Watertown, SD

1

1stTimeSD

New member
Hey Guys,

My brother, a buddy, and myself are going to be heading to Watertown, SD for a three day hunt on Nov. 10th. We have a well trained black lab that we will be hunting over. So, we have a small group, hunting public land...could be challenging. We are not afraid to drive a ways(1 - 1.5 hrs.), or pay a reasonable fee to hunt private land. If anyone heading out there before us this year has any spots or contacts out there they wouldn't mind directing us towards please pass them on. We would also like some advice on area establishments to frequent so we can help support the local economy:)cheers:) I really appreciate any advice you guys can give us. Thanks!
 
Crop Harvest in the area

For those of you wondering about crop harvest status. I talked to an employee of a sporting goods store in watertown, and he said they will likely not be cutting the corn until after Thanksgiving. However, the beans should be mostly cut in the next couple of weeks, weather permitting.
 
We are heading to Watertown tomorrow at 2 am and will hunt hear Castlewood (about 12 miles south) on wed and in Doland (about 50 miles west from thurs through sat). We stay at the Super 8 in Watertown and dogs are allowed in the rooms. We have hunted some public land in the area with moderate (1 or maybe 2 birds per guy) success, but choose to pay to hunt. Our opinion is if we are going to make a trip of it let's see some birds (and we usually see a ton). If you grab a SD atlas and don't mind driving a bit it will be cheaper, but if you are looking for birds paying may be the way to go. The outfitter in Castlewood that we use is Big Sioux Pheasant Hunts. His name is Jerry and he has a website so you may check there as a starting point. Best of luck.
 
Thanks!

Thanks for your advice, any updates when you get back would be great. I will look into that guide service. Good Luck!
 
Thanks and good luck to you as well. I'll shoot you a report when we get back.

A great restaurant is 2nd street station. Great steaks adn nice people.
 
2nd Street

We definitely plan on it, more likely than not every night we are there. You have to love the aspect of pheasant hunting that allows you to sleep it off a bit!
 
Also, unless your Lab is a Grade A SuperHero - you may be under dogged. One dog for 3 guys is not enough when pushing public land

Best of luck!
 
Well,
I don't think we are going to be able to get another dog in the next week. So, we are going to do the best with what we have. I am sure you are implying we need to get a guide, we may pursue that avenue, however if everyone is hunting private land (like it sounds) that leaves an awful lot of public around the area for the rest of us! Thanks for the advice though.
 
Im implying that I was in your shoes several years ago. We had one one dog for 4 guys. That dog was beat after one day. Keep in mind that guys that are into the birds on public land arent generally talking about it. I'll be on public land in a few weeks. Me and 2 Goldens
 
Yeah, we are hoping to give the dog a break while we are doing the SD road hunting thing in between hitting spots. I am also very aware of hunters and fisherman being protective of their good spots, I am as guilty of that as the next guy. But, you never know, it's worth a shot trying to get some direction. Thanks again.
 
Just back from the Watertown area. Averaged about 2 birds per man per day. This is low compared to the previous 8 years. I am not sure if the reason is that the bird count is down, all the corn is still in or a combination of the two. Still a great trip. Weather was warm. Was hunting in a t shirt. Even though it hasn't rained in a week there is still a lot of standing water. Good luck to anyone in the area. We'll be back next year unless I can find some time in late December to get back.
 
If I were you guys I'd be waiting until after thanksgiving to go - there's still way too much water and corn standing in the fields. It's not worth the time and money yet. The late season is going to be the ticket this year. Once all those birds finally get kicked out of the corn and the weather turns south they'll be easy to find in the thick cover. Believe me - this will be the year for great December pheasant hunting.
 
Late hunt

Yeah, that is the general consensus I have been getting from everyone. I wish that was an option for us. The hunting will probably only get better as time goes on.
 
good luck

Hope you have some good luck. I have been finding that there have been alot of birds on the public land. I have access to both and with all of the crops that are still in it doesn't seem to be a very big difference. The waterfowl production areas seem to be holding birds and are a little easier to walk with one dog. I grew up about 40 miles from watertown and have hunted there my whole life you should do well. Looking forward to a good report
 
Thanks a lot for the encouraging post! We are leaving this afternoon, and coming back on Sunday. I will let you know how we do then!
 
Watertown Report

Well guys, It was tough. 1-2 birds per guy per day. Lots of corn still in, and lots of birds in the corn. Give it a couple weeks at least.
 
Just came back from Watertown as well with my pops-hunted public land, saw birds, shot birds, would have had more if my damn pup was handled better by me. Had really good luck NW of town on said public land, kicked up a lot of ladies while the ruddies were running. Bumped into a guy who was with his kids and his dad, they were hunting private at $200 per person per day with mild success as there was a lot of corn out still. He hunted public the next day and they all bagged out. So the birds are there (as if everyone didnt already know).

Make sure to eat a nice steak at Minnerva's and grab some beers at the Southfork, if you haven't been there its worth the $6 cover.
 
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