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  1. W

    State land vs federal/wia/crep

    I agree - federal WPAs are usually one of the better spots for decent pheasant habitat. Not perfect - still exposed to haying and grazing, but I find them much better than state GPAs, generally speaking. The state owned GPAs seem to be a set and forget operation. Seems like they were planted...
  2. W

    State land vs federal/wia/crep

    CREP and WIA is exactly that: Free hunting on private land.
  3. W

    State land vs federal/wia/crep

    Replying to your own post - interesting approach...
  4. W

    Boots on ground

    That has crossed my mind, but I don't want to be 'that guy' looking for loopholes... Like the ones that are "crappie fishing" before opener and just happen to have a ton of 'incidental catches' of walleye. So if someone is down in the James River valley, walking the dogs in thick cover, the 'I'm...
  5. W

    Boots on ground

    Correct - it does state less than 4 dogs. It also states you can only run them Aug 1 - Sept 15 (varies by year), or before April 15. And never on a WPA. The definition of "public land" is not well defined in the rules. WIA and CREP are not not publicly owned, only public hunting access, so a...
  6. W

    Boots on ground

    You might want to read up on what is legal in SD regarding running dogs on public land this time of year.
  7. W

    Emergency Haying in SD

    I was just in North-Central SD and did not see any new haying of public ground in that area this year. But, I did notice that areas hayed in recent years are still struggling to recover. Some were hayed as far back as the 2017 drought (according to my notes in OnX) and still have not come back...
  8. W

    Will SD GFP get back to basics?

    Don't get caught practicing science in South Dakota - you will be denounced as a heretic and sent to be judged by a tribunal of the pheasant marketing agency.
  9. W

    Huron, SD

    No plugs for upland hunting. Some people also hunt waterfowl simultaneously - would need a plug in that case.
  10. W

    MN Pheasant Map 2023

    Maybe I am not following, but 50 birds on a section of land is pretty reasonable.
  11. W

    New to South Dakota new to bird hunting

    The James River valley to the MO river is a good place to start. Find tall grassy/weedy cover near crops. Cross off school ground on the map (South Dakota Trust Lands) as 95% of those are moonscape. Since you are local, drive and scout before the season starts. South Dakota is notorious for...
  12. W

    Results after boots on the ground

    Yes - it was. Could not lift your head or your hat would fly off. And when it started snowing it was like ice daggers in your face. But, it made for some great hunting. We stuck to public ground - plenty of birds seen and harvested, even with difficult shooting conditions.
  13. W

    Izaak Walton League

    Congratulations - Thanks for your contributions to habitat in SD!
  14. W

    North Central Ice

    As of Monday night it was unchanged. It was 30+ and sunny mid-day and I expected to see more ice melting off the cover, but was not happening. Guessing maybe ground still too cold - not sure. Hoping by the end of the weekend it clears up. The good news is it did not seem to hurt the birds -...
  15. W

    Walk in Areas

    How is a lodge housing and feeding any different than a hotel and a cafe? It is still taxable income to the state. The difference is you are looking at up to $1000 per day of taxable revenue vs $100. The state is going to cater to the former. I don't disagree that they are missing an...
  16. W

    Walk in Areas

    I think what the state has found is that the biggest money comes in from pay-to-play, so little incentive to make the public land hunting better.
  17. W

    Walk in Areas

    MN - WIAs much, much, better cover than SD. Very rare you pull up to a mowed or planted WIA in MN. But like you said, SD (primary pheasant range) just has the right conditions (soils, weather/wind) for growing birds. I think it's a shame - they could put just a touch of effort in the public...
  18. W

    Anyone Use the KDWP Garmin WIHA GPS Maps?

    You do not lose your waypoints, tracks, notes etc., and you do not need to export them. I only subscribe to OnX for 4 months each year then cancel for the off season. All of your waypoints stay there and you can continue to log in and change things, you just lose all the layers like public...
  19. W

    Non-toxic shot

    Soooo... You avoid confusion by going lead-only, even though it is illegal on WPA and GPA. Versus going with non-toxic only, which also avoids confusion and is legal on all properties?
  20. W

    Non-toxic shot

    I don't think he is the one who is confused. Clearly non-toxic is required on GPA and WPA.
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