When I got up yesterday morning the roads were slick with black ice. I was up early but waited until about 8:00 am before leaving. Austin and I have quail hunted Iowa several times and haven’t seen anyone else hunting. This morning the first place I drove by had a truck parked on it. We haven’t hunted the same place twice but this morning, the first place I hunted, we had found two coveys of quail and several pheasants.
I have trouble seeing the dogs when they point on the snow.
Sally, again.
Sally pointing a pheasant.
When I pulled into the first place, there were tire tracks as well as foot prints from men and dogs, but from the days before. The snow had been on for well over a week. I only had Sally and Luke with me so I put the Garmin e-collars and GPS collars on them. When I turned them loose we headed to the north along a fence row. There had been soy beans on the conservation area and across the fence was another harvested soy bean field. There was a wide buffer strip on the conservation side.
When we got to the end of the conservation area, about a half mile in, Sally went on point. When I saw her she was looking back toward me and I walked straight in to her. I always worry about the quail when the snow has been on for a while. Only four quail flushed when I got in front of Sally. I brought the gun up but didn’t shoot. Both of the coveys we had found earlier had been large.
It was warm and the snow was melting. I walked around the area and saw more quail tracks where they had run away. They may have flushed behind me or just run off. I’m okay with that, I would rather have quail to work my dogs on as have a dead bird in my hand.
We circled back to the west and went down the side of the soy bean field. Luke and Sally both pointed but when I got to them they started moving as if the birds had run out. When we got back close to the truck I loaded the dogs.
I drove to the next place and ate lunch before heading out. As I was sitting in the truck 3 guys drove up and asked if I was going to hunt there. That was much nicer than just jumping out and trying to beat me into the cover. We talked a while and they went to another place.
This place has a large food plot that runs down the ridge with weedy cover all the way around it. I walked down the east edge of the food plot and when we came to the end Luke was on point in the weedy cover about 50 yards away. As I looked for him I saw a rooster pheasant flush, cackling as it flew away. I was still 40 yards away.
Earlier, we had found a covey of quail on to the south. We hunted on down a small creek that was covered with brush. I decided to cross the creek. It took forever to get across. The brush was even thicker than it looked. I fought my way to the creek and it looked even thicker on the other side but it was as hard to turn around as to go forward. I finally made it across. I will look for a better place next time.
Sally
We came back around and went back to the north. I had several points but when I got to them the dogs would start trailing then just go on. Sally made a point where a hen pheasant flushed but even if it had been a rooster it was too far ahead of her for a shot.
When we got to the road on the north both dogs were on point. I think one of them pointed and the other backed but the GPS just showed them being on point. Before I got to them a hen pheasant flushed then a rooster and then another hen. Sally came back by me trailing. I saw Luke going along the side of the road. A hen pheasant flushed in front of him far enough he never even knew it flew.
I tried to get the dogs headed back south after we had moved over a quarter mile but Luke was on point back near the road. I turned back to find him. Without the GPS I would never have even got close. He was in some weeds that were higher than my head and when I finally saw him I almost stepped on him. He moved, then went back on point and I heard a pheasant flush but never saw it.
We went on to the south and in some weeds near the base of a pond dam Sally went on point. I got to her and she moved up then started trailing. I could see the pheasant tracks in the snow for a while then we hit some bare trail. We never came up with that pheasant. When we got near the truck I loaded the dogs in their box.
Luke in the little ditch.
I drove several miles to the north to another place. As I drove around it to make sure no one was already hunting it I saw two trucks parked on the next place over. I saw two hunters and there may have been more. But not the place I wanted to hunt.
I had parked on the north side and we hunted to the south. There was a soy bean field with a brush filled creek running through it with a couple of acres of soy beans left unharvested. When I crossed the creek Sally was moving through the standing soy beans real slow and as I watched she honored Luke. He was standing in the edge of the weeds that surrounded the soy beans. I was still 40 yards from him when a rooster pheasant flushed to the north west. That brought it a little closer to me and when I shot it folded. It dropped in some tall weeds and I got both dogs in to hunt dead. After a minute or so, Sally pounced on it and penned it to the ground. She doesn’t try to pick them up she just holds them against the ground.
We moved just a few yards to the north and Sally started pointing then moving up. She must have pointed 8 or 10 times and when I would get close she would move on. We went all the way to the west edge then back down the fence line to the east.
When we got back near where Luke had pointed the rooster I saw quail tracks in the snow. They looked fresh. I called the dogs in and both of them started trailing. I stood in one place and both dogs stayed within about 10 yards or less of me for about 10 minutes. Normally, to get my dogs to stay that close they have to be on point. We never come up with the quail.
Sally in the brush pointing a single.
We went on to the east and below a pond a couple of pheasants flushed too far away for a shot. At the east edge we started back down the creek toward where we had come in. Both dogs were in the heavy cover to the north of me. Along the edge of the standing soy beans, south west of me, a single quail flushed. I was 40 yards from him and both dogs were farther than that from it. If that quail was out of the birds that made the tracks in the snow it was over a quarter of a mile from the tracks.
Hoping there were more I called both dogs in to hunt the soy beans and that edge. We hunted back to the truck. Although the snow was melting it was hard on the dogs feet. I loaded them up, took the e-collars off and stowed the dogs in their boxes.
Austin and I have had this almost to our selves. I don’t know if the warmer weather brought the hunters out or deer season being over (or it should be) brought more hunters out.
I talked to the 3 guys that came by while I was eating lunch and they said most of the food plots have been planted by Pheasants Forever chapters. Probably, the ones on the conservation areas are done by the state. Iowa is the only place I’ve been that had food plots on their walk-in. Those food plots are large enough that they are good for all of the animals. I’ve seen a lot of song birds, rabbits, pheasants and quail in them. There is also a lot of deer tracks. Iowa does a lot for the bird hunters.
Luke
Luke pointing quail.
Luke pointing quail.