# How was open day?



## fishunt

I got three pheasants , two sharp tail grouse and one rabbit today.. It is great and great dog. I drove all around and try out each plots land and state land finally I got it just lucky right spots where I went


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## holmsvc

Kicked up alot more hens than roosters today. We still managed to get some roosters. The groups shooting could have been better but we had a lot of birds getting up along ways away. We also were alittle late getting out and people were already in the plots we wanted to walk.


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## wishiniwerefishin

Saw over 100 birds, most all flushing wildly. No dog, so hard to pick up the stragglers. Knocked 2 down, but not good shots, so birds were running in the corn after coming down, couldnt find them. Missed 2 others, not shootin too well quite yet. Way too much corn to be out without a dog, will go again next weekend and try it again.


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## mdurbahn

look what i found


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## fishunt

wow that is very rare to see white pheasant good job u got him :beer:


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## strand

I actually got a rooster in the Grand Forks area yesterday, nice coloration with an 18" tail. I think it was natural as it was a long way from the game farm.


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## curty

nice bird!!! you getting him mounted??That would be a dandy one for the wall!


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## mdurbahn

yep my buddy is getting him mounted, that is the only non freaking looking albino anything I have seen...


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## Remmi_&amp;_I

Youngest group of birds I can ever remember. Unreal how late the hatch was!


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## Remmi_&amp;_I

We limited out on Saturday and Sunday. Had to work much harder than I expected but that is alright. Poor dog got worn down..........we seemed to be finding the birds in really heavy cover, including cattails that were about 8 feet tall and thick.

I thought my pup was conditioned pretty well, but that thick-dense cover wore her out quickly...........not to mention the heat so we hunted for about 2 hours in the morning and 1 hour in the evening so they could take a break.

Remmi's Grade = B ** some nice points and her very first water retrieve! Not bad considering I can barely get her to swim at all.

My grade = B- ** someone took the bb's out of my shells saturday morning, but put them back in Saturday evening and Sunday.


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## mburgess

Good weekend, tons of birds, shot a lot of big ones this weekend.


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## fishunt

good everyone have a great weekend but too many hunters


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## njsimonson

Is that a white pheasant or just a funny looking juvie? I shot one juvie that was still grey and white on the head this weekend but had a body (but not tail) color similar to that one.

16 roosters between 6 of us on Saturday, 4 between five of us on Sunday. A great start to the season, but not the bonanza we saw out west last opener. I'll take what I can get! It really was an awesome time with friends and family.


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## mburgess

Give it a couple weeks and you won't hardly see any other hunters and the fields will be all to ourselves and that is when real pheasant hunting starts.


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## DeltaBoy

Talked to a farmer from Hebron and he said it was the worst season yet...

Sat. they shot 8 mature birds and on Sunday they shot 6 birds. They had 8 guys ready to shoot, but not many birds around.

I would think the birds should be around with the lame winters we have had the past couple of years. I guess time will tell...


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## Remmi_&amp;_I

Heard a similar report from a friend that hunts near Glen Ullin. They had 7 guys and shot 16 roosters saturday. Apparently they usually fill out in a little more than an hour at their "secret spot". I think all the standing crop has quite a bit to do w/it !


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## Brad Anderson

Yep, it is a real albino pheasant.

My brother shot him. Any genetics majors out there. What is the chance of a albino pheasant, yet an albino rooster??

He froze him before I got to see what the eye color was. I've heard that albino pheasants can have pink, blue, or even regular eye color.


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## labman

We hunted on public land and found the brids in the dryed up lake beds we shot 23 on sat and 20 on Sun by 3pm lots of young brids but easy to spot colot.


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## strand

Deltaboy, last winter was excruciating on on the wildlife in ND. The numbers are down an incredible amount compared to last year.

Either way there is still good shooting to be had and like MBurgess said give it a little time there are lots of guys who go out for the opener and maybe one more early season weekend then hang it up for the year.

That's when the real shootin' starts. :lol:


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## mallardhunter

Good job guys. Our pheasant season opens this weekend. Nice birds, my uncle shot one last year, but it wasn't that white.


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## Maverick

2 albino Pheasants in one state, and taken the same year? What are the chances. You guys should find out how far apart they were shot?


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## labman

We have to understand that the weather was pretty hot and windy for the opener. I thought there were alot of brids out there I have hunted the area that we were at for 10 yrs and it was about the same as yrs gone past. We had to work hard.


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## njsimonson

Brad -

That's the same bird as pictured above with the partridge correct?

If it is an adult, then it probably is a morph.

Interesting specimen, must have been exciting!


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## Bigdog

Were hunting in marginal pheasant country - around Robinson, but managed 5 for 2 guys and a dozen sharpies.


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## KEN W

Hunted the SW over the weekend.Very dry.Bird numbers were way down compared to past years.

Dogs helped a lot,but even they lost some because of how dry it was.They were on the spot in seconds and still lost some.


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## Ryan_Todd

one of the guys at work went down by mott this weekend and said that the bird numbers were way down from previous years. he also said a lot of crp was cut and it was very dry.


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## DJRooster

i thought it was rather tough hunting on the opener and quite frankly was disappointed in the number of birds that I saw. I too thought it was real dry and windy particularly on Sunday and tough for the dog to pick up scent. Sat. was a little better because there was a light frost and associated dew on the grass. Things should get better as the season progresses.


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## Shorelunch

My cousin and I hunted west-central. I've been hunting out there for over 20 years (wow, am I getting too old). We saw quite a few birds and not too many hunters and had some good luck.

There were a lot of very young roosters and hens. It was difficult to tell the difference most of the time so we let them fly - but I would bet that most of them were roosters. Oh well. More for everyone else and the population.


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## Ryan.Anderson

I'm the pile with the albino pictured above a couple of times. That was the only pheasant me n my buddy managed to get (We decided afterwards that we'd tell everyone that we only hunt albino animals). Way to windy to get them to fly close to us, plus it was only the two of us which makes it difficult to get anything to fly. Will have to wait a couple of more weekends before I get some wild white meat of my own on the grill.


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## mdurbahn

ando what are you hunting this weekend?


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## Bob Kellam

By RICHARD HINTON, Bismarck Tribune 
MOTT -- That Mott's the spot for pheasant hunters was clearly evident on Sunday. Blaze orange was the color of the day, and dog crates nestled in cargo areas of hunting rigs were the accessory of choice.

At G & L Bird Cleaning, Gilbert Mehrer and his son, Carvel, were awaiting another day's worth of work. The Mehrer family had been hard at it on opening day.

Successful hunters started dropping off birds about 11 a.m., and the Mehrers stayed busy until after 10 p.m. They cleaned just more than 100 birds, Gilbert Mehrer said, "about half as many as last year."

Of course, they were cleaning birds until 2:30 in the morning last year, too, Mehrer said.

Gilbert Mehrer, who is the chief deputy sheriff in Hettinger County, takes a week off to operate the business with his wife, Loretta, who was at church Sunday morning. Carvel Mehrer comes up from Hettinger to help out.

The Mehrers get $3 a bird for their services, which include cleaning, bagging and freezing customers' birds.

Hunter numbers seemed to be the same as last year, Gilbert Mehrer said, but most hunting parties were coming in "one or two birds short (of being limited out)."

Three Minnesota hunters were their first customers Sunday morning, dropping off eight ringneck roosters and picking up the eight they had left for cleaning and processing on Saturday.

"The birds ain't too plentiful," said Paul Rick, of Pelican Rapids, Minn.

Closer to town, at the Tesoro gas station, where a sign in the window advertised shotgun shells for sale, Jim Jahner agreed that hunters were having to work harder to get their birds.

At the Lucky Strike across the street, owners Paula and Roger Vohlen were catching their breaths after a breakfast rush of hunters that started about 6 a.m. and kept going until around 9 a.m.

"Hunters want their breakfast," said Paula Vohlen.

The Vohlens serve breakfast only during the first weeks of pheasant season, opening at 6 a.m. and closing at 10 p.m. The rest of the year, the Lucky Strike is on a lunch-and-dinner schedule.

Paula Vohlen pointed to a cold spring and dry summer for the lower pheasant numbers, adding that she heard "no complaints about hunters not getting their limits."

Hunters certainly were abundant. As Sunday morning wound toward lunch time on Main Street, groups of blaze-orange-clad hunters trickled into the Pheasant Cafe. Parking spaces in front of the Lucky Strike also were at a premium.

A few blocks east on state Highway 8, which takes travelers north to Richardton and Interstate 94, the Cenex also was doing a lively business that appeared to be a mix of residents and pheasant hunters.

While gasoline was a popular purchase, soft drinks and pizza slices also were in demand, especially among younger hunters, dressed with splashes of orange visible.

After buying ice, Jim Evanoff, of Mustang, Okla., and his partner were heading off to launch their pheasant season.

He said he's had reservations and stayed at the Mott Motel for 10 years. He spends opening day scouting and noting names and telephone numbers on the numerous posted signs.

Generally, he said, he pays for hunting privileges.

At the Tailfeather Inn, where guests are offered a "private fee hunting list," Mark Wiegand, one of the owners, was starting his second year as co-owner of the inn, which once was a convent.

The fee-hunting list, he said, is an avenue to connect hunters with area farmers.

"They pay less than they would with an outfitter," he said.

Wiegand, who lives in Flagstaff, Ariz., most of the year, said hunting was better on the north side of Mott on opening weekend.

Kent Albrecht, a Milwaukee-area chiropractor, is part of a group of chiropractors that bought hunting land in the Mott area.

He was cleaning out his vehicle after a morning duck hunt.

The changes in the state's nonresident regulations are hurting the Mott area, he said. The Private Lands Open to Sportsmen -- which are closed to nonresident hunters for the first week of pheasant season -- were "untouched" this opening weekend, he said.

About 35 miles north of Mott, at the Cenex station in Richardton, Carl Voegele was gassing up his vehicle before returning home to Faribault, Minn., after opening the season in North Dakota.

He acknowledged "getting a few" birds.

The problem, he said, was too many young birds.

"Someone had to call them because you couldn't see their color," he explained.

Roger Hinnrichs, of Red Lake Falls, Minn., agreed with Albrecht's sentiments, saying he was unhappy he couldn't hunt state land for the first week.

"It cuts into where we can hunt," he said. "We drove by four or five pieces of PLOTS, and there were no hunters. I don't know who they are saving it for."

Corey Lee also was filling his gas tank before heading home to Jamestown. He was among a six-hunter party in Hettinger.

"We didn't limit, but it went pretty well." he said, "It's enjoyable. There are nice people there."

A sentiment no doubt shared through North Dakota's pheasant country.

(Reach reporter Richard Hinton at 250-8256 or [email protected].)


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## Remmi_&amp;_I

*FROM THE TRIBUNE ARTICLE:*


> "It cuts into where we can hunt," he said. "We drove by four or five pieces of PLOTS, and there were no hunters. I don't know who they are saving it for."


I have a hard time believing that is true because I have hunted in that area on opening weekends and it was crazy. But if it is true, it is because the G/O and other fee hunting has driven residents (and their $$) out of that area!


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## Ryan.Anderson

going muley bowhunting this weekend durbahn. i'm only going for albino muledeer


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## PJ

Nic pics. I have heard of a few albinos in the state. Wurd


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## duxnbux

I didn't make it out after pheasants on opening weekend but heard the same news....'tougher than anticipated'. With the combination of lots of crops still standing and the hot/windy conditions it just wasn't the perfect opener.


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## indsport

For the first time in twelve years, did not stay overnight in the Grant/Hettinger county areas (sorry local services) for our usual hunt. Hunted a full day during this midweek on Plots land across both counties and saw less than 10 total pheasants where we would get limits of birds in previous years. Posting is increasing. The only good thing was seeing only two other groups of hunters all day but their reports were slim and none respectively. What we predicted 10 years ago to come to pass has come to pass. No birds + no access = no business.


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## Field Hunter

"It cuts into where we can hunt". Welcome to the Club! Did you ever think of coming out the following weekend? You know the season runs until January 2 this year. And as said above....many of us residents have grown weary of traveling out west and having little of no access when we get there. I host a bunch of friends from out of state every year and we have no trouble filling limits after the initial rush of the opening dayers is over. And...we rarely hunt any state land!


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## Brad Anderson

FROM THE TRIBUNE ARTICLE: Quote: 
"It cuts into where we can hunt," he said. "We drove by four or five pieces of PLOTS, and there were no hunters. I don't know who they are saving it for."

You gotta be joking. The first morning there were ND residents lined up waiting to hunt the plots. Whoever said there was nobody hunting the plots is wrong. Maybe at that exact time, there was nobody hunting the plots, but I can say they got pounded this last week. I know cause I hunted this whole last week. Saturday through friday, SOLID.

Then comes the issue of double walking plots. If you see a large group walking some land, do you go right in behind them and walk the same land? NO, or at least I won't.

Just goes to show, somebody will always complain about something. SAD

NJS, it is the same albino pheasant. My brother and matt durbahn harvested the specimen.


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## mdurbahn

you hunting this weekend brad?


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## Brad Anderson

Nope. Let the weekend warriors have at em'.


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## pheasantslayer

Had a pretty successful pheasant hunt on opening weekend. Had four guys and three dogs and managed to get our birds within a couple of hours both days. Also got 3 partridge and 9 ducks on the Saturday. I would have to say that the bird numbers are down somewhat in the western part of the state, but the numbers are still overall fairly decent. I think that people will be surprised at the number of birds out there when they start grouping up later on in the year.


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## Remmi_&amp;_I

How was weekend #2? I really didn't come across too many NR's this weekend...........did anyone see many?

Came across two trucks from Michigan that were doing a pheasant/waterfowl hunt. Man did they have a trailer full of dekes!


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## indsport

Saw one location with 4 non res Chevy Suburbans, full of hunters ~20 total hunters, push a quarter section of CRP (non plots) but that was an exception rather than the rule. Generally light traffic this past weekend, but Minn. Educ. Assoc. (MEA) is this coming weekend so expect to see many more MN hunters.


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## fishunt

yesterday morning I see 59 pheasants in one bush I never see sooo many ... we got limits pheasants and one huge heavy cottontail rabbit and limits ducks yesterday .. it was a great day at the first snow!!!


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## mallardhunter

Well it went pretty good Saturday, we were 4 birds short, but we got one grouse and we all had fun. I got to watch my sister shoot her frist pheasant. I couldn't go Sunday because I got sick uke: , but my dad and my cousin only got 3 pheasants. Looks like they need me to go with.


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## fishunt

....oops


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## DJRooster

Had a nice father son hunt on Sun. in the snow. Yes we did well for birds but it doesn't really matter because it doesn't get any better that father, son and the family dog. This morning I have to work so it is son, Grandpa and the family dog. What more can you ask for!! Thank you North Dakota!!


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## Remmi_&amp;_I

Fishunt, why did you post the same report twice? Just curious, you must have been really excited to see those darn rooties!


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## fishunt

sorry I didnt see my posted until I find out it was at second page oops hehehe... ohh yes I was exicted about my dog and pheasants hunting. My dog is doing well and much better... she was nutty for pheasants and nice cooler weather for my dog instead of too hot for her


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## Remmi_&amp;_I

I just wanted to give ya a little hell about it!


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## Bob Kellam

Talked with some Local people from Mott today, Bird Numbers are down. Few young birds, Said wet cold spring was to blame.

I wonder if the count being down had anything to do with the *Record *rooster harvest last year?

Bob


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## jrader

Went out to Hazen this past weekend. Scared up a decent amount of birds for as much standing sunflower fields there were. Shooting percentages were way down.... :eyeroll: We still bagged a few and had a good time. Plan on going out when a little snow shows up and crops are off.

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