Opening weekend and Monday, Shocked!!! Kimball, Chamberlain, Platte area.

BKelly said:
Hmm, I just got back from SD yesterday and bird numbers this year were the best I have seen in about 15 years…and the majority of the corn was still up.

I saw a few 50+ groups of birds flush a few different times, which I have not seen for many years.

Maybe there was too much corn still up where you were hunting?

On the farm we hunt, the farmer cut out a few nice little strips of corn for us…and we shot several roosters in every strip. Zoom in on the picture.
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Those look like young pheasants or another gamebird. I don’t see any long tails (roosters).
When was this photo taken?
 
A couple friends and I have hunted second week of season for last 23 years. I personally saw more birds than any other year with exception of 2005/2006 when they had record numbers. We also saw more grouse than any other year and maybe more grouse than last 4-5 years put together! We hunt center part of state, East River, Pierre north to mobridge. A mix of walk in, wpa’s and ditches. More crops harvested this time than maybe any other year and the few fields with standing crops were being worked. Was also warmest, driest and dustiest hunt I can remember. If you hunted along standing corn it was typical frustration of birds flushing wild, low and flying deeper into corn. Cripples almost impossible to find due to dry dusty conditions so we stopped and only hunted areas with harvested crops. Several walks I saw hundreds of birds, in fact it was often too many birds with mass flushes and wild flushes. My dog is really good and birds were mostly holding tight so it took a dog to get them up. Shot a lot of yoy birds (probably 60%) but also more 2nd year+ birds (30+%) than I expected— last year was also good and winter was mild so carryover was likely good. Also plenty of hens.

Like others we saw very few hunters. Not sure why? We had no problems with getting limits but we are willing to walk.

Looking forward to next hunt in mid November. All crops should be gone and hopefully some moisture comes to improve scent conditions.

Supposed to be a La Niña year so if weather turns and blizzards hit the birds could evaporate! I have told several friends to get out and hunt this year—if the really good years are 20-30 years apart then this will be my last year to see this many birds! Although a crap year in SoDak is still better than anywhere else it is still fun to see this many pheasants.
 

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Riverman said:
Like others we saw very few hunters. Not sure why?
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You already stated it was the warmest, driest, and dustiest you've ever seen. That would be my reason. Go when there's better hunting conditions presented.

I really have no desire to walk around in a dust bowl when its 80 degrees. Even if there's birds to be had.

Certainly most of the individuals on this forum are more dedicated than the average hunter out there, you included. So you really probably only saw those types of hunters and not the majority representative of them.
 
gimruis said:
You already stated it was the warmest, driest, and dustiest you've ever seen. That would be my reason. Go when there's better hunting conditions presented.

I really have no desire to walk around in a dust bowl when its 80 degrees. Even if there's birds to be had.

Certainly most of the individuals on this forum are more dedicated than the average hunter out there, you included. So you really probably only saw those types of hunters and not the majority representative of them.
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It's a cold hard fact there are fewer hunters every year. Now S.Dak. nonresident pheasant hunting #'s maybe close to same because it's tradition or a bucket list item.
 
gimruis said:
I agree. Its the more dedicated crowd he encountered. Not the casual one.
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Most of us travel to go there. We schedule time off, make hotel reservations, then drive a couple thousand miles to get there. The weather outside of a crippling blizzard, really doesn’t figure into it. I am of the belief that the lower numbers are financial mixed with apathy. Unless you are really really into it, other things become more important. I recently took a trip north for six days, by the time I was done I drove nearly 3k miles. Even the cheap little motel has become more expensive.
 
carptom1 said:
Most of us travel to go there. We schedule time off, make hotel reservations, then drive a couple thousand miles to get there. The weather outside of a crippling blizzard, really doesn’t figure into it. I am of the belief that the lower numbers are financial mixed with apathy. Unless you are really really into it, other things become more important. I recently took a trip north for six days, by the time I was done I drove nearly 3k miles. Even the cheap little motel has become more expensive.
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Well said! Our dates are set well in advance & deal with what Mother Nature provides - Last year we saw the most hunters in a long time - we go next week - so will be interesting -

The financial aspect is a factor, as well as the individuals trying to hunt DIY - many of them simply don’t have the ability/drive/desire to do what it takes to have successful hunting - so they get discouraged. Many, with the $$ to do so, turn to hunting operations
I’m seeing it first hand in Alberta waterfowling - more outfitters - more hunters willing to pay $1200/day to hunt - don’t like it, just have to adapt & keep going hard - as always - thanks to all for your reports & good luck to all!
Will post a trip report when we get home
 
For the most part the average age of hunters is getting higher and recruitment (number of hunters replacing those quitting) is relatively poor.

I would agree that the "average" hunter is more dedicated and probably much more specialized than say 20 - 30 years ago. Thus, in the hunter pool that remain, they spend more money and time that the average hunter back then.

Plenty of people pay for access (which is fine) and when I hear "farmer" is that truly a farmer allowing access to a few groups a year for a fee or are you talking outfitter?

There is a difference. If it is an outfitter and you are hunting the same pieces of property that the groups before you did ... the probability of released birds increases ... I would suspect that roosters standing around in corn rows or patches are ???
 
The guides often do not consider their clients as hunters ... many call them "sports" among other things. True that Gulf Coast to Canada.
 
Riverman said:
We hunt center part of state, East River, Pierre north to mobridge. A mix of walk in, wpa’s and ditches.
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All those years hunting ever ran across a snake? I talked to two older hunters who've been all over the state for 40 years. Really nice knowledgeable guys. One of em said he thinks the most snakes in the state are up and down the banks of the Missouri.
 
Riverman said:
A couple friends and I have hunted second week of season for last 23 years. I personally saw more birds than any other year with exception of 2005/2006 when they had record numbers. We also saw more grouse than any other year and maybe more grouse than last 4-5 years put together! We hunt center part of state, East River, Pierre north to mobridge. A mix of walk in, wpa’s and ditches. More crops harvested this time than maybe any other year and the few fields with standing crops were being worked. Was also warmest, driest and dustiest hunt I can remember. If you hunted along standing corn it was typical frustration of birds flushing wild, low and flying deeper into corn. Cripples almost impossible to find due to dry dusty conditions so we stopped and only hunted areas with harvested crops. Several walks I saw hundreds of birds, in fact it was often too many birds with mass flushes and wild flushes. My dog is really good and birds were mostly holding tight so it took a dog to get them up. Shot a lot of yoy birds (probably 60%) but also more 2nd year+ birds (30+%) than I expected— last year was also good and winter was mild so carryover was likely good. Also plenty of hens.

Like others we saw very few hunters. Not sure why? We had no problems with getting limits but we are willing to walk.

Looking forward to next hunt in mid November. All crops should be gone and hopefully some moisture comes to improve scent conditions.

Supposed to be a La Niña year so if weather turns and blizzards hit the birds could evaporate! I have told several friends to get out and hunt this year—if the really good years are 20-30 years apart then this will be my last year to see this many birds! Although a crap year in SoDak is still better than anywhere else it is still fun to see this many pheasants.
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Thanks for the report. We also got a report from a good contact who hunts public around Pierre and he said he saw about 60 birds in a day. That’s pretty solid for public hunting!
It is funny how all these reports can be polar opposite lol.
 
Just got back from SD yesterday. This year was the most birds I have seen in the last 9 or 10 years. Besides one slow morning I saw birds on every walk and had plenty of chances to shoot. Even with some poor shooting I limited everyday. It was hot and windy which made things harder on dog and man, but overall I was super pleased with what I saw out there. Lots of young roosters. My dog is on her 3rd season so she was in good form. I saw multiple flushes of 30+ birds. Hunted all public and a few ROW areas. at least 75% of the corn was down which really helped move the birds around. I put on some heavy miles but well worth it. I also noticed hunter numbers seemed way down this year. Public land that in the past always had cars rarely had anyone hunting in them. Saw some guys at the pay to play places but the average joe was nonexistent.
 
Remember the quality of the hunt is generally dictated by the quality of the dogs. Poor public land will still give up a bird if your dog is better than everyone else before you.
 
Gatzby said:
Remember the quality of the hunt is generally dictated by the quality of the dogs. Poor public land will still give up a bird if your dog is better than everyone else before you.
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And a poor quality dog can ruin really good private land too.

Been there, done that
 
gimruis said:
And a poor quality dog can ruin really good private land too.

Been there, done that
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Yup, the knife can cut both ways!
 
Gatzby said:
Remember the quality of the hunt is generally dictated by the quality of the dogs. Poor public land will still give up a bird if your dog is better than everyone else before you.
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Dogs, yes. But timing is everything, especially on SD public, as birds use it less & less as the season wears on. In areas with early harvest, using public less started earlier this season.
 
My good friend once asked me why my dog could always find roosters when there weren’t any. Not quite true, but she could always produce opportunities. We never hunted the “magic” hour, the birds were cleaned by then. Fine line between hunting and giving the dog exercise.
 
Bob Peters said:
Can't you talk to those roosters and tell them to stay on the GPAs all day long?!
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Trust me, I've tried discussion, threats, bribes, pleading. They just don't care what hunters want. They'd rather we try to figure out which 30 minute period they're using which far-off corner of which area. It's almost unfair.
 
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