We finished the day by walking a small slough and we could see pheasants flying into it to spend the night as we asked the farmer for permission to walk it. It was a typical late winter hunt. Most of the pheasants escaped out the sides and even though Gary and I blocked the end, all but one pheasant managed to get by us. With the exception of the pass shots when we bagged birds while blocking the fields, every single pheasant we shot had been sent into the air by the dogs. If the dogs didn't discover them, they didn't fly.
Dogs are truly the main ingredient of a successful late winter pheasant hunt.