WhiskeyJack
New member
Hey guys, next week I get to go to SD for a few days. Just wondering what the bird numbers are like in the Webster/Day County area? I see there is a lot of walk-in areas and state land in Day County.
Webster, SD
- Thread starter WhiskeyJack
- Start date
sydschramm
New member
I'm heading out to the Webster area with my springer on the 31st. Hopefully there are some birds.
JMBZ71
Member
Hey guys, I can't speak to the 07 hatch in that part of the State but I hunted Southern Day County, Northern Clark County and parts of Eastern Spink County last January and there were "lots" of birds. Of course there were no standing crops and the birds were bunched up in the cattails, but really I saw birds everywhere.
It's hard to compare late season hunting with early but if the birds were there in January, they were there in October. Hunters will only harvest about 20% of the 10.8 million birds in SD this year, so even though youâ??ve gotta deal with standing crops and early season hunting pressure, theyâ??re certainly there for the guys that want them bad enough.
Good Luck!
It's hard to compare late season hunting with early but if the birds were there in January, they were there in October. Hunters will only harvest about 20% of the 10.8 million birds in SD this year, so even though youâ??ve gotta deal with standing crops and early season hunting pressure, theyâ??re certainly there for the guys that want them bad enough.
Good Luck!
WhiskeyJack
New member
JMB,
Thanks for the info. I don't want to seem like an internet scouter. Even though I'm from ND, this coming week will be my first pheasant hunt in SD. It's just gonna be me and my dog and partially a scouting expedition for bow hunting. I can't wait. I'll post back on bird numbers. Hopefully my 8 month old pointer won't be too much of a knuckle head.
Thanks for the info. I don't want to seem like an internet scouter. Even though I'm from ND, this coming week will be my first pheasant hunt in SD. It's just gonna be me and my dog and partially a scouting expedition for bow hunting. I can't wait. I'll post back on bird numbers. Hopefully my 8 month old pointer won't be too much of a knuckle head.
myspringersadope
New member
WiskeyJack,
Let us know how you do. I'm going out to Webster at the end of December. My kid is 12, passed hunter safety, and I promised him a SD pheasant hunt. I'm kind of banking on the walk in areas as well.
MySpringersADope
Let us know how you do. I'm going out to Webster at the end of December. My kid is 12, passed hunter safety, and I promised him a SD pheasant hunt. I'm kind of banking on the walk in areas as well.
MySpringersADope
WhiskeyJack
New member
I just got back from hunting the Webster area. It was kinda dissapointing. There were plenty of birds hanging around private land. Not so much on public or walk-in.
The other guys staying at the same motel were averaging one bird a day per hunter hunting public and walk-in. We were all dissapointed. Two guys I talked to said they've been coming for 5 years now. Between the two of them, for their 5 days, they average 10-15 birds. This year, after 4 days (the last time I talked to them), they only had 10 birds.
These places were POUNDED from hunting pressure. I've never seen so many pheasant hunters, ever! 90% Minnesotans. The cattails had wide paths knocked down and empty hulls laying on the ground everywhere. What birds got up, were flushing 75 yds or more away.
For waterfowlers, it was Heaven, with LITTLE hunting pressure. I did not see huge flocks of geese (only one flock of snows), but I saw mallards, mallards, and more mallards. There were also tons of bluebills, ringbills, and redheads.
The walk-in areas were usually large tracks of crp, non-huntable for one guy a dog, such as myself. Or were huge marshlands with cattails as far as you could see. Or a cut cornfield with no cover.
The locals were incredibly friendly, but I can honestly say that I will not return again. I would have done no worse by staying in Minnesota. South Dakota may get a lotta hype, but private is obviously the key.
The other guys staying at the same motel were averaging one bird a day per hunter hunting public and walk-in. We were all dissapointed. Two guys I talked to said they've been coming for 5 years now. Between the two of them, for their 5 days, they average 10-15 birds. This year, after 4 days (the last time I talked to them), they only had 10 birds.
These places were POUNDED from hunting pressure. I've never seen so many pheasant hunters, ever! 90% Minnesotans. The cattails had wide paths knocked down and empty hulls laying on the ground everywhere. What birds got up, were flushing 75 yds or more away.
For waterfowlers, it was Heaven, with LITTLE hunting pressure. I did not see huge flocks of geese (only one flock of snows), but I saw mallards, mallards, and more mallards. There were also tons of bluebills, ringbills, and redheads.
The walk-in areas were usually large tracks of crp, non-huntable for one guy a dog, such as myself. Or were huge marshlands with cattails as far as you could see. Or a cut cornfield with no cover.
The locals were incredibly friendly, but I can honestly say that I will not return again. I would have done no worse by staying in Minnesota. South Dakota may get a lotta hype, but private is obviously the key.
myspringersadope
New member
Thanks
Hey WiskeyJack,
Thanks for the advice. I really want to find a decent place to go with my 12 year old. I was hoping to find it in the Dakota's. Interesting report. We weren't planning on going until the first week of December. I wonder if it gets any better, as in fewer hunters by then. Could anybody else answer that? How much do private places charge per day that time of the year? It's gotta kinda slow down.
MySpringersADope
Hey WiskeyJack,
Thanks for the advice. I really want to find a decent place to go with my 12 year old. I was hoping to find it in the Dakota's. Interesting report. We weren't planning on going until the first week of December. I wonder if it gets any better, as in fewer hunters by then. Could anybody else answer that? How much do private places charge per day that time of the year? It's gotta kinda slow down.
MySpringersADope
kansaslabman
Member
for 150 bucks per gun you can get excellent pheasant hunting all over SD. bascically if you don't know farmers that have good habitat that will let you hunt then you'll just have to pay the money. You might be able to shoot a few birds on public but believe me i have been there and its not easy except for the first day of pheasant season. do some research and you should be able to find some good deals out there. good luck
WhiskeyJack
New member
Myspringersadope,
Let me say that pheasants are still to be had. It's not as bad as I made it sound. After rereading my report, I realized I sounded a bit negative. If I went back, I know I would be more succesful. After thinking about it for a few days, I would concentrate on the waterfowl production areas. I would find the ones that have corn nearby (cut of course), and that have small patches of cattails and work that cover. Remember, you would have to use non-toxic shot. I think that may be a big reason why I didn't see hunters on those places. I know you would find birds there. My biggest mistake is that I went there with expectations of pheasants galore, and lots of elbow room. Please don't cancel your hunt based on my negativity, just be willing to work, willing to drive, and most of all, be willing to use the non-toxic shot and hunt those WPAs. The best of luck to you and your son. SoDaks are some of the most wonderful people you'll ever meet!
Let me say that pheasants are still to be had. It's not as bad as I made it sound. After rereading my report, I realized I sounded a bit negative. If I went back, I know I would be more succesful. After thinking about it for a few days, I would concentrate on the waterfowl production areas. I would find the ones that have corn nearby (cut of course), and that have small patches of cattails and work that cover. Remember, you would have to use non-toxic shot. I think that may be a big reason why I didn't see hunters on those places. I know you would find birds there. My biggest mistake is that I went there with expectations of pheasants galore, and lots of elbow room. Please don't cancel your hunt based on my negativity, just be willing to work, willing to drive, and most of all, be willing to use the non-toxic shot and hunt those WPAs. The best of luck to you and your son. SoDaks are some of the most wonderful people you'll ever meet!
Downtown Bang!
Member
Hunting public land roosters in SD is a process and definately has a learning curve. A guy needs to be able to commit to it for the long term and be long on patience and long on determination. It's not for everybody and if your planning that "once in a lifetime" SD hunt absolutely spend the extra dollars and pay a trespass fee to hunt good private ground all week.
I just got back from a solo five day "public land only" hunt in Day, Marshal, Brown & McPherson counties. Ended up with 12 roosters and that was with a 10 year old arthritic lab coming off ACL surgery. Not bragging though because it hasn't always been that way.
I made the commitment to hunt public only in NE SD five seasons ago. (The four years prior to that I did 50-50 public/trespass fee hunts in the Chamberlain area) The first year going "public only" I got two birds in five days and was very frustrated. Just hated listening to all the "you went to SD and only got two birds" comments.
It got better in the coming years though once I learned the game. The second year I got 8 birds in five days. Years three and four I got 8 & 9 birds in 4 days (lost a day due to dog injuries both years) and this year did about as well as I can expect given my dog power limitations.
A few tips to help shorten the learning curve:
Make good use of your time and hunt areas that suit your dogs strenghths. If your a solo hunter with a flusher like me hunt small sloughs, weed patches & "dirty" waterways, small grass parcels at roosting hour and just about any out-of-the-way island or patch of birdy looking cover you can find.
Do your homework. Scout out new parcels before shooting hours or on any day your lucky enough to get an early limit. Take notes on what you see and experience and keep them year-to-year. That small unproductive patch of grass next to a bare soybean field from this year may be a gem next year when they rotate to corn. After a couple of years you will have a nice milk run of dependable spots.
Take care of the dog. Have the dog in condition before you go. Your going to cover a lot of ground in five days to get your birds. Use dog boots to protect the feet. Treat the cuts, scrapes and hotspots picked up from pushing through cover. Talk to your vet about anti-inflamatories. Even young healthy dogs will get very muscle sore and slow down after day three unless you give a little relief.
Be mobile. Sometimes other hunters will key in on an area and really hammer it. You have to be willing to give up on a parcel or area if conditions dictate. I had a large, very diverse and dependable spot from 2005 that I saw the same two trucks on three days in a row in 2006. Passed on it and never hunted it in 2006. This year I saw much less pressure there and hit it one day for a limit of birds by 1:30. Also the quality of the hatch can vary in a local area from year to year. If your not seeing the number of birds your used to move on.
Unfortunately I think the attention SD gets leads to unrealistic expectations especially for freelance hunting on public land. Not everyone would agree but there is no place I'd rather be than hunting South Dakota public land roosters in November. Every bird harvested is a trophy in my eyes and an experience with lots of rewards.
DB
I just got back from a solo five day "public land only" hunt in Day, Marshal, Brown & McPherson counties. Ended up with 12 roosters and that was with a 10 year old arthritic lab coming off ACL surgery. Not bragging though because it hasn't always been that way.
I made the commitment to hunt public only in NE SD five seasons ago. (The four years prior to that I did 50-50 public/trespass fee hunts in the Chamberlain area) The first year going "public only" I got two birds in five days and was very frustrated. Just hated listening to all the "you went to SD and only got two birds" comments.
It got better in the coming years though once I learned the game. The second year I got 8 birds in five days. Years three and four I got 8 & 9 birds in 4 days (lost a day due to dog injuries both years) and this year did about as well as I can expect given my dog power limitations.
A few tips to help shorten the learning curve:
Make good use of your time and hunt areas that suit your dogs strenghths. If your a solo hunter with a flusher like me hunt small sloughs, weed patches & "dirty" waterways, small grass parcels at roosting hour and just about any out-of-the-way island or patch of birdy looking cover you can find.
Do your homework. Scout out new parcels before shooting hours or on any day your lucky enough to get an early limit. Take notes on what you see and experience and keep them year-to-year. That small unproductive patch of grass next to a bare soybean field from this year may be a gem next year when they rotate to corn. After a couple of years you will have a nice milk run of dependable spots.
Take care of the dog. Have the dog in condition before you go. Your going to cover a lot of ground in five days to get your birds. Use dog boots to protect the feet. Treat the cuts, scrapes and hotspots picked up from pushing through cover. Talk to your vet about anti-inflamatories. Even young healthy dogs will get very muscle sore and slow down after day three unless you give a little relief.
Be mobile. Sometimes other hunters will key in on an area and really hammer it. You have to be willing to give up on a parcel or area if conditions dictate. I had a large, very diverse and dependable spot from 2005 that I saw the same two trucks on three days in a row in 2006. Passed on it and never hunted it in 2006. This year I saw much less pressure there and hit it one day for a limit of birds by 1:30. Also the quality of the hatch can vary in a local area from year to year. If your not seeing the number of birds your used to move on.
Unfortunately I think the attention SD gets leads to unrealistic expectations especially for freelance hunting on public land. Not everyone would agree but there is no place I'd rather be than hunting South Dakota public land roosters in November. Every bird harvested is a trophy in my eyes and an experience with lots of rewards.
DB
kansaslabman
Member
i agree its alot of fun hunting public solo with your dog and banging a couple roosters
that feels alot more rewarding than paying the money and shooting your limit early
that feels alot more rewarding than paying the money and shooting your limit early
myspringersadope
New member
Thanks guys for the information. Kansaslabman, you make some good points. I've hunted N. Iowa for many years now. Have come to know the area. Believe me you learn each parcel inside and out. You know where the birds will be when the wind is in a certain direction. You just get a feel for the area. I usually get my birds, I have to work really hard at it but they come in time. We did go to the Wessington Springs area 10 years back and was unbelievable. Iowa doesn't compare in the number of birds. I'm just wondering if I'm really going to benefit with more bird numbers if I go to SD rather than Iowa if I hunt public land. One question, how is hunting the road ditches? Is this frowned upon or not? I kind of enjoy road hunting after a morning of busting your but in the field.
kansaslabman
Member
well i'm not a big fan of road hunting because i like to see the dog work in the field. but i can see why some people enjoy it and you can pick up a bird or two pretty quick. south dakota is prime for road hunting. when i went out there, there was so many birds but heres a tip. later on in the day is the best time to road hunt cuz during the day they are in the corn. later on they move back to the crp to roost, or ditches like you say, and that is the time when you see birds moving across the roads.
sydschramm
New member
Just an update to my earlier hunt. A friend and I went out 2 days alone and got 1 bird. My dad joined us for the next three days and between the three of us we got 6 birds.
Reading the previous posts and talking with other people staying at the motel we were all having the same sort of luck (one group had 5 birds between 8 guys one day another had 2 birds between 2 guys) and experiences. We were seeing birds, the roosters were flushing wildly well ahead of us and the hens were sitting tight. We did knock a few more down and missed a few, so we could have done better.
We are planning making the trip out to the Webster area this Friday and Saturday for a quick late season hunt. Being it was our first time to the area we didn't know what to expect or where to hunt. This time we have a few late season spots picked out that we're going walk, so hopefully with the cold weather and snow the birds will be hunkered down in those areas.
As for public vs. private. Last year was the first time I've made a SD pheasant trip. We did a 3 day hunt on private ground (basically hunting small slough/standing corn/fence lines/shelter belts around a guy's farmstead). We did limit out, but it didn't feel like a true SD hunt. We used out second season to make a day trip out to public land and we ended up with 4 birds between 2 of us, but to me it was more fun to have to work hard to find the birds rather than knowing exactly where they were.
Reading the previous posts and talking with other people staying at the motel we were all having the same sort of luck (one group had 5 birds between 8 guys one day another had 2 birds between 2 guys) and experiences. We were seeing birds, the roosters were flushing wildly well ahead of us and the hens were sitting tight. We did knock a few more down and missed a few, so we could have done better.
We are planning making the trip out to the Webster area this Friday and Saturday for a quick late season hunt. Being it was our first time to the area we didn't know what to expect or where to hunt. This time we have a few late season spots picked out that we're going walk, so hopefully with the cold weather and snow the birds will be hunkered down in those areas.
As for public vs. private. Last year was the first time I've made a SD pheasant trip. We did a 3 day hunt on private ground (basically hunting small slough/standing corn/fence lines/shelter belts around a guy's farmstead). We did limit out, but it didn't feel like a true SD hunt. We used out second season to make a day trip out to public land and we ended up with 4 birds between 2 of us, but to me it was more fun to have to work hard to find the birds rather than knowing exactly where they were.
myspringersadope
New member
We decided to go to N. Iowa. Works out well, get to stay with Ma. Took my 12 year along for his first pheasant hunt. The dates 12/1-12/4. Yikes! Saturday we were greeted with 30 mph sustained winds and sleet. It felt like you were getting your face sand blasted off. Then it switched to rain and covered everything with ice. It made hunting very difficult since even walking through a corn field was difficult. I should have had my ice fishing cleats on. The good news is we saw a lot of birds. Bad news is they were flushing waaay too early. The first morning we had birds flying all around us. Even with the nasty conditions my kid yelled out "This is fun!". We did manage 4 birds which was a miracle. We missed our share but when the birds got up in the wind they were gone in a heart beat. Going to go again over Christmas. I'm chomping at the bit!