Hunting in the Pheasant Capital of MN, Madelia, MN

It was great to finally get out to the “Honey Hole” this past weekend down by Madelia. I guess not only did I miss out on the 2009 MN Pheasant Opener, but also missed out on the big festivities of the week before. The small adjacent town of Madelia is making a big push to become the Pheasant Capital of MN. I found out the likes of Ron Schara, Bill Sherck and other media people were in town and even hunted on the adjacent land from the Honey Hole for the Opener as Madelia tries to revive their pheasant tradition and hosted PHEASANT PHEST 2009.

Well that was last weekend, this report is about this weekend. For this first MN pheasant hunt of the year, I was joined by no other then the IDO living Legend Gutone4me himself or better known as Gut. I have never hunted with Pat before and I was excited to get down there and get Rufus on some more birds and in better shape before our big South Dakota trip the weekend after. After I got out of the deer stand and encountering a pretty decent 4×4, I met Gut at the truck as we got ready for our pheasant hunt and hit the field shortly after 10:00 am. The weather that day was just about perfect for mid October pheasant hunting with a slight westerly breeze and about 50 degrees. Not to far into our first walk, Rufus flushes up a Rooster in front of me and I was going to let my guest have the first crack at him, until that wise ol’ bird decided to start flying straight away from me. This did not offer Gut a decent shot, so I quickly fired two rounds off as they both found the mark and had this Rooster plummeting towards the ground. I wish I could say this is the way the rest of the day went, but I can’t. We struggled the remainder of the day as we hit the next two birds but could not find them in the very thick cover we were hunting. The whole day it seemed all the birds had the same game plan. They would get up and offer us a straight away shot as we dropped feathers but no birds.

On two other opportunities we had two roosters get up in very close proximity to us, but had no shot. The first opportunity Rufus got his birdy self and started to track one down on the ground when he came to an abrupt stop, turned left and went on point. Gut and I walk up to him, get ready and spread out. I give Rufus the command and he makes his trade mark “POUNCE”, but nothing gets up. Rufus comes backs up in total disbelief that nothing came out. He makes a slight angle adjustment on the bird and he “POUNCES” again. This time up comes a flushing Rooster cackling the whole way out. However, the bird never got too much higher then Rufus’s head as Gut and I are guns up, safety’s off, and have not shot due to close proximity of Rufus. I hear Gut mumble words of frustration as he can’t get a clear shot also. My shot was marginal and could have probably taken it, but not worth it to me. I instantly gained a lot of respect and admiration for Gut passing up that shot. That is one thing I always fear when hunting with a new guy. Is my Dog safe while hunting with this guy??? Gut passed that test right away with flying colors. Could he have shot at that bird and not harmed my dog?? Chances are I would say 97 out of 100 times, Yes. I’m just glad he showed the respect of what may could have happened. The only humor in this is after this whole deal, Rufus comes back with the “look” as he has feathers on his nose.

The other no shot opportunity bird had popped straight up and offered a crossing shot but a truck by passing on the road made us not able to take a shot. We ended up with a pretty sub par day on the Honey Hole standards, as we only saw around 20-22 birds and 11 of those roosters. However, it was still a fun day to see good dog work and spend it with a good buddy. We finished the day with only two birds in our vests and had one very tired and moody pup on our hands as Gut and I headed into town and got a bite to eat.

Day two greeted us with warmer temps reaching the 60’s and the biggest change was the 25 mph Southerly wind that greeted us. It took Rufus a little while to get up and stretch out the ol‘ legs, but once it was game time, he was ready and all business. After a few short passes in the easy stuff we knew we had to hit the thicker stuff again out of that stiff breeze, if we had any chances at putting the :smash : down on any more roosters. So we started with the not real thick stuff and soon had a lab shifting gears and putting it in over drive as his tail started to wag and his darts in became quicker like an NFL receiver coming in and out of his routes. I started to pick up my pace to keep up with him and soon I hear gun shots behind me as I watch a rooster plummet to the ground and another one flushes near where the firs tone landed as I make a long shot attempt on him and miss. Our first bird of the day finds Guts vest as we next hit the bottom of the bowl. This stuff is nasty thick. Rufus kicks up a hen in front of Gut and is heading her direction, when like they so often do a Rooster tries to sneak out the back door. However, Gut is on to this game by now and drops the on his second bird of the day. After another short push with the conditions of the corn being in, the hurricane winds growing, a tired Gut (Pat), Rufus and I call it a day and pack up camp and head for lunch before making the trip home. Like I said, not up to the usual Honey Hole standards but still a great hunt none the less.

This past weekend we found 95% of the beans were harvested in the area and on Sunday the Farmers were just starting to get a jump on the corn before the wet weather sinks in again. Hopefully, they can get a good chunk of corn off around the Honey Hole in the next few days before it gets too wet, as two sides are solid corn Going into this season and not knowing exactly what to expect from my 10 year old lab / best buddy in the stamina and durability department, I was worried he would not have the drive or the endurance to handle a hard all day hunt or hunt multiple days like we did this past weekend. On this two day hunt Rufus answered the above uncertainty and like usual that ol’ boy just continues to amaze me. I would like to thank Gut for joining Rufus and I this past weekend and we look forward to it again in the late season. Hopefully next time, the “Honey Hole” will live up to her name, but it was still a great time. This coming weekend like I mentioned, Rufus, Stacie, and I are off to Hoven, SD to join Stacie’s family for the annual family Pheasant get together on the Frost Family farms. Hopefully some of that corn is off and we get some cooler weather to make it easier on the ol’ pup and this ol’ guy.

For now Rufus and I need to get some rest and some work done, so until next week, Lip is out!

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