Report

dukxdog

dukxdog

Active member
I got out to my house in SD three days ago. Got all my stuff stored so went hunting yesterday and today. Sure there's water in ditches, water filling low spots in fields, some roads laked over and WPA back full from being dry.

Crops are about 15% harvested so lots of birds hiding there.

Yesterday I killed three roosters on a WPA and section line then killed three more today on a WPA. What's not to love about SoDak pheasant hunting!

December will be awesome as crops are cleared from fields late then more birds become huntable.






Now back to the World Series!
 
I agree, the boys and I are having a great time out here this year. Lots of water along with lots of standing corn, but there are also lots of birds everywhere we go. Every bird crop we have opened is stuffed full of corn. Just need to adjust the hunting strategies. Here are just a few we have gotten...


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dukxdog said:
I got out to my house in SD three days ago. Got all my stuff stored so went hunting yesterday and today. Sure there's water in ditches, water filling low spots in fields, some roads laked over and WPA back full from being dry.

Crops are about 15% harvested so lots of birds hiding there.

Yesterday I killed three roosters on a WPA and section line then killed three more today on a WPA. What's not to love about SoDak pheasant hunting!

December will be awesome as crops are cleared from fields late then more birds become huntable.






Now back to the World Series!
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Beautiful pics
 
I had the worst hunt ever nov 3-5. Hunted western Lyman county. Property that I hunted for years and usually limited out in on a daily basis was very unproductive this year. I hunt alone with a good dog. Anaged to flush 21 birds in 3 days. Only 7 were roosters and I got a shot at 2 and bagged one. The property had good habitat and plenty of food strips (Milo). Unfortunately all grain fields had been harvested on this property. Adjacent properties had large unharvested mill fields. I believe the the two snowfalls in October drove the birds into the large milo fields and they have stayed there since the snow has melted. For me it was all in the timing.my guess this property will have good hunting once the milo is harvested because it has the best habitat around.
 
We hunted Oct 30-Nov. 3. Central S.D. it was a tough go, crops in everywhere, saw birds in evenings on the roads but they disappeared in to the crops very quickly. We averaged 1.5 birds per person per day, with alot of miles covered and shoe leather worn out. Note, all private ground.
 
Having a very tough go on private land in central SD. This property has always put out reliable limits for two guys but a lot of the cover is flooded. There are some birds in corn but there often is. Clearly bird numbers here have declined dramatically. Average 1 bird per person over 3 days of hunting long and hard.
 
Hunted Central SD October 26th - 29th. The farmers were just starting to harvest and most of the crops were still in the field. Almost zero corn was harvested in the area. I thought the bird numbers really varied depending on the area. There were spots where hail decimated the crops and it must have taken care of many of the birds as well. The numbers were way way down in those spots. 10 miles away where it didn't get hit by hail and you would see more birds. Numbers were still not great. I have never seen so few out at sunset in this area as I did this year. I think many are holding up in the crops. I averaged 2 birds a day with pretty good shooting. Hunter numbers seemed down. Also, the amount of water was incredible. There were lakes in fields. Duck numbers were crazy. I think late season hunting will be tremendous because so many birds will still be out there until the crops are out.
 
Hunted our family farm in Eureka from Nov 1-5. 7,000 private acres of pheasant nirvana, the past 23 years at least. This was my third visit to the farm since Dove opener on Labor Day where I saw 7 pheasants in 3 days. During a mid-October archery deer and duck hunt I saw a few more pheasants but still scarce compared to years past. On this trip I was solo with my trusty lab. While I saw birds every day and shot birds every day, I also had long walks in outstanding cover that have produced every year except for this year. I’ll be honest, I was bummed out on several of the walks to not even see hens. All of the corn is still standing in our area with the birds clearly using the corn as a safe haven. I took the time to drive roads early in the morning, watching a few pheasants and many deer. I still had a lot of fun but it is not the same as previous years where I see hundreds of birds on every walk.
 
Crops are standing...BIRDS ARE IN THE CORN. It's not that the numbers are down. I've been killing birds every day for the past ten. I don't miss very often so it's not like i'm getting ten shot opportunities but most days I've put three in my vest. I think numbers are pretty good and will look better as crops are harvested.




 
dukxdog said:
Crops are standing...BIRDS ARE IN THE CORN. It's not that the numbers are down. I've been killing birds every day for the past ten. I don't miss very often so it's not like i'm getting ten shot opportunities but most days I've put three in my vest. I think numbers are pretty good and will look better as crops are harvested.


So you're running a britt, a lab, and is that a wirehair? Nice dogs, and they look young. Variety is spice of life. I enjoy your reports and pics.
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Mill Creek said:
So you're running a britt, a lab, and is that a wirehair? Nice dogs, and they look young. Variety is spice of life. I enjoy your reports and pics.
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Thanks MC.

My Lab is two. FrBrit is three and Wirehair is thirteen (acts like he's three but I see his age this year). I'm covered for all types of cover and fields.

I'm fortunate to be able to hunt pheasants for 30 days each season in SD. I hear from hunters (and Farmers) that bird numbers are low but in reality numbers are good. It's just knowing where and how to find them. We are seeing lots of birds right now along the roads but they dash to the corn when they see vehicles or hunters.

 
dukxdog said:
Crops are standing...BIRDS ARE IN THE CORN. It's not that the numbers are down. I've been killing birds every day for the past ten. I don't miss very often so it's not like i'm getting ten shot opportunities but most days I've put three in my vest. I think numbers are pretty good and will look better as crops are harvested.




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Hey, I know that one place. HA!! Keep up the reports. The hunting is only going to get better as the cover keeps dwindling and concentrating the birds.
 
Spent a few weekends hunting near Chamberlain and Mitchell, now finally found a decent number within 30 mins of Sioux Falls. Hunting all public. My Golden got her first ever retrieve today.
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dukxdog said:
Roosters in sagebrush are fun. Looks like your dog is a winner GM!
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Yes, she is 6 now, abd she has always handed me the bird.I did not train her to do that, she jyst always has. She will get in cattails, but I try ti keep her out as much as posible, it's hard on them.
 
jonnyB said:
Maybe you would tell us a bit about your Golden - breeder, training et al.

Thanks!
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She's about 10 months old, and comes from DeWayne Peterson near Bristol, SD. Her parents were not hunters, just family dogs. Although obviously she is of the "field line" type of golden. We saw a local ad for Golden puppies and the timeline and cost worked out so we got her, even though she doesn't have the most impressive pedigree. She has taken to hunting and retrieving really well. I have trained her using Richard Wolters books, and I have been really happy. She won't win any hunting competitions, but she's a great family dog and she fetches and listens really well. She has been really enjoying hunting and, now that she has her first retrieve, hopefully she will continue to improve. It's our first Golden, and so far we have been really happy with how loving and fun she is. We figured that we would have a great family dog and a decent walking partner for me while I hunt, and anything more than that is a bonus :)
 
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