Pheasant Hunting & 2025 So Far Season Overview

Full transcript for Episode 39: Pheasant Hunting & 2025 So Far Season Overview.

Tyce

Hey everyone, welcome to the Bird Dog Podcast. My name is Tyce. Today I want to give a brief overview of how the 2025 fall season has been shaping up out here in Utah, and then share some pheasant hunting tips that I think are worth knowing whether you're new to pheasants or just haven't done much of it.

Starting with doves: this was probably the worst dove opener I can remember in my area. Not a lot of birds around at all. We had a cut wheat field drawing some birds and still only managed about 16 on the opener. Whether they had a poor nesting season or pushed south early with weather, I'm not sure. If you had collar doves in your area, those can be a good late-season addition — they're invasive, no season, unlimited, and good for dog training and table. I have some showing up around me and hopefully they group up and hit some corn fields.

Grouse: average to maybe slightly below average from what I'm seeing and hearing. I went back into a spot I'd hunted about ten years ago, put in seven miles, and knocked down two rough grouse. That same area used to produce limits. There are pockets where guys are getting into good numbers, but it's not an everywhere kind of year. If you find birds, make a note of it and go back.

Chucker: this is the bright spot. Average to above average in many areas, and I'm hearing some really solid reports in parts of the west. Best game bird opportunity in Utah right now. Put the boots on, get into steep country, and you'll find birds if they're there. Waterfowl has been average to below average so far — locals got hammered early and things have been quiet mid-October. Migration is just starting to push in as weather moves south from Montana, so the timing is actually good right now to get after ducks and geese. The back half of the season is usually better anyway.

On pheasants: wild bird populations in Utah are down from historical highs, but they're not gone. You just have to work for them. The best wild bird areas I've found are places most people bypass — benches around cities, scrub oak edges, brushy terrain that looks thin. There are birds holding in those spots. Make sure you're not hunting inside city limits, but don't overlook that marginal-looking ground near populated areas. Birds survive there because they don't get much pressure.

The single best wild pheasant habitat in Utah is the marshland edge around the Great Salt Lake and similar lake systems. Cattails, tall grass, dense cover — that's where roosters hide. A dog that will get into that cover and work it is worth its weight in gold for this kind of hunting. Those birds have real escape cover to work with, but a good nose and a dog willing to push through thick stuff will find them.

Fish & Game plants pheasants on walk-in access areas through the season. Check their website for the schedule — they typically release birds around Thursday so they're available for weekend hunters. If you can hunt a low-traffic area shortly after a plant, you can have a genuinely good shoot. Some of those areas in less populated parts of the state hold birds really well and don't get much attention.

One pheasant hunting tip that makes a big difference: block your brush lines. Roosters run. If you're pushing a hedge line or a strip of cattails and nobody is standing at the far end, birds will sprint out the bottom and disappear before you ever get a shot. Put blockers at the end. That pressure from both sides pins the birds. They'll hunker down and hold, and you get your shots when they finally flush — either coming up at the blockers or coming back toward the pushers. Even one blocker is better than none.

Also: don't leave the end of a run too quickly. Educated roosters, especially on pressured ground, will hold tight and let hens flush first. You push through, think it's over, and the rooster comes up at the very back of the cover right where you stopped pushing. Tromp through the brush at the end. Get the dog into every pocket. Old birds are smart and they know that most hunters give up too soon. Thanks for listening.