Find the Cranberries, Find the Grouse

Picture, if you will, a muskeg in the early morning. Barely light enough to see a deer 100 yards away. The wind is in your face, your footsteps are barely making a sound, by the time a deer knows you are there it will be too late. Then, all of a sudden, BOOM an explosion of feathers and hatred as a grouse flushes five feet away from you. I don't know how many times I have been in this situation in late October and early November. It has been enough times that it finally occurred to me that it could be a good way to target grouse this time of year.

The season for grouse in Southeast Alaska opens August 1st and runs until May 15th. In the early season, there are lots of food choices for the birds. They like blueberries which makes hunting clearcuts a productive option. Blueberries also grow just about everywhere else a grouse might like to hang out so they can be spread out over many types of terrain making it hard to pick a cover to hunt. Once the blueberries are all gone and the grasses and other greens start to die off though, not much is left for birds to eat. That's when their focus switches to late-season food sources like cranberries.

The way I like to hunt these birds is pretty simple. I walk along the edge of a treeline in a muskeg and have the dog running back and forth between the muskeg and trees. I know what you are thinking "Cody, why not just have your dog stay in the trees the whole time? Wouldn't it be easy to see a grouse in a muskeg?" No. It isn't. You would be surprised how well they can blend in. Especially if there is a little grass. I prefer to hunt muskegs with a little bit of grass along the edge. I feel like it gives you a better chance of finding one in there as they will feel more comfortable in the open with the added cover of the grass. I have never seen a muskeg grouse in the middle of the day so either first light or last light will be your best chance at getting one.

This isn't the only way to find a late-season grouse, but in my experience, it gives you the highest chances of success. If you can find an old road to walk down that winds through some muskegs that will greatly increase your chances. In any case, you will get some exercise and get to watch the dog work and can you really complain about that?