This is the week 13 recap, the last week of the 2025 season. Minnesota closed the week before so we did a final two day trip to Iowa. The weather cooperated and we had two good days of hunting.
This recap was delayed because I had my right knee replaced a week after the season closed. It is now four weeks after surgery and I finally felt well enough to finish the video and publish this blog.
January 7th - Iowa
We have been struggling to get close to birds for a few weeks. Wind has been a constant problem all season, making the birds jumpy. In Minnesota, we had too much snow. In Iowa, there was very little so birds were running. For our first day, we decided to try a new WPA that had a good mix of prairie and cattails. We finished the day at a WMA that we have had some success at before.
New WPA
The new WPA was on our way down to our usual hunting area. It was a large area with a good mix of cover. As we entered the field we had to walk through some drifted snow that was crusted over. Within a hundred yards, the snow was virtually gone. Stella got birdy out in the prairie and we tracked towards some tall weeds. Kevin saw fresh tracks for multiple birds right where Stella was tracking. Pretty soon, a rooster wild flushed just out of range ahead of us. A couple minutes later, a second rooster wild flushed, out of range. We were encouraged that we saw birds so quickly.
We continued towards a smaller cattail slough and Stella got birdy. This started a pattern where she got birdy, we would follow her into cattails, birds would flush wild and we would start over. Over the course of the next few hours we repeated that cycle multiple times. In most cases, the birds would jump so far ahead that we couldn’t even tell their gender. We did have a couple hens flush within range but of course, we don’t shoot hens.
So, we didn’t have any shooting opportunities but we will likely come back to this field next year.
Old Stand Bye WMA
After walking the first field without much success we loaded up and took a break while we drove to where we stay. Nearby there was a WMA that we have had some success at previous years. We had 90 minutes, so we walked that field.
This field was a lot wetter than previous years. It was warm enough that the ice in spots was pretty soft, so we were avoiding them. Stella was getting birdy, tracking and then losing the trail. We repeated this cycle until we were on our way out of the field. She went on a solid point. As I moved up a hen flushed just a few yards away from me. That was the only bird we saw in this field.
January 8th - Iowa
We started our last day at a field that we hunt quite often. There was virtually no wind and the temps were in the mid 30s. Driving to the field we did not see any birds, which is really unusual. We were quite early so we sat in the truck, watching for any movement. Kevin did see one bird flying but that was all.
When we finally started walking we could hear a rooster cackling across the road in private ground. We walked along the road where we often see birds. On this day, Stella would get birdy and start tracking. We would follow and eventually either she would point a bird or the trail would end. She did track a hen that sat until we were close, so we had hope that we might get close to some birds.
After a while we walked into an area that had mid calf high grass with scattered taller weeds. From previous trips, we knew that the birds were feeding on the weed seeds. Stella was interested but not on a solid track yet. A rooster flushed about 5 yards to my right and I dropped it. Stella retrieved it. This was my first rooster in several weeks. We continued north and Stella started tracking. After about 50 yards, she had two roosters flush simultaneously just ahead of her. I dropped the one on the right and Kevin took a couple feathers off the one on the left. Stella took off after the left bird but Kevin never saw it fall. I retrieved my bird.
We searched the line that Kevin’s bird had taken but without seeing it drop we really did not have a reference point. We walked quite awhile and ended up in another adjacent field. We tracked and flushed a couple hens but no other roosters.
From there we started heading back towards the truck. Stella would get birdy, we would follow her as she tracked. Eventually she would lose the track. We repeated this several times. After one of these track/follow sessions a rooster flushed right in front of us. I dropped this one as well.
Video
The video this week will be pretty short. I continue to have issues with camera angle. So, I really did not get any good action shots but I did get some bird action.
Lessons Learned
- My GoPro hat mount is flexing. The hat has been used enough that it has lost it’s stiffness. So, simple head movements cause the camera to angle down.
- I really tried to consistently flash a thumbs up or down for the camera before ending video capture. When I do this, it saves lot of time when I go through the clips. I typically just delete clips with a thumbs down.
Summary
This has been the week 13 recap, our last week of the 2025 season. We covered a lot of ground, saw quite a few birds and finally had an opportunity to harvest a few. In a few days, I will replace my other knee. Once I have recovered enough, I will post a season summary with the highlights, lessons learned and season statistics.
