Sauvie's Island fee pheasant hunt.

2LEYS · 09-16-2003, 07:09 AM

What are the details here? Do you just show up and hunt? Is there a slim chance of gettint in or what? Abd 75 hunters? Will you be running into each other?0.

Lured In · 09-16-2003, 07:41 AM

I have hunted this since its inception at Sauvie 2-3 years ago. It has progressively gotten more crowded, but if you can pick when you are there, you can enjoy a fun hunt.

Generally, Saturday mornings are the most crowded (big suprise). Please wear Hunter Orange and be aware of the background behind the bird you are shooting at. I have gotten peppered from less than a hundred yards when a bird flushed behind some hunters to my right. They spun and shot right at me. :shocked:

[img]graemlins/1zhelp.gif[/img] I really enjoy hunting in the evening or even a mid-day hunt during the week when possible. A dog is not a must, but can radically improve your odds as most of the birds are in the corn and/or milo.

We have had days where we have walked every unit and hunted for 4 hours and then whammo, find the birds and we are done in 10 minutes. The staff our there is pretty good about spreading the birds out, but some units seem to be more consistent than others.

There are two check in stations, both on the eastside (the hunt is exclusively on the eastside units). One at the Willow Bar parking lot (on the right) and one at the Eastside Bird Checkstation (white building on left). The check in cards are numbered and limited to 75 at a time. They are replenished during the day as people check out. Usually they get them restocked on the weekends by 1100am or so. These are the same "self-check" cards as other public hunt areas, but they are date stamped. So don't try to bring one from another unit/area.

Good luck and we will see you out there.

2LEYS · 09-16-2003, 08:00 AM

Will probably do a thurs or fri 2 guys no dog. So I hope to get in pretty quick. Thanks for the advice.

flatcoat · 09-16-2003, 08:52 AM

There's a lot of cover out there in Sept.(head high corn, reed canary grass, blackberries, etc. Hard to imagine consistently getting birds w/o a dog. Birds most accessible in early AM then seem to burrow into the heavy cover. They emerge from the heavy stuff later in the day especially if there are sunbreaks. There are some foodplots on the south side of McNary that attract a few birds that are run out of stocked units (Footbridge, Deadwillow, and Mudhen. Weekdays are definitely less crowded and enjoyable. Hint: on weekends, get to the self-checking stations well prior to shooting time or you may not get a permit card until later that morning when another hunter leaves the Eastside unit. Wear hunter orange for self preservation - Hunters of varying skill and knowledge levels are out there. Orange on dog wouldn't hurt either. Seek out water frequently for the dogs. It can be quite hot in the afternoon for weekend-hunter dogs. A great way to scout the different Eastside units prior to waterfowl season. The dogs could care less that these are pen-raised birds. All fun to them. Need to quit hunting at 6:00 PM - different than the 4:00 PM closing for waterfowl at Sauvie. Pheasants released after 6:00 PM each nite. HIP vaidated license and a special two-pheasant tag required. Have fun, this is a good deal for the hunter who has no access to private land.

rockn'reel · 09-17-2003, 06:26 PM

Hey guys I thought I would go out and do this hunt tomorrow since you made it sound so exciting! I read the regs and it said it opens on sauvies on the 22nd of this month. am I reading this correctly or are there new dates?

Lured In · 09-17-2003, 08:02 PM

Yep, opens on the 22nd, following the youth hunts (pheasant/waterfowl) over the weekend.

One more thought for the "dogless". Before I got my pup, I had the best success "glassing" the roads between the fields. Most of the units have dirt roads that are closed to vehicles. If you wait long enough, they will pop across.

[img]graemlins/dork.gif[/img]

Cutthroat_Behavior · 09-17-2003, 08:18 PM

Anyone hunted the Fern Ridge fee pheasnt hunt?

flatcoat · 09-18-2003, 01:47 PM

Hunted Fern Ridge once. The Fisher Butte unit has some "native" habitat just north of the hiway that isn't too junglely and is fairly easy to work out. Further north, lots of this unit is dense cattails that probably doesn't hold many birds and would be very difficult to hunt. I opted to hunt the cultivated ag fields in the Coyote units south of the Hiway and did well.

Fern Ridge is much "cleaner" than E.E. Wilson in that there are far fewer blackberries. In that sense, it is easier to hunt than Wilson and not as hard on the dogs.

"Flatcoat"

2LEYS · 09-20-2003, 05:10 PM

Can you buy the parking permit and pheasant tag there or do you have to buy them prior from a liscense agent?

Lured In · 09-20-2003, 08:44 PM

The pheasant tag will need to be purchased at *** agent. The parking permit can be purchased either daily or annually at a *** agent. You can also get a parking permit at the Sauvie Island store right after you come off the bridge. (only open during daylight hours.)