South Dakota Report

UGUIDE

UGUIDE

Active member
Hello from down on the farm,

I here from neighbor by Delmont that "there are a lot of pheasants". This is from a farmer that avidly hunts pheasants and is used to seeing good numbers of birds. Landman, can you confimr seeing as you are close to that area?

I saw brood of at least 8 this morning and have been seeing birds of varying sizes while out mowing and on roads.

I'm also seeing a lot of foxtail, buffalow bur and sand bur. The locals are talking 200 bushel corn when 100 bushel is area average if that gives you any indication as to how thick the cover will be. It seems to rain about everyday I have been here.

Good reports coming from Presho, Highmore, Timberlake and Aberdeen.

In process of signing up another 38 acres of FWP CRP for implementation next spring thanks to new expanced eligibility. That'll be the biggest block by double I have put in ever.

Other SD reports chime in......

:cheers:
 
UGUIDE said:
Hello from down on the farm,

I here from neighbor by Delmont that "there are a lot of pheasants". This is from a farmer that avidly hunts pheasants and is used to seeing good numbers of birds. Landman, can you confimr seeing as you are close to that area?

I saw brood of at least 8 this morning and have been seeing birds of varying sizes while out mowing and on roads.

I'm also seeing a lot of foxtail, buffalow bur and sand bur. The locals are talking 200 bushel corn when 100 bushel is area average if that gives you any indication as to how thick the cover will be. It seems to rain about everyday I have been here.

Good reports coming from Presho, Highmore, Timberlake and Aberdeen.

In process of signing up another 38 acres of FWP CRP for implementation next spring thanks to new expanced eligibility. That'll be the biggest block by double I have put in ever.

Other SD reports chime in......

:cheers:
Click to expand...

Uguide: Yes, I've seen lots of pheasants this year and some of the broods are quite small so there must have been some late hatches. Some of the chicks are large too so early hatch must have been successful too. Ponds are full, creeks are running and grass is in excellent shape so the fall season this year should be one of the best ever, if I were to predict.
 
Any word on the official SD GF & P roadside surveys?
I was in SD in May and saw several birds in the SE part of the state.
Not a high population area! Sounds like things are lush and green in SD this year!
 
Boomer-IN said:
Any word on the official SD GF & P roadside surveys?
I was in SD in May and saw several birds in the SE part of the state.
Not a high population area! Sounds like things are lush and green in SD this year!
Click to expand...

Patience young man, patience.....

Looks like the report came out about Aug. 29 last year. About 8 more days give or take a few.

I came up with a new term for South Dakota's cover this year......clostrophobic!
 
UGUIDE,
Thanks for the young man part...you made my day!
I guess the bird numbers really don't matter all that much. Come the 3rd Saturday in Octber there is 100% chance of lots of tramping of the fields by thousands of South Dakotans and friends from virtually ALL OVER!
Looking forward to another great year hunting the "pheasant mecca" of the universe!
 
Generally getting very good reports from most areas. This AM AXEL came in from the backyard (13 acres) with a rooster in his mouth and promptly put it in my hand.
I thought a yong bird at first, but it was very heavy. A quick inspection of spurs indicated an old bird in moult. No tail feathers and very drab. Some are unable to fly well in this condition which is probly why he caught it easily. These adult birds are usually very wild on my turf after being pointed, flushed and (perhaps) shot at.
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Miss belvedere
 
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Just finished wheat harvest up about 15 miles south of Aberdeen and the bird numbers look great! Saw some almost fully colored to some that were maybe a week old. Anywhere from 6-15 in a group. This fall is going to be another great year of pheasant hunting in our part of the state forsure. You better have your hunting strips set up already though bc its going to be a late harvest from the looks of it.
 
Farmers and Ranchers are behind scedule putting up alfalfa, grass hay, and road ditches this year. This should be big help to the hatch. Even wheat is behind in my area although there is not much planted here.
 
Wow! Saw two broods within a 1/2 mile of my house yesterday. One very young bunch but appeared to be large brood. Appears we had late hatch NW of Sioux Falls. Some of the locals relayed the same info at NAVHDA Sat. also.
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FERRARI ASCARI HISTORY
 
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Made the long drive back and forth through SD on Hwy 212 last weekend. Stopped in Watertown city limits both times and exercised the dog in different grassy areas. Both times we jumped very young pheasants, about the size of Hungarian partridge and no color. I thought they were surprisingly young. I saw almost no birds along the roads even though I know they are "out there". We came to a fence and I held the wires apart for the dog. Usually he will shoot through. This time he decided to jump over but did not make it and got his hind legs stuck through the top two wires. With some quick action on my part I got him out of there and I ended up getting cut worse than he did. Fairly minor, but it was lucky.
 
I've had two dogs do that. One, a Bluetick-Irish Setter cross who was a very mellow dog, but fair hunter, casually waited till I extricated him. The other one panicked a little, but I got her out without harm to eithe of us. She is now a ten year old Pudelpointer and I have not seen her jump a tall fence for some time. She used to jump your standard 4 wire barb with ease, like a deer, except for the time she got stuck.
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Ford gaa engine picture
 
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