In Huntington, the 296-acre Knightville Dam WMA is an U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flood control area that features lush vegetation that is dense and usually 12 feet tall by August, said biologist Gola. State workers mow paths, and trails create diverse cover types. Your best bet is to work the edge of the reservoir basin and the surrounding woodlands.

This WMA is accessible from Route 112.

Massachusetts' pheasant hunting season runs from Oct. 15 through Nov. 26. The daily limit is two birds and the season limit is six.

For more information on pheasant hunting opportunities in the Western District, call (413) 447-9789. For WMA maps, call (508) 792-7270 or visit www.mass.gov/massoutdoors on the Internet.

RHODE ISLAND
The Ocean State schedules its pheasant stocking for the early season, said Brian Tefft, the Department of Environmental Management's chief wildlife biologist.

"We try to release birds during the primary part of the season when the weather is nicer. That's also the time when there is the most hunting pressure."

During October and November, many WMAs are stocked twice a week.

This is the state's third year of its new pheasant tag system. Tags are sold six to a book and upland hunters may purchase up to two books for a total of 12 tags.

As is the case with most states, Rhode Island's pen-raised birds are wily and hardly domesticated. As Tefft put it, they are in "survival mode" once they are released and will crouch, run and fly to flee any threat. Hunters should not expect to find birds on their own, at least not easily.

"If you have a dog, you'll find more birds," Tefft added.

Where are the best spots to hunt in November? The number one area is Arcadia WMA on the Connecticut border. This is the largest WMA parcel in the state, with 14,000 acres. It has a good mix of brushy cover and farm fields. Although it receives a lot of hunting pressure during the season, Tefft described it as a pleasant area to hunt. Arcadia's north section may be accessed north of Route 165. The south portion may be accessed south of Route 165.

Great Swamp WMA is in the southern part of the state near the towns of Kenyon and West Kingston. This large area is dominated by farm fields and thickets and offers good access. Route 2 skirts the western edge, while Route 110 edges the eastern part.

Carolina WMA, which is also in the southern part of the state, features hedge groves and standing corn fields edged by woodland. Hunt the edges of cover for the hottest action.

Switch Road and Pine Hill Road offer access.

Buck Hill WMA is in the northwest corner of the state and offers a good mix of fields, meadows and hedge groves. From Route 100, take Buck Hill Road, which skirts the area's western edge.

The DEM has done a great deal of shrub management to help thicken low-growing plants, and perennial grass ways have been planted between crop fields and woodlands. The goal is to create strips along wood lots so the birds can find cover and food.

If you feel like hunting the only year-round resident pheasant population in the Ocean State, try Newport County's Block Island. It is the only area in the state that has a thriving resident flock of birds. There are few predators on the island, so the pheasant population replenishes itself year after year.

This is a cock bird-only hunt, and of course you'll need to take the Block Island ferry to get there.

Rhode Island's ringneck season starts the third Saturday in October 2004 and runs through mid-January. The season is closed during the shotgun deer season from the end of November to mid-December. The season limit is 12 birds; the daily bag limit is two pheasants.

For more information, call (401) 789-0281 or (401) 789-3094, or go online at www.state.ri.us/dem.