| Window | Dates | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Window 1 | 15 OCT – 31 DEC 2026 | 78d |
| Window 2 | 20 OCT – 31 DEC 2026 | 73d |
As publishedResident: Oct 15, 2026 - Dec 31, 2026; Nonresident: Oct 20, 2026 - Dec 31, 2026
Hens illegal (roosters only, no season on hen/female pheasants).Nonresident season opens 5 days later than resident. Youth-only season Oct 8-14, 2026 statewide. On Upland Game Bird Permit Release Areas the bag is reduced (2 roosters daily/6 possession) and a separate permit is required for hunters 18+.
Pheasant season is statewide with no zones, but IDFG's own hunting-information page states plainly that "the highest pheasant harvest typically occurs in the Southwest, Magic Valley, and Southeast regions" — Idaho's irrigated agricultural valleys, where wild-bird habitat is best. Layered on top of that wild-population signal is IDFG's active stocking program, which as of the most recent season releases roughly 29,000 pen-raised birds across 24 named sites reaching every one of the state's seven administrative regions — meaning public-land pheasant access now exists well beyond the three core wild-harvest regions, even though wild-bird density does not.
Idaho's pheasant season is roosters only. A youth-only season runs statewide October 8-14, 2026, ahead of the resident season, which opens October 15 and runs through December 31 (nonresidents start five days later, on October 20). Daily bag is 3 roosters, up to 2 of which can come from Upland Game Bird Permit Release Areas, with 9 in possession. IDFG's statewide forecast, published September 4, 2026, reports pheasant in three of its seven regions this year, and none of the three reads positive. In the Panhandle, pheasant remain uncommon and largely restricted to the region's southern portions. In the Clearwater region, a hot, dry summer may have reduced recruitment. In the Magic Valley, pheasant numbers are well below the long-term average, a decline IDFG ties to continued habitat loss rather than this year's weather alone. That regional picture lines up with IDFG's own statewide framing for the whole forecast: production is likely down this year, especially in the state's southern half.
All three regions reporting pheasant this year read down, including a Magic Valley decline that IDFG frames as ongoing habitat loss rather than a single bad year.
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