Hunters are required to check in and strictly adhere to their assigned areas. Cleanup shooting will usually last for a week or so after the put-and-take season ends.

Do everyone a favor and only bring your dog if it's reasonably well trained. There can be a lot of hunters on the area, and if your dog runs off and starts visiting other groups, your popularity will reach new lows.

Roush Lake lies 20 miles southeast of Ft. Wayne in Huntington County. Indianapolis-area shooters are only a couple hours' drive from the property. The area is busy with a variety of activities, and safety zones are marked where no hunting is allowed. The check station is off state Route 3 1.5 miles south of Markle.

An early fall registration is required to hunt the property. For more information, contact the office at (260) 468-2165 or District 5 at (260) 468-2515.

ATTERBURY FWA
The pheasant hunting at Atterbury FWA is all put-and-take since there isn't an established wild bird population. Most of the released birds are going to be on areas 12 and 14, with area 12 being a little more on the brushy side and area 14 leaning toward the grass and open fields.

The word is that a lot of guys get a bird. The put-and-take ringnecks are disoriented when they're first let go and it's up to the hunters to figure out where they're holding. The cleanup hunt following the put-and-take season finds dogs doing some of the work and even more birds being bagged. The first couple of days after the put-and-take shooting can be pretty hectic.

The cleanup hunt may be just as popular as the put-and-take shooting, or maybe even a little more so. Dogs can be used during the mop-up operation, and it's a great time for hunters that didn't get signed up for the special hunts.

Put-and-take birds are undoubtedly more susceptible to predation than their wild cousins. Coyotes, foxes and hawks all take advantage of birds that really don't have the experience of how to avoid them.

A good map saves a lot of trial and error in finding the fields and edge habitat these birds will eventually move into. The put-and-take birds can hole up anywhere since they didn't mature on the property and will naturally move into the closest and best-looking cover they see.

Registration is required for the put-and-take hunting, but the clean-up shooting is open to anyone with the right hunting license. A daily hunt permit card must be carried and recorded through the self-service drop boxes.

Atterbury covers 6,206 acres near Edinburgh in Johnson County south of Indianapolis. For more information, contact the Atterbury office at (812) 526-2051. Information on where to stay is available from the Franklin Chamber of Commerce at (317) 736-6334 or online at www.southernin.com.