Supposed to be down 17% this year because of bad weather. But that varies with the location and cover. We generally check ditches traveling between public areas. Hit one weedy ditch right after the field across the road was harvested. Pushed all the birds into the ditch and it was magic, birds everywhere just like in our fathers stories of the old days.
Favorite trick, checking along the way we like to pick a spot with cover and water next to crop land to come back to. Can be amazing when the pheasants are looking for gravel, water and roosting cover in that magic hour before sunset.
Study the rules on road hunting. A while back landowners wanted to ban road hunting, turned into a big stink. As a sort of compromise they made it complicated.
