Info on Troy public hunting grounds

Not often enough. I do not have the schedule whenthey drop them because it varies. I can tell you that 3 years ago they stocked a lot more. The WDNR got a new land person in the area and they resized the huntable area and cut the stocked birds in troy by over half. Not to say they are not in there, but they are slim. I will tell you that if you aren't there within 1-2 days after they are released, they tend to go into the forest at the far North end of the parcel. I used to hit this spot frequently and now maybe once or twice a year. If you are looking to see birds, you're close to kettle and they stock a lot more up there. Good luck

Troy Wildlife Area in Walworth County used to be my all time favorite place to hunt put-and-take pheasants. It was actually one of the first places I hunted when I was a kid. The parcel off Highway A with the long access lane was the best area. The DNR used to dump the birds out in the tall grass field at the end of the access lane. The tall grass field usually held a few birds, but they would scatter around into the woods to the north and into the farm fields to the west. The farm fields to the west of the property used to all be leased for public hunting. Not all the farm fields are open to the public any longer, there are now houses built on the opposite side of the farm fields. In my opinion, this place lost its charm when the houses got built to the west and the farm fields were no longer open to hunting. I shot more birds over the years on what used to be the leased land than the DNR land. It can get to be kind of a jungle back there if you hike to the north through the woods toward Honey Creek, but the property holds deer, turkeys, wild pheasants, and is an excellent place for woodcock. There are also some old cars and other scrap on the property that makes the place kind of interesting. The DNR property is actually large (apx. 400 acres). In addition to the highway A parcel, there are two more accessible DNR parcels. One on Hodges Road, and one on Peck Station Road. Both these places used to hold a few wild pheasants and get a couple of pheasants stocked on them also. The Sugar Creek runs through Hodges Road parcel. Both these properties are small, <100 acres. The Hodges Road parcel has easy walking dry land on the south end, it gets pretty thick and wet as you head toward the north end. Both are nice properties if you have a good dog and don’t mind risking getting your leg soaked if you take a wrong step. I’ve been there on opening day of pheasant season and had the property to myself at 2 PM, all the guys that started at noon got their birds already but there were still birds left over. There used to be more leased land off of Highway A and Peck Station roads toward the east. Some is still there, but again it’s not as extensive as it used to be. I think that the DNR has long term ambitions to acquire more land and restore wetlands along both the Sugar Creek and Honey Creek corridors in Walworth County, but I haven’t seen anything new happening at this property. Their effort most recently in Walworth County has focused on Turtle Valley and Beulah Station. I live in Racine Co, but I prefer to drive out to some of the properties in Walworth, Rock, and Jefferson Counties rather than fight crowds at places closer to home like Bong or Tichigan. If you are new to pheasant hunting in WI and are looking for information on places to try for wild birds or put-and-take birds on public land, send me a message and I’ll try to point you in the right direction.