2024 Upland Season

Glock said:
Looks like we may get a temperature cool down just in time for opener.
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We can’t hunt on Saturday due to another conflict, but we’re heading out Sunday for sure. Sunday looks like a high in the 50s and breezy - let’s go!

Also excited to hear everyone else’s reports too!
 
gimruis said:
Looks like the crop harvest has really taken off recently according to the most recent USDA report out yesterday. Its 9 days ahead of schedule from 2023 and 12 days ahead of the 5 year average as of yesterday.

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I'm gonna clue ya in. The crop harvest really took off weeks ago. Whoever works on that report for the USDA must be like a dog chasing his tail. Maybe with combines the size of a small house that can pick a field in no time flat it's hard to keep up on it. I saw a guy picking a bean field driving back from SD on Sunday. Only bean field with crop in it I've seen in a month. That guy must have been playing grab ass instead of picking his fields.
 
Bob Peters said:
I'm gonna clue ya in. The crop harvest really took off weeks ago. Whoever works on that report for the USDA must be like a dog chasing his tail. Maybe with combines the size of a small house that can pick a field in no time flat it's hard to keep up on it. I saw a guy picking a bean field driving back from SD on Sunday. Only bean field with crop in it I've seen in a month. That guy must have been playing grab ass instead of picking his fields.
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The issue with anecdotal reporting like yours is that it represents only a small fraction of sample size. What you see is only what you see. Which is fine if you only hunt one specific area.

USDA crop reporting and harvest takes the whole state into account. Also, South Dakota is South Dakota. Not Minnesota. For publication purposes, crops in one state have nothing to do with crops in another.

Most of the beans in the area I hunt are harvested, but the corn is definitely not 85% out. Not even close yet.
 
Crops are mostly offf south of 94. Even 35 north of the cities… corn is coming off. Usually going up deer opener I think … will be tough around there with all that corn still up.

Problem with crop reports is relevance to your particular spots is somewhat poor
 
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Well this is some interesting weather. On Mon/Tues it was 80 degrees. Now its a heavy wet snow. Guess any moisture is better than none though.
 
Definitely looks like we've turned the corner for the season. Next week plus should be highs in the 50's. I'm playing hooky tomorrow for a day trip. Can't get myself to spend another night in a hotel. Should be good hunting this weekend.
 
I received over 2 inches of "moisture" yesterday. 1.5 inches of rain and then 4 inches of moisture-rich wet snow. Should help the landscape and scenting conditions.
 
Was out for a 2-3 hour hunt this morning ... unfortunately (maybe) I was in the snow free zone and brought home one rooster. I was a nice chilly damp morning from 9 - noon.
 
Same here, all thin cover was leveled with ice. Made for tough walking with the crust. I got one rooster, and the dog caught an injured blue wing. On the way out I missed another rooster, but shot a goose she pointed. Dog didn’t want to go get it so I had to strip down to my skivvies (in view of the road for the keen eye) to wade in and break about 3/8” of ice. Thankfully it was a firm bottom and not muck. Not making that mistake again, no clue what I was thinking. Birds were clumped up today, flushed about 20 roosters. My own boneheaded mistakes kept me from a limit, there were plenty of opportunities. I just got home and cleaned the birds. The rooster had been shot before, and had pockets of infection in both sides of the breast and one leg. Unfortunately it had to go in the trash.
 

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Springer22 said:
Amazing what the storm did where I was at today. Knocked down crp fields and cattail sloughs flat.
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I was checking on some deer stands for next weekend recently. Its some of the same area I pheasant hunt after deer season, and its exactly how you described it there too: flattened. 3-4 inches of heavy wet snow completely eliminated 75% of the bird habitat already. It looks like a heavy brush cutter went through the entire countryside of grassland. Total buzz kill.

This specific spot was one of my better spots last season because the grass stayed intact all season, all the way through December. Now there's just very isolated clumps of heaver cover and trees.

The other thing I noticed was the abundance of standing corn too. They've started on it, but there's at least half if not more still up. And given how wet it is with more rain coming, that won't be going anywhere soon now.
 
gimruis said:
I was checking on some deer stands for next weekend recently. Its some of the same area I pheasant hunt after deer season, and its exactly how you described it there too: flattened. 3-4 inches of heavy wet snow completely eliminated 75% of the bird habitat already. It looks like a heavy brush cutter went through the entire countryside of grassland. Total buzz kill.

This specific spot was one of my better spots last season because the grass stayed intact all season, all the way through December. Now there's just very isolated clumps of heaver cover and trees.

The other thing I noticed was the abundance of standing corn too. They've started on it, but there's at least half if not more still up. And given how wet it is with more rain coming, that won't be going anywhere soon now.
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That’s exactly what I was doing. Doing stuff at the deer property, that land is flat. Brought the pup with to hunt a few random pieces of public on the way home. Wonder what the birds do in that situation?
 
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