Photo by Ron Sinfelt

Some of the best public hunting areas in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut are stocked with pheasants, and November hunting can be especially productive because many states empty their hatcheries at this time of year and stock the last of their birds by Thanksgiving.

Finding these end-of-year hens and roosters is easy if you do your homework and find the most productive areas. Here's a look at some of the best public hunting areas in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, spots offering some of the hottest upland action in southern New England in November.

CONNECTICUT
"The ratio of stocked birds to hunters is as good as it has ever been," said Mark Clavette, a wildlife biologist and Connecticut's pheasant program coordinator, noting that the Constitution State will stock its public hunting grounds with some 19,142 adult pheasants this season, plus provide sportsmen's clubs with another 1,000 8-week-old pheasants that will also be released on public land. Connecticut's stocking season begins during the third week in October (opening day is the third Saturday in October) and runs for a seven-week period. In November, all the remaining birds are released for Thanksgiving Day.

The net revenue from the previous year's sale of licenses and pheasant tags determines the budget for Connecticut's pheasant stocking program. The state also mandates that the 1,000 birds for sportsmen's clubs must be released on land that is accessible to the public.

These sportsmen's clubs are in the eastern part of the state and are made up of club-owned lands and private lands. A daily permit is needed on these parcels, requiring an extra step for the upland gunner, but it will be well worth the effort.

Clavette explained that public lands in Connecticut offer a quality hunt in perfect New England settings, rolling hills that open to fields of grass bordered by stands of hardwoods or firs crisscrossed with hedge groves and thickets.

"The state is focusing its pheasant program efforts on the best quality habitat," Clavette said. "The best sites are those with agricultural components mixed with scrub lands and forest. Most importantly, the sites must meet the demand of hunters."

On state-owned lands, farmers agree to grow agricultural crops that the farmer can harvest and sell, but the farmer is required to leave some standing corn for cover and food. These agreements between the state and farmers have been extremely successful.

"These public hunting lands could not be managed without the farming community involved," Clavette added.

The top three areas for November pheasant hunting in the western and eastern parts of the state offer a quality hunt on typical New England terrain. Hunting pressure may be high on Saturdays, but if you can get time off from work, try these spots during the week. All of the areas mentioned are stocked twice a week during the seven-week stocking season.

In the western part of the state, Goshen Wildlife Management Area is a permit-required area. Hunters must stop by Goshen Hardware (860/491-3087) on Route 4 in Goshen to pick up a permit.

This WMA covers 967 acres. The largest component of the area is open-field habitat. The area is specifically managed by the state for pheasant hunting, with rolling fields and large tracts of open fields. Some 400 birds are released on this WMA during the season. It is accessed via Route 63 north or Route 4 west.