Recent content by bellahunts

7 guys, 4 dogs, 1 field, 3 hours this morning.....19 birds. Most epic Iowa hunt I have ever been a part of. My farmer friends kept saying the birds were everywhere. True!

I took a scouting trip from IL 3 weeks ago to the Northwest area and it seemed like I was seeing more birds than the last 3 or 4 years. Survey seems to confirm that. If the harvest comes out early opening weekend should be a lot of fun.

Hunted in NW region for 2 and a half days on private land. 4 hunters with 3 dogs. Like the post above, we flushed 50-100 birds each day and brought 24 home. Even with 3 seasoned dogs, we lost 5 birds in very heavy cover which really sucks. Always amazed at how deep a cripple can burrow down...

Got a text yesterday from NW Iowa farmer who lets me hunt his land every year. He said his beans are out and about 1/3 of his corn. Sounds like most, if not all, crops will be out before the season opens. But this is the best thing he had to say, "I have never in my lifetime seen so many...

Heading to NWIowa for the pheasant opener on Oct 31st. Then up to ND for a few days of goose and ducks. Back down to NE Iowa for 4 days of trout fly-fishing and then over to NW Iowa for a few more days of pheasants and then home. Best 2 weeks of the year!

Anyone in NW Iowa have any preliminary info on what they are seeing regarding birds for this year? With the mild winter and solid nesting weather, hoping locals are noticing an increase.

Just got home from 4 day hunting trip to NW Iowa. First day spent hunting public sites with limited success. Then got permission to hunt about 250 acres of picked corn with wide strips of thick high grass along a creek and small river. What a difference that combination of habitat makes...

Great to hear your info on bird numbers. Care to share what area of the state you were in? I am skipping North Dakota this year for the first time since 2004 because the trip has been so disappointing the past 3 years. Heading instead to Storm Lake, Sac City, Pomeroy area later this week...

10 years ago before so much land got posted up in the Garrison area and before the drought decimated numbers, road hunting was a LOT of fun. Birds were everywhere early morning and late evening drying off or scratching gravel along the roads. You could bag a lot of birds with short exciting...

With the heavy rains and late planting, wondering how far behind normal schedule the harvest looks for NW Iowa. Went last year from southern Illinois to Storm Lake area opening weekend and harvest was slow with most crops still out. Delayed this year to second week but wondering if that will...

Just got home after 16th annual trip to Garrison-Turtle Lake-Max area. By far the worst year ever experienced. Could not believe how few pheasants we came across. Even our best "never fail hot spots" produced slim results. Adding to the frustration was most of the ducks had moved south...

For the last 6 years my wife and I visit family over the July 4th holiday in NW Iowa. With each visit, I go out early at least one morning and slow drive gravel roads looking for birds and knocking on doors. Over 20 miles I would usually see 2 or 3 roosters and a hen/brood or 2 but that was...

IA Rooster, you gotta start sometime. This may not be the best year for numbers, so start laying the groundwork for future years. Knock on doors, develop relationships, find a few sweet spots and drop GPS pins. Each year builds on the previous ones. This will be the 11th year a dozen of...