Another Darn "Foreigner" asking for advice...

J

JHoch00

Member
Hello Northern Friends...

I will be making the trek up from Colorado to Eastern SD (Hayti) to get a new family/hunting dog this weekend. I convinced the wife it would be the perfect time for me to carve out 4 days to hunt pheasants in SD for my first time. It will be just me most likely... maybe one friend.

I have poured into the game and fish reports of pheasant and hunter densities and the online maps, etc... but it is a bit overwhelming of where to even start. I love the exploring part, the seeing new country and walking around with the dog. After multiple drought years in CO, my standards for success are very low...

So here is my question... can anyone offer a suggestion of which county or general part of the state for a solo hunter to start in?

One other thing I would appreciate thoughts on... is hunting public right of ways. In CO this is illegal so it is hard for me to comprehend. Is this normal and acceptable there or is it considered "bad form"? As a solo guy with a dog it seems like a way to spend part of days... but is just hard for me to picture. Is that possible to do in areas without significant public land?

Anyhow, I guess those are a lot of questions... any advice would be appreciated. Thanks for considering!
 
Darn. Realized I kinda asked the same thing as another thread. Sorry for the poor form.

I hope it goes without saying that Im not asking for gps coordinates of radio collar equipped roosters... If I could just narrow the state down a bit I'd be happy:)
 
I would generally say if you can stay between the Missouri river and the James river there are good numbers to be had. You can expand about about 50 west in the southern half and still find good numbers. There are birds outside of that area but in general numbers are better in this main pheasant belt.
 
Hunting road ditches is perfectly legal and a great way to hunt solo imo, especially during the last hr or so when the birds are picking up gravel. There are a ton of roads that have very little to no travel on them. Look at the atlas for those dotted roads. I look for ditches that have crops next to them along with all the other habitat required to produce pheasants. Exploring SD and seeing all the different land is half the fun. Good luck.
 
Hayti is only about 20 miles from me. Pheasant numbers in this part of the state are really low so you need to head west. West and NW of Redfield would be a good area. Or you could head down in the Kimball/Chamberlain area or the Platte/Winner area.

Road ditches are legal but be sure to obey the law. If you flush a bird from the ditch and it flies over private land you can shoot it. And you can make an UNARMED retrieval of the bird. Just be careful of some of the adjacent landowners, especially those with a hunting operation on their land. They hate road hunters and those that hunt the ditches. There aren't many that will bother you but there are a few a$$holes around.
 
I second DakotaZeb. I've lived in both Brookings and Chamberlain for a few years each and hunting ditches is a great and completely normal way to hunt solo. Just be smart of your surroundings, livestock, other cars, houses, barns, etc. I've had to pass on shots before because the bird gets up the same a car is coming down the road. Some people (happened to me maybe three times in 5 years) think they own the ditches and will try to force you out or threaten you. All three times also happened while I had Iowa license plates before I got SD plates.... Avoid areas that have some kind of "shooting prohibited" sign. There's not many but a few people do put them up around their property.
 
I agree about hunting road ditches. I've done it many times and killed many birds that way. But to clarify, the adjacent landowner DOES own the ditch and I believe all the way to the middle of the road. But there is an easement that allows the road, the ditch, and public access of both. So if a disgruntled landowner disses you for walking the ditch, do not make the mistake of saying "you don't own the ditch" as that will only show your ignorance. I've never been bothered for walking the ditch except for one time a landowner objected to my friend's dog being on the private land side of the fence line (there were no wires, only posts) and yes, that is not allowed. And don't walk a ditch within 220yards of any buildings.
 
still_steamn said:
But to clarify, the adjacent landowner DOES own the ditch and I believe all the way to the middle of the road. But there is an easement that allows the road, the ditch, and public access of both.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure you are correct on this. I know that is the case in North Dakota but I'm pretty sure it's not the case in SD. I'm sure Uguide or some other SD landowners that are on this site can clarify this.
 
I have hunted a few times in South Dakota in years past with guides that slowed us to hunt ditches . I thought it was perfectly legal to the best of my knowledge
 
It is legal. Below is the section in the Hunting Regulations Handbook that addresses hunting road right-of-ways.



Hunting on Public Road Rights-of-Way
Laws and rules governing trespass and motor vehicles are complex. The laws may be simplifi ed if the hunter
remembers to hunt only on foot during established seasons, to ask permission to enter private land, and not
to drive on state and federal lands. It is also advisable to restrict vehicular travel in wet weather when roads,
trails, rangeland, and cropland could be damaged and in dry conditions when fi re danger is high.

ATTENTION DOG OWNERS: Hunters who hunt road rights-of-way should understand they must
maintain control of their hunting dogs at all times. Dog owners who allow their animals to remain
on private property without landowner permission for the purpose of fl ushing game birds may
be subject to trespassing charges. Dogs may be used in the unarmed retrieval of lawfully taken
waterfowl and small game birds from private property. However, under no circumstances may
dogs be used to intentionally flush birds from private property to hunters in the road rights-of-way.

Road rights-of-way, excluding the Interstate highway system, are open for the hunting of small game
and waterfowl (see Mourning Dove, Youth Pheasant, and Resident-Only Pheasant seasons for special
road hunting restrictions). However, no person, except the adjoining landowner or any person receiving
written permission from the adjoining landowner, may use such highways or rights-of-way for the purposes
of discharging any fi rearm or for the purposes of hunting within a 660-foot safety zone surrounding an
occupied dwelling, a church, schoolhouse, or livestock. Neither the person discharging a fi rearm at small
game nor the small game being shot at may be within the 660-foot safety zone.
The rights-of-way along a section line or other highway is open for hunting if:
1. The rights-of-way has been commonly used by the public for vehicular travel, as demonstrated
by the existence of a well-worn vehicle trail.
2. An intentional alteration or adaptation has been made to the rights-of-way to enhance the natural
terrain?s utility for vehicular travel or to permit vehicular travel where it was not possible before.
NOTE: Fences are sometimes not on a rights-of-way boundary and sometimes there is no fence. Most
section line rights-of-way are 66 feet wide. Some acquired rights-of-way are wider.
* Hunters can take only small game (except mourning doves) and waterfowl within the rights-of-way
on foot. The hunter must be within the rights-of-way and the game must have taken fl ight from within
or be fl ying over the rights-of-way
* The person must park or stop their vehicle as far to the right-hand side of the road as possible
* If the person who discharges a fi rearm is more than 50 yards from the vehicle, the doors on the
side of the vehicle nearest the roadway must be closed, but the engine may remain running
* If the person who discharges a fi rearm is less than 50 yards from the vehicle, all of the doors of the
vehicle must be closed and the engine shall be turned off
* It is NOT legal to shoot small game and waterfowl that takes fl ight from rights-of-way over a Federal
Refuge or Indian Tribal Trust lands. If a state-licensed hunter shoots at a bird across the fence
on either of these lands, the hunter may be subject to arrest by U.S. Fish & Wildlife offi cers
* Small game and waterfowl taken from the rights-of-way but falling onto private property can be
retrieved by unarmed hunters on foot
* No person may discharge a fi rearm, muzzleloader, crossbow or bow and arrow at any big game
animal, except turkey to be taken with a shotgun using shot shells or with a bow and arrow, from within
the rights-of-way of an improved public highway
* A person may not discharge a fi rearm or other weapon across or from any Black Hills National
Forest system road
* Any person who, while hunting road rights-of-way, negligently endangers another person, or
puts that person in fear of imminent serious bodily harm, is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor
 
Last edited:
As to ownership of the ROW to the center line of the road-- the official land plate for our farm shows we own 157 acres of both quarters that are adjacent to the state highway--so I guess they own the other 3 acres----:D
 
Not 100% on this but paid guides shouldn't be having you hunt ditches as they are considered public land. Public land allows no paid guided hunts on it.
 
still_steamn said:
I agree about hunting road ditches. I've done it many times and killed many birds that way. But to clarify, the adjacent landowner DOES own the ditch and I believe all the way to the middle of the road. But there is an easement that allows the road, the ditch, and public access of both. So if a disgruntled landowner disses you for walking the ditch, do not make the mistake of saying "you don't own the ditch" as that will only show your ignorance. I've never been bothered for walking the ditch except for one time a landowner objected to my friend's dog being on the private land side of the fence line (there were no wires, only posts) and yes, that is not allowed. And don't walk a ditch within 220yards of any buildings.
Click to expand...

I may be mistaken but I believe it is public land within 33 feet of the center of the road on both sides.
 
For ditch hunting it is also helps to understand section line roads. The main roads are setup in 1 mile squares. These squares are cut into quarters by section line roads which are also publically maintained right of ways. Not every section line has a road but those that have at least established wheel ruts can be hunted on. They don't all go through to the next mile road so some backtracking may be necessary. Also, if there is a mailbox and no stop sign you are dealing with some one's driveway which can be so long you can't visually see the houses or buildings.

Way more ditches were mowed clear this year than I've ever seen before which might make this method tougher this year. I hunted a lot of ditches and did well opening day (Sat) but saw limited results the next 3 days due to windy conditions. We had our best results scouting ditches with cover next to standing crops early in the day and then rapidly working through these spots and getting birds from 4PM to sunset, either walking the ditch or at the end of the day driving through those spots looking for them making their way to the ditches.
 
Dakotazeb said:
I'm not sure you are correct on this. I know that is the case in North Dakota but I'm pretty sure it's not the case in SD. I'm sure Uguide or some other SD landowners that are on this site can clarify this.
Click to expand...

Just to Clarify In North Dakota if both sides are posted you CAN"T hunt the ditches or road. If one side is Posted you can't hunt that posted ditch but could hunt the ditch of the other Unposted side, and if a bird get up shoot it and if it landed on posted land, leave your Gun and retrieve your bird. I am 95% sure on this, as I have been hunting in ND for 30 years. We are different then SD in that respect. Also In North Dakota the land owner owns the road and pays the county to maintain it. Also in North Dakota we are charge a fee if we don't Mow our road ways.
 
Last edited:
Not sure but if things are as they usually are I would not be surprised if the adjunct land owner has to pay the taxes from fence line to the center of the road---:D
 
Last edited:
SDJIM said:
Not sure but if things are as they usually are I would not be surprised if the adjunct land owner has to pay the taxes from fence line to the center of the road---:D
Click to expand...

You pay in ND. Also, I don't like to Mow my ditches, because I like to give pheasants as much cover as possible. But if I don't mow them the county Mow's them and sends me a bill. So at least I can mow them and be careful not to harm any birds. Now granted we Only have to mow about 10 feet in, not the whole ditch, and I realize on highly traveled roads this helps with visibility. But my road is a dead end road that I am really only one that uses it. just wish county would use a little common sense.
 
pheasanthunt said:
You pay in ND. Also, I don't like to Mow my ditches, because I like to give pheasants as much cover as possible. But if I don't mow them the county Mow's them and sends me a bill. So at least I can mow them and be careful not to harm any birds. Now granted we Only have to mow about 10 feet in, not the whole ditch, and I realize on highly traveled roads this helps with visibility. But my road is a dead end road that I am really only one that uses it. just wish county would use a little common sense.
Click to expand...

don't count on anything like that, never happen

cheers
 
That a$$hole landowner has to pay taxes on 16 acres for every section. That a$$hole landowner has to spend time and money maintaining the right of way. This includes trimming trees and spraying for canadian thistles. Milestone herbicide costs $900/2.5 gallons.
For all the time and effort I put into creating habitat I feel disrespected.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top