Northeast Illinois Pheasant Hunting

I live in Northeast Illinois and am relatively new to pheasant hunting. This is my 5th season and second with my own dog. I spend most of my time hunting in Walworth County Wi because of the public land available. Does anyone have any suggestions about availabe land in Northeast Il, besides the chain of lakes park lottery system? If anyone wants to group up, that woudl be great. My dog is an Irish Setter and for being a pup is pretty solid.

You are only a couple of miles from the Halter Wildlife Preserve which releases thousands of pheasants every year for well heeled club hunters from Illinois. I have seen birds running around by the outlet malls north of Russell road up there. The club is right behind it. about 1800 acres LOADED with birds. I hunted there on a company outing once. It was crazy. Looks like the one running around your neighborhood got away or had parents that escaped the gun last season. Cool to see.

Must be one of those plaster yard decorations...

Last Friday morning driving through my neighborhood (Beach Park) something caught the corner of my eye. I couldn't believe it. This rooster was running between houses and up and down the sidewalk. Short tail feathers so I think he is pretty young but cool to see. Who knows, maybe this is the beginning of the resurrection of the pheasant population in Northeast Il. Now if we only had somewhere to hunt.

I'm in McHenry Co too. Strange way to look at it but I guess I have COL right down the road and a few put and take areas just over the border too. I don't like it but it could be worse. The dogs don't know they're stocked birds-I assume they smell the same as wild birds. I do this more to watch them do what they do than for myself..

Bdub,

I live in McHenry County, and I know what you are talking about. I grew up near Yorkville in the '60's; used to get home from school in early November, grab the .410, and get rabbits or roosters without a whole lot of effort. My Dad and his cronies would always go out to Pontiac, Illinois on Opening day; always saw hundreds of birds if not to daresay thousands! Remember back when there were 3 bird limits too!

I too, think we have a raptor problem that is making an impact on Wild Birds; both Hawks and some Owls are getting the poults. Also another factor is the Raccoons getting into the eggs in the Spring. While there are a few decent clubs around the area, I really hate to pay money to hunt....but this is becoming the all too common way to take Upland game in Illinois....Good Luck with your Season!

I figured I'd give a little update on my luck with the permit selection in our great State. This was my first attempt of obtaining a hunting permit in Il so I followed the recommended instructions on the DNR website. 24 days and times I selected in different areas. I selected locations mostly in Lee County to try and keep my drive time to less than 3.5 hours.

Survey says- Nadda. There were no permits available. I wish we could get some leadership in this State to fix this system. What a joke. I was told I could go to a "managed" pheasant area which is $25 a day. Illinois can shove it. If I'm going to pay, I'll drive 2 hours to Ft. Atkinson in Wi and hunt at Dark Acres, you don't need a membership and I'd rather my money goes to good people, not the crooks in Springfield.

To those of you who did receive a permit - Good luck and happy hunting.

Sorry for the rant, I feel better now.

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll hop on the IDNR site and try to get lucky. My Grandpa was a chicago police officer and worked security at the train yards at nights. My Dad would tell stories when he was a teenager that they would go pheasant hunting at the train yards in the city. Times have definitely changed.

As for the hunting in Walworth, take a look at the WDNR website. There are three different spots in Walworth that the DNR plants birds in on a weekly basis. If you have a problem finding the locations, let me know and I'll try to get you some directions. Of the three locations, I like Clover and Kettle the best.

I think the hawks do a hell of a lot of damage as well. I was out hunting in western Illinois two winters ago after a fresh snow. Found more than 30 freshly killed birds in the snow. Did not flush a single live bird in four hours. Hawks were flying everywhere. They're protected I guess so they can kill more birds in an afternoon than I can even flush.

Birdy, As a kid in the early 50's, I remember my Dad getting on the North Ave. bus in Chitcago with his s/s, uncased, and ride to the end of the line, which I think was Austin. He'd hunt all day and ride back with his two roosters and a few rabs. Hard to believe have much we've "progressed" during my lifetime. There are other issues at work, though, in the pheasant population. Still lots of cover out there that would hold birds, even in and near urban areas, but there's nothing there anymore. I live SW of Chitcago and there's thousands of acres of long-time fallow fields that ought to have birds, but I haven't seen a wild pheasant around here in years. Cats, coyotes, global warming???

Deskjockey;

Isn't it sad what pheasant hunting has become in Illinois? There used to be pheasant fields right around the corner from where we currently live. The state sucks. Urban sprawl destroyed all the habitat and the politicians make CRP impossible.

I live a mile from COL state park so Im in there quite a bit. Wild birds? Youll have to drive quite a ways.

Decent public land access in NE Illinos? Ain't gonna happen. Other than the daily fee hunt at the State Park ($25, in advance, no refunds, thank you Gov. Quinn) there's not much to hope for. The drawing for free permits at various sites throughout the state is open now in the IDNR website. Green River near Dixon has very nice cover and lots of acreage. Check out the areas on line, put in your applications (do multiple- lots of competition) and cross your fingers. Have your hunting buds do the same so you can go on each others permits on different dates. If you don't mind driving a bit you should be able to get some decent shoots in. Weekdays, you should have no prob getting on on standby at DesPlaines near Wilmington. Still $25 there- no freebies. You can get multiple permits in advance after the 1st and 2nd drawings. Pretty much all week days should have open permits at that time. Pay in advance, no refunds. PM me if youn have a prob getting into the website. Good luck!

BDub. Where in Walworth county are you finding good public hunting land for pheasants? We have a place there and I cannot figure out where to go. Is Scuppernong still in Walworth county?

Best bet is to go to the IDNR website and under hunting,scroll down to public hunting areas.That will give you a list and location of areas in N.E. IL.Beautiful setter by the way!