Ive had my best luck on the WPAs this year. Last year the crep and WIA were good also but mainly hayed this year. Dont overlook those creps that have been hayed and still have a low spot or waterway thats hard to see from the truck though! Ive got a couple of those this year that are almost...
I would put Irish Setters in the same bracket as Danners. I had the Irish setters last year and barely better results. I do put in close to 70 days a year upland hunting but looking for better. I would gladly spend the money if I thought I could get three years.
Best description of the two I've seen. Both can be\usually are great dogs. Breed standards are strict to a fault for the DDs which is good for us all. Id definitely go DD as far as coat maintenance goes but it again can vary litter to litter.
I have two Drahts (wirehairs). Pros, mine have fairly tight coats (Ff for the german breed standard) that are zero maintenance besides beard as far as far as burrs go. Their endurance is unlimited and retrieving as good as any lab Ive owned. Will literally out hunt any person Ive ever hunted...
Hunted S of Michell today and there was about 4-6 inches of snow and ice. Very loud and not much fun to walk in for me or the dogs. Got a late start but by noon the sun had softened the icy top layer and dogs were getting into their groove. Seen more out of staters today than I did opening...
I hunted 15 miles East of Mitchell today and very little snow. Lots of ice but it was melting by the time we were done. I90 was still closed W of Mitchell as of 11 am but the snow line was still west of there I heard. Chamberlain had much more snow,
I snuckout yesterday from noon to about 130 and birds were sitting very tight. Nice change compared to the last two weeks. Snow will be gone by Wednesday for sure around Sioux Falls as we got maybe an inch but did have about 1.5 inches of rain before it turned to snow.
A lot of the MN people earn their reputation at the boat ramps in SD. Its a common saying that you could walk across the river in the spring and not get your feet wet for all the MN boats fishing here while their season isnt even open yet. I appreciate what they do for the economy but there is...
Hard to complain about this weather but... Took over three hours yesterday for the son and I to get our birds but a great feeling when we did. Dogs were definitely the heroes of the day. Public land roosters are no guarantee this time of year and the hunting pressure in my area is unreal for...
Thought Id pass on a phone call I just got off. A friend of mine who has a three yr old spinger just called me bragging about his dog. Ive hunted with it once or twice a season the past two years and would've been hard pressed to spend the money on a bag on Old Roy to feed it from what Ive seen...
I am a collar advocate but also know it is the most abused, dangerous tool out there. I have a 9 month old Draht that could do no wrong the first two months of season but if hes chasing a hen or missed rooster over the horizon now I have no problem reinforcing my command. A guy way more...
Rabbit season last a month past pheasant in SD so three years ago I got a group of friends together to go chase them in some groves on public land in Feb, I have Wire Hairs and Drahts so they were all in and had a ball! I knew as soon as we started it was a mistake but fortunately no dogs were...
Few people can or will do it but sometimes dogs can be rehomed to a family that hunts less than you want to and start over. As a one year old you may be asking a lot but in my expierience a soft dog will always be soft. Tough call and I feel for you but your looking at another 12 years with this...
Im going to mark it down as an off day if allowed;). Went to MN today and had my three with four shots, the forth shot being a follow up just to make sure!
Glad to hear its not only me! Yesterday three for four and two of them at forty plus. Today I shot at least 12 times and only one dead that flew 250 and then skyward to fall dead in the slough. Embarrassing to say the least! I shouldered my gun once after missing a layup and noticed my gun...
Definitely getting tougher out there the last 10 days. Fields that were producing limits in 45-60 minutes are now hen only or roosters flushing wild. Its another reason I love this bird. Its almost like three different seasons with open thanksgiving until snowfall being the most challenging on...
While this is true most still made decent money this year. Last year many made close to record profits. If the interest gets any higher there will be some hardships going forward. Land prices are still near record highs and unreachable to 99% so maybe a reset is due? FYI, my family farms in MN...