Hot. Cold. Hot. Cold.
If you’ve done your homework, you’ll recognize this as a scouting report for the upcoming pheasant season in eastern Colorado and those parts of Kansas and Nebraska that attract attention from Front Range enthusiasts.
An overview of pheasant prospects resembles a giant checkerboard, only with the lines blurred into sworls rather than squares. Hot spots here, not so hot there.
To a degree seldom seen in recent years, success will hinge upon the region — or even the small area — a hunter chooses to go. Zones that suffered a drought hangover will offer marginal opportunity. Those that got the moisture right boast perhaps the best populations in a decade.
Pass the geography test and you may find action that approaches the glory days of a quarter-century ago. Conversely, hunters who return to familiar haunts that suffered from a lack of moisture face serious disappointment.
One other element, more temporary, factors into a scenario that began Saturday in Nebraska and continues on consecutive weekends in Kansas and Colorado.
Early openers, coupled with wet autumn conditions, translate to lagging crop harvest. Expect lots of standing corn and milo, places that quickly become refuge for wary birds. In any case, a scouting expedition is in order.
Colorado
The sweet spot here is the eastern edge of a tier of counties that includes Phillips, Sedgwick and that part of Yuma west of the sand hills.
“The farther east you go, the better,” Ed Gorman, state small game chief, said in describing the most favorable moisture pattern. “Those areas could be really good.”
Gorman also projects good hunting in eastern Logan County, but progressively fewer birds in west Logan, Morgan and parts of Washington and Weld.
A similar situation exists in the territory around Burlington and Cheyenne Wells, where the concentration of birds gets better toward the Kansas line.
Extreme southeast Colorado, where a bumper holdover crop of pheasants crashed head-on into one of the worst droughts in memory, holds the biggest disappointment. Except for irrigated areas, nesting success proved abysmal, spoiling what might have been an epic hunt.
“You’ll find some adult birds to chase around, but it’ll require some strategy,” Gorman advised. “Smart old birds make mistakes, too, just not as many as hunters.”
Heavy rains in August and September caused a surge of weed growth all across eastern Colorado, a major benefit in helping to locate birds. DOW will offer approximately 220,000 acres for its Walk-In Access Program. Expect an atlas at license dealers soon.
• Quail: The southeast drought effectively stifled any hope for a scaled quail recovery. Bobwhite numbers are stable along the South Platte River and other northeast water courses, but cover will be dense.
Nebraska
Hunters who turned out for Saturday’s opener found the best populations in a decade in the area around McCook. Jeff Lusk, upland game program manager, touted Furnas, Dundy and Harlan counties for the best of a population surge that ranks more than 20 percent above both the 5- and 10-year averages.
• Quail: A severe winter compounded by a too-wet spring drove bobwhite numbers down 30 percent along the western Platte River Valley, 25 percent along the Republican.
Kansas
“Northwest Kansas probably will see the best pheasant hunting in 20 years,” declared upland bird chief Randy Rod-gers.
Again, the bounty will not be uniform. The best will follow a zigzag path southeast from Rawlings County to Ford and Kiowa counties on the far south, then back north to the Nebraska border and then west again.
“Everything inside that area looks very good,” Rodgers said.
Alas, the very best counts don’t include the extreme northwest tier of counties favored by many Coloradans. Here, prospects are merely good.
Rodgers advised that up to 80 percent of the milo crop will not be harvested.
“That’s going to have a negative effect on hunter success.”
• Quail: South central Kansas holds the most birds, followed by north central. Populations are thin in the extreme west.
Charlie Meyers: 303-954-1609 or cmeyers@denverpost.com
Pheasant Facts
COLORADO
Season: Nov. 8-Jan. 9 east of Interstate 25, Nov. 8-Jan. 4 west of I-25.
Bag limit: Three daily, nine possession.
Quail: Nov. 8-Jan. 4 in the northeast. Nov. 8-Jan. 19 in the southeast. Nov. 8-Jan. 4 in the west. Bag limit eight, possession 24 of each species.
License cost: $21 for a season resident license, $11 daily, $1 youth. Licenses available online.
KANSAS
Season: Nov. 1-Jan. 31, statewide.
Bag limit: Four daily, 16 possession.
Quail: Nov. 8-Jan. 31 statewide. Bag limit: eight, possession 32.
License cost: $70.00 for a nonresident license. A nonresident youth license, 15 and under, costs $35.50.
NEBRASKA
Season: Through Jan. 31, statewide.
Bag limit: Three daily, 12 possession.
Quail: Season concurrent with pheasants. Bag limit: six, possession 24.
License cost: $81.00 for a nonresident license, plus a $16 habitat stamp. Two-day nonresident license available Nov. 26-Dec. 31, $36. Licenses available online.
FEELING HOSPITABLE
The following eastern Colorado communities offer pheasant hospitality arrangements whereby hunters gain access to a quantity of land for a fixed fee:
Akron Flying Pheasants: In its 12th season under sponsorship by the Lions Club, this organization provides access for the entire season on approximately 43,000 acres. The cost is $125, which includes one youth hunter 15 years or younger with each paying adult. Additional youths cost $25. Acreage: Registration may be made to Akron Lions Club, Box 474, Akron 80720, phone 970-345-2915 or . Walk-up registration noon-9 p.m., Nov. 7 and continues at 5 a.m., Nov. 8 at the Akron Senior and Community Center. After opening weekend, a phone arrangement is required.
Burlington Rooster Roundup: Approximately 55,000 acres will be available for the 27th year of operation during a Nov. 8-Dec. 7 time frame. A cost of $100 includes one youth hunter 15 years or younger, a breakfast, box lunch and hat. Additional youths cost $15. Walk-up registration 2:30-midnight, Nov. 7; 4:30-9 a.m., Nov. 8; by phone thereafter. Call 719-346-5324 8 a.m.-5 p.m., or visit .
