xmas if we get some good snow

[O.T.C.]

Don't forget east central MN as pheasant ground. It's better then most think. Heard a ton of cackling during rifle season.  

[jstrommen13]

Buddy of mine and myself were also in marshall this last weekend. Hunted Saturday and Sunday. Compared to when I was there in October it was slow. Saw only 6 roosters and got 3. Planned the trip banking on snow and ice but it was opposite of that.  Being in the feild is always better than not being there. Good luck to all still chasing 

[gregg52]

Did you guys have dog??

I hoping for more snow might head back the week after xmas

if we get more snow

Edited December 17, 2015 by gregg52

[yakfisher]

I was out way west of Marshall today. 7 inches of fresh snow and blowing 20-30 kept them sitting tight and running in the grass under the snow. It was tough hunting, but there are still birds and if we get a few days of cold maybe the massive amounts of water out there will finally freeze up making it easier for humans to operate in that environment.

 

good luck!

[jstrommen13]

Yes I have a 3 year old German Wirehair Pointer.   I don't think I'll make it back west this year for pheasants. Maybe just a few trips close to home due to the holidays

[gregg52]

Wow 7inches huh

You able to get any birds up ,its tough if a guy is alone no dog

I thought maybe with that much snow would make it a little tough to run all the time

[CaptainMusky]

7 inches of snow and 20 to 30 mph winds in Western MN? Well, I probably wont be heading back that way. The drifts will be huge and some of the areas I hunt have long driveways to get back to the spot and there will be no way to drive back there with that amount of snow. Walking through drifts the whole way and you are tired before you can even start hunting.

I have snowshoes, but I have found them useless or a complete PITA when trying to pheasant hunt due to the cover I tend to push through. Maybe I am going about it all wrong. LOL

[gregg52]

I don't care much for the wind specially if its cool out

I've been working out in ND and it never quits blowing out there and that Marshall area seems not far behind