Publics - Mowed & Hayed ?

B

BirddogGSP

Member
Based on what I'm reading on other post I believe that the public hunting areas can be hayed. Is that correct ? Does that apply to WPA, CREPs ? Can they cut all of it or a percentage of property?
I'm thinking this year will be a year of doubles and triples especially if the birds are bunched up with corn out, field mowed and hayed...
Been too long since I've had a triple. :rolleyes:
 
for public ground, there may not be much left to hunt.......ditchs mowed too. going to be some disappointed "public ground" hunters show up....boy are they going to be pissed off......with pay to hunt ground, being about the only alternative, a good number of guys may just stay home instead of making the long drive....should be interesting, along with forth coming comments this season. :confused:
 
Ouch! That's going to hurt a bunch of people including myself and doubting if I should make the trip even or go for a later date. I'm going to call cpo and pick his brain. We've got one guy that likes to make a scouting trip in advance.
 
BirddogGSP said:
Ouch! That's going to hurt a bunch of people including myself and doubting if I should make the trip even or go for a later date. I'm going to call cpo and pick his brain. We've got one guy that likes to make a scouting trip in advance.
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that's a good plan......let us know, if you will, how bleak the prospects are in a general area........we already heard a pretty negative assessment of what the public ground may look like west and south of Aberdeen...i have a feeling, it is going to be poor in most areas......if so, staying home and doing a preserve hunt may make a lot more sense, although i hate the thought, driving that far and trying to find cover to hunt would be a total waste of time and dollars.....unless you are willing to pay to trespass.
 
Our group has been paying to trespass for the last seven years. Although expensive, it takes out the guesswork from year-to-year. We pay $175 a day Per gun. We have 6 hunters. That's $1050 a day or 3150 for the 3 day trip. Not a bad payout for the farmer. However I'm not complaining. We see more birds than we know what to do with each year. Last year we did not go because of the low bird numbers. It sounds like they should be up this year and we are going at the end of October. I agree the public land Hunter may find it very very difficult to find enough birds to Justify a long trip out to SD.
Bob
 
I don't see how ALL the public land can be mowed. I kill birds on tree edges bordering fields. I kill birds in cattails along pot holes. Do they mow all the cattails and trees down too ? :confused: I can't believe all the public land is stripped clean, there is sooooooo much public land out there ....

Come on, I don't believe it can be as bad as it sound in this post. But I don't know much about how they manage the land in SD. I do know bird numbers were WAY down last year as I saw that with my own eyes. I am more concerned with bird numbers than everything on public being mowed.
 
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obx said:
I don't see how all the public land can be mowed. I kill bird on tree edges boarding fields. I kill birds in cattails along pot holes. Do they mow all the cattails and trees down too ? :confused:

Come on, I don't believe it can be as bad as it sound in this post. But I don't know much about how they manage the land in SD. I do know bird numbers were WAY down last year as I saw that with my own eyes. I am more concerned with bird numbers than everything on public being mowed.
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first, no matter how good the hatch and bird numbers are, you have to find public ground that will hold birds......a lot of it in SD is just grass and a lot of those landowners got a variance to hay that ground due to drought conditions this year. with the ditchs being mowed and baled, any birds that come to the road for gravel or cross the road from field to field, won't spend any time or linger without any cover to hide in......flushed birds will fly cover to cover, chopped corn fields provide no cover for birds to hold in, so forget hunting those.......unless you can find a picked field that made yield and that doesn't already have cattle out on the stalks......not gloom and doom, BUT you better have a pay to hunt place with decent cover because any public places that might have decent cover are going to be so scarce they will get pounded all season long......it's going to be very different this season.
 
hunter94 said:
first, no matter how good the hatch and bird numbers are, you have to find public ground that will hold birds......a lot of it in SD is just grass and a lot of those landowners got a variance to hay that ground due to drought conditions this year. with the ditchs being mowed and baled, any birds that come to the road for gravel or cross the road from field to field, won't spend any time or linger without any cover to hide in......flushed birds will fly cover to cover, chopped corn fields provide no cover for birds to hold in, so forget hunting those.......unless you can find a picked field that made yield and that doesn't already have cattle out on the stalks......not gloom and doom, BUT you better have a pay to hunt place with decent cover because any public places that might have decent cover are going to be so scarce they will get pounded all season long......it's going to be very different this season.
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I still don't buy it. do they mow cattails and trees to feed cattle?
 
I'll be in the Platte area for dove opener and will check on the public land condition and road ditches-- I'll report when I get back.:D
 
hunter94 said:
first, no matter how good the hatch and bird numbers are, you have to find public ground that will hold birds......a lot of it in SD is just grass and a lot of those landowners got a variance to hay that ground due to drought conditions this year. with the ditchs being mowed and baled, any birds that come to the road for gravel or cross the road from field to field, won't spend any time or linger without any cover to hide in......flushed birds will fly cover to cover, chopped corn fields provide no cover for birds to hold in, so forget hunting those.......unless you can find a picked field that made yield and that doesn't already have cattle out on the stalks......not gloom and doom, BUT you better have a pay to hunt place with decent cover because any public places that might have decent cover are going to be so scarce they will get pounded all season long......it's going to be very different this season.
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i will take them cut corn fields any field that has food in them and i can go up there and drill there ass if you cant kill them up there on public ground your doing lots wrong its not like kansas where you have to work at it on most days
 
Hunter94 is right on. Finding public land with cover is key. I drove about 100 miles today and most everything has been mowed. Most cattail/reed sloughs are dry and have been mowed. Only on private land did I still see large sloughs uncut. North of Huron many sections of corn are being cut for silage, up toward Doland/Clark also. BUT, I am seeing birds every day and saw hens with small chicks today. Birds are up from last year, but access to hunting spots may be limited. I would still make the trip, but have a plan B (other public spots or travel to a different area) or plan C (pay trespass fee. If hunter numbers are down due to drought/economy, trespass fees may be cheaper??). Don't waste a chance to go hunting, you will never get this year back. Every day of hunting with friends and family is a gift. Don't waste them. When you're old and can't go anymore, you will be glad you went.
 
PcolaGSP said:
Hunter94 is right on. Finding public land with cover is key. I drove about 100 miles today and most everything has been mowed. Most cattail/reed sloughs are dry and have been mowed. Only on private land did I still see large sloughs uncut. North of Huron many sections of corn are being cut for silage, up toward Doland/Clark also. BUT, I am seeing birds every day and saw hens with small chicks today. Birds are up from last year, but access to hunting spots may be limited. I would still make the trip, but have a plan B (other public spots or travel to a different area) or plan C (pay trespass fee. If hunter numbers are down due to drought/economy, trespass fees may be cheaper??). Don't waste a chance to go hunting, you will never get this year back. Every day of hunting with friends and family is a gift. Don't waste them. When you're old and can't go anymore, you will be glad you went.
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Ok, I stand corrected then. Hard to imagine everything mowed like that.

How are the potholes in NE SD, watertown north towards ND ? How dry is it ?
 
I think where I live is going to be pretty good. It sounds like south of I 90 might be tough. In north central areas should be pretty good. The birds are going to be concentrated. A later in the season hunt around here should be very good and more affordable. I drive on a gravel road every morning and evening going to and from my cattle, and I have to wait for the young pheasants to get out of my way every day.
 
haymaker said:
I think where I live is going to be pretty good. It sounds like south of I 90 might be tough. In north central areas should be pretty good. The birds are going to be concentrated. A later in the season hunt around here should be very good and more affordable. I drive on a gravel road every morning and evening going to and from my cattle, and I have to wait for the young pheasants to get out of my way every day.
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THAT is what I want to hear !!! :thumbsup: Love the sound of that.

I am not too worried about finding cover. Just need the birds
 
obx said:
THAT is what I want to hear !!! :thumbsup: Love the sound of that.

I am not too worried about finding cover. Just need the birds
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To answer your question about water, big water will be fine small water will be gone. To the comment about cover, you should be worried about cover there will be publc ground that was probably only half cut. That will concentrate the birds and the hunters. The cover will predominately be on private land. I don't know what the GFP will have to say but here we will be up quite a bit. But I would recomend that you know where you are hunting in advance. Late season should be very good hunting in this county IF you have a place to hunt.
 
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