How to approach open fields for pheasant

[fleabagmatt]

My question is more general, but I've been thinking about this particular spot that I scouted last spring, and so using it as an example.



In this image, the yellow dot is the parking spot. The gravel road continues along the blue line, but is closed to vehicles. On one side of the road is a creek, on the left is an open field of thick grass, between waist and chest height. It's a slog to move through for both me and my dog. I haven't actually walked through that stuff yet, I've followed the road out and headed up a draw that is outside the photo. I am wondering how to hunt the thick grass. There are pheasants forever habitat signs here, so I assume pheasants are present. I've found coveys of quail in and around the russian olives in the draw mentioned above.

I don't really know what I am doing when looking for birds, but I've been approaching it like I would bass fishing. Walking the edges of cover and looking for things that stand out from the rest of the area. So in this case I would walk the edges of the thick grass, along the road as well as near the ditch/russian olives at the top of the red area. If there is a tree or bushes out in the middle of the grassy area I will go pass by that, otherwise I haven't been spending time out in the middle of it. How does one handle a big field of homogenous cover, like the wide open, thick grass in the red area? Another example would be a cut wheat field. Should I be covering the whole field, or primarily sticking to the field edges where the cover changes?

I'm gettin' excited already for upland season, can't wait to see what little Ruby can do out there.

 

[fleabagmatt]

For reference, here is a photo I found of the area in red. This would be standing near the top left corner of the red outline, looking to the right of the photo. The dark line running across the grass toward the back is where the creek runs through.

 

[cedahm]

Is that the only legal parking spot? Which direction is the wind typically coming from?

Birds eye looks great and being bounded by paved roads likely keeps pressure down (a lot of folks are reticent to hunt next to pavement for dog safety and/or aesthetics), but if only one spot, most people likely do one of two things (walk the creek bottom as you do or circle the left side to the bushes).

If anything like the WIA's here - people will park at the main parking spot and make obvious loops. I'd mainly try and do something different than the birds are probably used to.

Once you're in the open grass, zig zag and go as slow as possible. Stop for a 5-count often, push towards cover or an open edge that will make them fly. In a larger wheat/grass field, I'll even make concentric spirals into the middle. Works shockingly often in those big giant fields, but this one is small enough where I'd just cover it in zig zags towards edges. Mostly, I'd follow the dog. A lesson I learn annually (usually more than once) - 'the dog knows best'

 

[rwc101]

Hunting alone or with friends?

 

[fleabagmatt]

Hunting alone or with friends?

Most likely alone.

 

[OntarioHunter]

In stubble fields wild birds don't hold well. They typically run and jump. I'm guessing it's because brightly colored roosters are vulnerable to raptors in that stuff. The thick CRP (grass) provides good cover and they will hold well in it usually. Downside is pheasants have EXCELLENT hearing and if they've been shot up, they will often flush at the sound of man or dog. Keep the dog close and hunt into a hard wind. The wind in the grass will disguise your noise. The creek next to the road appears to be a canal. Often the clumps of removed earth alongside the canals provide good cover but can be tough walking. Hunt the Russian olives just after light in the morning. The birds usually move into it just before dawn to feed on the olives. They are very often up in the trees so be watching for that. Also, listen for roosters calling to each other early. Work along the edge next to CRP. Just let the dog work out of sight inside the Russian olive. It's almost impossible to get a shot in that crap. Again, be quiet and listen for your dog! Your best hope there is for it to push one out to you. They will almost certainly fly out into the CRP because there's essentially no cover in the sagebrush hills. If you don't get a good shot, let it go and watch where it lands. Leave it alone, hunt to the end of the field and go after it later. The bird will likely let you get close enough for a good shot but not if you just spooked it with a Hail Mary.

 

[MNElkNut]

The others have touched on it, but let me explain how I "follow my dog'. You are already thinking that you want to hit certain spots. In a big field of homogeneous cover, stop that thinking! Point the dog into the wind and follow her. Let Ruby guide you. No commands. Be super quiet. Where she goes, you go. You can always hit a spot later, but first run through, I would be as quiet as possible and let Ruby put you on birds.

 

[brymoore]

The birds are going to be in the creek bottom. Walk in with the wind at your dog’s nose. You might have to walk down the road to enter or circle out in the field away from the creek.

 

[Farmerj]

I always follow the dog. Slow and quietly. Been known to park in the ditch at the down wind end regardless of parking lot.

Then it depends too if it’s a known location for heavy pressure.

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

The others have touched on it, but let me explain how I "follow my dog'. You are already thinking that you want to hit certain spots. In a big field of homogeneous cover, stop that thinking! Point the dog into the wind and follow her. Let Ruby guide you. No commands. Be super quiet. Where she goes, you go. You can always hit a spot later, but first run through, I would be as quiet as possible and let Ruby put you on birds.

+1 Work into the wind and be as quiet as possible. I cringe when my buddies yell at their dogs in the field. Whistles are a much more covert way of communicating with your dog.

Where the birds are when you get there, and where they flush can easily be two different things. IME, when pressured wild birds feel sense the dog coming they will run first, and probably in the direction of the thickest stuff they can find; which I think can be misleading. If I get the sense that my dog is chasing a bird, I whistle him off it, give the bird a minute, and then send the dog again. Usually the bird won't run a second time.

 

[fleabagmatt]

Thank you all for the great advice. I do try to let the dog do what she do, but I find that if I am on a road she tends to stay on the road and doesn't venture out into the thick stuff much. I think all it will take is for her to catch wind of a bird or two and she will be quick to charge into that stuff. If I start walking through it, she will push in ahead of me.

But for the most part it's just "get down wind and let 'er rip!"

I did find a photo that I took last spring in the area. I forgot that they mow a bit of a trail through part of the grass. But you can see the tall stuff that covers the rest of the field. In the middle of this stuff here and there are patches of cattails where it gets marshy.



Because this area is visible from a highway, I'm pretty sure it gets hit pretty hard by hunters. I've not been there during actual hunting season, though.

 

[Farmerj]

Thank you all for the great advice. I do try to let the dog do what she do, but I find that if I am on a road she tends to stay on the road and doesn't venture out into the thick stuff much. I think all it will take is for her to catch wind of a bird or two and she will be quick to charge into that stuff. If I start walking through it, she will push in ahead of me.

But for the most part it's just "get down wind and let 'er rip!"

I did find a photo that I took last spring in the area. I forgot that they mow a bit of a trail through part of the grass. But you can see the tall stuff that covers the rest of the field. In the middle of this stuff here and there are patches of cattails where it gets marshy.

View attachment 234345

Because this area is visible from a highway, I'm pretty sure it gets hit pretty hard by hunters. I've not been there during actual hunting season, though.

As I work and train my pup(now 3), if you keep her to trails, that’s where she’ll look for them.

I’m anything but a trainer just one tidbit I’m picking up from the bird dog and gun dog training videos and programs I’m watching.

She LOVES when the pheasant dummies come out and is starting to get excited about the training.


My dad has some 3 acres and about half of it now resembles where we plan to hunt and all now. So I keep her away from the mowed stuff and the edges. The fact you hear pheasants in the background at night really sets her off.

 

[Mallardsx2]

Into wind with sun at your back.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Into wind with sun at your back.

The problem with that is if one hunts the afternoons out on the prairies, the prevailing jet stream wind that time of year is out of northwest. To hunt into the wind means low setting sun is in your face. Best to get up early and hunt the mornings. Or that magic last forty minutes of shooting hours when pheasants are scrambling to get in defensive position for the night. They bunch up to protect themselves from coyotes. Roosters will be squawking so birds can find each other. Some nights I've seen literally hundreds of pheasants flying in the "witching hour" and many times taken all three birds for daily bag in that period. Get in the right place and you can get some fun pass shooting.

 

[BackcountryBlake]

Agree with others.. work into the wind and follow your dog. The dog always knows best as I’ve had to learn over and over.. ha.

Starting from areas others probably don’t can help. From that picture I would definitely concentrate on the lowland thick areas. I normally stick to field edges for pheasants until it’s a weedy crop field as they will tend to run run run in lighter cover.

 

[406dn]

I have hunted over pointing dogs the last thirty years or so. I actually prefer hunting downwind.

A dog casts downwind away from you, but they quickly learn to turn back into the wind to hunt. When they go on point, the pheasant has a dog on one side and the hunter on the other.

As mentioned above the last hour or so of legal light is a GREAT time to hunt. The pheasant want to get on the roost. They hold tighter and run less, maybe.

You can't hunt into the wind entirely or you would never get back to your rig.

I try to stay as silent as possible, pretty much let the dog do whatever, within reason. Anyway, I have had very good success hunting downwind and having the dogs hunt back towards me.

 

[fleabagmatt]

I headed back to this spot with Ruby on Friday, just to see what we could see.

The grass is tall and thick. I am 6'6" and the tallest grass is over my head. Most of it it chest high. It's a battle for Ruby to push through it.





She showed no signs of smelling birds when we pushed out into the middle of it. But they are out here somewhere. Lots of tracks over on the road.






In the end we kicked up a solitary quail from under a Russian Olive and spooked a couple Mule Deer. No signs of pheasants. I look forward to picking this place apart this season, it's a neat spot.

 

[bullbugle307]

Warm weather makes for tough scenting conditions. Especially if there’s a good breeze.

 

[nastynate]

If you're coming to a field you've don't have much experience with or scouting knowledge of, I agree with the sentiment above of following your dog quietly and seeing where she takes you. That's actually my favorite way to hunt, and that seemingly homogenous cover is usually not homogenous from the birds perspective.

If you're seeing sign and have time to scout, try watching from your vehicle in morning and/or evening and see how the birds are moving naturally. They may be coming out to get grit on the road or feeding in nearby fields. But if birds are there you should see them on the road getting grit or flying in/out/around the cover in morning or evening. Pay attention to where they are going to/coming from. That sort of stuff will change through the season and with different weather, wind, and pressure.

However, even when you think you know where the birds are, trust the dog. I don't know how many times I've needed to relearn the lesson that my dog's nose knows more than I do....

 

[406dn]

This is just me, I hunted a similar field...once. Yes there were birds in it. But that habitat does not really put a pointing dog's talents to best use.

I often ride horses on some BLM land that has a similar field, the grass is taller than a horse's back. It was planted to benefit pheasants. There are some pheasants in it, but I have not been tempted to hunt it.