... how 'bout here?
- Thread starter Good Boy!
- Start date
UplandHntr
Well-known member
Sure, give it a shot.
A5 Sweet 16
Well-known member
Yep, there are lots of nice places around there. And you're not the first one to notice them. I can't compare them to every other part of the state, but I can tell you those areas are WAY more heavily hunted than the areas I typically hunt, particularly by non-residents.
Golden Hour
Well-known member
There will likely be pheasants in that area. As others have noted, it is a dense area for pheasants and pheasant hunters alike.
I was out this weekend for the Resident Opener and I did something that anyone travelling South Dakota should NEVER do. That is, I go to a piece of public land and only hunt portions of that property. I have younger kids and my wife has a lot of professional obligations, so my hunt times are sometimes an hour or two. Some of these spots are places I've hunted with my dad before I could carry a gun. I have seen dozens of generations of pheasants do some pretty predictable things, so I'll cherry pick the best opportunities on a parcel and go for it. It works because I have the experience of these particular places. BUT, it happens time and time again that I hear roosters giving out a warning crow when I get a couple hundred yards away. Personally, I don't care because I'll likely hit it again in a month or so.
Best advice is to select your spot and put in the work. Hit the edges of the cattails, the short grass, the transition zones, all of it. Heck, perhaps even double back if your dog was birdy, but didn't flush a bird. The pheasant likely gave you the slip and is still hanging around. Imagine you could hide in almost anything and your life depended on it, then you'll be thinking like a rooster. You'll be more successful than if you try to hit a lot of different spots and overlook parts of that property. You might know this and I'm not trying to be pedantic. I see a lot of folks travel from a lot of places and rather than really hunt a piece of ground thoroughly, they go for the juicy looking spots and then pack up and move on. Leave that to the snooty locals.
I was out this weekend for the Resident Opener and I did something that anyone travelling South Dakota should NEVER do. That is, I go to a piece of public land and only hunt portions of that property. I have younger kids and my wife has a lot of professional obligations, so my hunt times are sometimes an hour or two. Some of these spots are places I've hunted with my dad before I could carry a gun. I have seen dozens of generations of pheasants do some pretty predictable things, so I'll cherry pick the best opportunities on a parcel and go for it. It works because I have the experience of these particular places. BUT, it happens time and time again that I hear roosters giving out a warning crow when I get a couple hundred yards away. Personally, I don't care because I'll likely hit it again in a month or so.
Best advice is to select your spot and put in the work. Hit the edges of the cattails, the short grass, the transition zones, all of it. Heck, perhaps even double back if your dog was birdy, but didn't flush a bird. The pheasant likely gave you the slip and is still hanging around. Imagine you could hide in almost anything and your life depended on it, then you'll be thinking like a rooster. You'll be more successful than if you try to hit a lot of different spots and overlook parts of that property. You might know this and I'm not trying to be pedantic. I see a lot of folks travel from a lot of places and rather than really hunt a piece of ground thoroughly, they go for the juicy looking spots and then pack up and move on. Leave that to the snooty locals.
A5 Sweet 16
Well-known member
I think Golden Hour & I are pretty much on the same page, but this may sound as though we're not. 
A pheasant hunter w/ quite a lot of experience has a pretty good idea what areas are going to be most likely at a given time & weather conditions. I definitely concentrate on those spots. Usually, if they don't have birds, the less likely spots won't either, but that's not to say I avoid them altogether. If I strike out in likely spots, I often feel my time is better spent traveling to different likely spots, rather than tearing apart the less likely spots. And I definitely try to avoid needle-in-a-haystack type hunting, whether it be in a big slough or vast ocean of grass. Wandering aimlessly isn't usually productive. Pheasants are like fish. They relate to structure almost all the time, whether that be an edge, a transition, or whatever. Not only is that where they're most likely found, but that structure can be played to the hunter's advantage when deciding how to get close to them, trap them, etc.
A pheasant hunter w/ quite a lot of experience has a pretty good idea what areas are going to be most likely at a given time & weather conditions. I definitely concentrate on those spots. Usually, if they don't have birds, the less likely spots won't either, but that's not to say I avoid them altogether. If I strike out in likely spots, I often feel my time is better spent traveling to different likely spots, rather than tearing apart the less likely spots. And I definitely try to avoid needle-in-a-haystack type hunting, whether it be in a big slough or vast ocean of grass. Wandering aimlessly isn't usually productive. Pheasants are like fish. They relate to structure almost all the time, whether that be an edge, a transition, or whatever. Not only is that where they're most likely found, but that structure can be played to the hunter's advantage when deciding how to get close to them, trap them, etc.
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Golden Hour
Well-known member
Thanks for the clarification A5. I agree that if you're pup doesn't get birdy a single time as you work the edge of the cattails or other good habitat, you don't need to do a cavity search on the place. I was mostly saying don't just hit the most prime areas and move on. For guys that live and hunt in an area, we've learned to recognize features in the habitat that some might bypass. All that to say, don't go too fast, but don't overexert yourself when there may not be birds. Best way to tell? Those 4-legged kids of ours.
Miforester
Well-known member
Spots that i have a history with I will cover most of it because I have found/flushed birds almost anywhere. I focus on the areas of highest potential from my experience then work away. I think another function is weather if mild temps then you will find birds everywhere from brome to cattails which makes things a bit more difficult. I have had great success in hunting large grass areas, needle-in-haystack, with great success, am i as methodical in these areas no but I start at what A5 calls "structure" then use our greatest weapons, dog noses, and allow them the freedom to work the field. When I get done with these areas i'm always amazed that we do find the needles and often times get my limit or have the opportunity too. Yes, there are fields that we don't find anything but that is hunting. I have 8 years of maps with notes on how we did each time we hunted dating back to 2012. I always try to add new spots and now have a pretty good selection of places to hunt, all public, and very rarely to I hunt one more than once while I'm out there. Biggest mistake I see guys do is not hunting the fields out to the pinch point of a road or fence when they haven't flushed any birds, generally only happens once.
Only 17 more days till i'm headed west to get my pheasant/duck fix for 2020.
Only 17 more days till i'm headed west to get my pheasant/duck fix for 2020.
.... excellent reminders, all... I'm fortunate, in one regard, that I'm traveling with a lil 6x10 trailer which will be home/hotel on the road giving me tons of time, early and late, to scout and get the lay.... probably set up my split 10 days between Tuesday the 20th-24th...then 29-....
... so if anyone sees a Toyota pulling awhite trailer with PA plates, pull over I can have hot coffee in 5 minutes flat...
One eyed Jack and I will be pounding the ground and traveling the back roads... see if I can show him.
Luck.
... so if anyone sees a Toyota pulling awhite trailer with PA plates, pull over I can have hot coffee in 5 minutes flat...
One eyed Jack and I will be pounding the ground and traveling the back roads... see if I can show him.
Luck.
Goosemaster
Well-known member
Very good advise, and I have notes that go back 30 years. Birds on public land, are very spooky, and it really helps to have a way to back door them.It took me years of trial and error, to learn how to hunt certain areas.
... meant show a pic of him, but too large...
jackrabbit
Active member
One old timer and successful hunter told me to always walk clear to the boundary sign and touch it. I may not always touch it, but I do always try to do a sweep of the corners. Often times there is some type of transition zone there that is going to force the birds to either run into bare ground or take flight.
yup, this tactic often works.
It surprises me to see all of you veterans saying this spot will get hammered. I always pictured Hutchinson County as a more marginal pheasant area than others and thus less pressured. If this spot is heavily pressured it seems it would be impossible to find any spots not heavily pressured in the East Central/Southeast SD area...am I wrong in this thinking?
A5 Sweet 16
Well-known member
You're not necessarily wrong, it just seems like maybe you haven't been up into that area in a while. In the last 15 years or so, it's gone from so-so pheasant country into real good pheasant country that's VERY easy to access, making it one of the more popular spots East River.
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I think the issue here is posting a screenshot of a specific area on a public forum. There are birds in nearly every part of the state, yes there are higher density areas of both birds and hunters and this information can be found in some of the reports on the SDGFP website. Part of the fun for me has been finding places on my own. I have hunted North, South, East and West... there are birds everywhere I have hunted. I have enjoyed exploring the state both in person and in preparation on google earth.
Good Boy! My suggestion would be to pick out a few spots, explore and take notes. If this is your first time pheasant hunting in SD, you will have the time of your life. This is my 15th year making the 13 hr drive and I have memories of my dogs all over the state. Enjoy!
Good Boy! My suggestion would be to pick out a few spots, explore and take notes. If this is your first time pheasant hunting in SD, you will have the time of your life. This is my 15th year making the 13 hr drive and I have memories of my dogs all over the state. Enjoy!
... second time, but better prepared, last time was a last minute decision traveling home..... this time towing my accommodations so can roam and scout....64 and not my first rodeo but PA's put and take stockings lack the flavor of a full on SD adventure..... gotta get it done while the body is still ( barely) willing....
Goosemaster
Well-known member
I wonder if Murdo is any good for birds.