A season of weather or weather not

onpoint

onpoint

Active member
Well just got back from 4 days in south central SoDak. The weather got us once again. We arrived on Tuesday mid day. It was in the 50s, winds light and mostly sunny. we awoke on Wednesday morning to big temp change and howling winds. As the week went on the weather only got worse and the continued howling winds were joined with on and off snow.

Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed myself but I never dropped the hammer even once on a rooster. We only got up about 30 birds and only 4-5 were roosters. All of them flushed out of gun range. The birds were all down in the largest of cattail slews, ranging from 10-30 acres plus. This year these slews have water, which had thin ice on it. The ice supported the birds and not the dogs. Pretty tough for two guys and two dogs to effectively work slews of that size, besides given these conditions. We shot 3 Fox squirrels and one cotton tail.

We only hunted public land and we do have some good low pressured spots.

IMO, unless you have enough people to work the large tracks of native grass and slews, don't waste your money. wait until next year and hope for better conditions. Dec can be tough weather in SoDak. High winds and cold weather(the norm) keep the birds hunkered down. A person needs a sunny and calm day to really see numbers of birds out of the thick cover and feeding and those are tough to get this year. The weather was relentless but still enjoyed time spent with my son, the dogs and my favorite Pheasant gun. We sat in the cabin when not hunting, cooked some great breakfasts on the wood cook stove and had some good supper with good friends next to our place. Crown & coke saved the day and relaxed the thought of yet another trip spoiled by weather. We cut the trip two days short and headed for home. We had enough of the cold and wind with little to no birds and we had great dog work.

Ah, but you are all die hard Pheasant hunters and no amount of talking from me is going to change your minds. You will go because you have to, it's in your blood.

I did see the biggest buck I have ever seen and I have seen and shot my fair share of them. MONSTER TYPICAL, he was a 180-190 class buck, maybe higher. Jumped him in chest high grass on public ground.
 
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Ice

With the influx of colder than freezing temps won't the wet areas freeze over enough to hold man and dog? Could you have gotten on those birds in the thick stuff if the ice was already thick enough to hold you?

When the ice finally reaches that point where it can hold anybody under the size of Andre the Giant I have often found it can be like opening day all over again but I would value your thoughts on my crazy assumptions.

Sorry to hear about the frustrating conditions. I once hunted Kansas four days in a row and everyday the wind was blowing over 40 miles an hour and it was a miserable trip to say the least.
 
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"won't the wet areas freeze over enough to hold man and dog?"

It was 9 above this morning when we left. I don't know about you but falling through the ice and getting wet a half mile or more from the truck with -3 windchill isn't on my list of things to do. The mud is warm and keeping the ice from getting thick for now.

IMO, you have to hunt the size habitat that the size of your hunting party fits with. 2 hunters, a couple of dogs and 10-30 acre plus chest high cover just don't work. The birds will just out move you and if you do flush them, most of the time it will be out of gun range.

Dec weather can bite you right in the hinder, it did us. It's tough when many are struggling and in many are spending money that could be used to ease their winter bills..hoping for success and a few memories. Many, many a hunter has spent money that could have gone elsewhere...I'm sure near all of you have. All I'm saying is, go with the attitude lets just enjoy ourselves and if we shoot a few birds great but if your going in hopes of shooting a limit every day as a first priority. I believe your setting yourself up for a disappointment.

It's tough hunting right now unless your willing to pay to get on to a place with standing feed(Bait is a better word). We hunted near a refuge. This kind of chaps my hide as it does others. The refuge is farmed and lots of the crops are left standing or cut high and left for cover. This draws a lot of game off lands open to public hunting and private land that boarders the refuge(or lands close by)The bordering land owner who is unable to afford to compete with habitat and standing crops, left to draw in game are hit hard. Same goes for private land owner against private land owner. If the person bordering you has the cash to leave a fair amount of land/crops set aside for drawing in game. You may be short changed when it comes time for your hunting. There is real boarder wars going on with this food plot stuff. IMO, it's all bait, weather you poor it in from a sack or leave it standing. The law reads normal farming practice. It''s not normal farming practice to leave your crops in the field. IMO, standing crops shouldn't be allowed to be hunted. That would show just who's really interested in leaving standing crops for the birds or for cash to fill their pocket's from people willing to shoot birds from what amounts to baited cover. we hunted some private land last year. A friend got him and us on to hunt with a fellow employee on his fathers land. We hunted some CRP but he had about 20 acres or more in Milo. My friend asked him about hunting that. He said NO, we can't hunt that, It's saved for a group of hunters from down south who are paying to hunt. That's a pay only hunting spot.

onpoint
 
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onpoint said:
It's tough hunting right now unless your willing to pay to get on to a place with standing feed(Bait is a better word). onpoint
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My guide called me tonight and they limited out today for 7 guys at My Cattail Haven Camp. 21 birds. They don't have any standing corn or food plots, just grass and sloughs and it has been hunted all season. I have always believed a good guide and dogs can come into any of my camps and get a limit of birds for average sized group (6-10 hunters).
 
I find it interesting how difficult some areas of the state are to hunt. I presume these are in prime pheasant areas. My area of SD is yielding the same number of birds it did last year.
 
Long time before the end of the season. I still expect some of the tough spots in the state to improve quite a bit and make it well worth it going out...just have to pay attention to and/or talk to folks who will give you an honest appraisal of conditions where you are going.

If you mainly hunt public land, I might be leery about reports like UG's here. Things have been different all year in many places this year--early conditions weren't great either. On publicly accessible land birds have been harassed a bit throughout the season and they had many fewer acres to hide on than in the past (can't be in the cattails, too wet)--so the ones that might be caught out in the grass know the game. If you hunt private land primarily things can be quite different.

The places I did see more birds in my trip last week where near private lands that were managed like UG's stuff--or where I knew they dump a lot of birds out.
 
We were out last week of Oct and second week of Nov. Done OK but not great. Just talked to a couple of the guys I was with then on there way back as I type this said they shot their limit each day. They said they had to work to get there birds but they saw a lot that they could not get a shot at. We hunt public land which I think makes it a little tougher. I will be going back on Dec.16th
 
Funny thing is, if I had the cash to head out again. I would go in a heart beat. I love to hunt..plain and simple. I have the place to stay for free(my own place), I know lots of places to hunt, have Lic. for the last week of season...anybody have free gas coupons or want to drive and stay at my place?..LOL
 
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onpoint said:
Funny thing is, if I had the cash to head out again. I would go in a heart beat. I love to hunt..plain and simple. I have the place to stay for free(my own place), I know lots of places to hunt, have Lic. for the last week of season...anybody have free gas coupons or want to drive and stay at my place?..LOL
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What's that adage - A bad day in Dakota is better than a good day in (fill in the blank)? I think I hear that in your latest post. H'up! :)
 
Went out today and saw more birds than I have seen all year. We finally could get into the sloughs now that they are froze. The best days are yet to come.
 
BirdBocx said:
What's that adage - A bad day in Dakota is better than a good day in (fill in the blank)? I think I hear that in your latest post. H'up! :)
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The worst day of hunting or fishing is better then the best day of whats dealt out on everyday life.

We were disappointed with the weather and our hunting results because of it but we are in no way ready to give up.

onpoint
 
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