January hunt

B

birddogs4evr

Active member
I am considering a early / mid January trip to the Miller area. We usually go to KS but would like to walk so new ground. In the past we have only hunted WIHA, is this strategy an option in S.D. ? I've checked weather averages, seems doable. Recommendations?
 
I'm not sure what WIHA stands for in SD, but my guess is that its a public hunting plot of land. By January, the birds are extremely skittish on public land in most states. Heck, you might even say its tough sledding by December, or even November. Maybe someone who is more familiar with SD WIHA in January can offer some insight. So ya its certainly an option, but is it one that is likely to generate success? Maybe not in January.
 
I would assume that what the OP is talking about with the term WIHA is the same a WIA's (Walk-In Areas) in South Dakota. WIA's and all other public hunting areas get hit hard during the season. However, by January there are fewer hunters out so I would guess that there is less pressure on public hunting lands. The biggest issue you will face is weather. In years with a lot of snow most field are not accessible. Cattail sloughs are drifted over, etc. And you could face some brutal sub-zero temperatures. Birds will tend to be in the heaviest cover such as cattails.
 
Of course it's doable. I know nothing of the walk-in areas in KS, but I'm guessing that a late, late season rooster in KS is nearly as smart as one in SD, so if that's what you're used to in KS, you should be prepared for it in SD. I do know that in recent years, hunters in SD have shot 3.5 to 4 times as many roosters as in KS, & the average birds/hunter/day has been about 1.5, compared to about 0.9. And no, those stats don't include pen-reared pseudo pheasants at preserves. To me, that says a reasonably experienced hunter w/ halfway decent dog should be able to come to SD in January, hunt smart, pressured birds, & still get some opportunities.

Why Miller? I'm not an expert in the area, but it's not exactly a hot bed of public land or WIA/CREP areas. And I do know a couple people who own land in the area that have said the last couple years, bird numbers have been down up there due to drought, etc. Maybe I'm wrong. There are areas in SD with just tons of public land. I'd look at the SD Public Hunting Atlas & choose an area nearer one of those areas of the state. For my money, on average, WPAs are the most productive in January because they tend to have the most cattails. And ditches. Learn the rules for hunting rights of way & hunt ditches, particularly those that contain cattails near picked corn & near roosting cover.
 
I have "potential" access to private property around Miller ( relative ) but don't want to depend solely on that. We've never killed limits on our January KS hunts but no crowds and plenty of WIHA has been the draw. FYI , WIHA is private property leased by the state for use by licensed hunters. Not necessarily for upland, could be turkeys or deer too. Our main concern is weather, always , always unpredictable.
 
birddogs4evr said:
I have "potential" access to private property around Miller ( relative ) but don't want to depend solely on that. We've never killed limits on our January KS hunts but no crowds and plenty of WIHA has been the draw. FYI , WIHA is private property leased by the state for use by licensed hunters. Not necessarily for upland, could be turkeys or deer too. Our main concern is weather, always , always unpredictable.
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South Dakota public land in January is awfully quiet, unless you get an unseasonably warm day on a weekend. Then a few people will come out, but it's still usually not a big issue. But that's why I prefer areas w/ a ton of public ground. So if there happens to be somebody at the place I want to hunt, another spot isn't far away. But that's a rare occurrence in January. I much prefer to hunt solo with my dog as it is, but my opinion is that most public land in SD is best suited for 1-2 people (3 at the very most), particularly late in the season. 1-2 people who know when, where & how to find & hunt pheasants, with a couple good dogs, should be able to find opportunities for a limit almost every day of the season, if the desire is there. The important thing to remember is that if you're in an area that seems like should have pheasants...they're most likely are. You just need to do your best to think like a pheasant, make your best estimate of how he might be spending his day (because most days they move all over the place), & figure out when they'll be in some cover you can hunt. That simple. :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO: If nothing else, even if you can't get birds to cooperate at all, halfway experienced hunters should be able to see quite a few more pheasants on SD public land than pretty much anywhere in KS.
 
So I am from S.Dak. but lived in Texas for 25 years. I made it back to hunt pheasants probably 18 of those years. Sometimes up to 3 trips a year. We only missed 1 day of hunting- it was 18 below and 25mph winds. We were afraid we couldn't keep the diesel truck running.
Now we couldn't hunt in anything but the beginning of January in those days but ,pack up with layers of warm clothes and bring a pump or dbl barrel and have fun.
 
Weimdogman said:
So I am from S.Dak. but lived in Texas for 25 years. I made it back to hunt pheasants probably 18 of those years. Sometimes up to 3 trips a year. We only missed 1 day of hunting- it was 18 below and 25mph winds. We were afraid we couldn't keep the diesel truck running.
Now we couldn't hunt in anything but the beginning of January in those days but ,pack up with layers of warm clothes and bring a pump or dbl barrel and have fun.
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I've got an old mdl 31/ 16 ga I will absolutely bring. Always a tough choice between the O/U and S/S.
 
A5 Sweet 16 said:
South Dakota public land in January is awfully quiet, unless you get an unseasonably warm day on a weekend. Then a few people will come out, but it's still usually not a big issue. But that's why I prefer areas w/ a ton of public ground. So if there happens to be somebody at the place I want to hunt, another spot isn't far away. But that's a rare occurrence in January. I much prefer to hunt solo with my dog as it is, but my opinion is that most public land in SD is best suited for 1-2 people (3 at the very most), particularly late in the season. 1-2 people who know when, where & how to find & hunt pheasants, with a couple good dogs, should be able to find opportunities for a limit almost every day of the season, if the desire is there. The important thing to remember is that if you're in an area that seems like should have pheasants...they're most likely are. You just need to do your best to think like a pheasant, make your best estimate of how he might be spending his day (because most days they move all over the place), & figure out when they'll be in some cover you can hunt. That simple. :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO: If nothing else, even if you can't get birds to cooperate at all, halfway experienced hunters should be able to see quite a few more pheasants on SD public land than pretty much anywhere in KS.
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There are usually 4 of us but we split into 2 groups which works well generally. I hunted the Gregory area 5 or so yrs ago (private land) but haven't been back. Feels like it's time !
 
A5 Sweet 16 said:
Of course it's doable. I know nothing of the walk-in areas in KS, but I'm guessing that a late, late season rooster in KS is nearly as smart as one in SD, so if that's what you're used to in KS, you should be prepared for it in SD. I do know that in recent years, hunters in SD have shot 3.5 to 4 times as many roosters as in KS, & the average birds/hunter/day has been about 1.5, compared to about 0.9. And no, those stats don't include pen-reared pseudo pheasants at preserves. To me, that says a reasonably experienced hunter w/ halfway decent dog should be able to come to SD in January, hunt smart, pressured birds, & still get some opportunities.

Why Miller? I'm not an expert in the area, but it's not exactly a hot bed of public land or WIA/CREP areas. And I do know a couple people who own land in the area that have said the last couple years, bird numbers have been down up there due to drought, etc. Maybe I'm wrong. There are areas in SD with just tons of public land. I'd look at the SD Public Hunting Atlas & choose an area nearer one of those areas of the state. For my money, on average, WPAs are the most productive in January because they tend to have the most cattails. And ditches. Learn the rules for hunting rights of way & hunt ditches, particularly those that contain cattails near picked corn & near roosting cover.
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Thanks for the reply, I'm fairly certain we're coming that way. It's a long ride (22 hrs both ways) but I enjoy every minute!
 
A5 Sweet 16 said:
Of course it's doable. I know nothing of the walk-in areas in KS, but I'm guessing that a late, late season rooster in KS is nearly as smart as one in SD, so if that's what you're used to in KS, you should be prepared for it in SD. I do know that in recent years, hunters in SD have shot 3.5 to 4 times as many roosters as in KS, & the average birds/hunter/day has been about 1.5, compared to about 0.9. And no, those stats don't include pen-reared pseudo pheasants at preserves. To me, that says a reasonably experienced hunter w/ halfway decent dog should be able to come to SD in January, hunt smart, pressured birds, & still get some opportunities.

Why Miller? I'm not an expert in the area, but it's not exactly a hot bed of public land or WIA/CREP areas. And I do know a couple people who own land in the area that have said the last couple years, bird numbers have been down up there due to drought, etc. Maybe I'm wrong. There are areas in SD with just tons of public land. I'd look at the SD Public Hunting Atlas & choose an area nearer one of those areas of the state. For my money, on average, WPAs are the most productive in January because they tend to have the most cattails. And ditches. Learn the rules for hunting rights of way & hunt ditches, particularly those that contain cattails near picked corn & near roosting cover.
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0.9 is being pretty generous. They must be including quail😆
 
The only advice I can offer is to eliminate the noise. If you are alone, then most of the noise will just eliminate itself because you don't have to talk to the other person. I would sneak in like a ninja. Literally no noise whatsoever. The dog should automatically know what to do. Roosters will have become used to knowing what noises to associate with hunters by that point and they will bail before you even get a chance to get within shotgun range.
 
The one and only time I paid to hunt was When I accidently ran across an advertisement for a guy who was renting out a farmhouse for deer hunters in southern KS. I called him and he said come on and for a few more bucks he would show us some great pivots to hunt. He was wright those pivots were full of quail and pheasants but there wasn't enough to keep us busy without hunting the same ones every day. So he showed us some walk in areas. I told him that they were probably pounded. He said that the locals wouldn't even hunt them until late season. He was wright. it wasn't near as fun as the pivots but we did shoot some birds on them.
 
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