Hate for this to be my first post but..

slodes said:
My uncle has a farm close o Lenox, used to hunt there every year since I was 12. Three years ago we went the whole season and saw only one bird. 2200 acres, really good cover, waterways, IMO its not a matter of CRP, its a matter of birds just not being there anymore. Really sad.

My dad and I just came back from Souh D, hunted around the Watertown area on public land. We had the best time, birds were everywhere even with so much corn still out. Just had to time it right-morning before noon, and then from 3:30 to sunset for road hunting. Since we hunted public, and there was a lot of good land off the beaten path, we had very good luck. We traveled light, split the bills, and stayed at a Super 8, probably did the week trip for $500 each
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Did you find a sportsmans atlas for the public hunting ground? Did you take a dog? How much was the hunting license for that time period?

The reason I ask is, I am thinking about doing that later this fall when I get some free time.
 
I requested the atlas from SD's DNR website-here's the link:

http://www.sdgfp.info/Wildlife/Requests.htm

Get the pheasant information packet-has all the info you'll need- public hunting atlas, road survey, pheasant per square mile/per hunter, really good stuff. Out of state license will set you back $110, Super 8 will set you back $60 a night depending on when you go and they allow dogs-mention you're a US Gov Employee-they don't check-and its another $20 off your room per night.

Hunting license covers two five day periods, they ask that you set both periods at time of purchase but you can change your second timeframe at a later date. I brought a dog, he's a year old, did my best to work with him over the summer and took him three times here before I went to SD. State law requires you keep proof that he/she is current on their shots. Too much sent or too many birds but after day one he ran wild and was left in the truck a couple times. Season ends the first week of Jan.
 
Thanks for the info...how was the public land? Does it get a lot of pressure? Whats the common terrain?
 
Public land was good in comparision to what I've hunted around here lately.
The state production land wasn't bad, most had a pond or lake, lots of heavy cover, and some had crops/food plots. I prefered the walk in areas-I believe the walk in areas are land leased by the state while the state production areas are state owned land. Almost all of the walk in areas were CRP/heavy cover with a few with food plots. The state owned land at that point had seen a lot of use. While we never ran into any other hunters you could tell people had been tromping through. Best advice, run 30-45 minutes north west of town, lots of the walk in area, didn't see much if any pressure and
most butted up agains crops. The roosts we saw were pretty fresh and every now and then we'd hit one with 12-15 birds still balls deep in.
 
Interesting how everyone complains about the loss of CRP as the major issue in pheasant population decline. If I remember right last year PF magazine talked about the biggest need being sloughs in SE SD and many parts of Iowa. Reason being that the birds needed dense winter cover that did not blow in with snow. Just a thought.
 
[I really have to disagree about the CRP having anything to do with the pheasant population decrease. I truly believe it has more to do with the weather and predators like cyotes, hawks, bobcats and turkeys. Its just a shame that Iowa's DNR is not near as proactive as SD's. QUOTE]

since when are turkeys a predator of pheasants?????
 
over the last 3 yrs i started hunting in sd on public ground . 3 hunters carpooling makes it affordable. if the farmers here would just stop mowing the ditches n water ways down because they r bord the birds could nest. maybe they should outlaw air coinditioned cabs n batwing mowers that would certainly help. p.s. i am going 2 sd 12/7-12/11 if u want 2 c some birds come along.:cheers:
 
iowa labs said:
over the last 3 yrs i started hunting in sd on public ground . 3 hunters carpooling makes it affordable. if the farmers here would just stop mowing the ditches n water ways down because they r bord the birds could nest. maybe they should outlaw air coinditioned cabs n batwing mowers that would certainly help. p.s. i am going 2 sd 12/7-12/11 if u want 2 c some birds come along.:cheers:
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Hey I farm:) Trust me I'll never mow a ditch what a waste of money.

Good luck in SD:thumbsup:
 
Little has changed in nth IA, there was really not much CRP anytime. Birds have flurished because of the 10 years of mild winters. They have the grove winter program down good. Hanging out right in farm yards and wooded river bottoms. The bird numbers were un believable untill last winter and all that dam freezing rain. That is what knocked them down. Up there they simply could not get food for too long. There is still a fair amount around but not like last year. It will take a few years of decent weather and they will be back. When I was in IA City last weekend I saw 1 pheasant between there and MN. But that was mostly freeway. Saw some guys out hunting though. The rooster I saw was in Charles City. I will have a good Nth IA report in a couple weeks. Seen 50 or so by a public here yesterday. I plan on educating them on hunter respect tomorrow.:D Hang in there and it will get better. Try asking on some private spots. As far as getting rid of the dogs, well you could buy birds cheap and release them on any day and go hunting. Cheaper in the long run any way, at least till you find greener pastures. Roosters here right now would run 7$, and they fly like a wild bird. 1 was born on the other side of a fence from the other is all. Still taste the same:thumbsup:
 
Good habitat, (ie. crp) can protect birds from weather and predators. If southwest Iowa can catch a break from the bad winters and wet springs I think the birds will slowly rebound.
 
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