Thanks for everyone posting, I have studied this site! I have a group of 6 guys and this was our first time in South Dakota. I was in charge of coordinating a place to go. I'm not an expert, just have young eyes and can read the small print on the maps. I know hunting is a bit better west more towards Pierre but that's not an option for us. We have seen some birds yesterday and today not far outside of watertown. Can anyone point me in a direction to try tomorrow? We have 4 more days here. We went northwest today off 25 hwy by Webster. My brain hurts! Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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Watertown Help...
- Thread starter andersont
- Start date
I wish I could help. I'm from Illinois and dont know the Watertown area well. The one misconception for non residents like myself was 8 years ago that the "public Land" is loaded with pheasants. Sure there is a spot here or there that will produce but I believe the "SD Experience" where 30 or 50 birds coming out of a field is all private land. Public Land hunting is tough. I'm not afraid to work but when a non resident brings a group of hunters and is looking to get them on birds,,, public can be tough. Most land is pounded and it doesnt take the birds long to find quieter cover. Good Luck on the rest of your trip.
Bob
Bob
roycefromrc
New member
road hunting?
have you considered shooting them buggers when their along side of the road? catch them around 3 thirty till dark eating rocks along the gravel roads.you dont hear much talk of it on this site,but most all residents do it at one time or another with good success.
have you considered shooting them buggers when their along side of the road? catch them around 3 thirty till dark eating rocks along the gravel roads.you dont hear much talk of it on this site,but most all residents do it at one time or another with good success.
Uncle Buck
New member
Go West. Off the Coteau.
Ditches
Hunt the ditches along harvest corn fields. When I was kid we used to be done in a few miles of corn. I believe ditches are still legal to hunt in SD and road hunt is another way to get some birds when your dogs are worn out at the end of the day and scout at the same time.
Hunt the ditches along harvest corn fields. When I was kid we used to be done in a few miles of corn. I believe ditches are still legal to hunt in SD and road hunt is another way to get some birds when your dogs are worn out at the end of the day and scout at the same time.
cattails
look for cattails its tough walking but if its not too wet they will be in there. If you have 6 guys you can use blockers and dont over look the small spots that other hunters may have. Make sure to go the extra mile to push small fingers of cover other guys may have been too lazy to go through. Those birds will stay at the edge of the cover and wont move untill flushed.
Pretty sure its legal to have a loded gun it the truck while driving too incase you see one on the side of the road get out and flush it. Make sure to read the rule book on this because you need to be a certain distance away from the truck and you also need to make sure your not to close to a house or cattle. It's not my kind of hunting but if you get skunked it's nice to be able to get something for all the miles on your boots.
look for cattails its tough walking but if its not too wet they will be in there. If you have 6 guys you can use blockers and dont over look the small spots that other hunters may have. Make sure to go the extra mile to push small fingers of cover other guys may have been too lazy to go through. Those birds will stay at the edge of the cover and wont move untill flushed.
Pretty sure its legal to have a loded gun it the truck while driving too incase you see one on the side of the road get out and flush it. Make sure to read the rule book on this because you need to be a certain distance away from the truck and you also need to make sure your not to close to a house or cattle. It's not my kind of hunting but if you get skunked it's nice to be able to get something for all the miles on your boots.
Thanks for everyone posting, I have studied this site! I have a group of 6 guys and this was our first time in South Dakota. I was in charge of coordinating a place to go. I'm not an expert, just have young eyes and can read the small print on the maps. I know hunting is a bit better west more towards Pierre but that's not an option for us. We have seen some birds yesterday and today not far outside of watertown. Can anyone point me in a direction to try tomorrow? We have 4 more days here. We went northwest today off 25 hwy by Webster. My brain hurts! Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Pm me i got a few ideas.
I have hunted the Watertown area for many years. I have access to farms with lots of nice pieces of cover. There are no birds!! We got close to our limit on the opener and 50% on our next trip 2 weeks later. Saw very few birds on each trip. You need to go past Clark before the bird population improves. The awesome days of pheasant hunting are over in SD and I, like
everyone else, am in denial.
everyone else, am in denial.
Thanks for all of the help
I appreciate all of the help and suggestions from everyone. We only ended up bringing home 7 birds. But, it wasn't because we didn't see them. There were quite a few birds. Being from Kansas, we had a bad year hunting last year. We didn't see many birds at all last year. So we decided to try out of state this year. It would have been nice to have private access since we did see a great spot south of Clark. Saw a lot of birds down there. I think if we try again, we will go more to the west. It was our first trip and I had noticed that the Pierre part of the state was hit pretty hard so that was why I chose to stay to the east. But, we had a great time. I guess we could have spent a few thousand and hunted a preserve but that's a bit too much money and I honestly like the "hunt" of the pheasant and learning their habits. Well, sorry for the rambling, but thanks again all.
I appreciate all of the help and suggestions from everyone. We only ended up bringing home 7 birds. But, it wasn't because we didn't see them. There were quite a few birds. Being from Kansas, we had a bad year hunting last year. We didn't see many birds at all last year. So we decided to try out of state this year. It would have been nice to have private access since we did see a great spot south of Clark. Saw a lot of birds down there. I think if we try again, we will go more to the west. It was our first trip and I had noticed that the Pierre part of the state was hit pretty hard so that was why I chose to stay to the east. But, we had a great time. I guess we could have spent a few thousand and hunted a preserve but that's a bit too much money and I honestly like the "hunt" of the pheasant and learning their habits. Well, sorry for the rambling, but thanks again all.
I just got back from hunting up there for a week, and I saw plenty of birds. Limited all three days on public land with just me and my dog. After driving from North Platte up to Chamberlan the accross to Salem, it seems the cover in the SE SD is much better and we say way more birds. I am seeing as farming goes corprate, there are less and less soughs and shelter belts.