Habitat & Conservation,Hunting & Heritage,Pheasant Hunting Forecast  |  09/21/2017

Ohio Pheasant Hunting Forecast 2017


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Early summer rains impact Ohio's pheasant flock, but birds could rebound.

By Tom Carpenter

“For the third year in a row, heavy rains in June caused flooding in parts of Ohio’s wild pheasant range,” reports Mark Wiley, Wildlife Biologist with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (DNR). “Much of the state’s pheasant nesting habitat is located in flood prone areas. Given this, and the unfortunate timing, it is likely a fair number of nests and recently-hatched broods were lost.”
 
Ohio did complete an annual roadside crow count survey, and results will be summarized here when available.
 
“Ohio hunters should expect to find fair numbers of wild pheasants in good cover within Ohio’s pheasant range,” says Wiley.
 
“Ohio hunters will find the best wild pheasant opportunities at Big Island, Deer Creek, and Lake La Su An Wildlife Areas,” says Wiley. “Private lands with good pheasant cover can also hold decent numbers of wild pheasant in extreme northwest corner of Ohio, and the northern portion of the Scioto River watershed.”
 
“Remember that landowner permission is required to hunt private land in Ohio,” adds Wiley.
 

Ohio Hunting Tip

*Like most places, landowner permission is attainable if you avoid both the first weekend or two of the pheasant season (when family and friends are hunting), as well as shotgun deer season (when landowners and their guests are chasing Ohio’s bruiser bucks).


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Tom Carpenter is Digital Content Manager for Pheasants Forever.