Among the larger delights of the outdoor experience is the uncertainty of it all. Put simply, it wouldn’t be nearly as much fun if we knew what awaits us around the next bush, the next cast – even the next season.
As a case in point, could anyone in the midst of last winter’s deadly snow melee have predicted a decent pheasant season, let alone a good one?
Yet when the first area hunters take to the Nebraska grain fields Saturday, chances are good they’ll soon have a long-tailed bird in their sights.
A brutal storm series that covered the midlands in a layer of deep snow for more than two months certainly killed pheasants and even more quail. But almost-perfect spring breeding conditions served to boost numbers back to earlier levels.
The broad prognosis: as good or better than last season.
Hunters who mentally might have packed shotguns away now are scrambling to arrange hunts for a series of season openers that progress to Kansas on Nov. 3 and to Colorado on Nov. 10.
What they’ll find are lots of young birds, which tend to be more vulnerable during those first magic hours of the hunt. Offsetting this advantage is the fact that ample summer rains produced a dense tangle of cover in which to hide.
Pheasant enthusiasts won’t find birds every place they look, just often enough to keep things interesting. That’s the delicious ambiguity of it all.
Colorado. Optimism reigns in the traditional hot spots in eastern Colorado.
“I think it’s going to be a good year,” said Ed Gorman, Colorado Division of Wildlife small game chief. “Although we went into the spring with lower numbers, all that moisture and improved breeding habitat evened things out.”
Gorman said the best hunting will be in that portion of northeast Colorado closest to the borders with Kansas and Nebraska.
“The farther east you go, the better it gets. Basically, it follows a precipitation line,” he said. “There’s a marked difference not only in the amount of cover but also in the number of birds.”
The biologist cautioned hunters not to expect a uniformly broad distribution of pheasants: “Places that normally have birds will have them again. Other locations won’t be nearly as good.”
Even when hunters locate such places, the challenge has just begun.
“The birds have lots of places to hide.”
One of those better locations is the southeast corner of Baca County, which escaped the brunt of that region’s storm.
Quail generally didn’t fare as well. Where bobwhite reproduced well along in the South Platte River, they’ll be hard to find in dense cover, a challenge even to hunters with good pointing dogs.
Scaled quail took a brutal hit for miles either side of the Arkansas River, but fared better in southern Baca County.
Kansas. Geography also plays a large part in the Sunflower State forecast.
“If you draw a line from Oberlin down to the southwest corner of the state, you’ll separate the area where we had the worst problems,” biologist Randy Rodgers said.
That trouble area is to the west of the line, where the worst of the storm raged. It’s also the region most favored by Coloradans eager to get an early start. Still, these places most favored by Colorado hunters have made the same general breeding recovery noted in other places with blizzard impact.
“I’m still fairly pleased with the numbers of birds that survived the storm,” Rodgers said. “It’s not as bad as I feared. Spots that had good survival will be good.”
The Kansas sweet spot will be just east of that line.
“Follow a tier of counties all the way down to Oklahoma. That’s where it should be the very best.”
Rodgers further titillates hunters with the promise that most of the birds will be young and foolish, at least for a couple of days; they should hold tight in the heavy cover. Quail are few west of Rodgers’ line and only average east of it.
Nebraska. For Coloradans eager for that early opener in southwest Nebraska, the news is good: 10 percent more birds than a year ago.
“We had pretty good over-winter survival,” upland game bird chief Jeff Lusk said. “Some of the storms skirted the southwest and we had good nesting conditions, with periodic rainfall.”
Bobwhite enthusiasts will find the region’s highest concentrations in southwest Nebraska. Lusk said coveys in the Republican River bottomlands doubled from last year; quail numbers held steady in the western reaches of the South Platte River drainage.
PHEASANT FACTS
COLORADO
Season: Nov. 10-Jan. 21 east of Interstate 25, Nov. 10-Jan. 6 west of Interstate 25.
Bag limit: Three daily, nine possession.
License cost: $21 for a season resident license, $11 daily.
Quail: Nov. 10-Jan. 6 in the northeast. Nov. 10-Jan. 21 in the southeast. Nov. 10-Jan. 6 in the west. Bag limit 8/24.
KANSAS
Season: Nov. 3-Jan. 31, statewide.
Bag limit: Four daily, 16 possession.
License cost: $70.50 for a nonresident license.
Quail: season Nov. 10-Jan. 31 statewide. Bag limit 8/32.
NEBRASKA
Season: Oct. 27-Jan. 31, statewide.
Bag limit: Three daily, 12 possession.
License cost: $81.50 for a nonresident license.
Quail: Season concurrent with pheasants. Bag limit 6, possession 24.
WALK-IN OPTION
The Colorado Division of Wildlife will provide access to 220,000 acres (up from 206,000) through its Walk-In Access Program. These properties are scattered across the state. The greatest concentration is in Phillips and northern Yuma counties, with a greater emphasis this season on the southeast, where a large acreage was added for dove hunting. Considerable access has been added for waterfowl hunting in western Colorado. The latest issue of the Walk-in booklet, the cropland version, will be available later this week at Division of Wildlife offices and license agencies. Two changes in the arrangement should be noted:
* Everyone who hunts these special access lands must carry a permit, but those under 18 can obtain them free.
* Waterfowl-only properties – primarily in western Colorado – allow access one hour earlier and later than other properties.
FEELING HOSPITABLE
The following eastern Colorado communities offer pheasant hospitality arrangements whereby hunters gain access to land for a fixed fee.
Akron Flying Pheasants: In its 11th season under sponsorship by the Lions Club, this organization provides access for the entire season. The cost is $125, which includes one youth hunter 15 years or younger with each paying adult. Additional youths cost $25. Acreage will be in excess of 40,000 acres, declined to 30,000 this season. Registration may be made to Akron Lions Club, Box 474, Akron 80720, 970-345-2915. Payment may be made online, . Walk-up registration noon-9 p.m. Nov. 9 at Davis Bros. Sinclair, also at 5 a.m. Nov. 10. After opening weekend, a phone arrangement is required.
Burlington Rooster Roundup: This location will provide about 55,000 acres in its 26th season, from Nov. 10-Dec. 9 and costs $100 per person, with one free youth hunter 15 years or younger. Participants get a breakfast, sack lunch and hat. Additional youths cost $15. Registration begins 2 p.m.-midnight Nov. 9 and resumes 4-9 a.m. Nov. 10, at the Comfort Inn on Lincoln Avenue. Reservations must be made by phone thereafter. For information, 719-346-5324 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday or .
Charlie Meyers: 303-954-1609 or cmeyers@denverpost.com
