Labor Day SD

BeirlSetters

BeirlSetters

Member
A little late but was out last weekend to open up the house and prep for upcoming season. Conditions were about what I expected with what I have been hearing. Crops depending on the area you are in look good or not so good. Bird numbers were about a 1/3 of what I normally see during this trip every year. But there is some really good cover in certain areas if it wasn't mowed so there are probably more birds than we did see.

On to the terrible news of the trip, some of the public ground plots we have hunted for years are either gone or roughly a 1/3 of what they were in years past. I was told based on the program they either have to leave a portion of cover or they can take the whole section. I would say 30% of the public I have hunted in the past looks like my front yard. I guess we will have to wait until next year to have them come back. What scares me is the lack of cover in the public areas for winter cover. Hopefully there is another mild winter because a hard winter could have a toll on the carry over. I was surprised to see they were still mowing public as of last weekend. SD is never easy and you have to roll with the punches. There still is no other place in the country you can see the volume of birds you see there. Its about the experience and not killing birds. I will be prepping for lots of walking and discovering new areas based on the conditions. Good luck to everyone this season!
 
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Good report Chad. I think what you described is what a lot of us are going to find this year. There is a lot of cover gone. Granted, it will probably be back next year but what about winter cover for the birds. A bad winter could be bad news.
 
Buddy also came from MT last week to open house in SD. Basically made loop Mobridge - Aberdeen, south to Redfield-Huron, back west Miller/Highmore to Pierre. Checked a bunch of public we have hunted through the years & stopped and talked with number of farmers, some we know. Echoes what Chad saw. Western portions looked worse than he's seen in years. LOTS of public mowed to ground.Several of our best spots were completely hayed off. Further northeast where there was cover it looked good, considering drought. My neighbors said pastures & grass hit or miss. My buddy said in 3 days of driving around this is fewest birds he's seen, but did see some young birds, but just a few. Several farmers he spoke with have already told their hunters not to come this year. I own a home in SD so will go anyway & we'll still shoot a few birds. Gonna be really tough on public this year. Lot of guys gonna find some of their best spots gone, & lot of people all hunting what's left. Best of luck to everyone. Be safe, lower expectations, be patient, & have a good time anyway. Wish I had better news.
 
Damn.... I guess I am going to be the one that throws out the rant now that SMO isn't here. What is there for an out of state, public land hunter to walk? Many of you on this forum have your private spots that you have to hit, and we have some people to track down and beg but for chrissakes, I guess I will plan on spending 100 dollars more in fuel to drive around and scout.

2013 absolutely sucked and this looks like a repeat of that year. Go ahead and plan on Jan - to convene for another pheasant summit after this one there Mr. Govenor. It will be the good press that you need after this **** show.
 
The huge difference from the drought of 2012 impacting 2013, and today, was all the CRP land taken out between now and back then.
I'll never forget seeing huge tracts of cattails being burned off either. How the re-emergence of CRP, CREP, and other programs designed to bring back habitat all plays out in the next few years, will ultimately determine a healthy, sustainable population, as mother nature puts earth through it's cycles. The huge drop in CRP ground, and the need to mow ( I support doing what our farmers/cattle ranchers need) habitat, is what I fear for future populations. I hope the locals hammer on the predators this year in particular.
 
Flushedup,

To be honest it's going to be a tough year for public ground acres and more than likely a ton of competition, which means wild remaining birds later in the year. I to have private ground to hunt but I have some public ground that year and year is absolutely awesome. Let me rephrase that I had some honey holes that are no longer there with the emergency haying going on. I do agree with Brdhurter I support what farmers have to do to survive in SD its a tough area of the country. Like in my earlier post my main concern is the lack of winter cover that was there in years past coupled with the decrease of overall acres over the years. Crossing my fingers its another mild winter.

Public ground is probably 50% minimum of what I hunt on any given trip. It will be one of them years to cover 50+ miles in any one direction to discover new ground and find birds. Just like PcolaGSP I own a home in SD and will be making multiple trips out this season no matter the conditions. When I was young is was all about birds shot and as I age it's all about he experience of SD no matter how difficult it will be. Boy it sure makes you appreciate the banner years when there are birds all over to drive dogs crazy. My dogs wait all year for SD and even know it could be disappointing we will be there to pound ground. I think the dogs will still get more volume of touches this year than expected. Our grouse opener is this weekend and the dogs are already wired to go as I prep for the weekend.....
 
Beirl,

I know it will be tough, and I know I will be going no matter what... until the day comes where the Minnesota count equals the SD count.

Will it happen? No, probably not. But I got my feet wet in 2010. There was a good bird count but was tailing off from the banner years which I never got to experience. I do like to get out on the prairie and experience South Dakota but it is about the numbers for me, and in 3 years when my kid can hunt... it will be even more so then.

Just venting, sorry to all that may be offended by this but IMO this "sport" is dying fast and it frustrates the hell out of me. We can give our money to PF and preach to whomever listens about land conservation and water quality but it really doesn't matter much when Mother Nature craps on us does it? Couple that with farming practices that are the complete opposite of said land conservation...... well I am just barking to bark at this point. I hope you all have a few good flushes this year,
 
Cattails and well designed multi-layer shelter belts are what carries pheasant through tougher winters. Good thermal protection and cover. Actually unharvested corn fields can be good too.

Grasslands often are the first to fill with snow or get knocked down with snow.
 
feedlots and shelter belts support your carryover birds.......cattails get buried in big snows, birds suffocate.
as i said earlier, the real frustration will be finding cover to just hunt.
 
To quote BieriSetters: "To be honest it's going to be a tough year for public ground acres and more than likely a ton of competition...."

That sums up the outlook for 2017. Too few birds for too many hunters.

My personal observations while scouting different areas in SD since Sept 8th. Unbelievable silence during the last hours of daylight and the early morning hours just after dawn when the roosters would have been cackling. One landowner in the Miller area thought the count was down not 45%, but more like 75%. As I scout different areas, I see very, very few birds along the back roads even in the early morning hours. Hunters are going to have to be very mobile while searching for that "honey hole".

Although, I believe the pheasant farms and the "pay to hunt" preserves with their stocked birds are going to have a banner year. But that is not my kind of hunt. Speaking of which I saw the newest and one of the largest pheasant farms I have ever seen, located just a couple of miles south of Miller, SD. And I thought my friends relatives operated a large operation in Gregory.
 
I've been out running the dog four times since Labor day weekend and have observed the exact same as mentioned. Not many roosters sounding off when normally there would be. Also have observed very few birds along the back roads which is also very discouraging. After four outings searching for public places to hunt I hope I have come across some areas that I can focus on that have seemed to hold a few pockets of birds. The only problem with finding these places is that eventually others will find them too and the birds will be pushed off of them. Then my search will continue again.
 
BigRand said:
I've been out running the dog four times since Labor day weekend and have observed the exact same as mentioned. Not many roosters sounding off when normally there would be. Also have observed very few birds along the back roads which is also very discouraging. After four outings searching for public places to hunt I hope I have come across some areas that I can focus on that have seemed to hold a few pockets of birds. The only problem with finding these places is that eventually others will find them too and the birds will be pushed off of them. Then my search will continue again.
Click to expand...

I run my dog several times a week in the field and I'm just not seeing any birds. Maybe they are all in the standing crops, I don't know. But other years I would see birds all year long in the areas I'm in.
 
Just spoke to buddy in Spink county. He also has been out running dogs & is not seeing birds, even in spots we have always found them. Lot of cover gone he said☹️. Better bring lots of dogs & be ready to travel.
 
I went to the cabin at Chamberlain last week. Got up early Sunday morning. Dead quiet, gave the dogs a run. Quiet was the key word.. Not one cackle. Im amazed at how much is mowed flat, or grazed flat. Other than a couple hunts, I think fishings going to be my primary occupation this fall..

Reports from the grouse hunters (3 different reporters) indicate more mowed and hayed ground and lots of pressure. few birds. whether thats grouse, chickens or pheasants..

This is simply my observations. Your results may very.

Disclaimer: There will be pockets of birds, I just havent found them yet..
 
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