2009 Hunting season pics

McDonough co. river view


McDonough co. river crossing


McDonough co. Illinois hardwoods


Peoria co. Illinois


Peoria co. Illinois foggy November morning

Tazewell Co. food plots Summer 2009..Watch it Grow!!

field planted June 6


Milo and bean mix June 19


Milo and bean mix July 1


field- milo mix, corn, and clovers July 22


July 22



corn and milo July 22

2009 Spring Food Plot Pics

Tazewell Co. Farm Pics 2009


1+ acre plot by creek bottom: est. clover in 3rd year and looking great, planted, mix consisting of; forage bean, winter pea, milo, millet, buckwheat, and sunflower. plot will also have corn, and turnips.




Clover I planted a couple years ago, remember mow your clovers when needed!



showing deer browse


same clover field, needs mowed


Dove field! plowed, needs to be worked more then planted.


little plot planted with bean mix, milo, millet, sunflower, turnips, corn, and clovers, offering something at all times of the year.

The First Annual QDMA turkey hunt with Eye on the Sky Outfitters

My first Tom Thank God - Ol' Double Beard!
Special Thanks to Andrew Decker with Eye on the Sky Outfitters
Good luck to everyone for next years raffle!

Ol' Double beards stats:
weighting 24.4 lbs.
beard #1-10in.
beard #2-9in.
1 1/4in. spurs


2009 QDMA Spring Turkey Hunt with Eye on The Sky Outfitters

On location, with Eye on the Sky Outfitters, hunting in the heart of turkey country, accompanied by a good friend of mine from college, Andrew Decker. Now Andrew has been hunting turkeys for longer than 10 years, he has harvested 49 turkeys and guided over one hundred turkey kills. With his skills on our side the turkeys didn’t have a chance! The day was beautiful, a chance for showers that never showed up. But the Gobblers did!
This hunt was donated by Andrew to the Heart of Illinois Branch of Quality Deer Management Association. To be raffled off at the Midwest’s biggest hunting expo the Deer and Turkey Classic. The lucky winner was Dennis Schwertman of Edwardsville, IL. So I accompanied the winner on the trip to visit an old friend, and maybe harvest my first turkey. The main goal of the trip was to show Dennis the hunt of a lifetime, and it sure was.
The first morning Saturday may 2, 2009 we arrived to the farm while still dark, around 6:15 or so, then went to the middle of a large field to locate a gobbler and move in on him. So the first setup, works to perfection, a nice bird works his way up the 4 wheeler road strutting and fanning right up to Dennis presenting him with a nice 30 yard shot, and Dennis put it on him. Harvesting a nice bird, weighting 16lbs, sporting a 10 in beard and almost 1 inch spurs, good job Dennis! So the after he got one I could hunt now. Wasting little time we had a pair of hens 10 yards from us but they bumped us before the gobblers where in range. So we looked for different birds on the other side of the farm, with not much happening on the other side, we returned back a bit later and found several toms gobbling their heads off a couple draws over, so we moved in.
Reaching the top of the hill, Andrew located the birds and they were closing in on us, with little time we had to setup right there with little cover, after waiting a few minutes for the toms, a 2.5 year old doe comes right up to us at 15 yards checking us out. I was scared she was going to scare of the gobblers, but she looked at us for a bit, bobbing her head and watching then gave a light warning blow and cruised off. Within minutes the gobblers where on us, spitting, drumming, and strutting and putting on a fine show, that really gets your heart going! The turkeys were in the field as close as they would come due to a fence; it is really hard to get turkeys to cross fences or creeks. With no shot due to trees and branches a move had to be made, so I had to stand up, a move not encouraged when turkey hunting. Right then the bird gobbled and stretched his head out just giving me a shot on his head at maybe 40 yards, the Benelli shot true as usual, dropping him!
Thanks to God for such an incredible adventure and such a fine turkey. This my first Eastern Wild Turkey weighted in at 24.4 lbs, it had double beards measuring over 19 inches of beard and 1 ¼ spurs. Beard #1 was 10 inches and beard #2 was 9 inches. That will be a hard one to beat, thanks to Andrew Decker and his Family! Thanks you for a great time and thanks to Dennis Schwertman, I’m glad I got to share a great hunting experience with him.
So this is the end of the first annual QDMA turkey hunt with Andrew Decker at Eye on the Sky Outfitters. I already can’t wait for next year’s hunt, to return the land of the Turkey! For great Turkey or Waterfowl hunting in Southeastern Indiana visit Andrew Decker with Eye on the Sky Outfitters!
NOW AVAILABLE- 2010 Turkey Hunt Raffle! Only $5 could get you the turkey hunt of a lifetime! Thanks and good luck!

SERVICES

PHIL'S FOOD PLOTS AND CONSULTING offers many services to you, the outdoorsman and outdoors woman. Here are a few thing we can help you with;

Wildlife Consulting
Habitat Management (Food Plots and much more)
Deer Density Reduction
Food Plot Seminars
Shooting Lessons
Shooting Clinics

Hello, welcome to the future of deer hunting, QDMA. My name is Phil DeJarnatt, President of the Heart of Illinois chapter of the Quality Deer Management Association and President of Phil’s Food Plots & Consulting. I have hunted deer all over; Central, Western, and Southern Illinois as well as Southeastern Kansas. I am a Wildlife Consultant; I grew up in the Heart of Illinois right here in the Peoria area. I have been fortunate enough to have visited several camps on the King Ranch in South Texas, as well as many other ranches from Kansas, Maryland, to Georgia. I have guided hunts in both Illinois and Kansas. QDMA works, it is all backed by biology, the articles in the magazine Quality Whitetails are written by; wildlife biologists, foresters, and wildlife consultants. People with passion for the outdoors, in Gods Country!
Illinois’s deer herd does need to be managed! However, we do not have a problem with deer numbers. Now, locally there are some problems with antlerless numbers, but I don’t believe the problem is as bad as people think. Yes, changes need to be made in the regulations, but not just for harvesting does. We need to NOT shoot young bucks, let them walk; we need mature bucks in our herd to help our rut be strong and intense. You just want one good rut; a second rut is not a good thing, its nature telling us, we have an out of whack sex ratio. With a good sex ratio they can get most, if not all the breeding done in the first rut. Think about it, you don’t want fawns getting bred later and born later; you don’t want deer months behind. This could be a reason why people see so many spike bucks? Still don’t shoot spikes, 5 1/2 years of eating and growing will do a lot. The ruts the past few years have weird from what I have seen.
The chances I propose;
Rule 1-On all state property antler restrictions of some kind, we need to make the state ground productive again. We have all this potential here let’s use it! Make it somewhere where people want to hunt, not just have to. With a few rules and time we could see massive changes for the better.
Rule 2- 1 buck season limit,
Reason: We have people shooting bucks because they can; they have 2 buck tags so they just shoot the first one they see. Wait for a trophy, it’s worth the wait. I have talked to consulting friends in Indiana, where they went to a 1 buck limit 5 or 6 years ago, it is working over there. A 1 buck limit is the best thing you can do for your deer herd. Would you rather shoot 2 medium bucks, or 1 big one? After all the most important thing; It’s not about us, or even shooting deer, it’s about being outdoors with friends and family, getting kids evolved in the outdoors, getting those kids out off the X-box and in the woods spending time with their parents or enjoying Gods creation, so we need to take care of deer and deer hunting so they will be around for the future generations! With proper management you will have to shoot a lot of does, so you can enjoy shooting the does and wait for a nice trophy.
Rule 3- Move the antlerless season from January to September or October.
Reason: Don’t put all the deer through the stress of the rut then harvest them after breeding, why make these bucks run themselves to death to breed does, just to shot the does after they get bred. That is probably hurting the rut also. Plus in January you get a lot of bucks with no antlers, getting shot because they are mistaken for does, change the antlerless season to September.
Here are just a few ideas that make sense, from a biological stand point. We are fortunate to live in God’s Country, Central Illinois. We have an obligation to make it the best we can, to see it to its full potential! Let’s make our deer hunting better today for tomorrows generation. With a few simple rules in place we can greatly help our deer herds and deer hunting. QDMA truly is “The Future of Deer Hunting.” Thanks for reading and God Bless!

I just bought a new farm, what do I need to do?!

Well, first of all congratulations on your new farm. That is the biggest step to creating your own outdoor paradise! Like anything you need a plan, you spent a lot of money on your farm you need to do the next steps right to see the best results.
-Step 1-Call a wildlife consultant and set up a management plan. Farms/hunting lands are so different, they need to be looked at individually and then have their own management plan set up, and then implemented. There a lot of government programs that can save you thousands of dollars, a consultant can help you use these to your benefit.
-Step 2 –The Consultation has two parts - After calling us, we will come to your farm, look at what you have, write some info down, take some pictures and discus your goals. Your goals are very important in this management plan. I would tell you to write down your goals and have them on paper when we meet. It’s your farm, what do you want it to look like in 20 years, you might want a healthy deer herd, we practice Quality Deer Management, QDMA truly is "The Future of Deer Hunting.” You might want a breeding population of pheasant or quail, or just enough doves for a couple good dove shoots. Generally I like to set up a plan that helps everything, get the whole ecosystem to work together. After all what do these animals need? They all thrive on similar things; Food, Water, and Cover. Then a week or so later we will give you a copy of the management plan, and discuss what you want to do next.
-Step 3- Implementation, actually managing the habitat, putting the management plan to work! Whether it is; food plots, tree planting, grass plantings, or timber management, etc. we can do it for you or you can do it yourself. It is totally up to you,
-Please don’t waste any time, call us today, Phil’s Food Plots & Consulting (309)229-6650! Now is the time to get it done. You can see, it’s as easy as 1..2..3 Lets make God’s country the best it can be, by using proven biological methods, we can manage your land to its full potential! After all it’s your money, make it work for you! Thanks for your time, and a Special thanks to all those who came to the Deer and Turkey Classic. It was great talking to you. Thanks and God Bless!

Illinois needs QDMA NOW!

Hello, welcome to the future of deer hunting, QDMA. My name is Phil DeJarnatt, President of the Heart of Illinois chapter of Quality Deer Management Association. I am an outdoorsman and wildlife consultant, I grew up in the heart of Illinois right here in Washington, Illinois. I have lived in central, western, and southern Illinois as well as southeastern Kansas. I have seen deer herds all over and, we have the most potential, but we need to take care of what we have!

Illinois doesn’t have a problem with deer. Now, locally there are some problems, but I don’t believe the problem is as bad as people think. The main problem is just lack of habitat, we are building house where these deer have lived for years and wonder why there are deer everywhere in these urban areas, hello, we are taking away the their homes. Yes, changes need to be made in our regulations and the way we look at deer management. When manipulating wild populations, it takes time! So start now, don’t waste any more time.

All living things have the same basic needs; food, water, and cover. So after providing these then you can look at how to manage these deer on your land. The main things needed to have a healthy deer herd; good age structure and even sex ratio. So by shooting young bucks and not many does you are setting up for disaster. 3.5 is the hardest year to pass on a buck, here in Illinois we have some really nice 3.5 year old, but they are still not in their prime, and can actually gain quite a bit still in antler growth. Let him go, do you want to shoot a decant buck or a monster buck?

The biggest complaints I here that are commonly misunderstood; 1) “oh man he had a huge body and a small rack so I shot him.” 2) “if I don’t shoot him my neighbor will.” Or 3) “I only hunt on 80 acres that’s not enough to manage. “

To the hunter saying, “Oh man he had a huge body and a small rack so I shot him.” Congrats you probably just shot a nice 2 ½ or 3 ½ year old buck, the easiest deer in the woods to shoot. He is showing maybe 50% of his potential. The most important thing when harvesting bucks IS NOT antler size. That should have nothing to do with it! The goal is harvesting mature buck, bucks at 4 ½ or 5 ½, when he is showing more like 80-90+% of his potential. There are also many health reasons why mature bucks are needed in your herd, and why antlerless numbers must be kept in check. I will speak on this in another article. So when you see a nice young buck with mass amounts of potential, please let him walk! We are fortunate to live in Illinois where if you shoot based on antler score or size of 130” you are shooting immature bucks! That is where ageing bucks on the hoof become a vitally important skill, with a little training and patience you can age on the hoof. In every issue of “Quality Whitetails” there is the AGE THIS section, check it out, there will be a picture followed by 6 wildlife biologists explaining what to look for, and what age that deer is.

Now I will address the second and the third complaint together, “If I don’t shoot him my neighbor will.” Not really, you would be surprised. If you shoot it, you can guarantee it will never be a magnificent Illinois monster! That is where COOPERATIVES come in to play. What is a cooperative you ask? When hunters put together their land and work together as a team managing for a common goal, a healthy deer herd. Getting you and your neighbors together and talking about management goals, helping each other with food plots, and putting your 120 acres with a few neighbors 600 acres and you can easily mange and see great results! It is a great way to meet your neighbors and make a social event out of it,

We the Heart of Illinois QDMA will at some time offer classes on Ageing Bucks on the Hoof, and cooperatives, and have information available; it is our goal to help you out! Together let’s keep this great hunting heritage around for generations! But we must do something now! Some of the Outfitters are now noticing the troubles that are presenting themselves, caused by horribly out of whack sex ratios, and no age structure, let’s not let it all get that bad everywhere, we must start now! Thanks for reading and God bless!
Thanks, for question or comments call, or email, Phil DeJarnatt my info can be found at my website http://www.foodplotphil.blogspot.com/

Heart of Illinois QDMA

QUALITY DEER MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION has made a face in the Peoria, Illinois area. QDMA is truly the future of deer hunting. Phil DeJarnatt and Nick Janssen of Phil’s Food plots & Consulting are President and Vice President and founders of this chapter. 50,000 plus members in all 50 states are joining in, trying to educate people on the proper ways to manage deer herds and more importantly the deer hunters! Educating on; food plots, cover, ageing deer on the hoof, among other things. The Heart of Illinois Chapter of QDMA was started in September of 2008, and is making strides in the right direction. Donations and help from area people and business made it possible to have a booth at the Deer and Turkey Classic in Bloomington, on Feb. 27, 28 and the 1st of March. We will have informational and educational goods along with, raffles, and stuff to give away. So far we have 2 tree stands, climbing sticks, some food plot mixes, and a few other items to raffle off. Come join us! Help deer hunting, not for us, but so the younger generations can enjoy the finest deer hunting the world has to offer, right here in our back yards! Questions call or go to my website and contact info at www.foodplotphil.blogspot.com. We are truly blessed to live here in God’s Country. Hope to see you at the classic in Bloomington!

Forever Pheasants! Wild Illinois Pheasant!

Phil DeJarnatt with his trusty Benelli, birddog Zeke, and a few roosters.

Phil and Matt enjoy a nice late season upland bird hunt, in the beautiful flowing prairies of central Illinois, where fields of warm season grasses flow, with the winter flurries in the air. They strike out to harvest a few wild roosters.


Total harvest for the day; 3 pheasents, 1 rabbit, and 0 doves. ha ha ha(an old joke with friends)

Yes, I said wild. I'm lucky to have a great place to hunt wild birds in the Peoria area, boasting more wild pheasants on this farm than probably the surrounding three counties. It just shows what you can do with patience and the right plan.


Matt Denney; over&under shotgun, birddog Zeke, and days harvest.

On January 9, 2009, my friend Matt Denney, a friend I met, while attending Southeastern Illinois College, a small school in Southern Illinois about an hour east of Carbondale. We majored in Game Preserve Management and Shooting Complex Management. Receiving two associate’s degrees, and a one year internship of hands on learning at a hunting ranch, somewhere in the United States. Ranging from Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, Oregon, Kansas, and several others. My internship was in Kansas, Flint Oak, an upland wing shooting/sporting clays ranch. Read my About Me on website www.foodplotphil.Blogspot.com and find out more.
So, he comes and hunts wild pheasants with me, at a good friend’s farm we have been managing for several years, I tell more details about the farm later. With him, he brings his good hunting buddy Zeke, a 2 year old magnificent yellow lab.

Conditions were right, 35 degrees, light wind, and light snow cover. The hunt started off fast seeing 10 birds almost right off the bat. Being late season these birds were flighty to say the least. Having two people and a dog it made it hard to hunt right, and made it hard to use blockers.(a great way to get opportunity when birds jump out of range) We hunted a few hours, probably saw 35 birds, two/thirds hens, which is a good sign for next year. Once we got out of the wide open prairie, and into the thickets and thick fence rows we finally got some birds in shooting range, none of the roosters made it out alive. We ended up harvesting 3 roosters and a rabbit, which made a delicious feast.

Upland birds generally like to hold up in transitional stages of cover, for instance where several kinds of cover intersect. commonly called "edge", a spot where there are grasses, trees, shrubs, or food sources. offering the inhabitants a little bit of everything needed for survival. You want "edge" so you have the most prime areas to hold birds. You want to offer several different things birds need to keep them around. The most important of these needs are; food, water, and cover.

This farm is just a bit over a 100 acres; consisting of probably 70 acres in native warm season grasses, 15 acres of timber, much more timber on neighbors, 4 ponds, and 8 acres of total food plots. Food plots consisting of several smaller plots, 6 acres of milo, great for doves, pheasant, deer, and wild turkeys. 2 acres in deer food plots scattered throughout the landscape; a variety of clovers, alfalfa, turnips, soybeans, and chicory. Offer deer browsing through all seasons. Boasting a healthy deer herd too, This just shows what can be done with a little bit a management help, you too can wing shoot and deer hunt your farms for years to come. Thanks for reading. A special thanks to Mike and his family!

Warm season grasses, still holding up in January.


Milo dove field/foodplot, provides needed food, and cover.

Contact Information

Phil DeJarnatt
Cell # (309) 229-6650
email pcd801@yahoo.com
website www.foodplotphil.blogspot.com

Green

Thank God for the rains!

Food Plots are a great tool in wildlife management, benefiting all kinds of plants and animals. Here at Phil's Food plots and Consulting we plant acres of food plots on our farms and have seen great rewards by doing this, I'm confident that food plots will help your farm greatly too. This article will answer some common questions about food plots; why should I plant food plots? What exactly do food plots do? In what ways will my farm benefit from them? After all we spend hours of time in preparation, planting, and maintaining, not to mention the money we spend, in tractors, fuel, and seed. We are just going to scratch the surface but you will get the main ideas of management and food plots.

The main thing food plots do is raise the Carrying Capacity on your land. What is Carrying Capacity you ask? "Carrying Capacity is the maximum number of individuals or inhabitants that an environment can support without detrimental effects." What do animals need? Foods, water, and cover. These are the main things that can help your inhabitants reach their full potential. This is the main reason for food plots. The more food, water, and cover, you have on your land, the more animals your land can sustain, and the healthier they will be, allowing inhabitants to reach their full potential! In White-tailed deer this means your immature bucks must be passed on, the hardest years to pass them is 3.5, because they are a nice deer but still not full potential. That 3.5 year old buck, into 4.5 is a big jump in inches gained in antler size, so 4 1/2 or better 5 1/2 is when they reach maximum in both body size and antler size. Another vital part of deer management is age structure, allowing bucks to reach maturity, 4 ½ or better yet 5 ½. We won’t dive too deep in this right now, but as you can see food plots are a huge part of wildlife management.

There are many variables that contribute to the success of a population; those have to be looked at and a management plan implemented. But every farm and case is different. Food plots are just a small but vital part in wildlife management. There are many pieces to this puzzle, and it takes years to develop, don’t waste years of your time, call Phil’s Food plots & Consulting (Phil 309-229-6650) and talk to an experienced consultant and allow us to help your land reach its full potential. Thanks for your time, and God bless!

Quote from “Quality Whitetails” (QDMA magazine Feb 2009 issue)


this is a great stand of chicory, clovers, and rape.


strips of winter wheat and buckforage oats, from a treestand view.



some winter wheat strips....looking great!

Welcome to Phil's Blog

Phil's Foodplots & Consulting was started to help people reach their dreams of hunting this beautiful state of Illinois to its greatest potential. We are blessed to live in the beautiful state of Illinois, home to the biggest buck in the world, and great potential for upland birds and turkeys. This truely is God's Country!