First Time in SD

Lee192233

Lee192233

Active member
Hey all,

Planning on coming to the holy grail of pheasant hunting the first week of November. My buddy and I have a room rented in Arlington. We're planning on hunting GPAs, WPAs and WIAs. I understand the drought has been terrible. My thoughts and prayers go out to all who make a living from the land. I can't imagine what it is like to see all your hard work literally dry up. That being said, how bad is it around Brookings County? I know the hunting will be better than here in WI. I can't wait to get out there and chase some birds! Any thoughts?

Thanks for your time,
Lee
 
Brookings County - not a high producing area. Check the map/report from the SD Fish and Game. They publish a report on hunting success for each county. Although it's a report on 2016, it may prove useful to you for this year. The 2017 brood survey should be available in the next week or so...
 
;)Thanks, jonnyB. I will give the report a look. I'm almost positive the hunting will be better there than here. I'm happy if I get a few legitimate chances to get my birds. If the dogs get 4 or 5 good flushes a day I'm happy. I got one bird here last year. Went out 11 times. I guess what I'm trying to say is my expectations are pretty low.;)
 
Thanks Dakotazeb. I appreciate the insight. Is the pheasant population that bad? We'd be happy with 10 to 20 decent flushes a day. If it is I think we may have to head further west. How far west do you think? West of the Missouri? We were worried about the drought. Thanks for your thoughts.

Lee
 
No, not west of the Missouri. But if you are based out of Arlington you probably need to get at least another 50 miles west. From there to the river and both north and south you are in the main pheasant area in SD. Take a look at the pheasant distribution map at the bottom of this page. http://gfp.sd.gov/hunting/small-game/pheasants.aspx

Also the new brood survey report should be out later this month. Be sure to study that.
 
Dakota I'm beginning to feel like I'm an old timer . Coming from Ohio I drove to Watertown and stayed at the Days Inn many years on my way to the Rockham area and Fulton. Usually the week before Thanksgiving. Counted hundreds of birds from Watertown to Rockham. This was
from 2000 - 2013. What a site it was driving early in the morning. At 63 now don't know if I will ever see such numbers again.
 
Harehound said:
Dakota I'm beginning to feel like I'm an old timer . Coming from Ohio I drove to Watertown and stayed at the Days Inn many years on my way to the Rockham area and Fulton. Usually the week before Thanksgiving. Counted hundreds of birds from Watertown to Rockham. This was
from 2000 - 2013. What a site it was driving early in the morning. At 63 now don't know if I will ever see such numbers again.
Click to expand...

I moved from Aberdeen to Watertown in 2011. I couldn't believe that the numbers in the Watertown area were so bad. But there were and still are. Since I moved here I probably haven't shot more than a half dozen roosters within 30 miles of Watertown. You need to get west of here about 50 miles before you start seeing better numbers. At 63 you will probably see some good numbers again. Now me, at age 71, it could be a different story. :) I believe the single most important factor to getting the numbers up is habitat. This state has lost 100's of thousands of acres of CRP in the past 10 years. If that doesn't come back neither will the birds. Just like the soil bank days of the late 50's and early 60's when there were birds galore. But once that program ended and the land went back into production the pheasant numbers took a nose dive.
 
You will be fine. There are enough birds there for two guys to get limits each day. I would go later in Dec for better luck. You probably will not see the massive flushes everyone dreams about in SD. Hunt the field boarders. My parents live just outside of Brookings and hunt there every now and then and I find birds. I hunt Union co which has far less birds and the wife and I and a couple dogs get double limits more times then not.
 
No doubt, late December can be a great time to hunt. BUT, it can also be a time when it's impossible to hunt due to snow depth. And sub zero temps with 20-30 mph winds don't help either. You really must watch the weather for late season hunting.
 
Thanks guys for all your help and insight. We're going to give it a whirl. I'll try to post with pictures while we're hunting. Can't wait to head west again. It's in my blood now. If I don't get a bird I'll be happy. I just love the wide open space. Good luck to all of you! Head down and swing!

Lee
 
Guyndog, Can you please provide some reasons for your statement? I appreciate everyone's insight and opinions.
Thanks, Lee
 
He won't, he'll tell you all the land is horrible and the state plants birds, that's his motto on everything. I have already been out in august this year and did some scouting and found many of the areas we hunt all intact and haven't been mowed or grazed so im hoping for a good trip in October. Either way it's better than being at work and spending time with friends and dogs is what it's all about!
 
Road trip thru the 281 corridor yesterday, Plankinton to Redfield. This was was perhaps smack dab in the middle of the best area ever in the world in the good old days. Did not get too far off the road, but CREP and WIA definitely cut say 50%. Very wet there for the moment too. Did not see any birds but was not prime time. Locals were pessimistic. With pressure down may be some birds to chase.
 
My buddy and I stayed in Watertown for SD opener last year. We chose it only because it is a quick little drive from MN and you can't hunt until noon which gave us plenty of time to drive West out by the Redfield. We drove a lot of back roads in the early morning hours and only saw one bird near Watertown. It's a fun town with a lot of places to eat and plenty of public land but I too would go West.
 
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