NOVEMBER
Pheasants At Willow Slough FWA
Located in Newton County, Willow Slough FWA is multi-faceted in terms of a public property where you can hunt pheasants. At this FWA, it is not uncommon for pheasant hunters to bag a few wild birds, and put-and-take pheasant hunting is conducted here as well. And, at 9,956 acres, Willow Slough is also one of the larger FWAs in the state.

Adding more ways to pheasant hunt, The Nature Conservancy partners with the DFW at Willow Slough on property located on the east and west sides of state Route (SR) 41 at Willow Slough. The property on the east side of SR 41 is known as the Sands.

Pheasant hunters going after wild birds are permitted to hunt on the Sands approximately every other day. The Sands is not hunted every day in order to reduce hunting pressure. If you want to hunt this property, be sure to call ahead to determine the scheduling.

“If you have a dog that’s able to bust some brush, and you’re willing to do some walking, you can score some wild pheasants at the Slough,” said avid upland hunter Jim Whitted of Valparaiso.

One of the areas that often “hold” wild pheasants is Area 13 on the north end of the property. And, as Whitted alluded to, if you’re willing to do some walking, it just might pay off. Other good areas at Willow Slough to try are areas 4 and 10 by Pogue Marsh.

If the wild bird hunting doesn’t pan out, Willow Slough is a participant in the put-and-take hunts. Typically, these hunts start on the first Saturday before Thanksgiving and run for nine days. Hunters should (beginning on about Sept. 1 until noon on Nov. 25) reserve their hunt via the Internet at: www.in.gov/dnr/indianaoutdoor.

The (typical) cost for put-and-take hunting is $15 for two birds. In the put-and-take hunts, ringnecks and hens are both legal to shoot. After the nine days of put-and-take hunting, a form of hunting called the clean-up pheasant hunt is conducted. During clean-up hunts, sportsmen may bag the put-and-take birds that weren’t previously harvested at no charge.

For more information on pheasant hunting at Willow Slough, call (219) 285-2704.

DECEMBER
Deer At Kingsbury FWA
Kingsbury FWA is in LaPorte County, and it contains 6,068 acres. So, this FWA is rather large. Part of this FWA is off-limits to hunters because of defective military ammunition that was buried here when the property had an ammunition factory operating on it. When something would go wrong in the manufacturing process, the defective ammo had to be buried. The area where the ammo is buried attracts deer because it is off-limits to hunters.

The Kingsbury FWA has a history of posting very good harvest numbers for deer every year, including those taken during the muzzleloader portion of the season. Part of this has to do with the agricultural fields that are located around the FWA. Deer love corn. There are plenty of corn fields around Kingsbury.