I really enjoy hunting upland game. Watching pheasants bust loose from a thick stand of switch grass is enough to get anybody's blood pumping. Last weekend, I ventured down to Kankakee River State Park to take part in one of their controlled pheasant hunts.
Normally, I just travel to Des Plaines Conservation Area to hunt pheasants. I was negligent though in applying for permits and soon all of the available slots at Des Plaines were long gone. So I scrolled my mouse down to the Kankakee link on the Illinois DNR website and applied there.
I wasn't sure what to expect. I haven't really heard many people talk about pheasant hunting at this particular location. The general lay of the land is much different at Kankakee than it is in Des Plaines. The Kankakee State Park is nestled alongside the majestic Kankakee River. The park is long and narrow with lots of sloping terrain.
We pulled into the main office just before 8 a.m. and headed towards the concession stand where we had to check in our permit. The first thing I noticed was the noticeably smaller crowd. That was a nice surprise. Fewer hunters mean less pressure on the birds, and less pressure is always a good thing.
I had my permit checked in within a couple of minutes and headed directly to my designated hunting sight. For those of you not familiar with the area, you would leave the park office and head back west towards the bridge where you will cross from Route 102 to Route 113, which runs along the south side of the river. From this side you can access hunting areas 1-10. We were to start our morning out in hunting area No. 7.
We pulled into the parking area and once again were welcomed by only two other cars. One of those, as it turned out, was going to hunt the adjacent plot and not No. 7. More great luck!
At a controlled pheasant hunt location, you need to stay in your designated area for the first hour. So at 9 a.m. we could start hunting and we needed to stay in that area until 10 a.m. At that point, you can freely travel to any of the hunting sites.
Area 7 was a nice combination of a sunflower field, timber and plenty of thick grass. Within five minutes, we had flushed up two roosters bringing one of them down and into my brother's game bag.
After we thoroughly scoured the location, we packed up and drove a couple of miles west to try our luck at area No. 10. This particular strip is very long and narrow with some horrendously thick cover. The only shot you have is straight ahead.
My brother and I were just about to turn back to the car when Maci flushed up a rooster. A few seconds later, a second one burst out from in front of my brother and again he dropped it. For some reason, he was getting all the shots. After an exciting retrieve down a steep bank and into the river, Maci finally brought the bird ashore and No. 2 went in the bag.
By the end of the day my brother, my dad and I all had a wonderful time. We saw plenty of birds, there was very little pressure from other hunters and the terrain was both challenging and different than what I had hunted before.
I will probably do all of my local pheasant hunting at Kankakee River State Park from now on. Once again, this is a first-class state-run facility that doesn't get the credit it deserves. The staff was very friendly, helpful and courteous. Excellent job gentlemen!
If you do not have any permits for this state-run site, don't fret. They give away 20 standby permits each hunt day. The standbys are given out randomly at 8:30 a.m. All you need to do is arrive before that time, fill out a green card at the concession stand window and then wait until the draw time. The day that I hunted, every standby hunter received a permit.
Make sure to check out the DNR website before you head over though. Pheasant hunts are not scheduled for every day of the week.
Now that you've read about this wonderful location, you need to break out your upland chaps, your finest over/under shotgun and give this local park a try. I am sure you will be as satisfied as I was.