Solo guy report

Way to go!

519vx said:
Lol...then why is it always me buying drinks on sporting clays night? In all seriousness, once in a while it just all comes together. So glad that I made this trip. What an adventure but trips like these are what you make of them. :thumbsup:
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Congratulations; you are an inspiration to us poor folks! My daughter, two sons-in-law, and I (age 70) will be tackling those ditches and public areas in the Platte area as best we can, early in December. Coming from NC, we won't have a dog, sorry to say; but we'd consider a bird apiece a good day, even in a good year. It helps to manage your expectations...And Cattleman's is always a consolation!
Beach004
 
Day 3 final report.

The report is a little late as I needed to take a little break. I got the sad news yesterday that my buddies 8 year old setter had to be put to sleep. He hunted her on Friday. Friday night she Santa acting right. He took her to the vet and she had liver failure and her bonds was shutting down. Not long after getting that news, I read the report and story that Reddog posted on the Iowa page here. If you haven't read it, you need to. If you've got a pup, it will hit home.

On to the report. I was excited about how well Friday had went so hunted the same area (about 15-20 miles north of pierre). The days action started quick with a hen flush about 50yards from the truck. A little further up went a nice rooster. Sage made a nice retrieve on him, made me happy and proud. She put up several more hens and a little young of the year rooster. I thought he was a hen but just as he got out of gin range he cackled. Pretty sure that I know what he was saying to me as he flew off. Lol.

We were almost done in that spot when we came on a small thicker weed patch. Sages rail starts going nuts. She moves in but then stops, tail still going, ears forward looking down in the weeds in front of her. Several things immediately go through my mind...is it a snake, a skunk
...? But her tail is really going. I say GET HIM and she surges forward and up pops a rooster!!! He must have flattened himself to the ground trying to hide in that tiny piece of cover.

We walk another long really nice weed strip but Sage never gets birdy and we don't see anything there. We go back to one of the better areas from Friday but they were harvesting the sunflower field right next to this one. Not good but have to try. We hunt a long way and nothing. There were a bunch of birds there Friday but they had vanished. I'm starting to tire and I notice Sage seems to be tiring as well. We push forward and up ahead of sage maybe 15 yards I see a rooster running ahead. She gets his scent gives chase and the bird pops up. I'd lit up both barrels of the overunder but he keeps flying, cackling as he heads for some standing corn.

There's the part of me that was just a little disappointed in my miss. With that rooster I could have finished my limit. I thought well its still fairly early and I've got a couple more spots to try. Then I said WHY? Do have to get a limit? NO. Is taking home one more bird really going to matter? NO. Was watching that big old rooster fly off after giving me a chance at him about the best way I could ask for to end my adventure? You bet and that is what I chose.

Hug your pup. Never take a day in the field granted. And I ally do me this one favor. The next rooster you get, don't just immediately toss him in your game vest. Take a minute and just hold him and admire how beautiful he is and think of all the reasons that you are so fortunate to be holding him.

Good luck to all the rest of this fall. :thumbsup:
 
I'm so very happy that you had a good time hunting in SD, you really have the spirit of a hunter--come back any time. :thumbsup:

Have a safe trip home. :)
 
Enjoyed your reports. Making memories is what it's all about. Treasure them all for one day that's all we will have. Make new ones while you can. You're doing it right.
 
I'm pretty sure I enjoyed your trip as much as you did, riding along in spirit only. My day yesterday was spent hunting a short hour and a half, and then working, but when I allowed my mind to wander, it was always about what you were doing. You went AWOL on me about 1030 yesterday, and I finally had to text you last night to see if you were OK.. Sorry about your buddies dog. Nothing I can say, can ease the pain any, but.. There are few things that bring more joy than a new puppy.. ..

I cannot wait to share a field with you someday, should our paths cross.

I mentioned a spring trip for Smallies on Sharpe, and a trip to the Prairie Chicken drumming grounds.. All you gotta do is get to my place, everything else will be taken care of, as its all in place already.. Mid April... Toss it around. Bring the wife, if she so choses. My wife will be along more than likely..
 
519,

Thanks so much for posting. Not sure of your age, but you sound young and very enthusiastic. And, I love that you enjoy every aspect of the hunt. You have a lifetime of wonderful adventures ahead of you.

My first hunting dog was a golden retreiver, named Jake. He was pretty average as hunting dogs go, but he went everywhere with me and was a wonderful companion. He lived to be 15 1/2 and I still get a little weepy thinking about him.

Good luck on your next adventure with Sage, and please keep posting.
 
great pic & thanks for sharing your hunt with us here!!! you make it tough on me im going to ND but i know i should hit SD as well just #s wise its a must hunt if you hunt in the correct habitat... & have a solid dog like urs im happy you had success & did it on some public lands & maid some friends... wish you more success if u head back out to SD for ur 2nd 5 day hunt period???

also bummer about ur buddys setter sorry to hear about that it must of been a major shock!!! best wishes & hope the next pup helps with the loss... i know it will be tough!!!

i want to try 4 a few prairie grouse also on the SD hunt if i make it out there so 519 did you see many prairie grouse??? or were they few & far between??? if not many around id just hit a grassland after i bag a few pheasants to add to the mixed bag hunt i know some good areas that can hold a mixed bag hunt or put me close to either species if i drive 25-35 miles so please do share i know u said u seen a few flying...???

thanks again for the story & reports & take care 519...
 
Thanks all for the feedback. I had such a great time out there and truly dreaded having to come home.

Beach004 - you will do fine as it sounds like your expectations are in check. Below are a couple of tips that really helped me out. Again keep in mind that I was hunting by myself with a flusher that stays within 15 or so yards of me, so we don't cover a lot of ground. Hunt smart. What does that mean? Use the cover to your advantage. For the most part, I didn't hunt across the middle of big fields. Why? Limited coverage where a bird could be anywhere. Instead, I would hunting parallel to the edges. I would go in the field about 15 -20 yards and walk parallel to the edge. I had Sage work the area between me and the edge. The birds didn't have a lot choice, if they run to the side, they got to the field edge and had to flush or run along it to the end. Also, if you see a thicker but very small weed patch or different piece of cover, make the effort to go check it out. One of the more memorable birds of this trip came out of a tiny piece of cover maybe 10 feet long by 4 feet wide. Also, stop frequently. I had a couple of times where I would stop walking, wait a few seconds and a bird would bust no where near the dog. I think they heard me and got nervous. Again, these aren't answer alls but are some tips that might help a little especially given you won't have a pup along.

SDJim - South Dakota is a great state with some really, really good folks that live there. I made some life memories out there, seeing my pup flush and retrieve her first truly wild South Dakota rooster on some beautiful ground still puts a smile on my face as I type this.

SMO - I didn't have any luck on the grouse, though admittedly I didn't put much time in on them. I thought I saw one flying across the sky early one morning at the Grasslands, but that was it. I did see a dead hungarian partridge on the side of hwy 83 just north of town. No one else I talked to was hunting grouse. I guess I just got hung up on watching my pup hunt those weeds and grasses for a rooster. The time with her of hunting every day really helped her out and built her confidence. It was kind of cute, got home yesterday, let her out of the truck and she ran through one of the overgrown wildflower gardens we have and she was still obviously in hunt mode. I just love watching her work....
 
thank you

You are one of the nicest people I have "met" on this Forum--and that's saying something. I'll think about you, when my daughter and I are standing at the ready at one end of a brushy ditch, watching her husband and my other son-in-law working toward us, tensely waiting to see if there are roosters in the shrinking stretch between us. It's not the best way to hunt pheasants; but it has a charm that draws us back, every year. Thank you.
Beach004
 
519 I really enjoyed your account of your hunts. You should be a poster man for do your homework, ask for a little help, and live your dream. It really sounded like a fun time.
 
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