How Early In Morning For Pheasant?

TX_Diver

WKR
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May 27, 2019
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Opening morning in Wisconsin tomorrow. Taking the dog and my daughter. Typically got out late in the season after the Western hunts but this year I'm already full on tag soup so going to head out tomorrow.

How early are you guys getting out there? Do I need to be out there at first light or does it not make a difference besides increased pressure as the morning goes on (presumably).

Birds are stocked, I assume mostly over the last week. I have no idea what the pressure is like, there are a ton of small public parcels near me (40-150 acres for most with a few larger). Gonna go to an 80 acre one that has a fairly good trail around it so my 4.5 year old daughter can walk easily.

Will post some pics later! Any tips for hunting with kids are welcomed too. Have some electronic earmuffs for her that she doesn't mind wearing, as long as some orange and the obvious snacks/water. Limit is 1 and we're only 15 minutes from the house so it's not like it's going to be a long day. She is extremely excited though so hopefully we have some luck!
 

Homer

FNG
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Mar 2, 2020
Messages
56
I’m not sure in Wisconsin but I know Minnesota has a 9am start time and South Dakota I believe is 10am. Any time can be good but it does seem like it’s easier to find them on field edges early in the morning or towards evening if the crops are still up. No need to be out right at sunrise though. Good luck out there and have fun with your daughter.
 
OP
T

TX_Diver

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That is buried in the regs here apparently but looks like it's 9AM here too for tomorrow. Thank you!
 
Joined
Aug 11, 2022
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Opening morning in Wisconsin tomorrow. Taking the dog and my daughter. Typically got out late in the season after the Western hunts but this year I'm already full on tag soup so going to head out tomorrow.

How early are you guys getting out there? Do I need to be out there at first light or does it not make a difference besides increased pressure as the morning goes on (presumably).

Birds are stocked, I assume mostly over the last week. I have no idea what the pressure is like, there are a ton of small public parcels near me (40-150 acres for most with a few larger). Gonna go to an 80 acre one that has a fairly good trail around it so my 4.5 year old daughter can walk easily.

Will post some pics later! Any tips for hunting with kids are welcomed too. Have some electronic earmuffs for her that she doesn't mind wearing, as long as some orange and the obvious snacks/water. Limit is 1 and we're only 15 minutes from the house so it's not like it's going to be a long day. She is extremely excited though so hopefully we have some luck!
Look up your regulations, but if you can be right out there at sunlight.
 
OP
T

TX_Diver

WKR
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Messages
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Look up your regulations, but if you can be right out there at sunlight.

Got out a few minutes after 9 this morning. Nothing at the first spot but moved to another field and managed to pick one up. Daughter was stoked. Will post a few pics later. Limit is just one for today and tomorrow so hopefully we can pick another one up tomorrow!
 
OP
T

TX_Diver

WKR
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Left the house around 8:45 and pulled up to the first spot around 9AM, right when the season opened as one other guy was getting out of his truck. He went one way so we went the other through a mix of grass and standing corn. No birds so we went to the next spot which was a small parcel of public. 2 trucks there but one guy was heading out with a bird so we chatted with him for a few min and my daughter got pretty excited seeing the bird he shot.

100 yards from the truck we played peek-a-boo with a pheasant that kept going in/out of the brush but wouldn't flush! Gave up on him and went back towards the railroad tracks near the back. In some really tall grass we flushed one but I didn't get a shot. We checked along the tracks and then went over to the little creek bottom where the bird flushed too and managed to turn him up again and get a shot! The dog is a little rusty on retrieving but once she found him she grabbed him no problem.

By 11 we were back at the truck with the bird in hand and just in time to catch another guy and his son walking out who could snap our pic. Fun morning and actually the first bird I've taken since I've moved here.

Will give it another go tomorrow and see if we can't pick up one more. Gonna give Hank Shaw's Kung Pao pheasant recipe a go.


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