W
ith pheasant season opening
October 31 and numbers
up statewide more than 55
percent since 2014, it's an excellent
time to start walking fields. But which
fields do you choose? How do you
walk them? And what other tips are
going to separate you from the other
hunters afield?
Read on to find these answers from
some experienced hunters throughout
Nebraska.
Mark Vrtiska
Hunting the Rainwater Basin
We look for
some sort of plant
diversity in the
field itself. We look
for different forbs,
weeds, grasses, to
give pheasants more
than one habitat.
We also try not to
say a word. What you're hunting is
a little turkey. And you wouldn't go
out in the woods being loud hunting
turkeys, especially birds getting a little
pressure. People will slam car doors
and start yapping. One time I was duck
hunting in the Rainwater Basin. It was
glass that day – really quiet. I heard
guys pull up in their truck. I could hear
them once they got out talking, and
I was a half-mile away. At the same
time, I saw pheasants coming out the
other end of the field they were going
to walk, a lot of them, and were birds
these guys were never going to see.
Scott Miller
Hunting Southwestern Nebraska
More times than
not, birds run in
front of you as you
walk a field. And
at the end of that
field, the birds stop
and will usually
wait until flushed. I
have always taught
my boys to stay focused at the very end
of the walk so they can flush birds in
these "funnel" areas.
We also look for small pockets of
fireweed located within or bordering a
crop field. These are hot spots.
A Year for Pheasants
Tips For Hunting Roosters This Season
Story by Jeff Kurrus
Pheasants can be found statewide, with the highest concentrations in the
southwestern region.
20 NEBRASKAland • NOVEMBER 2015
PHOTO
BY
JEFF
KURRUS
