Waubay Lake area Pheasant

G

GSPforever

New member
Good afternoon all....
I book a house first week of November 2017 to do some pheasant hunting. I am from Massachusetts...and never experienced hunting wild pheasant before and i am looking for any info that could help make my trip a success. I booked in that area due to the hunting atlas showing a ton of WIA and CREP areas. I was told that there aren't as many birds as say Pierre, but being from Massachusetts the area that im hunting will be fine...im going to be hunting Monday thru Wednesday...so is the first week in November gonna be crowded....should i change my date closer to the opener since i will be hunting during the week? .....i will be hunting with an 7 year old GSP who is very well trained...thanks in advance for all your help.
 
I think you will have a great hunt overall, the only thing I would think about in your case, which I think about a ton when scheduling my pheasant trips, are the days during the week which I schedule for. I hunt a lot of public ground as well and I try to strategize my trips to avoid the weekend and even avoid early weekdays such as Monday, Tuesday. I try to plan my trips to when I know the public walking grounds will be most "fresh" from when other hunters walked it previously. We all know public ground probably gets hit the hardest on weekends, making Monday and Tuesday of a week what I call "replenishing" days. I have had the most luck Wednesday-Fridays because I avoid/beat the weekenders to the field and because the grounds have not been trampled on for a few days by those weekenders. Monday, Tuesday can be too soon after weekend full of pressure. Again, this isn't the make or break of a trip but I have noticed a difference in my experiences. Something to think about...
 
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TBIRD19 said:
I think you will have a great hunt overall, the only thing I would think about in your case, which I think about a ton when scheduling my pheasant trips, are the days during the week which I schedule for. I hunt a lot of public ground as well and I try to strategize my trips to avoid the weekend and even avoid early weekdays such as Monday, Tuesday. I try to plan my trips to when I know the public walking grounds will be most "fresh" from when other hunters walked it previously. We all know public ground probably gets hit the hardest on weekends, making Monday and Tuesday of a week what I call "replenishing" days. I have had the most luck Wednesday-Fridays because I avoid/beat the weekenders to the field and because the grounds have not been trampled on for a few days by those weekenders. Monday, Tuesday can be too soon after weekend full of pressure. Again, this isn't the make or break of a trip but I have noticed a difference in my experiences. Something to think about...
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Thank you....nice to know there is some people out there willing to help.....good points about the early week thing....we dont have wild birds..
We hunt on stocking days....no birds after the first 5 hours of that day.....we have to fight with the crowds on order to be successful.....i am so looking forward to this trip....thank you so much for your time.
 
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Crops remaining in the fields, due to a late harvest, could impact your success.

Public walk-in areas seem to be best after the crops are out, especially in December.

Just my two cents...
 
Awesome info guys.....nice to see a good group of hunters here between replys and PM.....awesome support....and thank you for future info...i rented a house on the lake....ill hunt up that way Monday thru Wednesday....hunt Mitchell area Thursday....and hunt Pierre Friday.....Thursdays and Friday ill stay at a local hotels....
 
GSPforever

I like early November for a lot of reasons. Good chance at reasonable weather and avoiding extremes with hot or cold. The roosters are using a lot of different cover types which can make for a fun hunt. Only thing is a I usually wait to commit to final dates (earlier or later) based on crop harvest progress. May not be an option in your case but if hunting during the week don't worry too much about lodging. Something will be available. Especially in that area.

The area you are looking at does have lots of public access acres and is really diverse and interesting in terms of habitat. Lots of pothole lakes, wetlands, shelter belts, pasture land, ag land & small pockets of native grass (especially within the CREP parcels). Trouble is that it is just outside the prime pheasant range and often experiences tougher winter conditions than areas to the south & west.

Back in the mid-2000's when large parcel CRP was more prevalent & the winters were generally mild this area was a hidden gem. Pheasant counts were decent and hunter activity was pretty low. At that point I'd commit all my hunting days to the public land around NE SD and did quite well. Since 2009 the decline in quality habitat and numbers has been pretty significant. Now I commit only 1-2 days of hunting to the area and tend to roam much farther south and west for my remaining field time. Good pockets and good hunts are still available but it takes a good amount of work and fortunate timing (i.e. hitting the right parcel on the right day).

Not trying to talk you into moving the hunt because this area can absolutely be a great SD hunting experience. Especially for a solo hunter who enjoys chasing his roosters one at a time. I just wouldn't expect 100 bird flushes and daily limits.

Its a long way off but feel free to PM me when your hunt comes near. I'd be happy to share what I know from my last hunt even if it was a hunt from the fall of 2016.
 
I think the first week of Nov is a good time. It's usually a good balance of early but not too early.

The thing I'd watch for is what the weather ends up doing between now and then. A bad winter storm or two could knock that area back a long ways. I would think it is getting better up there since this winter hasn't been too bad so far.

It isn't the best area but should have some birds. When I was up there last spring fishing I saw a few out strutting around but not a lot. The locals said it was nothing like it was a few years earlier.
I actually like the out of the way and fringe areas to hunt. I think dogs hunt better when you find a bird or two here and there. Those big groups of skittish birds can be hard on a dog.

The good thing is if you travel an hour or two south or west you can run into completely different areas. It isn't hard to travel 100 miles in SD. You really never know until summer what the population will be like.

Good luck, your dog will have a blast on wild birds.

Tim
 
Head west.

We stayed just north of where you want to stay the second week of November this year. We hunted some in that area for Pheasants but birds were scarce. We ended up driving west at least an hour to find decent bird numbers. If you are only staying a few days i would hunt from Groton and West. You may bump into a few around Waubay area, but we didnt have much luck.
 
ps

Also if you are hunting by yourself you may want to hunt the ditches. We are from PA and the fields are enormous in Sd. first year we went we had 5 guys and 2 dogs. ( way underdoged ) This year we had 8 guys and 10 dogs that we alternated thru the 10 day hunt. We did considerably Better.
 
Once again guys, thank you so much for the info. I booked the house for the first week of November....yes....2017...lol. I booked it sunday through Wednesday...if i feel that im not satisfied...ill drive a few hours west or south an stay and hunt one day there. I am taking my truck on this trip and it takes me 26 hours back home, so i can leave SD onFriday and still have time to relax most of the weekend before going back to work. Maybe try in the Mitchell area or the Scotland area. From what i have rummaged up so far within an hour west or south from the Wuabay Lake area i will be in some pretty decent pheasant hunting, especially for a guy from Massachusetts where we have no wild birds.....lol....once again, thank you all so much for your ifo....especially for your time.
 
Downtown Bang! said:
GSPforever

I like early November for a lot of reasons. Good chance at reasonable weather and avoiding extremes with hot or cold. The roosters are using a lot of different cover types which can make for a fun hunt. Only thing is a I usually wait to commit to final dates (earlier or later) based on crop harvest progress. May not be an option in your case but if hunting during the week don't worry too much about lodging. Something will be available. Especially in that area.

The area you are looking at does have lots of public access acres and is really diverse and interesting in terms of habitat. Lots of pothole lakes, wetlands, shelter belts, pasture land, ag land & small pockets of native grass (especially within the CREP parcels). Trouble is that it is just outside the prime pheasant range and often experiences tougher winter conditions than areas to the south & west.

Back in the mid-2000's when large parcel CRP was more prevalent & the winters were generally mild this area was a hidden gem. Pheasant counts were decent and hunter activity was pretty low. At that point I'd commit all my hunting days to the public land around NE SD and did quite well. Since 2009 the decline in quality habitat and numbers has been pretty significant. Now I commit only 1-2 days of hunting to the area and tend to roam much farther south and west for my remaining field time. Good pockets and good hunts are still available but it takes a good amount of work and fortunate timing (i.e. hitting the right parcel on the right day).

Not trying to talk you into moving the hunt because this area can absolutely be a great SD hunting experience. Especially for a solo hunter who enjoys chasing his roosters one at a time. I just wouldn't expect 100 bird flushes and daily limits.

Its a long way off but feel free to PM me when your hunt comes near. I'd be happy to share what I know from my last hunt even if it was a hunt from the fall of 2016.
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Thank you for your response....So i cant expect to see 3 or more birds flush...not so much shoot...per day in this general area. Im not into seeing the 40 bird flushes all at once but would like to at least have the opportunity to limit out....even if thar means hunting long days.
 
You may also want to look into the Nonresident Waterfowl Lisence. You will be in a pretty decent area for that. We hunted waterfowl in morning then hit pheasants at 10am worked out nice
 
Hunting the Waubay area you are heading into one of the lowest pheasant population areas in the state. If you are driving that far and only hunting for approx. 3 days I think you stand a very good chance of being disappointed. Coming that far for only 3 days I would recommend spending some more money and paying for some private land with good numbers of birds to hunt. Check with Haymaker on this site. He has a nice operation about 100 miles west of Waubay that will put you on birds. I can also recommend some other landowners for you to check with if you would like.
 
Waubay

I've hunted south and a little east of Waubay late in the season for the last five or six years. X2 on the low bird numbers in that area. I saw birds this past Dec. but geez did I have to work for them. At best it was three a day, and that was am to pm hunting. I'm gonna head back there first week of December and stay at Lynn Lake Lodge. I'm gonna ice fish and hunt to break it up a little. The place is a little farther west and a bit north of Waubay. I'll head west from there to hunt, per Zeb's advice. I like hunting the north eastern corridor south from Milbank, but most years I have very little shooting. I second Zeb's advice for sure, especially coming in from that far away.
 
Because i am still a ways away....i was able to cancel my reservation on the house in the Wubay lake region...do to the low bird numbers up there......if there is a city that i should use as home base....where do you guys recommend.....im thinking that Mitchell is the place to be....Whats your thoughts. Thisight be the only time i do this so i want to put myself in the most productive public hinting i can. Again, thanks in advance for your time.
 
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