By TODD MASSON

Photo by TODD MASSON

Smoke, one Covey Rise’s weimaraners, has picked up the scent of a covey, and stands on point at the base of a bush. Sometimes the quail will flush before the hunters get there, but most of the time, they hold tight until the bush is kicked.

Eric Williamson wasn’t sure exactly what to expect next.

Guide Ben Dutruch approached a knee-high yaupon bush that was receiving a relentless glare from Peanut, an English setter on picture-perfect point, so Williamson clicked the safety off on his 12-gauge Browning.

The veteran waterfowl hunter — but upland neophyte — turned his body to face east, the same direction that the guide was walking.

Dutruch kicked the bush, and two bobwhite quail seemed to erupt from his toes, crossing his body and heading back west.

Williamson swung his gun, and had only time to fire a single shot at the hind bird. It crumpled, but the lead bird escaped unscathed.

“Dead bird,” Dutruch shouted to the dogs, and Chief, another English setter, charged over to retrieve the fallen bird.

Williamson smirked, his face glowing with delight over his well-taken shot but tempered with amazement at the speed of the birds. He didn’t utter a word. He simply looked over at his hunting partners — Otis Taylor and me — and smiled. We all read each other’s minds — this was going to be a lot more fun than we anticipated.

Dutruch tucked the first quail of the afternoon into the back of his hunting vest, and drove the dogs farther into the brushy field. We followed, chatting about the field, the great weather and the joys of hunting with well-trained dogs.

Those very dogs were ranging several yards away from us, cutting back and forth from bush to bush. Then Peanut froze, with her nose toward a clump of thick weeds, and her erect tail pointing in the opposite direction. An electronic collar that Dutruch had placed on her neck to monitor her movement was now beeping loudly, a sign that the dog was on point.

Dutruch directed us to spread out as he approached the grass clump. He kicked it, and four quail flew out like angry bees leaving a jostled hive.

We blasted away, dropping two of the four birds and ribbing each other about letting the other two get away.

Photo by TODD MASSON

Even though they’re pen-raised, the quail are remarkably fast flyers. Dutruch said he and the other guides go into the quail cages only when necessary so that the birds won’t get used to seeing humans.

All in all, it was a great time that went far beyond our expectations. The three of us killed 34 quail by making good shots in somewhat rugged terrain.

Although the quail weren’t wild, they were anything but tame. We all had visions before the hunt that we would be able to walk up to the quail, pet them for a while, back up and then blast them.

That was far from what actually transpired. The birds didn’t like the company of us or the dogs any more than wild quail would, and they flew away like they knew our No. 1 priority was to kill them.

“I was reluctant to do (a pen-raised quail hunt),” Williamson said. “I didn’t think it would be sporting. I thought it would be barbaric.

“But it turned out to be much better than I thought. To me, it was like hunting wild game. It was a lot more challenging than I thought it would be.”

It was reminiscent of years gone by. In the past, when America consisted of a non-mechanized, agrarian society, quail flourished, living in fencerows until crops were tall enough for the quail to spread out, well out of sight of predators.

Today, brushy fencerows are a thing of the past, and heavy machines crush quail that hold to nests or hide in crops. As such, suitable quail habitat is virtually non-existent in the state of Louisiana, leaving upland bird hunters with few opportunities to target their chosen prey. So more and more Bayou State residents are turning to pen-raised quail, chukar and even pheasant hunts.

It’s an industry that’s growing because it’s a great deal of fun, and success can be guaranteed, according to Jim Geisler, who owns Covey Rise Hunting Lodge in Husser.

“A business owner who wants to impress his clients can take them down to Gueydan or somewhere, and they might kill some geese or they might not fire a shot,” he said. “But what we’re able to do is say, ‘OK, you and your client will have a great time.’”

And Geisler’s not the only one saying that. The November issue of Louisiana Sportsman magazine had advertisements from five different companies that offer hunts for pen-raised quail.

For those who’ve never done it, a pen-raised quail hunt conjures up unpleasant images — sort of like the deer farms that release a 190-class buck that runs immediately to a feeder in the middle of a 10-acre pen, where it is promptly shot by a millionaire who will mount it and tell stories to his buddies about his remarkable hunt.

But as Williamson, Taylor and I found out, it’s far more sporting than that, with good shooters having the opportunity to do well and mediocre shooters having, well, many opportunities for embarrassment.

“If you haven’t done it, you don’t know how much fun it is. Those birds hold to the cover real well, and if we leave them out there for a couple of days, they start to get some wild characteristics. They covey up like wild quail,” said Geisler, who holds a master’s degree in wildlife management from LSU.

The best hunting occurs after the area has encountered its first frost because the cold weather kills the grasses in the fields, and allows the dogs to more easily pick up the scent of the birds because the smell is not masked by that of the live grass.

Photo by TODD MASSON

Guide Ben Dutruch attaches a collar to one of his English setters. The collar emits a loud series of beeps when the dog goes on point.

Also, right around the time of the first frost, the dogs are rounding into shape nicely, and they work a lot harder.

“We run the dogs every day up and down the road, but it’s not the same as hunting them. You really can’t get them into hunting shape until you’ve hunted them for a few weeks,” Geisler said.

But once they’re in shape, the dogs are vital to a good hunt. They’re very well-trained, and are a joy to watch. Geisler treats them like his own children.

“We tell people before they hunt not to shoot the dogs, the guides, or each other — in that order,” Geisler said, only half joking.

He starts hunting the dogs when his season begins on Oct. 15, and they’re in prime shape from about mid-November through when Covey Rise’s season ends, April 15.

Covey Rise (985-747-0310) offers memberships for $500 initiation fee plus $50 per month, but the quail hunts are also open to non-members.

Members are allowed 200 targets per month on the club’s outstanding sporting-clay course, plus get discounted rates on hunts.

Fees for quail hunts are as follows:

• half-day hunt (guide, dogs and 12 quail) — $140 for non-members or $125 for members.

• half-day extreme hunt (guide, dogs and 21 quail) — $190 for non-members or $175 for members.

• full-day hunt (guide, dogs, lunch and 24 quail) — $280 for non-members or $250 for members.

• full-day extreme hunt (guide, dogs, lunch and 42 quail) — $375 for non-members and $350 for members.

Tallow Creek

Shooting Grounds

Photo by TODD MASSON

Fields that offer plenty of cover for the quail to hide in but aren’t totally overgrown make the hunting much more enjoyable.

This club (985-345-5445) offers half- and full-day hunts behind Brittany spaniels on 400 brushy acres near Covington.

Prices are as follows:

• full-day hunt (guide, dogs, bird cleaning and 28 quail) — $225.

• half-day hunt (guide, dogs, bird cleaning and 14 quail) — $125.

Golden Ranch Plantation

At the center of this club (985-532-5221) sits an historic plantation home that was built in the 1960s, and still operates today as the hub of a sugar-cane farm. The beautiful house is surrounded by 50,000 acres that are used for duck, deer and, of course, pen-raised quail hunting.

The operation is located near the town of Gheens, just one hour west of New Orleans.

Pricing is as follows:

• full-day hunt (guide, dogs and 20 quail) — $300.