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Everything You Need...
Guide and dog handler Blake Boyer stuffs a Highland rooster in his coat. Quality hunting and a quality experience is the promise of owner Ron Rath.
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12/29/08 - Sonny Fulks/1570wptw.com
After 40 years of conventional farming…hogs, cattle and grain…nine years ago Ron Rath found himself with 1,500 acres of prime Iowa ground and burned out from the process.
Granted, he had found success. Rath was named Iowa Pork Producer of The Year in 1986-87. At the height of his operation Rath was breeding 1,000 brood sows annually. But the uncertainties and pressure of the industry had taken its toll on the affable farmer from Washington County, Iowa.
“We’ve always had pheasants in Iowa and we’ve always hunted,” says Rath. “But 10 years ago we decided to farm for pheasants and pheasant hunters. And so far, we’re doing OK. At least we’re having a good time trying.”
What he did was open Highland Hideaway hunting preserve, outside Riverside, Iowa. And for the pheasant hunter looking for a quality experience without paying the premium preserve fees of South Dakota and Nebraska, Highland is a hunter’s wish come true. This year, 2,500 to 3,000 of them will walk through Rath's doors.
The hunting is of the highest quality…hard flying birds in wide-open country, a far cry from the smaller preserve operations in Ohio, Indiana and Michigan. The habitat is typical of the Iowa pheasant belt, with rolling hills, native blue-stem switch grass and strategically placed food strips. And, the accommodations of Highland lodge and staff couldn’t be, well, more accommodating.
The 5,000 square foot lodge will sleep up to 18 hunters with a large dining and entertainment area. There’s full kitchen and meal service, TV, wireless internet and plenty of room to spread out and feel right at home. And Sunday, we felt right at home as we discovered the Highland Hideaway experience.
“We cater to the hunter’s hunter,” admitted manager Ryan Giannini. “We provide the same hunt as the Orvis-endorsed lodges in South Dakota, but we do it without the hype and expense.
“We have a lot of hunters come here who have hunted in the Dakotas and tell us there’s really little difference, except for the price. We’ll give you quality birds, quality guide service with quality dog work, and quality service and lodging afterwards.”
He wasn’t kidding. A half-day hunt at Hideaway on Sunday morning provided just what the brochure promised. You never hunt adjacent to another party of hunters, there were plenty of birds, and the habitat was ideal.
Guide Blake Boyer’s German shorthair pointers were diligent, disciplined, and enthusiastic to hunt the nearly 300 acres we covered from 8 am til noon. Our party of four harvested 12 birds, could have taken more, and came away with the satisfaction of your best wild-bird hunting experience.
“We’re different from a lot of preserves you’d find,” says Giannini. “We don’t ‘plant’ birds, we do a ‘free release’ well ahead of a party showing up to hunt. By the time hunters walk in the field the birds have spread out and acclimated themselves. It provides as close as possible a wild-bird hunting experience.
“We do have some wild birds, but the majority of what we offer are birds we’re licensed to raise here on the farm. Annually, we hatch somewhere between 25,000 and 30,000 pheasants. We’re really busy from September through December, but for hunters who want to come after the busy season we have plenty of birds and opportunity right up to the end of March.”
Giannini’s promise is right on the mark, but the best part was the more-than-reasonable price for a day of “authentic” Iowa pheasant hunting. A half-day hunt for three roosters and lunch provided costs $165.00. A full-day hunt with a five-bird limit is just $230.00 If you want to shoot additional birds, you may, at a reasonable rate per bird.
I couldn’t recommend Highland more highly. In a day of diminishing opportunities and habitat on privately-owned farmland in Iowa, Ron Rath’s operation stands out as the best combination of the old days and future of upland bird hunting. Aside from the cost of birds and guide service, it costs you just $50.00 per night to stay in Highland’s clean, comfortable and convenient lodge.
If you want to go...Highlands is an easy 8-hour drive from the Miami Valley and everything you need to know and want to see is available on the internet at www.highlandhunting.com. They’re booking now for January and February hunts, so if you want to fight cabin fever and delay putting your shotgun away…I couldn’t recommend a call to area 319-648-5065 more highly.
Take it from one who’s walked the best that the Dakotas, Cabela’s and Orvis has to offer. They’ve got nothing on Highland Hideaway. It’s the best-kept secret in pheasant hunting!
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