So you want to hunt public land in South Dakota?

Golden Hour

Golden Hour

Well-known member
This time of year comes with a solid number of folks who are looking for information on where to start when making plans to come to South Dakota to hunt pheasants on public land. I've been wanting to put this video together since the end of last season and finally got around to it. It's a brief overview (IMO) as I could expound on the various intricacies of hunting public land, including time of year, time of day, weather patterns, etc. But, I thought this would get the ball rolling and, with any luck, help some folks out.

 
Golden Hour said:
This time of year comes with a solid number of folks who are looking for information on where to start when making plans to come to South Dakota to hunt pheasants on public land. I've been wanting to put this video together since the end of last season and finally got around to it. It's a brief overview (IMO) as I could expound on the various intricacies of hunting public land, including time of year, time of day, weather patterns, etc. But, I thought this would get the ball rolling and, with any luck, help some folks out.

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This is a nice video and it gets me excited about the upcoming season. I have made an annual trip to SD for about ten years now, but I wish I had seen this back when I first got started. I live in Ohio but intend to retire and relocate to South Dakota in 2023. Are there any specific towns you would recommend that I consider investigating? I am interested in Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, Pheasant Hunting, Waterfowl, and Walleyes. I know you aren't a realtor or a travel agent, but advice from a fellow bird hunter would mean more than anything I would learn from anyone else.
 
Fox Walker said:
This is a nice video and it gets me excited about the upcoming season. I have made an annual trip to SD for about ten years now, but I wish I had seen this back when I first got started. I live in Ohio but intend to retire and relocate to South Dakota in 2023. Are there any specific towns you would recommend that I consider investigating? I am interested in Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, Pheasant Hunting, Waterfowl, and Walleyes. I know you aren't a realtor or a travel agent, but advice from a fellow bird hunter would mean more than anything I would learn from anyone else.
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I hear Watertown is Chessy friendly, has great ducks/geese/walleyes, & more pheasants than anywhere in the state.
:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO: Just kidding. I have no idea. Golden Hour's from Watertown, so just wanted to give him some crap & more hunters to compete with.
 
Fox Walker said:
This is a nice video and it gets me excited about the upcoming season. I have made an annual trip to SD for about ten years now, but I wish I had seen this back when I first got started. I live in Ohio but intend to retire and relocate to South Dakota in 2023. Are there any specific towns you would recommend that I consider investigating? I am interested in Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, Pheasant Hunting, Waterfowl, and Walleyes. I know you aren't a realtor or a travel agent, but advice from a fellow bird hunter would mean more than anything I would learn from anyone else.
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With the comprehensive list (ducks, pheasants, walleye), you've got a couple options. First would be along the Missouri River. Great walleye fishing, lots of pheasants/grouse, and waterfowl. Pierre is an alright community, has the "big town" amenities, like restaurant choices and fast food, Walmart, etc. Next step smaller would be Chamberlain, same stuff, not quite as large as Pierre, but on the interstate and it's less than 3 hours to the Hills and 2 hours to Sioux Falls. Mobridge and Gettysburg are nice smaller towns along the river, but if you're married, I could see some wives not being too keen on those locations.

A5 is correct, I'm from Watertown and while we might not have the highest population density of pheasants, there are enough here to keep Sage and me entertained. We also have fun chasing ducks, BUT the window for really good duck hunting is kind of narrow as we freeze up a lot earlier than the river. Watertown is on the southern edge of the glacial lakes region, which is a genuine walleye/perch fishing destination for some folks. Especially ice fisherman, but the guys on the boats do alright.

Lastly, my opinion is that the nicest town in South Dakota is Brookings. Lots of college dollars injected into the community have the local economy strong. And the hometown of the SDSU Jackrabbits is going to offer similar hunting and still good fishing, plus you're a quick jog from Sioux Falls.
 
Something else that is now a bonus, at least IMO, is that the season goes all the way through January. I didn't watch the video yet so maybe that is in there, but that is a major selling point for me because most seasons in other states do not go on that long.
 
Thanks for the kind words, fellas. Admittedly, it isn't information that is new or hard to find, but it should be useful to someone who hasn't hunted South Dakota before and aren't sure where to start.

Gimruis, I did not include license information, season dates or information like that. After some of the comments on the video, I'm considering doing a follow up on the various types of public land and that might be a good place to include season info, etc. Thanks for the idea!
 
Golden Hour said:
This time of year comes with a solid number of folks who are looking for information on where to start when making plans to come to South Dakota to hunt pheasants on public land. I've been wanting to put this video together since the end of last season and finally got around to it. It's a brief overview (IMO) as I could expound on the various intricacies of hunting public land, including time of year, time of day, weather patterns, etc. But, I thought this would get the ball rolling and, with any luck, help some folks out.

Click to expand...
Nice overview! Wish I lived <1200 miles away so I could start scouting now! Time spent in the field /on the road ~ birds encountered
 
Thank you and see you on the opener!
 
TomU said:
Thanks for this. Making my first SD trip this November and it was a good overview of what to think about.
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That's a looong trip. Be safe and good hunting.
 
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