Planning 1st Trip West, North Central Iowa or SE South Dakota???

R

RunRoosterRun

Member
I am starting to planning my 1st trip pheasant hunting out of Wisconsin in mid November and would like some opinions / advice from some of the more experienced members on the forum.

The purpose of my trip is to have a spur of the moment adventure/road trip with my 10 1/2 year golden retriever who is still in good health; but I realize that my window to hunt wild pheasants with him is getting shorter every hunting season and would like to go west with him while I still have the chance.

Here are some details about the proposed trip; let me know where you would go or if either location even makes a difference. I would prefer North Central Iowa because it is a closer drive but I don't know if the additional 3 hours in the car each way justifies driving to the locations in South East South Dakota that I have picked.

I will be able to hunt approximately 3 days (Friday through Sunday) or (Saturday though Monday).

I only plan on hunting public land or private land that is enrolled in programs that allow walk in hunting.

For lodging I am going to remain flexible. I can camp and remain mobile (I have good cold weather camping gear) or find motels if there are vacancies in the areas I am hunting.

I am not expecting an easy hunt at either location. I am used to hunting public release sites in Wisconsin for pheasants and large tracks of public land in Northern Wisconsin for ruffed grouse so I know what hard hunting can be and the more miles you cover means the more birds you will see.

Let me know your thoughts.
 
Not familiar with northcentral IA at all, but if you head a little further west to the Okoboji area, there's some nice public land. I honestly haven't hunted it, so I don't know how bird numbers compare to the spots I'm used to in SD. My guess is not quite as good. I usually hunt public/walk-in areas no more than 80 minutes or so from Sioux Falls, to the west & northwest. By and large, these areas are better than spots close to Sioux Falls or south of it. I'm successful year-round, but then I know the land well. That said, you mention a spur-of-the-moment aspect to your trip. Any chance you could put it off until December? Might be a little tougher going, but mid-November is usually the absolute most difficult time to hunt public land in this area. Lots of birds have been pushed off public land & won't use them unless absolutely necessary. (May lend credence to IA, where I'd expect the pressure to be a little less & probably not as much suitable cover adjacent to the public land.) If you & the dog can hack it, might be considerably better to wait until there's been a significant snow event (4"+) to move the birds back into the thicker public cover, at least temporarily. Also, be aware that neither SD nor IA (to my knowledge) stock the public area like you see in WI. You're going to be chasing some of the smartest critters on the planet. One more thing, SD East River Deer season is Nov. 19 - Dec. 4. If you come during that time, you'll see lots of guys out, but they're chasing antlers, which doesn't seem to put quite the pressure on the birds that dogs do. I enjoy hunting pheasants while everyone else is after deer, but DON'T SKIMP ON THE ORANGE!!
 
This is a good opportunity to get experience wherever you go. We used to hunt SE Iowa back in the early 2000's. I definitely wouldn't recommend it there now. WPA lands in western MN may be a good option. I bet you won't regret where you go or the amount of success because its always and adventure! Good luck!!
 
SD.
I did SE SD a few years ago and got on some private land by just asking at a restaurant one morning,. Did some public ground too. Lots of birds on the private ground. The public was a little tougher but we put some up.
 
NW Iowa

I live in the Okoboji area. If you're sincerely intertested in coming to this area, shoot me a PM and we can chat a bit. I'll give you the honest lay of the land.
 
Just got back from s dakota and found the walk-in areas to be worthless. No cover and no birds. Public land is marginally better but can be good if you get lucky. Good luck. Steve
 
We spent 3 days to the NE of Pierre around some state owned land. We had some luck there and in the ditches but the walk in areas around there and the waterfowl state areas were pretty worthless.

Our last 3 days were on private ground around Presho and Kennebec which was fantastic, but the guy is booked this year.

He charged 150/day per gun, and although we did not like paying to hunt, he reserved his entire 2500 acres for us and it was excellent.

I am anxious to hear from you and others about what sort of hunting luck you had and how much was charged if any to hunt on good private land.

FINALLY, IF YOU OR ANYONE ELSE HAS TIPS FOR A GOOD WINTER QUAIL HUNT FOR ME AND MY SON--MUCH APPRECIATED! WE LIVE IN ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS AND THE CLOSER THE BETTER. THANKS, STEVE
 
RunRoosterRun said:
I am starting to planning my 1st trip pheasant hunting out of Wisconsin in mid November and would like some opinions / advice from some of the more experienced members on the forum.

The purpose of my trip is to have a spur of the moment adventure/road trip with my 10 1/2 year golden retriever who is still in good health; but I realize that my window to hunt wild pheasants with him is getting shorter every hunting season and would like to go west with him while I still have the chance.

Here are some details about the proposed trip; let me know where you would go or if either location even makes a difference. I would prefer North Central Iowa because it is a closer drive but I don't know if the additional 3 hours in the car each way justifies driving to the locations in South East South Dakota that I have picked.

I will be able to hunt approximately 3 days (Friday through Sunday) or (Saturday though Monday).

I only plan on hunting public land or private land that is enrolled in programs that allow walk in hunting.

For lodging I am going to remain flexible. I can camp and remain mobile (I have good cold weather camping gear) or find motels if there are vacancies in the areas I am hunting.

I am not expecting an easy hunt at either location. I am used to hunting public release sites in Wisconsin for pheasants and large tracks of public land in Northern Wisconsin for ruffed grouse so I know what hard hunting can be and the more miles you cover means the more birds you will see.

Let me know your thoughts.
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Hunting is cool. My father has been professionally engaged in hunting for 10 years and participates in various competitions. I managed to visit several times him in the forests and see how quickly he reacts to prey. At home, I have a lot of prizes and awards from my father dedicated to hunting. We recently attended a wild boar hunting event, which was attended by over 100 people. My father really wanted to take part in it, as this is a great opportunity to make new acquaintances and share his experience. Thanks to outdoorstages.co.uk we managed to create a fantastic atmosphere and I am very glad that I was there!
 
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steven vecchio said:
We spent 3 days to the NE of Pierre around some state owned land. We had some luck there and in the ditches but the walk in areas around there and the waterfowl state areas were pretty worthless.

Our last 3 days were on private ground around Presho and Kennebec which was fantastic, but the guy is booked this year.

He charged 150/day per gun, and although we did not like paying to hunt, he reserved his entire 2500 acres for us and it was excellent.

I am anxious to hear from you and others about what sort of hunting luck you had and how much was charged if any to hunt on good private land.

FINALLY, IF YOU OR ANYONE ELSE HAS TIPS FOR A GOOD WINTER QUAIL HUNT FOR ME AND MY SON--MUCH APPRECIATED! WE LIVE IN ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS AND THE CLOSER THE BETTER. THANKS, STEVE
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I am seeing a lot of quail in KS this year. Two weeks left in the season.
 
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